Here's a nice little observatory that is relatively inexpensive that I found to be a good solution rather than building one. ** DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND RE-UPLOAD THIS VIDEO. JUST SHARE THE LINK
It's just a sweat box. The money they cost you can build a good size shed and build an opening roof. Can you even fit a chair and beer fridge in that dog kennel. As long as it makes you happy old mate and your getting great shots thanks for sharing them.
You are very welcome. I have pretty good sky here. Buffalo is to my north so that spoils the dark sky in that direction to some extent. I am very pleased to be able to enjoy the night sky here. Eventually, I think light pollution will win out and young people will grow up not knowing how beautiful the night sky is.
Thank you for the videos. I watch them all and enjoy them.particularly when your kids help you.that makes your project a work of family and love.and speak volumes of what kind of outstanding father you are.
tim, i just foun your channel while looking at tiny home designs and now im subbed and watching them all. u r my new hero, u can do it all!!! keep it up!!
Well, thank you Sterling. I enjoy helping people and making these videos is one way that I can sharing what I have learned. Thanks for watching and for your sub.
You make great videos. My wife was shocked when she was watching one of your tractor reviews and I said from across the room 'that guy is from the wny area.'. I would recommend a coat of aerospace 303 to protect your dome from uv.
I'm glad you like my videos. I enjoy making them. It has become a bit of an obsession Haha! So your wife likes tractors eh? Very cool wife! // I will check the aerospace 303. Thanks.
Thanks Wayne. I haven't been up to the POD in several days because we got a couple of feet of snow and the driveway is plugged. I'm going to snowshoe in tomorrow!
Thanks for the tour and instructional tutorial. You did a great job on your deck and observatory. I really enjoyed the presentation and envious of your set up and sky conditions. For me to get even close to building something like it, I would have to move and that has been on my mind in a big way this last year.
When I retired I moved from a beautiful but overpopulated part of southern CA to a small hobby farm in rural MO. about 15 years ago. The cost of living was also a major factor.. I miss the good weather but love the peaceful and friendly environment here more than words can express. The clarity of the night skies is something I took for granted but now treasure.
GREAT JOB my friend! You are most fortunate to have a great family to support you. Your workmanship and thoroughness is excellent. I know - you will have many years of fun ahead. Thanks for such a great video(s) - it gives me much to think about. Warm regards, your friend, JB.
Thanks Jonathan. I am fortunate indeed to have a wonderful family. They are always there to help me when I need them. I never dreamed that I would have a nice observatory and I hope to spend many nights under the stars in there. The cabin gives me a warm/dry place to go when I am enjoying this rural location. Lots of deer and turkeys and other wild animals. I enjoy the outdoors a lot.
Nice observatory sir. I had to subscribe once i checked your channel and you mentioned your from wny, as am i, not too far away from the Audubon's Beaver meadow observatory as a matter of fact. I never get there i just use my backyard observatory with a 16" orion dobsonian. None the less that's a great observatory you have
Are there rollers on the bottom of the lip that keep the dome from lifting straight up? I understand about the 2 lock bolts when closed but didn't see anything else keeping the walls and dome together. What keeps the primary half from being lifted up and off? Thank you!
Nice as heck. Envy level max... However if I put that thing in my yard the contents would be at a pawn shop in less than a week. Plus light pollution is pretty bad here. My idea is placing a secret tripod pad out at the lake or perhaps a concrete pier disquised as a stump.
Tim, thanks for the video of this dome, I've been eyeing this puppy for awhile now, getting ready to pull the trigger. My problem is, I get around on a mobility scooter, and I need a ramp to get into this thing, and I'm not sure this one would be for me. What's your advice? I really like your whole set-up, nice......
Hello Raymond. My dad had one of those scooters so I am familiar with them. The POD is pretty small. Were you thinking about driving the scooter up the ramp and into the POD? I'm not sure that this one would have enough room for that. If you would plan to put a pier inside then this really makes it a tight squeeze to operate the telescope in there. Have you considered building a roll-off roof building. If you did this, you could customize it for your needs. I was going to build one of those and even designed one and then I found out about the POD and went with that. Where do you live? If you want to chat some more, maybe we can exchange emails and go from there.
Hello. Glad you liked my image. For Deep Sky Objects, i use Explore Scientific 80mm triplet refractor and Canon 1100D dslr. I use a program called Nebulosity to capture my long exposures. Then, i stack them. For planetary work, i use a Celestron 9.25 Edge SCT. The camera is a ZWO ASI 224MC COLOR CAMERA. I am getting pretty good results but need to learn a lot more about processing my images.
I just acquired some property and can't imagine anything more beautiful, beside my tiny house! I'll probably spend most my nights here. if I'm not imposing? the cost of this beauty?
It's called Skyshed POD (Personal Observation Dome.) Manufactured in Ontario, Canada. The telescope is Explore Scientific ED 80mm Triplet Refractor. Nice little scope. I use it for DSO imaging. Thanks for watching.
TimTools99 thank you sir for the quick response and the information! I want to get my kids into the hobby! I think it's an awesome little setup and wonderful video!
That is the downfall of this little observatory. I built a platform so I can push the roof off if I need to view close to zenith. Most of the time, I am viewing lower so no problem.
During the day it will heat up inside somewhat. There is airflow through my floor and out under the dome so it is not like an automobile gets when it's closed up and in the sun.
Hi Sheila. Nice to meet you. It took me a few years of dragging equipment in and out of the house before I decided to spend some money on an observatory. Good luck with your astro-adventures!
Thanks Tim. I live in Florida and I'm looking for a good pair of binoculars. Can you recommend a pair? We have a lot of birds and animals around our homes.
Hi Sheila. I have a few pairs of Binos. It depends what I am viewing as to which ones I grab. I have an old 7X35 Bino that I leave in the car. Don't even know what brand they are but they are a decent knock-around pair that get a fair amount of use. I bought Nikon 8263 ACULON A30 10x25 Binocular for my son and he loves them because they are so lightweight and the optics are great. Recently I bought the Nikon 7245 Action Extreme Binos. They are 10X50 and waterproof/shockproof etc but they are heavy. I use them on a tripod for birdwatching and sky gazing. They are very good for the price. If i really want to do some serious bird watching, I set up my 80mm telescope. It's light enough to grab and go and man, you can really see those birds up close and personal. Ha!
You are my kind of guy. Bird watching and star gazing. I believe I once looked through someones binoculars. They were Nikons and very good. I am going to look into them. Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it!! Sheila
Not much of a problem with the trees. My view to the South is perfect. The trees are to the north and most of the time I can see what I want to see over the top.
I have tried some deep sky imaging with the SCT but my results are not as good as what i get with my 80mm refractor. Everything about the SCT is more difficult. f10 requires better polar alignment and guiding to enable longer exposures. I am considering a focal reducer but for now, I plan to use the SCT for planetary work. I achieved some pretty good results last fall imaging Jupitor and Saturn. I just ordered a barlow to increase the image scale.
Tim, I really have enjoyed all of your efforts. You are interesting to follow but it’s a shame you don’t want to put out more projects on YT. It seems like your subscribers are falling off.
Thank you Dennis. I have not done any woodworking projects in a while and have not been out to the observatory either. I lost my wife unexpectedly a year ago and it's been a rough year. I am just starting to feel like I want to get back into it. I really enjoyed making these videos and hope to get going again soon. Thanks for your comment.
Hi Tim, have you noticed the incoming planet? I would love to know. I have seen 2 suns on 2 separate ocassions...and at 2.30am in the morning also again.
