Sky Shed Pod - gimmicky or not?

Anyone here have one? Are they gimmicky or worth while?

Honest opinions welcome.

Hi Keith,

You have a CGE 14" if you were to get a dome I would recommend this one www.siriusobservatoriesuk.com/ It would fit perfectly there would be to much messing around with the SkyShed. Plus with the Sirius dome can be motorised also. Michael O'Connell purchased one from the UK recently he would be the man to talk to on this one.
This is something I'm looking at myself


Carl.

Thanks for that Carl. Saw you on a Sky at Night episode replay recently!

I thought you had a roll off shed yourself? How come you are looking into getting a dome?

I was going to build a shed myself but I figured that the cost / time / hassle would be more than assembling a specialised dome.

Any idea of how pricing of the Sirius dome compares to the SkyShed? I couldn't find any pricing info on the site you linked to.

The skyshed POD is a nice idea. Very affordable compared to other domes.
I saw one at Astrofest and it is pretty solid too.
I couldn't get one due to the size of scope I have (16" SCT on a GEM).
Instead, I bought a 9ft dome from Pulsar Observatories (P.O.):
www.pulsar-observatories.com/
(website seems to be down at the mo).
Cost-wise, they compare very well to the Sirius Observatories or the Technical Innovation (T.I.) ones.
They are made of fibreglass and should last a lifetime.
I got mine as a special offer when they were selling off a demo version so I saved a nice few quid.

Some rough ballpark prices for you to consider, including shipping:
8ft Skyshed POD: €3.5k
9ft P.O. Dome: €6k
10ft T.I. Dome: €10k
11.5ft Sirius Dome: €15k
So, as diameter goes up, the price foes up exponentially.

The TI and Sirius domes are quite expensive due to the cost of p+p and import taxes into the EU.
The are both very good domes though.
The Pulsar ones are made in Europe and can be collected yourself, so you can save a nice few quid.

For a 14" CGE, the skyshed POD would be a tight fit to be honest.
With an alt-az mount, you would be fine, but a GEM takes up much more room.
Therefore, I would recommend the Pulsar one.
I'm finishing off the installation of my one.
You are welcome to call down and take a look if you want.

Michael.

Told ya he was the man to talk to. Wow 10 grand for a 10ft dome that is AP1200 money I'll take the AP1200 mount instead please.

thanks for the reply Michael. I read your other thread re mkII. Looks like a nice dome alright.

I'll be mounting my c14 on a pillar so this will save a good bit of room and take the hassle out of constant alignment.

You mentioned that you saw a sky pod a while back. So you think a pillar mounted c14 wouldnt be as tight on space?

Your Dome sounds good, would love to take you up on your offer to have a look. Please PM me when it suits you. Somehow I don't think I'd be as lucky regarding getting a demo model at reduced price.