Anyone have experience of a Pulsar Observatory

I have a small garden in a high-density modern housing development.
I've been thinking of building an observatory for the past couple (maybe a little longer) of years as I just can't be bothered setting up on a per session basis and haven't done so in goodness knows how many months.

I'm looking at the 2.2m Pulsar Observatory - does anyone have this set-up - or have you chosen another dome in preference?

The dome - for me - is ideal for the following reasons
1) Better protection from light trespass
2) Better protection when there's a bit of a breeze
3) Smaller foot print than roll-off shed
4) More secure when operating from a warm room in that
a quick opportunistic access and snatch of laptop etc is less likely
5) Greater opportunity for automation and unmanned attendance
(aspirational - I need a permanent set-up full stop).

Disadvantages
1) Ugly to the non-astronomer
(I've heard them described as a big bottle bank in the garden)
2) Expensive compared to the roll-off roof shed
3) Can draw attention to the value inside
4) Possibly Noise - polar alignment means rotating that [expletive deleted]
dome back and forth multiple times during the night.

I am not a DIY type of person so whatever I choose will be a challenge.

I've emailed some specific question to Pulsar Observatories but would appreciate any community feedback.

Any suggestions, comments, welcome.

Mark C.

Mark,
I have the larger Pulsar dome in my back garden.
You are more than welcome to pop over and take a look.
Michael.

Mark

I have had the smaller pulsar dome for a couple of years now (there are some pics in the NIAAS gallery www.niaas.co.uk ). I purchased it through Ian King.

I have it fixed to a raised deck with the deck isolated from a steel pier. The dome was easily assembled, it came in 8 main sections with a door and slat lid, it took me about 2 hours to assemble the dome and walls, the dome assembly was the easy part the pier was the difficult bit.

I have a 6" refractor mounted on a G11 and it is pretty tight for space but very handy, I observe so much more now. Space wise it is probably better suited to an SCT on a fork mount than a longer tube on an eq mount.

It is not as ugly as you might think but the white dome does get quite dirty (easliy washed though), if the green one is still available it might be less obvious.

The biggest problem I have had is condensation inside the dome, I now run a dehumidifier to keep my gear free from it.

Noisewise rotating the dome is pretty quiet, not too sure how wasy it is to automate the smaller dome as I think the kits are made to motorise the bigger dome like Michaels.

I do not polar align at all now, very occasionally (usually after I have banged in to it) I have to do a quick sync on a named start. At the end of each session I just point it at the same star and use that as the alignment star the next time a fire it up. I am observing in 30 seconds.

I originally had wanted the skyshed pod but I could not get a delivery to Ireland so settled on the Pulsar dome.

The only regret I have is not saving a bit longer and going for the bigger dome.

Rgds
Neil

Thanks for those replies.

Michael, I may take you up on that offer - but it will be a little further down the road.

Neil - I'm interested in you comment re mounting fixing to a raised deck - I shall think about that. I think I'd really only want concrete where concrete is really needed - and I know the pier will need it.

How is the dome fixed to either a concrete base or decking - is it flanged and screwed down?

Mark C.

Mark

The dome is screwed to the deck and then I have a raised floor inside of heavy duty marine plywood.

Neil

The wall has a return on the base of it to allow it to stand on the ground. It has holes predrilled in it to secure to the ground. Additional holes can be drilled in quite easily.
With the help of a couple of "slaves", I poured a concrete slab and a separate concrete foundation for the pier.
Decking would look better although they can be expensive enough to get done right. Concrete isn't too expensive.