|
|
|
|
The 6' diameter "PRO-DOME" (standalone)
observatory provides all the convenience and
protection of large observatories, but in a
limited space. Its small size allows
installation just about anywhere and is less
imposing in communities where neighbors have
concerns about their view of your property.
Though compact, the 6' dome will easily
accommodate a Schmidt-Cassegrain up to 12" or,
depending upon the mounting design, a 6"
Newtonian. There is space for you and a guest,
but for larger groups a 10 or 15 foot dome is
more appropriate. The PD6 has a 74" diameter,
45" high wall sections, and a 30" wide slot
opening with two piece up-and-over shutter. The
door is 19" wide and opens all the way up into
the shutter opening. Your dome must be bolted to
a secure foundation. The base has a 3" wide
internal flange for easy mounting. Assembly time
required is approximately 1 day for two people. |
 |
CLICK ON THUMBNAILS FOR FULL SIZE PHOTO
The main "structure" portion of the PD6 is made up
of three wall sections and a door. When
assembled, the result will be a 72" circular
building awaiting mounting of the dome. One of
the keys to a properly working observatory is
roundness - especially at the reverse flange on
the top of the walls. Fiberglass has natural
flex capabilities and "adjustments" can be made
both at the point of bolting the sections
together and mounting on the pad or deck. |
 |
|
One of the easiest ways to work with the wall
sections is the use of clamps to hold he section
flanges together prior to drilling the bolt
holes. The clamps can securely hold the dome
position both when making measurements
(roundness and circumference) and when drilling.
The clamps also allow an easy way of making
necessary adjustments during the process. |
 |
|
A flat straight metal strip can be used to keep
the tops of the wall sections level as they are
drilled and bolted together |
 |
|
The door hinge is mounted onto the right wall
section edge for the HD6T door. The hinge is
44", which will allow about 1/2 inch at both the
top and bottom. |
 |
|
After The hinge is mounted on the right wall
section, the door is lined up, drilled and
attached to the open side of the hinge. |
 |
|
Door is now fully installed |
 |
|
The left wall section can now be bolted into
place. |
 |
|
When the dome is installed on the pad or wooden
deck, it will be necessary to shim up the dome
on either side of the door by about 1/8 inch so
that the door can swing open and close. The gap
can be filled with a spray foam material (like
"Great Stuff") before caulking. |
 |
|
The door is secured with an upper latch mechanism
and a lower drop down deadbolt. Once assembled,
the owner will open the shutter, reach in to
unlatch the upper lock, turn the small black
handle to raise the deadbolt (attached by a
small cable), then swing open the door |
 |
|
Placing the upper latch, drilling holes and
bolting into place |
 |
|
The next step is to prepare the front shutter. The
photo to the right shows a completed front
shutter. |
 |
|
There are four glide strips, each with a "hooked"
edge on one end. The hooked end is pressed onto
one edge of the shutter and lays down on the
shutter next to the side flange. One strip
starts from each end and overlaps. The best
approch is to made a diagonal mark in the
overlap area, then cut both strips so that they
will cleanly butt up against each other when the
tape is pressed down. |
 |
|
Remove tape cover and press into place |
 |
|
If ES6 electric shutter system is to be installed,
this is the time to mount the ES front shutter
parts. In the photo, the "T" pulleys are being
installed. Note that small notches must be cut
fro the glide strips just installed for the "T"
bracket to meet the proper measured location.
(See the ES instructions and photo CD). |
 |
|
The last item installed on the front shutter are
the shutter handles. They are mounted
back-to-back (inside and outside, sharing
bolts). See the instruction manual for placement
measurements. |
 |
|
The Top shutter section will have the front and
rear latch bars and the Shutter Wind Restraint
"j-guides" installed. |
 |
|
When mounting the latch bars use the hole markings
on the shutter as guides, but also make sure
that they are parallel to the shutter edges and
not mounted at a slant. Note that the "sharp"
edge faces to the center on both latches. |
 |
|
The "j-guides" are mounted 4" from each end, with
the other two evenly spaced between. They are
positioned such that the loop end extends beyond
the shutter flange edge. |
 |
|
The rear shutter panel is prepared by drilling the
holes that will mount the panel to the two dome
halves. These holes will be used as guide holes
for the dome flange when positioned and ready to
bolt together. The shutter catches are
positioned and mounted at the bottom of the rear
panel (end opposite the slot and beveled edge |
 |
|
A plastic template is provided to locate the holes
in the side wall section for the roller wheels
and on the top (under reverse flange) for the
side roller disks. Small guide holes are drilled
using the template, then re-drilled to the
correct size once located. |
 |
|
The side rollers are mounted on the upper surface
between roller wheel openings. The self-tapping
bolt is tightened, but still allowing free
turning of the roller. The side roller extends
out from the wall approximately 3/16" and
protects the Dome Support Ring from coming into
contact with the wall when rotating. |
 |
|
The roller wheels have been made for us by a
company in Germany for nearly 15 years, and have
proven to be very durable and dependable. They
have a sealed bearing system and hard rubber
surface which is resistant to wear. The wheel
are mounted up through the molded wheel openings
and extend approximately 1/4" above the top
surface of the wall. A sleeve bearing, washer
and dust cup are used in the mounting assembly. |
 |
|
The Dome Support Ring (DSR) is made up of two
large sections and a swing-out for the door. The
sections have overlapping flanges to allow the
proper adjustment to fit the circumference
tolerances (see that table on page 18 of the
manual. |
 |
|
When properly adjusted, there will be a gap of
approximately 1/4 inch between the DSR and the
wall completely around the circumference. One
suggestion is to get 1/4 spacers (wood scraps
for example) and tape 4 or 5 to the wall around
the dome to assist in adjusting the DSR. |
 |
|
When the final positioning is accomplished the DSR
sections are bolted together at the overlaps. |
 |
|
The dome halves are prepared by first drilling the
holes where the dome will mount onto the DSR.
Spacing is in the manual. This is on the
"equatorial flange" not the slightly larger
flange that runs the length of the shutter
opening that the shutters ride upon. |
 |
|
Dome half with DSR mounting holes drilled. |
 |
|
Edge location measurements are mad and the DSR
marked accordingly. The dome half can the be set
up onto the DSR a the marks. |
 |
|
The dome half is adjusted to be as close to flush
with the DSR skirt (outside) as possible
(cosmetic). |
 |
|
Both dome halves are now resting on the DSR. They
are not bolted into place at this point, just
positioned at accept the rear shutter panel. |
 |
|
The bottom location of the rear shutter panel is
measured then marked on the dome half shutter
flange. The rear panel goes on with the latch
bar slot at the top. |
 |
|
The rear panel is placed so that the side flanges
slide over the dome half shutter flanges and is
positioned up to the proper height based upon
the bottom markings. |
 |
|
With clamps holding the rear shutter panel in
place, a spacer (see manual, and two pictures
down - a section of 2x4 works well) is placed to
keep the front of the shutter opening at the
proper spacing. Final adjustments are made (if
needed) to re-position the dome halves on the
DSR and make sure that visually the dome joints
match. The holes are now drilled into the dome
half shutter flange (using the holes in the rear
panel as guides) and the rear panel ia bolted
into place. |
 |
|
The dome can now be bolted into place. The dome
halves are attached to the DSR with 12 (six on
each dome half), 3/4" flat head machine screws
from bottom up with nut and washer on top. |
 |
|
The holes made earlier in the equatorial flange of
the dome half are now used as guide for drilling
matching holes in the DSR. The access hole in
the reverse flange allows an open, easy to reach
drilling point. |
 |
|
The bottom side hole in the DSR must be
countersunk to assure the flat head bolts are
flush with the DSR underside. |
 |
The final remaining steps in the construction is
the placement of the shutter system and
installation of the shutter Wind Restraint
System. The front shutter is simply placed on
top of the rear shutter panel, high enough that
the handle is past the top of the rear panel.
The handle will keeps the front shutter from
sliding back down. Note the "large" slot in the
bottom portion of the top shutter. This slot
will pick up the large latch bar on the top
shutter and solidify the shutter system.
Note: This and the next 3 photos are of
a PD10, but the process (and images) exactly the
same as on the PD6. |
 |
|
The top shutter is simply lifted up and placed
into the rear shutter catchers laying against
the rear shutter panel and overlapping the front
shutter. The large latch bar is up while the
shorter latch bar is in the lower side of the
shutter piece. |
 |
|
From the front of the dome, grab the handle and
start sliding the front shutter forward. After a
short distance the large latch bar on the top
shutter will drop into the slot and lock in
place. The the top shutter will now start moving
forward (towards the close position) with the
front shutter. Close the shutter all the way
(until the rear latch bar fall into the slot in
the rear shutter panel and locks into place. The
shutter can now be opened and closed as desired. |
 |
|
The last installation step is the Wind Restraint
System on the outside of the dome. With the
shutter all the way closed, measure and mount
the spring post and the small guide posts on
each side of the dome. Note that the spring post
measurement is down from the leading side of the
TOP shutter and thus will be about 28 or so
inches up from the bottom on the six foot dome.
The small guide posts are spaced towards the
rear and are simply to keep the restraint cable
from rubbing up and down the dome side as the
shutter opens and closes. |
 |
The last step in the Wind Restraint installation
is attaching the cable. The looped end of the
cable attaches to the spring mechanism, feed up
through the j-guides mounted on the top shutter,
and through the small hole in the rear shutter
catchers. A split-bolt is used to "lock" the
cable into place. With the shutter still closed,
the slack should be pulled out of the cable and
the split-bolt attached leaving about 1/4 inch
space for slack. The picture to the right is
with the shutter all the way open, which results
in more slack in the cable.
Your dome is now ready for many years of
service! |
 |
|
|
|
