August 2008 Archives
Mon Aug 4 13:48:22 MST 2008
To the Future
The last big change at the observatory was installation of
computer-room raised flooring in the observing room.
I was given about 400 square feet (37 squre meters) of flooring;
it wasn't enough to do my entire observing floor, but by installing
some of it, I was able to gain easy access under the floor to run
cabling to the telescope piers,
and get underneath the floor myself, should it become necessary.
Otherwise, not much changes at the observatory any more; things are pretty well set up the way they're going to remain. There are, however, a few things I would still like to accomplish.
I'd like a desk, or something that passes for one, in the basement. Ideally, it would have some large work surface where I could lay out charts or photographs for study. I could also use another cabinet or two for equipment storage.
I have an open rack holding 96 small-parts bins, but I'd really rather have an enclosed cabinet; that would also more than double the number of bins.
The stairway leading from the observing floor to the basement is well made, but very poorly designed, and is, in fact, rather treacherous. It really needs to be replaced. But I keep putting that off, as what I really want to do is revamp the whole setup to include some sort of platform lift so I can more easily move equipment from the basement to the observing level. The hoist in the roof was a useful idea, but it runs too fast (and it leaks oil on the hottest summer days, which can't be good for it). And while using the rolloff roof itself as a travelling crane works rather well, it is of course not possible to do that in poor or windy weather. A lift in the stairwell would make these problems go away.
The gable ends of the roof really need ventilation fans, to help mitigate the heat buildup inside the building during the summer.
The interior walls of the observatory really need to be black (or perhaps a dark blue), not white. The roof can stay white; it helps by reflecting light when the ceiling lights are on, and the roof is rolled off when observing so it doesn't affect anything at night.
I need a small wooden cabinet to hold the networking gear upstairs; the green lights from the network switch are downright annoying when you're dark-adapted upstairs at night. It's also probably Not Good when frost settles onto the switch on cold winter nights (which is also why the cabinet should be wood and not metal).
It would be nice to have a power-recording monitor, so I would know when and how often the power goes out. Without knowing this, I might be surprised by unintended biology experiments in the refrigerator.
Some of these things will probably get done, and some will not. Now that the observatory is up and running (and producing images) the incentive to change things is greatly reduced!
Otherwise, not much changes at the observatory any more; things are pretty well set up the way they're going to remain. There are, however, a few things I would still like to accomplish.
I'd like a desk, or something that passes for one, in the basement. Ideally, it would have some large work surface where I could lay out charts or photographs for study. I could also use another cabinet or two for equipment storage.
I have an open rack holding 96 small-parts bins, but I'd really rather have an enclosed cabinet; that would also more than double the number of bins.
The stairway leading from the observing floor to the basement is well made, but very poorly designed, and is, in fact, rather treacherous. It really needs to be replaced. But I keep putting that off, as what I really want to do is revamp the whole setup to include some sort of platform lift so I can more easily move equipment from the basement to the observing level. The hoist in the roof was a useful idea, but it runs too fast (and it leaks oil on the hottest summer days, which can't be good for it). And while using the rolloff roof itself as a travelling crane works rather well, it is of course not possible to do that in poor or windy weather. A lift in the stairwell would make these problems go away.
The gable ends of the roof really need ventilation fans, to help mitigate the heat buildup inside the building during the summer.
The interior walls of the observatory really need to be black (or perhaps a dark blue), not white. The roof can stay white; it helps by reflecting light when the ceiling lights are on, and the roof is rolled off when observing so it doesn't affect anything at night.
I need a small wooden cabinet to hold the networking gear upstairs; the green lights from the network switch are downright annoying when you're dark-adapted upstairs at night. It's also probably Not Good when frost settles onto the switch on cold winter nights (which is also why the cabinet should be wood and not metal).
It would be nice to have a power-recording monitor, so I would know when and how often the power goes out. Without knowing this, I might be surprised by unintended biology experiments in the refrigerator.
Some of these things will probably get done, and some will not. Now that the observatory is up and running (and producing images) the incentive to change things is greatly reduced!