I'm hoping to get out next week and get back to work on the observatory. So my thought is to measure the height of the cement pier above the floor. Then measure the height from the top of the cement pier to the top of the dome. And also to measure the height from the top of the cement pier to the bottom of the shutter slit. Are those the key measurements I need to compute the height that I will need for the steel pier that I will build to sit on top of the cement pier? I also assume that I will need to know the height from the bottom of the paramount mount to the end of the telescope when it points straight up? Won't the key be to make sure the telescope doesn't hit the roof of the dome?

You might want to get some "C" clamps and attach the mount temporarily to a bar stool and put your scope in it. This way you can quickly take measurements from the scope/mount setup and think better. I always think better when I can look at something and visualize it properly. That's one of the reasons I'm moving so darn slow myself...
I shouldn't talk!
Rich

It would make sense to know the actual distance the scope mounted, aiming at zenith will be. The over-all distance from dew cap to the bottom plate of the Paramount will let you know the distance you have to work with for the steel pier extension.

The hight of the dome doesn't change, and niether does your cement pier hight.
The only factor you have to work with is the steel extension length.

I gave up on any dome OB for my scope, since my pier elevates over 45".
For the dome to clear the Dew cap, it would need to be over 15' tall...inside.
And at the lower level, the dome opening would be too high to see anything close to the horizon. I don't do ladders.

Good luck.

Rob
GOMOC

I've got the same set up and question.
12' Ash Dome
ME
12.5" RCOS

I'm trying to sort of back into the dimension.
The concrete pier is 12'. I have two variables. The observatory wall height and the steel pier height.
The idea would be to have the scope high enough to see out of the dome at the horizon and be far enough off the floor to make monkey'n with it comfortable. Right now I have the ME on a wooden stand in my storage room. The bottom of the ME is 34" off the floor, but it seems like it's just a bit low. On the other hand I don't want to not be able to reach to RC to take off the cover etc.

Then there's the observatory door size to consider. I don't really want to get on my hands and knees to get into the observatory

Greg:
You might want to do the barstool thing as well to get a handle on the eyepiece height measurements... Is the RCOS/ME rig new? Have you used it before elsewhere? If your building is to be 2 stories tall, you could have a staircase entering through the floor. I know what ya mean about crawling through a hatchway to get in the observatory... Doesn't sound appealing. I may be stuck, however, and have no choice.
Rich

The ME is new, but I used the RC on an AP1200 at my astronomy shack in central Oregon. But it was on a pier outdoors. I probably won't be using eyepieces on the RC, just a CCD camera. I have a little refractor to look through for the occasional mini starparty with friends.


I've also got this 18" f6 Newt mirror that I had ground by Pegasus optics many years back and have always wanted to build a massive mount for that. Just for visual stuff mind you