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Martin Pugh |
Construction will soon commence on a new observatory that
I will host at my property in New South Wales, Australia.
I aim to provide up to 4 complete systems for rental and
make provision for a further 4 piers to offer telescope hosting.
Systems for rent will include the following:
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17" CDK f6.8 by Planewave Instruments on a Software
Bisque Paramount ME. SBIG STXL11002 with Adaptive Optics and LRGB
Ha/SII/OIII/NII filters (Astrodon). Image Scale 0.63 asp.
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12.5" RCOS f9 by RC Optical Systems on a Software
Bisque Paramount ME II. SBIG STL11002 with Adaptive Optics and
LRGB Ha/SII/OIII filters (Astrodon). Image Scale 0.65 asp.
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12" Riccardi-Honders f3.8 by Astro Physics on a
Software Bisque Paramount ME II. SBIG STX16803 with LRGB
Ha/SII/OIII filters (Astrodon) OR SBIG STXL162002 with LRGB Ha/SII/OIII
filters (Astrodon). Image Scale 1.6 asp/1 asp respectively.
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AP RH305 mounted on a Software Bisque PME II
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Fit-PC3 and Mount Hub Pro
SBIG STXL16200 and OPTEC Gemini Rotating Focuser
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System commissioning test image -
Omega Centauri L(Syn)RGB - 30
minutes each filter.
Advantages:
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24x7 onsite support (me).
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Fast Internet with provision of the National Broadband
Network expected in Apr
Sep 17.
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For telescope rentals, full hands-on. Terms and
Conditions to be published idc (draft below).
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For telescope hosting Terms and Conditions to be
published idc (draft below).
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On site storage for equipment, crates, mount boxes
etc.
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Pricing TBA. I expect to offer monthly rentals
as a minimum, with 3, 6, 9 and 12 month options. Rental periods
will commence, where practicable, from a new moon and cease on a new
moon. Hourly rentals are not currently under consideration.
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Weather - All Sky Camera live feeds direct to my
website. Now available here.
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Historical weather data collection started on 13 Feb
17 and will be posted to my website each month.
-
Progress on observatory construction will be pushed by
an onsite webcam to my website.
Fancy it? Please register your interests by simply
contacting me at the following email address: mpastro2001 at yahoo dot co
dot uk.
Sincerely
Martin Pugh
Update - 8 March 2017
Here are some 'DRAFT' Terms and
Conditions for the upcoming telescope and hosting opportunities.
-
Software usage - For
telescope rentals, users should be familiar with the following control
and acquisition software: The Sky X, Focusmax and CCDAutopilot.
Help files will be available for the use of specific equipment items
such as the OPTEC Gemini Rotating Focuser and the RCOS Precision
Instrument Rotator. For rentals less than 3 months, this software cannot
be changed, with the exception of actual software parameters.
However, a departure from this baseline configuration will be considered
on request. For rentals of 3 months or more, users can install whatever
software they prefer.
-
It goes without saying that imaging PC's are be utilised for that sole
purpose and not used for peer-to-peer downloads/uploads so as to consume
available bandwidth and introduce malware to the network. It also
goes without saying that the installation of illegal software and/or
downloads will not be tolerated and users may forfeit the remainder of
their rental period if this occurs.
-
Roof control - Until
automation is safely implemented, and depending on the final design,
roof control will be manual and completely under my control
-
Environmentals - Wind
and Humidity settings will be decided by me and the roof will close when
those limits are reached. The roof will also close when 'Very
Cloudy' conditions are reached.
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Weather guarantee -
there is no such thing and the weather is always changing. It will
be very unfortunate if a rental period is plagued by poor weather, but
it simply cannot be controlled and therefore refunds not possible.
-
Rental periods will
start and end at a new moon. This will allow a user to take
advantage of LRGB and NB imaging within the same period. Hourly
rentals are not presently under consideration. Availability of
rental scopes will be published on my website.
-
Telescope Hosting:
Users are always welcome to set up their own gear. There are ample
motels in the nearby town of Yass. However, installation can also be
undertaken on behalf of the user for a one off fee.
-
For hosting purposes, it is preferred that
users send functioning hardware and pre-configured software.
Shipping, insurance, customs fees and GST are all the owners
responsibility for both inbound and outbound items.
Insurance for the equipment on site is also an owners
responsibility/choice, however, the good news is that my home has been
removed from being within a bush fire prone zone.
Hosting fees are yet to be published.
-
Data retrieval - it is
preferred that users retrieve their data during daylight hours.
However, this condition will be reviewed once the National Broadband
Network is installed and operational.
-
Connection method - I
intend to create VPN tunnels via a TPLink VPN router. Users will
need to download and install the free RAdmin Viewer to gain access and
full control over the imaging PC and the equipment.
-
I
will keep access to imaging PCs that are part of a rented imaging
system, purely for troubleshooting. My access to PCs provided as
part of a hosted system will be at the discretion of the owner, but is
recommended for troubleshooting purposes.
-
Copyright and image usage. Data acquired by users on a rented
system belongs to that user. However, I may request the use of an
image to promote the site.
-
I will provide the
necessary back up power supply to close the roof in the event of a power
outage. Customers can choose as to whether they protect their
equipment from sudden power loss/surges by providing an Uninterruptable
Power Supply unit.
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