RE: [ATM] Stone observatory foundation?

["mbyorick" <mbyorick@starband.net>]

Might I suggest, for your roll-off roof track, to use 'half-pipe' made
from ~1" PVC pipe cut in half lengthwise (with a table saw and a thin
masonry-cutting blade).  Caster wheels, attached to the roof, run in the
tracks.  PVC is obviously cheaper than steel, won't rust, much easier to
cut & drill, etc...  I came up with the idea three years ago, and my 9'x
8' roof (on PVC tracks) still rolls off with one hand, and has resisted
all attempts (by the particularly vicious local wind) to dislodge the
roof laterally from the tracks.  

The roof, which overhangs the sides about 4" (for ventilation), is
painted with white acrylic (roofing!) paint, which keeps the interior to
within about 3 degrees of ambient (even in the New Mexico sun).  A
carpet & pad placed over the concrete floor also helps mitigate
temperature differential-induced drafts (and has saved at least two
eyepieces, so far).

Mike Byorick 
SW New Mexico

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