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Wind

How much wind can the dome withstand when unsecured in use? It's pretty windy where we live and if I could only use the dome in calm weather, it would get little use. With gusts to 40 mph, it gets pretty rock-and-roll in the dome.

6 comments

6 Comments

Marc Buie

May 24, 2024

My dome, purchased in 2021, is not safe against the wind. I do not trust it with wind speeds above 30 mph. In those cases I have added internal straps to hold the dome down from the inside. This means a full-remote system is not possible. I have to go out to the dome to remove the straps before starting an observing session. This protocol saved me a couple of months ago. There were sustained winds at around 55 mph, gusts to 65. The dome was unseated during the wind event but the straps prevented a catastrophic loss. In this storm, the door blew open and sustained some damage. Now I have one extra strap on the outside that ties the door to the deck via the latch.

Mike Miller

May 25, 2024

Replying to

I’m sorry to hear that Marc. Here on the Oregon coast ..it’s a normal storm to get gusts up to 50 to 60 mph gusts. I have the simple straps to hold down my dome. And I keep the door locked at all times. However I’m not out in it in these times as it’s cloudy and raining. We get over 70 inch’s a year. The dome is increadably waterproof.. except for the door which I fixed by installing a irrigation hose into the door seal and installed the awning. That helped immensely. Your dome must be located out in the open to get that kind of wind force. .. I thought ours was bad. I’m generally in mine observing when it’s clear out. We have zero light pollution so it’s really clear at night weather permitting. Have you tried more rubber hold downs inside? Perhaps a few wind Blocks .. fencing or low bushes would help stop the wind from causing damage. Good luck.

Mike Miller

Apr 22, 2024

I live on the Oregon coast. Nexdome can withstand 60 mph gusts with no problem.

Rodney A Michael

Feb 13, 2022

This evening I gained a bit more confidence with my NexDome. I was observing for about an hour with winds at 40mph, pretty steadily. A lot of creaking in the highest winds, but, as I looked around at the dome/wall interface, everything seemed pretty solid. The dome slit was faced diagonally opposite from NNW winds. I don't feel confident enough to face the slit into winds much over 20mph.

Sig Jaastad

Jan 24, 2022

Rodney,

Thanks for the feedback on your wind experience. Dome rotation would be nice but all of the comments I've read have led me to the conclusion I can perhaps wait with that modification. I don't think I'll even consider a motorized shutter. One bay was enough of a challenge for me. I can't imagine the fun of installing 4. I had to reinstall all of my anchors due to careless work on my part - my problem, not NexDomes.

Rodney A Michael

Jan 24, 2022

Whereas I seemed to be able to use my SkyShed POD in any wind, up to 70 or 80 mph, I am still a bit nervous in the NexDome. I have had my NexDome up and running since late September in western South Dakota. It can get pretty windy here also. I have used the NexDome in winds gusting to 35 or 40mph. While I would not describe it as "rock & roll," I do find myself a bit nervous. I have been careful not to face the open shutter into winds more than about 20 to 25mph.

Wind concerns aside, it has been wonderful, with synchronized dome rotation, not to have to go out in sub-freezing temperatures to adjust the position of the dome relative to the telescope and my target. It's also great to finally be able to observe at zenith.

My biggest complaint with the NexDome is the extreme difficulty in getting it together and working as advertised. I am an engineer by training, my brother is an engineer by training, my friend Mike's brother is an engineer by training, and my brother-in-law is a senior heavy mechanic. It took all of us working together over 2-months to assemble the NexDome.

I think that, especially with 4-bays, assembly and circularization, is very problematic and perhaps impossible. My dome works about 97% as advertised in terms of rotation and that's because circularization is pretty much impossible with 4-bays.

And I felt as though I were an "alpha-tester" with the 2021 shutter tracks. It took 4-sets of tracks (2 aluminum and 2 plastic) and some of my own dome customization to get the motorized shutter to work properly and reliably.

CS, Rod