Astro Cart - A Mobile Computer Desk for the Driveway
Date: August 5, 2021
My Self-Built Astro Cart and Computer Desk. This goes out with me each night I am catching photons!
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Soon after I began doing astrophotography, I realized that I needed to find ways to streamline my driveway setup routine. I was carrying a lot of “Stuff” and setting it up on a folding table.
Then I had an idea - why not make a small computer desk on wheels - one with storage - and I could keep all of the stuff together and wheel it all out to the driveway in one shot. Once set up - the cart would become my outdoor computer table. I found a reasonably inexpensive metal cart at my local Harbor Freight Store.
This is the actual cart that I bought. I was not overly expensive and formed just the right foundation for the project.
I assembled it and then took an old piece of oak veneered plywood and cut it to the size I wanted for the desktop. I screwed a 2x4 into the back of the top bin with wood screws and then attached the plywood with a piano hinge and curved piano-seat style supports. The latter acted to 1) keep the desktop open when I wanted to get in there, 2) let the top drop-down slowly when released.
Wth the desktop raised, you can see the 2x4 at the back and I used piano hinges and closers to assemble things.
Once this was done I did few more things to finish off the project:
I sanded the top and sealed it with a flat varnish finish
I put rubber tool sheets cut to the size of each "shelf” for the cart.
I mounted a power strip on the back. I have one power cord running from the garage and power everything from that power strip.
I mounted a 12V 30amp power supply on the bottom shelf - I run cables from these to two of the main scopes to power everything,
I mounted a pan and tilt security camera onto the top of the desk. This allows me to watch (and even listen) to the scopes from inside the house.
The project was easy to put together and has been a huge help when I step up for a night of Astrophotography. When I first built it, I was running only one scope. But currently, I am running three scopes and this plays an even more important role than before.
