Our Managed Hosting - What's it all about?
Gold Managed Hosting
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All equipment must be tested as a working setup capable of remote imaging before being sent to us & must meet certain standards for remote installations
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Autonomy - you get control over everything from start to finish
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Maintenance is charged at €30 per hour with a €15 minimum charge
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Some users may feel more involved with this option and yes we get that, however in our experience most imagers set their equipment running at the start of the night using a "remote desktop" application then leave it running!
All Hosting contracts are 12 months payable on a monthly basis
Telescope - Your Choice as long as it fits the space around the pier and has a robust repeatable automated focusing system
Mount - Mounts with Homing - Paramount, Ioptron, JTW ZWO AM5, EQ8
Mounts with Encoders - 10 Micron, Paramount, ASA Planewave, Skywatcher EQ8R Ioptron EC2
Camera ETC - Camera, Focuser, Guider, OAG, Filters and Filter wheel if used, Dew-bands. Pegasus Ultimate or similar hub with Power switching, Dew-Control & USB
PC ETC - A quality Mini PC like a Mele, Beelink or similar, this can be installed on the side of the pier or on top of the Telescope depending upon size & Rackmount UPS
Optional Extras - These items are not dealbreakers, but they are 100% worth considering as they are very useful devices to have when working remotely!
KVM - For remote PC Bios control, rebooting & Recovery
NAS Storage - A Rack Mounted NAS Drive for Data Backup in case of mishap
Software - All software for imaging and mount control plus a remote Access program like Any Desk VNC TeamViewer or similar
Cloud Data Storage - You need to subscribe to something like Google Drive or a similar cloud based package for uploading of your Data
Cables & Power - Good quality USB & Power interconnect cables, we can supply for you at a reasonable charge if needed
Insurance - We strongly recommend that you take out specialist remote telescope insurance. Your equipment fitted in our observatory is only covered for Fire & theft on our insurance policy
Observatory Roof & weather - We supply the location, skies & a dedicated building, Pier with full weather safeties and the shared 1 line weather file & a fast internet connection obviously :)
Cabinet & Control Equipment - Compact 19" Rack Cabinet for worry free control of your equipment, Rack mount 4 port IP Based Relay switching for 240v & 12v Gigabyte Network Switch, We also supply the power cables from the cabinet up to your Mount, PC & Hub Power (we do not supply the power supplies themselves for your PC & Mount, just the cables up to them)
Private Internet Access to your equipment - Private Remote internet access to your equipment with up to 5 ports, Roboscopes will only turn on access if we need it for periods of customer requested maintenance
Installation - We install your equipment for you and commission it, average cost is €300-500 *Plus any Travel/accommodation expenses*
*Unless you arrange your installation to coincide with one of our scheduled maintenance trips
Maintenance - Maintenance for equipment faults or issues is charged at €30 per hour with a €15 minimum charge
Insurance - We have roof and door monitors, on site CCTV & a perimeter fence with IR beam, our insurance covers fire and theft but not accidental damage or force majeure. We strongly recommend that you take out specialist telescope insurance.
Platinum Managed Hosting
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The option to hire from Roboscopes your Telescopes, Cameras & Mounts as part of your hosting package
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More time to process images
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I will say time once again as it is your greatest enemy, it can take many months for a first time installer to arrange all this yourself, get the installation to a standard where it is reliable every night. We know of some people that still struggle after almost 2 years
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No extra outlay for software or any instalation & control equipment, this alone can run into many thousands of Euros if you do it yourself
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No need to worry about the complexity of running a remote IP based installation with all the required reliability. Learning the complex scripting languages required for remote imaging - Ensuring you are collecting data whenever possible :)
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Powerful Image acquisition software combined with our knowledge so you are acquiring data whenever possible.
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Imaging portal area to place jobs and keep track of acquisition progess and a Help desk for queries etc
Proven reliable company with a track record in running remote installations
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Zero gremlins - that’s our job to deal with and get your system up and running without an average person’s countless revisits to iron out unforeseen issues
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Access to a Private Discord forum & Telegram comms section, so you are always upto speed!
All Hosting contracts are 12 months payable on a monthly basis
Who's Equipment? - You can take advantage of one of our competitively priced equipment rental packages or supply your own equipment
Telescope - We have spaces for standard, Medium & large Telescopes
Mount - Mounts with Homing - Paramount, Ioptron, JTW ZWO AM5, EQ8
Mounts with Encoders - 10 Micron, Paramount, ASA Planewave, Skywatcher EQ8R Ioptron EC2
Camera ETC - Camera, Focuser, Guider, OAG, Filters and Filter wheel if used. In essence the whole imaging rig
Cables & Power - Good quality USB & Power interconnect cables, we can supply for you at a reasonable charge if needed
Insurance - We strongly recommend that you take out specialist remote telescope insurance. Your equipment fitted in our observatory is only covered for Fire & theft on our insurance policy
PC & telescope control software - A High Grade Mini PC with mounting system, extra USB's & RS232 connection, including all required telescope control software. Plus 80Tb of combined NAS backup space & our Google Drive Storage
Hardware Control - Mount Hub Pro V4 - A robust solution for equipment power switching, peripheral USB's & Dew control
Cabinet & Control Equipment - Compact 19" Rack Cabinet for worry free control of your equipment, Rack mount IP Based Relay switching, 12v power supply, Gigabyte Network Switch, UPS
Camera ETC - Camera, Focuser, Guider, OAG, Filters and Filter wheel if used. In essence, the whole imaging rig
Observatory Roof & Weather - We supply the location, skies & a dedicated building with full weather safeties
Installation - We install your equipment for you and commission it, average cost is €300-500 *Plus any Travel/accommodation expenses*
*Unless you arrange your installation to coincide with one of our scheduled maintenance trips
Maintenance - Maintenance for equipment faults or issues is charged at €30 per hour with a €15 minimum charge
Insurance - We have roof and door monitors, on site CCTV & a perimeter fence with IR beam, our insurance covers fire and theft but not accidental damage or force majeure. We strongly recommend that you take out specialist telescope insurance.
Gold Hosting
€300 pm - Standard Installation
€350 pm - Medium Installation
€POA pm - Large Installation
€350 pm - Medium Installation
€POA pm - Large Installation
Platinum Hosting
€400 pm - Standard Installation
€450 pm - Medium Installation
€POA pm - Large Installation
€450 pm - Medium Installation
€POA pm - Large Installation
Equipment rental available from €100 per month
Standard
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Up to 4" F/7 Refractor
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Up to 8" RC
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Up to 6" Newtonian
Medium
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Up to 6" F/7 Refractor
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Up to 12"F/8 RC ODK etc
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Up to 12" F/4 Newtonian
Large
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Over 6" F/7 Refractor
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Over 12"F/8 RC ODK etc
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Over 12" F/4 Newtonian
Roboscopes do both Gold and Platinum options because some users want to control their own equipment whilst others don't
We think it's a personal decision with no right or wrong answers, it's down to the individual user to decide what suits their needs and imaging goals best. After all, getting the most out of your hobby/passion is what we all want, right?
We have simply made a list for both options, so potential customers can make an informed choice. Far better than get into a hosting package that has ramifications they were not aware before undertaking your remote imaging dream.