JamesF

There are some consequences of the whole B-thing that really wouldn't ever have occurred to me:

https://www.simpsonsseeds.co.uk/acatalog/Garlic.html

James

I think I might have to have a go at making one of these myself.

James

Ok, one more thing that seems odd, but if it's intentional then I can live with it...

In the activity stream in expanded mode, the font size used for the topic of a new thread is larger than that used for a thread that already has replies (20px vs 15px, from memory):

James

I've just noticed that in the activity stream the font size for the content (in the expanded view) is 14px whereas when viewing a thread it is 16px.  That feels a bit odd when switching between the two, but I shan't be crying into my tea over it.

James

3 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Font is quite small on desktop now

That's quite confusing.  Without the 90% zoom option that I'm using, I find the fonts too big.

James

2 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

I often see msitakes

You can even give it a test run on that one :D

James

Just now, wulfrun said:

Is it just me but where's the edit button gone? Being a pedantic so-and-so and a not-very-good typist I often see msitakes and go back to correct typos. Has it just moved or is it gone?

In the bar above your post (the bit that has your name in), there are  three dots.  Click on those and there's a menu that has "edit" as an option.

James

2 minutes ago, Grant said:

Despite what I said - some things were looking rather large so I have tweaked a little more, hopefully it's a bit more consistent now but if there is anything else people notice, please report but please post a screenshot so I know exactly which bit you mean.

That looks a bit more balanced for me at 100% zoom now.  I reckon I can go to 90% zoom and it should be pretty much ok.

James

3 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

I rarely use the mobile version, but am finding the desktop font sizing a bit much. Section and topic titles are a bit too big, reducing the number on screen without scrolling. I don't run the browser full screen and reducing zoom from 100% will make all other sites I use unreadable. Not using any customised views as I've never looked, just whatever the SGL default is when I open the site.

Yes, I've reduced the page to 80% zoom in Firefox and that works better for me for all the non-content stuff, but the content is now a teeny bit on the small side.

It looks like I can make the zoom site-specific though, so at least it won't affect other windows and tabs.

James

22 minutes ago, pete_l said:

This new look puts up a new notification (or whatever the jargon of the web software is) for each new post, rather than just listing which threads / topics have new stuff in. See screen capture.

This can't be right, it doesn't tell us enough to be useful and is just sending duplicate information that wastes screen space.

You mean the speech bubble and dot icons down the left hand side, Pete?  I have been trying to work out what purpose they serve myself.

James

Is it just me or do the fonts for the messages and notifications pop-ups seem excessively large?

James

23 minutes ago, GazOC said:

I'm sceptical how much matching actually happens with SCTs TBH

Me too.  It may have happened at one time, but I'm unconvinced it would be viewed as worthwhile for ones made using modern production methods.

I think it's highly unlikely that the OP's OTA is viable to repair.  If it isn't covered by insurance (or isn't worth claiming for) then I'd be tempted to mask off the damaged area (preferably with a curved edge to prevent diffraction spikes) and check collimation etc.  Assuming there's no other uncorrected damage it should be usable like that.

I see no reason why the camera wouldn't work still.  Perhaps it could be connected up off the OTA to see if it's ok?

My concern with the diagonal is that the mirror might have come loose.  If it isn't obviously damaged and doesn't rattle then I'd guess it's probably ok.

Not sure about the focuser.  Is it a Crayford, or rack and pinion?  With a Crayford it's perhaps possible that any slack can be adjusted out as long as the spindle and mating face are not damaged.  I'd be concerned about possible damage to the teeth of an R&P focuser, but again if there's no obvious damage then a bit of adjustment might sort it out.

Other than that it would be worth checking that the baffle tube is still correctly aligned with the secondary and hasn't bent.

James

Ah, right.  I wasn't aware of that problem.  I guess it must affect mounts older than mine then.

FLO have in the past had someone doing belt mods on the HEQ5 "while you wait" (at shows), I believe.  That might well just be on ones they're selling now though.  It could be worth dropping them an email to explain the situation and see if they are able to help in any case.  It may be that they can't, but there's no harm in asking...

James

And now it looks like it might not be clear for very long at all.  The hours of clear sky forecast after midnight are now all forecast to be cloudy.  The clear sky that was forecast now has not arrived.  We shall see what happens in between, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

James

There is a break in the cloud to my west, but it's not close enough yet.  I could see the Sun setting though.  I'd actually forgotten how beautifully blue the sky can be.

James

45 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Thought I might polish the Taks....

Do you have to hand them all over to the Taks man at the end of the month?

James

Ye gods!  We have a forecast for clear skies from midnight!  And I have a shed full of bits of shiny glass.  I feel sure the two are somehow connected, but I'll be damned if I can remember what's supposed to happen.

James

My garden is more slippery than an ice rink at the moment.  We have water standing on the ground even though we're on the side of a hill :(

I did however actually see some stars last night, which must be the first time in at least a month.  I stepped outside the back door and looked up at Ursa Major almost directly above my head.  And my face was covered by rain :(

I guess I should at least be grateful that "Storm Christoph" appears to have left us mostly alone.  The forecast was lots of yellow rain warnings and flooding, but we've not even had half an inch of rain so far this week.  Looking at the pictures on the news this morning others appear to have been hit pretty badly :(

James

I don't know if the libraw(?) issue is fixed yet.  I must check on that.  I skipped on the previous Ubuntu release because of a dependency clash between different versions of libraw meaning that INDI won't co-exist nicely with other software that uses the standard system version of libraw.

James

I don't see why that would be a problem.  Lots of us keep them outside all the time, either under a cover or in an observatory (which will hopefully be close to ambient temperature).

James

Not sure what you mean by "the older model".  Do you know roughly how old it is?

I bought mine in early 2013 and it wasn't a major problem to modify.  Sadly since I did so the weather has been so awful that I've had very little chance to use it.

James

Just checked with the ASI224MC that I happen to have on my desk at the moment.  It supports binning.

To add to the confusion, the ASI SDK also allows for cameras to use "hardware binning" (which is also supported by my ASI224MC), possibly suggesting that OSC binning can be done in firmware on the camera or in the SDK if it is not supported or turned off in the camera.  I don't know if there's any guarantee that exactly the same process will be followed in each case so that the same data coming off the sensor would result in the same image being returned to the user regardless of the binning method used.

James

5 hours ago, jacko61 said:

Does that hold true for one shot colour CMOS/CCD too ? e.g. ZWO ASI183MC pro? (or any other zwo 'MC' for that matter).

Some one-shot colour CMOS cameras do support "binning" and I'm pretty sure that ZWO's OSC cameras do, though it may be a process that happens in the driver software rather than on the camera itself.  I know there are interpretations of what binning means when you have an OSC image, but I'm far from certain that everyone agrees it means exactly the same thing.

For example, if you requested a binned image from two different manufacturers cameras with the same mono sensor, I think you could be reasonably sure that the same process would take place in each instance.  If you requested a binned image from, say, an Altair camera and a ZWO camera with the same OSC sensor, could you be sure that the same process had taken place for both?  I'm really not sure.

It may be the case that there's a single "most sensible" method for handling binning of OSC frames, but unless they show their working I'd not want to assume that all CMOS OSC camera manufacturers do that.

James

If you don't see it as a long-term hobby then it's not really a hobby.  You're just keeping stock :)

James

1 hour ago, domstar said:

Very nice. I was just watching Sherlock on Friday and a man was murdered because of his astronomical knowledge. He had a small reflector aimed at a skylight window. I had a hideous moment of self-awareness as I couldn't stop myself from talking over the episode to my less than interested partner. 

Is that "The Great Game"?  An outstanding episode.

James