L8-Nite

Hi Gil, The only thing I miss is the Central coast weather and the observing opportunities I took for granted. However, we swapped them for pure water, clean air, a slower pace of life and "real" whipped cream in the dairy products; you can almost hear your arteries hardening, lol. I use to play guitar and base at a very limited level, but have given up due to the arthritis in my hands. Still have a few instruments, including a Stingray & Guild Pilot bass. Stargazers Lounge is a great forum, with some very knowledgeable members more than willing to help. You have found a good place to be. Welcome aboard. .

Hello and welcome from across the pond.

Hello Ross, And Welcome from me too. As Pat says, its been slow, and I've been out of the loop for awhile now; but most of us still seem to be active on the general forum. This plague has changed the whole fabric of life, but fortunately we have a hobby that's the least affected and can always enjoy it at home. It will be nice to catch up with familiar faces and meet other kindred Observers, and hopefully, that will be sooner than later. I'm confident that other members in the group will chime in soon. Hang in there, this group is still alive and kicking.

We are in the Rhondda Cynon Taf lockdown, so highly unlikely to be able to travel. Look forward to catching up with you all again if and when possible. Cheers, Mike & Dorothy

Mine too. My parents moved away back in the 1950's when I was a child, but I came back, liked it here, and bought a home to retire to.

Rhondda Valley.

On top of the mountain overlooking the valley where we currently live. .

Prior to 2009, I had two telescopes during the previous 35 or so years. Then I discovered Astronomy forums, and my wallet started to get lighter. Fortunately I was able to restrain the outflow after retiring the old guard and acquiring five replacements over time. All things considered, two telescopes would be satisfactory for my needs.

As I understand, politics are not allowed here, so acquire what you want !

Got to have spares scopes for parts. Only trouble is, these scopes never fail.

This is a very good nightly guide on what you can expect to view on the moon with different scopes.

I would like to suggest an extraordinary book which you and your 7 year old can learn the night sky together through a simple step by step visual guide to picture images that will "stick" in your mind, then you both can go outside at night and be able to find them amongst the myriad of background stars. The book is called " Stikky Night Skies " ISBN 1-932974-01-6 by Laurence Holt Books.

Hello Jarvo, My condolences to you and your family. If you are not in a hurry, consider looking for an older " Tiltall #4602 " professional model tripod manufactured by the C.D. Marchioni company. These tripods seem to be under the radar and can still be found for reasonable prices. They are superbly built to a very high standard. I have one that has been in my family for over fifty years and I wouldn't change it for anything similar on the market today. The tripod has been perfect for use with both our 89mm & 127mm Maksutov telescopes and the respective mounts. Here are some photos. .

Over the past few days the Postman brought a vintage phase contrast compound Microscope and a variety of related consumables. A companion scope to the stereo Microscope, for those cloudy & rainy nights.

The dimmer takes the brightness down to that of an ember.

Made up this extension light with a dimmer switch to use in our caravan awning.

Interesting, I haven't seen that application used before. Would definitely want it hot dip galvanized prior to a mount being attached.

Yes, I also use a heavy duty Manfrotto tripod, a video camera tripod; got it at a flea market for £18.oo, about $22.oo equivalent at the time. Use it mostly for our 127mm Intes-Micro scope.

I observe as often as I can, but sure do miss the many fabulous clear nights I took for granted at our overseas home.

Overseas I acquired a portable Voting Booth from a salvage yard. It made a great field desk for observing, and simply folded away into suitcase form. My only modification was to shorten the legs from standing height to chair height by using a tube cutter.

Here is a simple Solar Viewing Screen for a refractor which can be made at basically no cost. All that's required is one of the ends of a cardboard notebook cover, a piece of scrap plastic pipe which fits into your finder holder, a suitable cork, and a wood screw. Simply jam the cork into one end of the plastic pipe and screw the cardboard onto the cork, then slide the length of the pipe in the finder holder to adjust the projected image.

Yeah, I agree with you on hobby specific items. One of the biggest ripoff's are the thumb screw knobs for collimation. They are just socket head cap screws with a plastic squeeze on head, costing only pennies each. ( here's a photo) The old saying...…. you pay for what you don't know. Another option to create collimation thumb screws is to acquire several automotive or bicycle "Tire Valve Caps", and epoxy them on to the heads of your existing collimation screws. It would be interesting to see photos of your light shield.

I found a quality replacement for a missing objective cover. My wife bought a few candles at an Aldi or Lidl shop awhile back, which I noticed came with chrome plated metal cap's lined with a silicone seal. One of them happened to be a perfect fit for the small refractor we have. The candles with cap's come in several diameters and are regularly available in the shops.

A canoeing dry bag can make an excellent low cost alternative as a cover for small scopes.

It would be interesting to learn what items others have adapted to be useful in our hobby. We needed a case for our Telementor-1 model refractor, so when I spotted this snow ski case at a charity shop I could see the potential for a robust storage and transport case. It was a simple matter to cut a foam liner from a spare sleeping bag pad, and a couple of blocks of closed cell foam from some scrap pieces I had. Just a few minutes was all it took to repurpose the rugged plastic container into a fine telescope case for storage or transportation. Colour choice was not an option, but my Wife likes it. So, what Non Astronomy item's have you adapted to enhance your enjoyment or make observing easier ?