Wyvern

Hi Ron, Yep, +1 to the Startech units. Les

I know.!!!!!!...... flying in the face of convention, or should that be "construction"? Seriously though, there was method to my madness. Available "storage holes" all around the mount. I find I'm usually either at the door side of obsy by the controlling laptop, (from where the photo was taken), or parked on the visible seat so storage holes are nice and close to hand. The hole in the bottom block neatly holds the Nevada Power Transformer, purchased from Jkulin some months back, with the output cabling coming up and out from a side I don't frequent so little chance of accidentally snagging cables in the dark. I rest my case! Regards, Les

+1 to the "Todmorden Pier". So simple....... so do it! Les.

After a rather long equipment "downtime" on my Graves setup, I got the new 2m Moxon ariel up and talking to SDR#. The software then does it's stuff and is left running on the laptop overnight until I get up and remember to switch things off. A screen grabber is set up to automatically catch the screen display every 20 seconds, and I then wade through the grabs with the good old Mk 1 eyeballs to count up the meteor "pings". My counts and events line graph are below for the Eta Aquarid maximum and of course, the other minor showers and sporadics around. Anyone else get something similar? Regards, Les

Agree with Beulah's comments on sites around the Elan. Word of caution regarding the Teifi Pools site though. The "road" out to the site is quite narrow and "challenging" in places. I'd strongly advise a trip along it in daytime to avoid surprises at night.......... Even knowing the road, I was still having to be careful driving along it whilst doing the SQM readings for the Elan for their IDA application process. Les

Hi Dan, Interesting results on the 20p coin paint coverage. Just one small question....... is defacing the Queen still considered as a treasonable act? ? No sweat, we'll all come and visit you in the Tower! ? Seriously, good info! Les

Managed this shot - compressed and resized for here - on the 25th Feb. To say I was "underwhelmed" would be an understatement.!!! Les

+1 to what Peter says, and check info on link below. Similar problem and answer methinks. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/331559-enabling-opengl-on-windows-7-laptop/ Regards, Les

Last Iwamoto shot from imaging session on Tuesday, with frame size at approx 72'x 52' arc. Comet gliding through the starfields of Auriga in the following days, so this is why the weather went pear-shaped! Les

Chris, Go to Stellarium web site and download the current user guide 0.18.3-1 at top right. http://stellarium.org/en_GB/ Section 2.4 describes running Stellarium under OpenGL, Angle and MESA modes. After installing Stellarium, Go to Start menu and, if memory is correct, ( because I deleted to options I didn't need!), you'll see a couple of "start" options listed. (GL, Angle and MESA). Run each in turn to see which works best for your setup and then just create a shortcut to launch that particular option of Stellarium. My Toshiba laptop running Win 7 64bit runs under the Angle mode quite happily. Regards,Les

And not forgetting that eyepieces bounce better on rubber or carpeted floor.............. Trust me, it'll happen. Les

Hi, For what their worth, here are six shots I managed on the evening of the 14th Feb. Bright moonlight was a pain, managing to shine into the focus tube assembly. One of Wife's large potting trays suddenly gained a new and important use as an impromptu "moon shade". Les.

Stellarium shows it to be nicely placed nr Regulus, almost due S at Midnight. Predicted mag is around 10th, but we all know how reliable comets are on the magnitude front, don't we !!!! Now just need the clear skies to go with it! Fingers crossed. Les

Cheers for that "heads up". Good, easy read so far. Many thanks Les

Interesting that no one's picked up on these beasts! Maybe it's just me that has a hatred of these cheap and potentially lethal - to your eye at least - "solar filters" that screw into the eyepiece of 1.25 inch ep's. A number of cheap "starter telescopes" often feature a "Sun filter" and "moon filter" as accessories with their scopes to make them more "attractive" to potential purchasers. While the moon filter will be of some use at times in the Lunar cycle and cut down glare, just think for a moment where the filter is actually placed in the focal path. Yep, almost at the exact point where all the light and heat is brought to a focus. Given time, the "solar filter", having gone through periods of heating (expansion of filter material) and cooling back to ambient storage temperature (contraction of filter material), will suddenly and without any warning crack and fail, leaving your now unprotected eye ready to instantly lose its sight having had the "benefit" of all the aperture and magnification capacity that your telescope can supply. If anyone has one of these "solar filters" with a telescope, please, for your own safety and peace of mind throw it away - after beating it senseless with a hammer - and follow the safe and sensible options presented in the posts above. Thanks,.......... getting off my soapbox now!!! Les