Alien 13

I wonder how much local factors come into play, for example I live about 2 miles from a city center but it lies 30 meters below me... Alan

Not sure how this works but I am supposed to be Bortle 6 but can easily see the Milky Way, in fact its so dark sometimes I cant even see my feet. Alan

Always fancied a Borg (not just 7) more than any other scope, something cool about the design.. Alan

I have had several print failures with some STL files just not working no matter what you do, the most annoying though is a filament tangle which rips the filament guide arm off the printer and breaks the filament holder too....There doesn't seem to be a commercial or printable sensor for this unlike filament breaks so will have to design/make one probably based on a spring loaded guide wheel and micro switch. Alan

I agree. Alan

Slightly off topic I noticed that you can also get "whitest white" and "mirror" paint, the white reflects 99.9% of visable light so could be handy for painting tripod feet etc so you dont trip over them in the dark.. Alan

The Moon, its different every time you view/image it.. Alan

The app for the star adventurer mini includes a polarscope align section... Alan

I am sure some critical items like the spider vanes and the focusser tube could be done. Alan

Thanks, I did mean the baffle tube but there is not a lot of room in there so its either the flocking material or maybe a rolled cylinder made from a cut up bear can painted with the special paint stuff. Alan

Nice, have thought about getting some of that paint for the focus tube of my Mak. maybe it will then transform into a "Questar" 😀 I imagine that paint would be brilliant for camera lens hoods too. Alan

I would point it at Betelgeuse or maybe Mercury as the planet that seems to be left out when we are exploring. Alan

Very nice, I like the Y too which is midway between the X and the bottom rim 😃 Alan

Might be worth looking out for a used Canon EOS-R, my Son got hold of one for a decent price. The camera is basically a mirrorless version of the 5D4 with some additional features such as a greater number of focus points and focus tools if using lenses like the Samyang. My Son uses an adapter for his Sigma ART lenses, the Samyang 135 f/2 and the old EOS L lens he has as well as the nice shiny R lens he recently bought. The only downside he mentioned was a bit of screen lag on fast moving objects and battery life.. Alan

I think that 3D printers are useful when you need a component that you cant buy, provided you make the item using the materials strength with additional components that negate any weaknesses then all is good. As an example my Ender 3 adjustable dampening feet.. The foam inserts have since been replaced with 38mm pads I got from Amazon. Alan

I have been using Tinkercad for a while now and although its limited I have not found a part I cannot make using it. Alan

I have found that 3D printing leads you into other hobbies, have been running mine almost 24/7 since I bought it making parts for audio mods/air rifle and pistols/the printer itself/ astro adapters/household items/cases for electronics etc and am into the fantasy figure models at the moment but will dabble in robotics soon so that not only can Alexa boil my kettle but bring me a coffee too 😀 Alan

I think its best to buy a decent white light torch and then paint the LED/front glass or even both with red nail varnish .. Alan

I would chose a DSLR over a fan cooled camera for the reasons listed below. Self contained, no need for a heavy power supply or a laptop. Bigger sensor. The argument over QE is less of an issue, my now old camera has a QE of 54 which is in the same ballpark as a lot of dedicated CMOS devices. Perfectly matched to camera lenses regarding inbuilt filters. Inbuilt focusing aids. Alan

Boot polish is fine if its similar to this... Another tip is a pair of these. Alan

4B pencil 😀 Alan

Nice setup. Apart from fitting strain gauges you could perhaps use one of them thin kitchen scales under each of the rear tripod legs in turn to check.. Alan

Not sure if this will work for you camera but the process for reducing hot pixels on Canon models is as follows. Remove lens and turn camera on.. In the menu screen select manual sensor clean (this opens the shutter and disables the sensor to prevent static damage). Wait one minute then turn camera off, then remove battery. It is important that you do not exit the menu screen when turning the camera off. Wait one minute then insert battery and turn camera back on. This process should effectively re-map the camera/sensor using the faulty pixel data. Alan

The wood PLA can be sanded like wood and although its still plastic it feels like wood to the touch, I used a wood stain to finish. Hardest thing about wood PLA is that needs to be printed at 180 degrees or lower if you can do that, I also found that the filament was very brittle straight out of its sealed pack but was fine after leaving the reel open for a few days. Alan P.S. My weapon of choice fror sanding printed bits are these...

Hot pixels are quite normal especially on a stretched dark frame, it would be useful if you could add some more info regarding the camera in use as some DSLRs for instance have a neat trick to "re-map" dead pixels. Alan