Physopto

At least someone has read the post 🧐?..........I hope !

It is hard to tell if those it is aimed at are actually reading and digesting the message at times. Rather than skimming through bland white script and possibly missing the important bits.

As some one has said Unprecedented Times

Derek

Ok Folks,

Here is the latest update on the:

2020 Autumn Drumroamin Premier Scottish Star Camp.

I have just had a telephone conversation with Lesley Shell the site owner.

The situation at present and I stress, present, is that approximately 18 of the camp site pitches have been taken.

Lesley thinks that if The Scottish Government allows her to open the site up to visitors, that she will have to allow a fairly large spacing between caravans and tents of around one empty pitch.

This will reduce the available pitches to around 25 in total.

At present there are about 7 pitches left to book.

Bookings are  strictly on a first come first get basis!

Having said this, please feel free to ring Lesley up and book pitches that may become available,

if an Covid19 restrictions are even further lifted,

or if someone drops out!

(Please if you cannot attend for any reason let Lesley know ASAP. The pitch then becomes open to the next in line.)

I know that there are some weather watchers out there and cancel pitches at short notice, this affects us all.

If it keeps happening our special arrangement with the site owner may be cancelled.

Lesley very kindly keeps these Star Camp weeks completely free from normal none astronomy visitors for our benefit!

i.e. dark site rules for us to enjoy the skies and less chance of the possible nefarious activities by some of the general public.

Lesley cannot keep losing money each time the weather changes for the worse.

And, don't forget even in poor weather we usually have a great Star Camp with plenty of good and pleasant company. ( Whisky/ey)

It must be remembered that we are still 5 months away from the start of the Star Camp.

A lot can change during this period!

So I am proceeding on the hopeful assumption that we will have:-

The Scottish Star Camp under pristine skies and of course a Pie and Peas Night !

Small print:-

(Subject of course to the "Dual Purpose Dobsonian Pie Measuring Device," being available!)

🤣

So in conclusion if you want to be sure of a place when the Star Camp does get the go ahead,

BOOK EARLY, BOOK NOW!

Be safe, Be well,

Derek

4 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

I’m considering hiring a small camper van/motor home for this. Just a bit worried about losing the deposit should it not go ahead. I’m wondering if I paid the deposit with a credit card, would the deposit be covered or would we have to continue with the hire and live on the local field for a week??

That is something you will have to discuss with the place you hire the van from. At present no one can know what will happen in the future with this Covid pandemic. At present there is still a long way to go before the Star Camp  starts. So all  we can do is await further developements and hope for the best.

Derek

1 hour ago, mapstar said:

Ahhh the peace and tranquility that is Galloway star camp. Rest and relaxation 

Only when Mike and me ain't there 🤣

Just a reminder for everyone 😃

11 hours ago, AstroRuz said:

Definitely interested in this. Missed it last year, think I'll start accruing the necessary camping gear and funds and cross about everything finger and toe going that the weather and Rhona situation is all good

We hope to see you at the camp site. (I am editing this as I was attempting to answer you on my phone last night.)

So anyway, I am sure you will not regret attending the Star Camp as we are a friendly crowd. As many can and will attest, the skies are awe inspiring at Drumroamin and it is a very dark area with wide open vistas.

Just be sure that if camping you bring cold weather gear and good boots. You will need a really good tent capable of withstanding bad weather and wind. Don't let this warning put you off. We can go from wind and rain/snow to perfect conditions in a few hours . My first camp there I attended late on just as everyone was leaving. It blew a hoolie. But !  Everyone else had several perfect nights to view/image. The next time we had 7 straight perfect dark nights with fantastically clear night long viewing.

Nobody can control the British weather. 🤣

Derek

14 hours ago, gliese said:

Hi all, apologies for my ignorance here, but how do I go about booking for the Star Camp (if it can go ahead)? 

I'm a keen stargazer, but due to other commitments just haven't had time to delve in as much as I'd like.  I have just finished my degree in astronomy and planetary science and will hopefully start teaching physics come August pending my final pass.  Would love to make this my first real astronomy event with my poor neglected telescope!

If you read further back you will see all you have to do to attend the Star Camp, is to ring Lesley at the Drumroamin camp site and book with her. It can't be done any other way. I hope to see you at the Star Camp all being well. I am sure you will like the atmosphere and good company. There is a wealth of help and information available from those attending to help you out on most practice levels. I am still hopeful that we will have a Star Camp 😃

Derek

Welcome to SGL. It is always difficult to buy your first scope because there are so many options out there. I hope you get to enjoy your choice.

Derek

I have the SX AO unit. It works fine. I have used it on my NEQ 6, on my EQ8 and on my GM1000. Once set up correctly it tilts the glass until a set point then bumps the mount, resets to centre position starts again. Stars are well controlled. But I have to admit  it can be a pain in the butt to get working until you understand it properly.

I have found by trial it is certainly not needed with the GM1000. In fact possibly makes things slightly more less focussed to the eye. I hasten to say this was tested with both my WO 132 and Tak 85mm on that mount.

It works as Sara has said with Maxim, but I found that if it even clouded overslightly and it lost sight of the guide star, it would send the mount off on a hunt, ruining the sub.  I did get PhD working and that was much better. But by that time I was moving on to the 10 Micron.

There are too many people who actually have not used an AO unit and who make uninformed judgements. I am not blaming anyone as discussions are a good method of discovering the truth. But one person's pain in the rear may not be another's.

The AO unit is expensive and not everyone's cup of tea. To be brutally honest I don,t think I would buy it again, but only because I bought the 10 Micron mount.

Derek

On 05/05/2020 at 16:10, estwing said:

Just bring a big dob....nobody wants to get near one of those.

Yes I nearly missed an opportunity here. I meant to say better than BARBED WIRE !!! 😈

He He.🤣

Derek

6 hours ago, callisto said:

Hi there,

Don't know if here is the right place for this question (mainly for Mod's).........Can I sell Meteorites on the for sale section?

I am "thinning " out my collection which I have obtained from authentic dealers from the UK (SpacerocksUK/MSG Meteorites) but just wondered if I can put them up for sale on here in the near future?

Thanks,

Mark

Space junk !

🤣

Derek

3 hours ago, petevasey said:

That's a great find Derek!  Incredibly versatile.  Thanks for the heads up.

Alas, it doesn't get rid of the clouds 😉

Cheers,

Peter

Well I try 🤣

D

Hi and welcome. Don't worry too much as to what others post about your scope. As you say you are just starting. It will be a steep learning curve anyway so take your time and just enjoy what you have at present. In time you may really catch the disease, that is when you will really decide whether it is worth either upgrading or not.

Just have fun 😃

Derek

54 minutes ago, Merlin66 said:

To ensure minimal hassles with power.....

For the past ten years or so I've used a 120W car laptop convertor - 12V to 15V to power both my HEQ5pro and NEQ6pro mounts.

 

I reckon you are always better off using a 12 volt power source rather than 240 volt. Trouble is the maintenance on batteries and costs involved. Not every one can either afford it or be bothered with the hassle. To be honest if stuck with 240 volt, as long as you always use an RCD (and TEST it each time) you should be OK.

Derek

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/nevada-ps-08-6a-8a-regulated-linear-power-supply.html

Best option of those suggested I think. A stabilized out put of 13.6 volt output at up to 8 amps.

Derek

I agree with what others have said, in that there is a lower limit for voltage and  amperage supplied to these mounts.

Note : The LED may not flicker, but may be on the verge of that condition. 2 amps is far too low. I would try a separate supply capable of say 5 amps at 12 volts (minimum voltage at the mount not supply). 13.6  volts would be better. Don't forget that there will be a voltage drop over the cable to the mount as well under load. So the mount may not be even getting that voltage stated.

If the voltage drops to say below 12 volts all that happens is the mount still tries to draw the same power.

So 12 volts at 2 amps is 24 watts absolute minimum needed for stable working.

Therefore 24 watts but at say 11.5 volts then tries to draw 24/11.5 = 2.09 amps ,the happens same at 11 volts  the draw will be around 2.2 amps.  10.5 volts the draw will be approx 2.29 amps. It only needs to happen for an instant to cause a problem!

Instantaneous spikes in the power drawn by the mount could be the reason for your random problems.

One further note of REAL interest to anyone using such a low rated supply. That is the internal circuitry of these mount boards can burn out because they are not rated for the higher current draw.

A very costly business in the end.

The moral is buy better supply to be sure of supply capabilities. Never use the least capable supply use better.

Derek

If I do have a problem, try this. 

I have an old light bag that I used to use to change out film from my cameras. It was used many times in the past to take out partially used 35mm cassettes from the camera and put in different ISO films  for different lighting conditions  The part used cassette could then be boxed up until needed later on and reinserted under the same conditions. If you don't know about these old ideas, the bag consisted of a double layer of dark light proof material. It had a zip bottom and two light cuffs. By that I mean it looked a bit like a black T shirt. Having  two arm holes with the zipped bit at the bottom(waist).  The arm holes were very tight as they used elastic to crunch them onto your arms. So you placed your hands into the bag through the arm holes  i.e. the  wrong way around so you could work on the camera inside the bag.

Anyway I used that old bag around the CCD camera and fitted two waste pipes into the arm holes. One pointing up the other down. That allows air flow for the ccd cooling. Doing this allows dark frames at any time of day without much  chance if any  of light leakage.

Very old idea but works if done carefully. Just paint the pipes black.

Derek

33 minutes ago, JamesF said:

 

My recollection is that there is a bit of distortion towards the edges of the frame which can be improved by stopping the camera down a little. 

James

You can also use DxO PhotoLab 3 to remove distortion in photographs. There are several modules for just about nearly all lenses you may ever own what ever the camera !

BUT at some considerable cost !

Derek

Surely that means the filter wheel is not fit for purpose ! Atik should be ashamed to produce such a device and such a well known name as well.

Derek

I was told some years ago that "some", repeat "some" EF-s lenses do fit full frame Canon cameras such as the 5D I have. BUT I never tested it out as I did not require any more than I had. I believe the rear lens of the EF-s type can foul the flip mirror on a full frame camera. I expect some one will tell me if this is still true. BUT caution was advised at the time I was told this.

Derek

Hi All,

Just came across a web site for drones and other types of flight weather detail.

It is extremely detailed in information and could be of some extended use to us all.

Called: -  Windy.com

Give it a  go as it has loads of info on weather, detailed road maps, wind speeds, visibility, cloud bases (lower intermediate and higher) radar, and loads more, still finding more and more!

You could even go for the paid version at around 19 euro/year if you want. I am debating that one with myself.

I hope this proves to be a useful site for you all.

Keep safe,

Derek

Welcome to the forum 😃

Saw this post too late and missed it all. Have to watch on BBC iPlayer or whatever it is called.

Better use a grinder to cut through the nut and bolt whilst it is re-tightened  to stop it rotating. This will protect the fibreglass dome from being damaged.

OR, you could try to cut the domed head off very carefully so as not to damage the dome finish.

Next  idea is to re-tighten the bolt and cut through only the bolt protruding past the nut. Then soak in WD40 for a while to allow proper penetration. BUT there is still the  possibility to do some damage to the dome.

There is one last possibility and that is to slip a metal shim behind the domed bolt head then use Mole grips to hold the domed bolt head very tightly. With a liberal coating of WD40 and cutting off the unused bolt it may be possible to undo the nut a bit re-tighten and keep doing that until the nut comes off.

I am ruling out any form of heating as the damage to the dome can be catastrophic.

There is one last possible method and that is to centre punch the domed head in the middle. Followed by drilling a small pilot hole in about 1/4" deep. Then use a drill the same out side diameter as the bolt and drill through the dome. The bolt should just fall off the head.

Best of luck.

Derek

Hi Everyone.

I have just spoken to Lesley at length.

The Scottish Government is unlikely to end restrictions before next month. When exactly, we do not know.

Lesley is unable to open the site at least until some time in June.

Even then, due to severe restrictions she may not be able to do so as the shower block may have to remain closed until a  much later date. Therefore these severe restrictions may make it impossible to open with anything like normal business.

So at present no good news I am afraid.

But Lesley is taking tentative bookings from people wishing to chance it if the site is allowed to open to the general public.

Our Star Camp dates are protected especially/specifically for our use ! No general public allowed during that week.

The Star Camp is still a fair way off, so please be sure to set aside those dates and hope for the best.

As before make sure you book directly with Lesley and do not try to book on line !

On the brighter side the weather looks good at present and the site is in excellent condition.

We all live in hope.

Keep well,

Derek

P.S.

Lesley has no problems with anyone using a drone on the site as long as it is directly over the site, follows the CAA regulations on distance and height restrictions concerning people, houses / property and our own astronomical  gear.

They must not be flown over adjacent farmers fields at low altitude which may cause problems with livestock.

i.e. just be sensible 😃

#  You will be responsible for any and all damage caused by a drone so insurance is advisable!!  #