damnut

Thats a jolly nice set of EP's. Congrats.

Requires licence and still regulated, un-regulated cb used to occupy  frequencies around the 10m band. You could on 20w at night achieve long distances. The 27Mhz range is full of rc and regulated fm cb. The 10m band Is also one of the easiest frequencies to produce homebrew (user made) kit.

One of the best frequencies for local c25Miles contact is 144Mhz, though with cross band repeating you can achieve distances. There are other methods to  achieve distance, but the geekdom goes up a notch! ..(trop-e, trans-p...)

The advent of quality mobile phones on unlimited minutes and texts have just about killed it ! The skill in talking to someone on the other side of the world using a few watts erp is being lost.

In order to accomplish the above, you would need each person to have completed basic license test, a couple of hundred quids worth of radio transceiver, aerial and cables. All on the same frequency, all operating within licence conditions  ... Conference call on your mobile....

OOh err Derek,

That is a jolly nice set of ep's. Just let me know your address and when you are away on hols ,,,,

@austinR, I think you would be surprised at how many astronomers used to be ham radio fanatics. E-mail, internet & instant messaging has just about killed off the amateur radio licensing. It used to be a very  extensive test and a cw test (basic ham license gained 1975, cw passed in 1983!)...

Offshoot is using ham gear to detect meteorites :-- http://www.popastro.com/meteor/observingmeteors/radioobserving/index.php

Ham radio pretty cheap now .

The Site is sponsored by First Light Optics (FLO)..And I have not seen any intrusion by FLO on the forum over the years. Long may this continue, and the hard job the mods have with us lot ...

Hi James,

Use one of those extensions on pier, with a skytee II , loaded with a 152mm frac, 150mm mak and an st120. Its a solid piece of kit. Pete used to put his 10" snt on it...

Spot on Derek,

Its a belter! And would have had the 16mm but due to unforseen circumstances could not buy. Its a great way to keep them though I can load up the two skytees in the conservatory. Just need a little rationalisation, or as Stalin might have said a purge.

In for a penny... don't have a case, i use a long table in the Con(ob)servatory....

Another vote for the orion  optics 10", a well respected scope. The skyliner new is c£530..Both big capable scopes.. Fans are one of the first mods put on these big boys!

Good luck with your choice.

Hi Rob,

What an absolutely awesome post. Thanks for your hard work on this one. The comparison to images and sketching from the eyepiece is brilliant.

Thanks again.

Great post, one dark site I used to observe was on a hill in Derbyshire. You could watch the fog roll down the hill fill up the valley then creep upwards. Cold in winter but ace! Once had a complete layer of ice over my SCT.

@sirrah, they are also there to control access to the classifieds. The mods take a dim view of superfluous posts and they can be deleted. Whilst it is no guarantee of good advice if someone has a long standing presence on SGL then it is usually good advice. If it is not someone else will always contribute.

HMMM,

Have a look at :-- http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Telescopes/Classic-Dobsonians/Orion-SkyQuest-XT10-Classic-Dobsonian-Telescope/pc/1/c/12/sc/13/p/102006.uts

At $580

Great revisited thread, I have used the BST's in all my kit and they are uniformly great. If you get them new and order from Sky's the limit, Alan will always accept the ones you don't need back.They are the only ep's I have bought new as they only rarely appear used.

Oh lordy, I've recently turned brown dwarf too, I don't want to grow any more im 6' 3

That is a true bino viewer....Now just finish off that bottle so that we can relieve you of that eyepiece case !  Slange

Hi Warthog,

Frequent visitor to Toronto, last time I was there in march it was -23, but beaten by jasper a couple of years ago with -52!!. At least around Niagara you have the vineyards..

I know what you mean about light pollution, even on the outskirts of the city you are lucky to see the stars....

Best Regards

Glad you are back in the saddle warthog. I cannot remember how many people I have recommended your guide to.

My only TV ep is a type 1 13mm Nagler ep, bought very reasonably. And love it.

Thanks FLO, great gesture. Now can you send your customer manager over to the USA to sort out Orion Telescopes

Hi Chris,

Thas a result. Glad you are sorted now.

Hi Chris,

No worries, hope you get the drivers.

Worth pm'ing this chap??

http://www.insideastronomy.com/index.php?/topic/616-mammut-l429-dso-cameraguider/ or Brightstar support :- support@brightstar.pt

Hi Chris,

There must be 32 bit drivers for this smewhere.

I would get in touch with 365 as I am sure they would be able to point you in the right direction or send you a cd. If I find them I'll drop you a pm!