F15Rules

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

Nice…errrr…handle on that baseball bat Dave 👍🏻

Errrr..that was exactly my point, Jeremy..but I know it's sooo cold at the moment..and you got there within a few minutes 👍🤗

4 minutes ago, Telescope40 said:

Evening all. Interesting thread. 
I am a RM postman, part-time. All I’ll say is I have reason to strike. Believe me !! 
The recent updates to the thread from @FLO and Dave - @F15Rules say far more than I would wish to add. 
Please draw your own conclusions.  The saying “ lions led by donkeys” from WW1  rings a rather large bell in my ears ATM. 
 

Thank you.  John 

Hope this does not break any forum rules. Apologies and please delete if so. 
 

Totally agree, John.

We have a great postie in our village who is on first name terms with most of us..he's done over 35 years in a job he loves. He can retire in the New Year..all I will say is, he can't wait, and he'll be sorely missed.

Dave

34 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I bet he has one of these to get in and out of the cab safely, Dave 

..I'm sure he does, Jeremy, but his main means of accessing the cab are these...😋

...and he also has one of these for dealing with those annoying people that one can come across..😈😎😂

Dave

My son is a HGV Class I Driver and his company have a contract to be on standby to ship full artics of RM mail and parcels around the UK in the month running up to Christmas..he's been doing this now for a fortnight and says each day gets worse and worse, with hours of sitting around in his truck waiting to be loaded.

He reckons the RM depots couldn't organise a proverbial in a brewery and each day gets worse..he's getting paid, so is his company, but to sit around for hours on end knowing he could be doing something worthwhile to get things delivered at this time of the year, is frankly, soul destroying!

And many of the other couriers are also struggling as well. I've just ordered an item for my car online (not urgent, thankfully), and my heart sank when they sent me an email from Evri, saying my parcel will be delivered on the 21st December...I fully expect it to be the 21st all right..of January 2023!!🥴🤦

Auntie Flo have my sincere sympathy..they run an exemplary business and yet the crucial delivery element of their service, ie delivery of product, especially at this time of the year is outside of their control. Such are the times we are living in...

Dave

53 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Of course , and bring Mike with you....😂

Steve, you can take me along in my urn if you like..⚱️⚱️😋

21 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

The next time this will happen in the UK will be 2052

Well, I'll meet my maker long before then..😊😎

Dave

16 hours ago, Stu said:

Lucky you! I need to head to work by 7am 😴😴

Been there, done that (for 45 years!)..

Not anymore though😎😂

Sorry to gloat, Stu..

Dave

8 hours ago, Rustang said:

Welcome and just to say I'm pretty sure there are some women on the forum too! 😉

Rustang beat me to it!

There are definitely some "Fellesses" on the forum, and very knowledgeable they are, too😊.

Welcome to SGL and enjoy this wonderful hobby/obsession of ours!😎

Dave

Oops,it's literally just been changed! 😂..

1 hour ago, FLO said:

The StellaLyra family of eyepieces continues to grow 🙂 

StellaLyra Ultra Flat Eyepieces

Excellent field curvature correction so stars are pin-sharp across the entire visible field, even in fast optical systems. 

Fully multicoated optics and blackened lens edges for high light transmission and contrast.

Colour correction is also excellent. 

Available in 10, 15, 18 & 25mm with 1.25" nosepiece and 30mm with 2" nosepiece (shown below). 

Manufactured to a very high standard by United Optics. 

 

Just a small detail, you mention a 25mm above, but it's 24mm on your website, (which is correct), just to avoid any confusion 🤗.

Nice range of nice eyepieces👍.

Dave

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

If you get to New South Wales, Dave, this is your kind of place:

So, how long did it take you to find that on the net, Jeremy?🤔🤦

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

This matches the one in the back, so your fingers go all the way through

...provided your fingers are about a foot long?😁

Cheers for the reminder Paul..might actually be clear here, although forecast to be sub zero!

Hope you get a good view!

Dave

30 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Errrm…
 

Aah..hidden at the back.

Looks ideal for trapping and breaking fingers in between the front and rear sections.

Hope you know where your nearest A&E is..😋😂

That's truly scary Geoff!😱

My wife and I are thinking seriously about a holiday to Oz/NZ next year, probably October or November, and the Oz leg would likely take in all, or some of Uluru, Alice Springs, Melbourne, Sydney..which month weather wise would you recommend?

Cheers,

Dave

15 hours ago, Stu said:

Rather excitingly these very nice Baader MaxBright IIs showed up today. The result of a cunning series of transactions which got @HollyHound some adaptors and bits that he wanted, and me a pair of as new Maxbrights for a nice price 👍. I kept missing them when they came back into stock, so this was a great option. The added bonus was that Mum and Dad agreed to buy them for my birthday 🎂🎉👍.

I'm NOT jealous!

I'm NOT jealous!!

I'm NOT jealous!!!

😂😂😂

Well done, Stu👍👍

Dave

On 30/09/2022 at 07:14, JeremyS said:

Good review.

I am very happy with my BB Charon, too.

..even with no handle, Jeremy???🤔

...unlike my Nadira...

🙃

Dave

Yes, do get well soon, Doug.

Best wishes to you and your wife.

Dave 

51 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

Thanks Dave for your suggestions. I haven’t as yet tried filters on Mars specifically (although previously have had interesting results with Saturn and Jupiter) but have been researching this topic recently. The view last week was superb without filters but I’m going to have a try with my #21 (Orange) and #8 (Yellow) - these likely increase the contrast on the surface features. On your suggestion I’ll try my blue (80A) also. I’ve read a few articles and reviews, and the Baader contrast booster seems to do very well, but I’m inclined to try the items I already have in my kit bag first - once the clouds and thick fog subside. Sounds like they will help the views quite a bit from your experience. Did you buy your filters from SGL ? You found a good deal there 👍🏻

I bought them on the UK Astrobuysell site.

My blue is an 82a, and the orange red is a 23a. So far results on Mars have been promising, I just need a proper couple of hours session to do more detailed checking and comparisons..

Dave

33 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Typhoon you say, Dave?
 

🤦🤦🤦😭😭😭

"Typhoon" is the planes' call Handle with the base control tower..

Dave ✈️✈️

On 25/11/2022 at 06:52, josefk said:

The RAF have been drilling low level night flying here every evening this week. I don't know what they're flying but they're pretty big and pretty cool.

They'd have been RAF Eurofighters (Typhoons) flying out of RAF Coningsby, which is just 10 miles from us.

They have been doing a LOT more training flights since the Russians invaded Ukraine..they normally only fly at night one week in 4, although it seems more often recently.

We've had as many as 6 flying in formation over our house at low level a couple of times (daytime only), and  they make a right racket! Impressive sight though.

Dave

On 23/11/2022 at 09:59, Astro_Dad said:

Mars was a revelation - so often it can be overly bright and so hard to discern detail but this was a milestrone for me - beating anything I saw at the 2020 opposition

I agree that Mars is very bright at the moment..have you tried using planetary filters to reduce glare and increase contrast?

I've recently acquired a few filters (for just £25 in excellent used condition), and in the few times I've used them so far, I've found both an orange red and blue filter to really make a difference to the features' visibility and clarity.

Dave

I look forward to your thoughts and First Light, Gary👍..

The 16.5 and 23 do look intriguing and are clearly aimed to appeal to users of other high end brands..I think the 23mm is potentially the most interesting, as I've always found that focal length range (20-25mm) a really good match for my 1040mm fl scope. I've not tried a Panoptic 24mm, but know they are revered by many, and my personal favourite in the past was my lovely Vixen LVW 22mm, which ousted my XW 20mm due to the XWs FC, and just on the Vixens' overall sharpness and contrast.

Nowadays I have an excellent Axiom LX 23mm 82 deg, so that would be a fascinating comparo with the incoming  XW 23mm 85 degree, with very similar specs. I bet the Axiom is a good deal heavier though, although it is easily "decloaked".

If you'd care to do a side by side comparison at some point, I'd be happy to loan you my Axiom for that purpose 😊.

Good luck,

Dave

I'm afraid the new ranges' sky high prices will exclude me, however good they are, and my experience with the XW30 put me off..

..but I must say, FLO were exemplary with their service and accepted my return without any issues whatsoever - so buy with confidence that you can return if you need to👍.

Dave