DaveL59

not to mention the seemingly endless run of 'reality' and 'talent' shows like that's the only idea any of the channel controllers have re what the public want to watch. Leads to a generation of skoolies who's ambition isn't to achieve something worthwhile but to be 'famous' on some such show.

wow so little info coming in on this one but it seems a window opens from 29-Oct so we could see some mainstream news interest later this month. Or not as mostly seems the case lately, not making a big enough splash, or is that explosion... Spaceport Cornwall expecting first launch within weeks - Cornwall Live Countdown to launch: British-built satellite completes line-up for first launch from Spaceport Cornwall - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) I suppose a big 747 with a rocket on its wing isn't all that exciting huh 😞

A jump starter does have the bonus of being able to serve double duty should you ever need to boost start the car tho 😉 Also the LiPo type are compact and lightweight compared to the big heavy lead battery type and don't suffer volt droop as lead does as capacity is used up, not to mention you can use far more of the rated capacity where lead batteries are pretty much done at 50%. If you do go for a lead battery, bear in mind that if you don't keep them topped up then lead batteries are toast in no time and you'd need to replace the internal battery. Never leave a lead battery that's flat, but likewise if storing the LiPo type, best to leave them at say 40-60% than fully charged.

Ahh depends on the pack, mine came with it included YABER Car Jump Starter, 20,000 mAh 1,600 A Car Battery Jump Starter (for All Petrol Vehicles or 7.0 L Diesel), IP68 Waterproof, Fast Charging : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo tho you can buy them separately Universal EC5 Cigarette Lighter Socket Adapter Connector For 12V Car Battery Booster Car Jump Starter (Shot Lead): Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

For sure, I figure with these things being so sensitive it'd be better to protect than to risk even a very brief over-volt. I did also place a fuse in the line, I'd posted in another thread about power supplies ages back as I got this sometime in 2019 IIRC.

be worth saying what you hope to drive with it and for how long so folks have an idea of the loading you'd be pulling. I have a LiPo brick I got off Amazon when they were doing a discount deal and that seems OK. 12v ciggy socket that plugs in using a 2-pin connector that seems fairly standard on these sort of units. Yaber branded. Only thing I noted was it puts out 16v no-load when charged so I use a 12v 5A buck converter in-line to limit the voltage to the EQ5 synscan system for which the manual recommends 15v max. I don't run dew heaters or other stuff off it tho since I don't use those.

yeah I think for most manufacturers is that they don't want to end up being stuck with the user support rabbit hole when supplying replacement parts, can understand that in many ways too. User breaks the part they've been sent and wants a free replacement etc, happens with car parts too tho typically those buying them have a reasonable idea of what they're doing. Not suggesting that's not the case here btw, but I've seen many not follow ESD precautions when touching electronics and then blame the part they were fitting for either not working or destroying the main board,

makes me happy I went with a prism in my adapted setup, no issues f it needs to be popped out for a clean down the road. I'd have thought that with care and not immersing the entire cradle you could use water and detergent applied with a cotton swap. If it is a first surface mirror with no coatings then wouldn't alcohol potentially start to strip the surface silvering over time?

You'll also find that the supplied eyepieces aren't all that good, I have the same scope bought as it was offered for £10 and never used. A couple of reasonable Plossl's will do much better but you're always going to struggle to track as it doesn't move well on its mountings. I flocked the inside of the OTA and did some tweaks to the focuser but there's a limit to how much you can improve these, you can't collimate well as the primary mirror isn't adjustable, for example. Still, as a starter it works and if you reach a stage you want something better give a shout here for some advice 😉

Now this would be great if they can pull it off Nasa, SpaceX study Hubble telescope re-boost mission - BBC News Getting hubble back to a higher orbit and maybe patched up so it can last another 20-30 years given how well it has already done. Would be a bit more of a challenge tho compared to shuttle days.

Nikon is usually very good glass and pretty well regarded. Wonder if @BinocularSky is around to comment as it is one he recommends IIRC and that model has been suggested on other threads so you're pretty safe I'd think.

believe they're generally good but no hands on knowledge of them. Pretty sure some on here have them tho, does sounds like a great price vs new.

No idea how it connected but I'd guess it must be telnet given its an IBM 3270 terminal emulator and there's a DNS name pointing it at JPL. Sounds like an accidental find when looking to set up an IBM MVS/TSO emulator could add some interesting diversions on cloudy evenings then and don't worry, I won't take the Thermonuclear War option, might be no need soon anyway 😉

doing a bit of background learning (new role and all that) I was looking about for an IBM mainframe emulator and came across Hercules. Still figuring how to get it set up and running something like OS/360 but found I'll also need a terminal program, so loaded wx3270 and fired it up. It's default config seems to have a couple of ascii sites defined in the config, one being NASA Horizons. Clicked and it connected 😮 Now that's sparked my curiosity, anyone know if its allowed to access and what you can do there? Looks potentially interesting

it's a bit plain and boring tho, no distinctive styling to make it pop when fitted to a scope 😉

ahh always wanted a CX GTi, sadly will never own one these days. I ran my last XM v6 until 2009 and gave it away when the clutch broke (literally, a spring in the pressure plate on a fairly recent clutch) and went back to Alfa's.

I've driven a BX GTi on 3 good tyres after collecting a bunch of nails in both front and rear on the drivers side. Only 1 spare needed to get me to the tyre bay, they were shocked that I was able to drive it in to them 🙂 I went on to run XM's, 3 over 20 ish years, the active suspension on them was great tho you could end up driving on a tyre low on pressure or have one go flat and not know it. I do miss that suspension system, so easy to road-side swap a tyre in mere minutes. The ability to raise the ride height was handy in deep snow too.

The DS chassis was also effectively 2 box girders running the length of the car 😉 Yep the folks in both cars survived ok, only the DS was still driveable after tho. As for the 2CV, unfortunately when T-bones it folds, sadly that night only the lorry driver got to see the next day or even the moments after impact. Don't get me wrong tho, the 2CV was brilliantly engineered for its purpose all those decades ago, not may cars could do what it was designed to do.

if you decide on the hammer approach then make a former to lay that section of the OTA in - wood cut to match the original curve - and then gently work it. Bear in mind tho that hammering may well stretch the metal further. I like the rolling pin idea, using that on the inner with the OTA able to roll on a firm flat surface may do the trick. Pliers I'd avoid since you're as likely to add further to the distortion. Just take your time and work it slowly whichever way you decide to go. I'm wondering if @Stu might have any other suggestions as he's had to fettle an OTA that got blown over by a strong breeze not so long ago IIRC...

I guess we'll see a bit more once the follower has sent its images and data back but it'll be a while before they release much in the way of data on the effect and how that compares to expectations.

I can't comment on others as I have SVBony ones (7-21 and the huge 8-24) but visually they do well and are extremely convenient. The main downside is that the FoV narrows as you increase FL, kinda the opposite you'd get with a telephoto lens or zoom bino where the FoV narrows as you zoom in. The more expensive ones are a bit better from comments but the SVBony ones were well reviewed and do perform just fine for me and very well priced (well before the pound dropped off a cliff that was lol).

well, bullseye, was hoping they'd switch to a feed from the wee cubesat that's following it but perhaps its too far at the moment?

When the life forms living in the larger hollow asteroid determine where the rogue object came from they just might change course and head our way...

Well after our time there'll no doubt be a major alert announcement about a large space rock that had been hit during an experiment decades ago and is now on a close encounter course with terra firma... 😉

The black plastic trim should come out OK, personally I'd remove the secondary too so you've space to work with less risk. You might then be able to ease the metal back using that knob but put a large washer on the inside of the OTA to spread the force a bit. You may not get it quite back into shape tho without resorting to panel beating methods in which case for sure remove the primary and perhaps the focuser