markse68

Beautiful sketch Mike- I spent quite a long time last night gazing in wonder at that very feature - it looked like the cornea of a giant eyeball the way it was positioned

Not from me yet but parts for my 2” conversion being printed this week so maybe soon...ish

Been working on the handset today and I think I'm almost ready to get the parts printed- exciting!

You can get the Speakons with screw terminals- thought I'd seen them. And they're cheaper https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/loudspeaker-connectors/8997390/ https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/loudspeaker-connectors/3400958/

£10? I guess it's quite expensive but they are great connectors- speakons too https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/mains-plugs-sockets/8997387/

Thanks Rob- will try to keep this blog updated as it progresses Mark

Working on the motor mount this evening- needs a bit more work but the general idea's there. I'm going to use a magnetic coupling and am thinking to make it quick release so I can take it off if I don't want to use it.

My bad- I can only find their high current mains chassis connector- PowerCon with screw terminals- https://www.neutrik.com/en/product/nac3mp-hc Sorry

Pretty sure they do screw/faston tab connection versions too

Just arrived- my new compact 13mm eyepiece...

Just did a comparison and the afov is about the same a a standard plossl. In pic below it’s about the same as the 32mm plossl. It’s a bit smaller than the Tal 25mm- my example of which seems to have an enlarged field stop (and consequent soft focus edges) which matches the Pentax XF ( 60deg afov) but it is a fair bit bigger than the silly 1.25” 40mm plossl which is more like an ortho afov So probably the same as a 2” 55mm plossl but shorter more practical eye relief Mark

Fov iirc is not huge- maybe a little more than a plossl- will check again when I get home. Am hoping for good sharpness too but need a focuser first....

24C2AE88-8FBD-47E7-BD34-716FB9018988.MOV Managed to square up the waveform for the step at the expense of halving it’s max frequency But I’ve changed the driver board for the version that actually has half step input so my new max speed is about 3sec/rev which looks ok I think. It’s slmost working how I want it but I need to figure out how to shape the response as it’s too long in the very slow movement then suddenly shoots off into high speed- not sure why as the step times should be linear from the pot Needs some thought Mark (Hopefully the video will load better this time with different codec)

I do often feel quite vulnerable at my regular viewing site on a common in SE London. Especially when cars slow down to see what I’m up to... There’s a pub nearby and so a steady stream of groups coming and going. I quite often get approached with a “what are you doing- what the [removed word] is that?!?” and at times I’ve been really apprehensive about their approach. But touch wood the usual response after I’ve told them and invited them to have a look at Jupiter or the moon is a genuine thank you and regular hand shakes! Even drugged up yoofs! It turns from fear to a warm feeling inside in an instant. I guess it helps that my scope is and looks exactly like a big piece of plastic drain pipe- not the most theft worthy looking piece of fine optical equipment out there Probably the worst thing about the site is the regular passing of emergency vehicles with their intense blue flashing lights that I can’t seem to help but look directly at and then curse my stupidity And a couple of times I’ve had a police helicopter seemingly take a great deal of interest in what I was up to

Watching with interest- good luck!