PeterW

Goto performance... you need to go down the gym more ?! 😉 Peter PS boots to -50C??... better than my Mucks??

Happy to stick some bits together and hang them in the garden to test. Even gorilla tape wears out as my (much rerepaired) wallet bears witness. The smart money is to make slightly conical shields to keep them out the beam path, though getting a nice snug straight fit to the tube is harder. For camping the self inflating matts are a much better bet!! You could a also use the foam matt for standing on in the dark... unless your boots are up to the job of keeping the cold away from your toes! Peter

@ollypenrice the edge contact with the contact glue I had was not rip apartable. I was very pleasantly surprised just how strong it was. The Cosplay community know their stuff and then mostly work with much thinner foam sheets and still butt joint edges. With some flexible rings and thinner foam I could make some “packable” shields that take up less space. Peter

I got the original idea from a YouTube using thin foam sheets to make Cosplay armour, had some foam so had a try to see how well it worked. Then made some dew shields. Interested to hear how the foil covered stuff gets on, could be the black material needs no additional flocking, which would be useful. Peter

Managed to gain 0.5mag on my skies using this.. blocking bright sources out of the main measurement angle. Skies seem darker, probably are (a little). Should test this at a dark sky location when the effect of using this should be close to zero. PEter

Triangulation of all sky images would be a good start. SQM only give you zenith data and that can vary by transparency and the like. There is mention that LED are not well measured with SQM, thiugh my garden sky feels darker since local full cutoff LED have been fitted. Good luck Peter

Got some “bison” contact adhesive (what was available at the local hardware shop). Apply to the edges, wait till dry and contact. I was staggered how well the glue held just with a thin contact area. The material fails rather than the bond join! The stuff I was bonding was the 1cm thick fine pore foam used for camping roll matts. I use them for shields and impact protection for binoculars. hope this helps Petet

... was thinking that last night..... only time will tell. peter

Four corners needs care to ensure the result is flat. Mine has 3 screws and only 2 are used for tilt adjust. Peter

I tighten the bed of mine down so it’s solidly held. Sometimes the bed can wander up with time making it a bit less stuff. The current springs might be OK if you really tighten them down. PEter

It might be in the rewriting firmware domain, not to mention hacking the gcode to use the sensor too... is paper *that* bad?? peter

Baby powder first, see if you can stabilise the sticky... make them smell nice, tiny amounts so you don’t get talc on the inside! PEter

Try baby powder and/or Armorall spray. The powder seems to have halted the degradation on my old 13x36. Again always been in a box. Not seen any problems with other binoculars, not that I have any with the same type of rubber material. Peter

I note Orion have just joined the game, a model inspired by the homebrew Nikon TCE-2 unit that many have made. Have to see what people think of it. https://www.telescope.com/mobile/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&siteCode=US&keyword=2x54 PEter

Good news that this is being considered at such a high level given the fight to get light pollution to be a statutory nuisance and the current exemptions. We have the tools to provide the right light to the right locations for minimal electrical usage. We should educate the public to protest against dazzle as it can hide “bad” things and can make navigation hazardous. Keep the colour temperature lower with full cut off, curfew them at 11 or 12, light sensors so they don’t go on if the moon is providing the light for free... we can have our cake and eat it. Safety, lower impact on health, wildlife and save money. peter PS my garden is below the cutoff of 3new LED lights making picking observing locations tricky. (I like black flock and observing hoods!)

Yeah, sometimes gets clogged up with dust... real [removed word] to clear out... maybe Betelgeuse will sort itself out. Peter

We want a supernova as it’s one astro event that even the worst light pollution can’t put a dampener on. Likely it’ll brighten up again... should start in the next fortnight. Been fun to see it dim though. Peter

Good to know the “easy ones” to go for. I think I just snagged the a E, took a lot of failed attempts. peter

As I have a phone in a case and only one or two EP I want to connect today I have 3d printed a custom push fit adapter for each. Peter

Having the “societies” room upstairs back would be a good idea for future years, meeting old friends is another reason to go along too. Peter

There were two wannabes hanging around, but as they weren’t paid up members of “the club” we didn’t let them in the picture 😉 PEter

That’s it.. did think about taking a shot as I know there’s been a lot of interest... but got sidetracked talking to lots of people: Peter

Where’s this one? Peter

Some of the places I observe (Like home) have a few stray street/house lights. Wanting to get a better estimate of light pollution with an SQM-L I have always worried that some of this stray light might mess up the readings by scatter/diffraction off the window on the top of the device. So I made a simple push on straylight cone which is lined with flock paper. The come half angle is 30degrees, chosen so it won’t affect the SQM-L readings. Quick test indoors with a ceiling light seems to be blocked quite well. Need to make a lid or store it upside down to avoid (non black) dust getting in! Peter

Bigger... nah, faster maybe.... (the NV user does not prioritise aperture). It’ll be fun seeing what this rig can deliver. PEter