Ian McCallum

Just wow!😲

A Polarscope illuminator, from Auntie @FLO. 

Jenham's Astro is certainly worth subscribing to. 👍

A how to fix guide...

https://youtu.be/VAgAN6QPyfY

4 hours ago, Chris said:

I'm sure someone recommended a good podcast to listen to on this thread?  

How about this, Chris?

https://actualastronomy.com

I like Chris's channel Astro La Vista, but find Astrobiscuit a bit cheesy (no pun intended).

16 hours ago, sorrimen said:

Absolutely love how this has turned into a conversation about g-clamps. 

Back to the topic, I imagine side by side with top of the line barlows and teleextenders I’d be able to notice a difference, but that’s some of the beauty of being new; every time I get something even slightly better than the bottom it’s a huge upgrade. For example, I had a 50mm Zennox spotting scope as my ‘telescope’ for about 10 years with a broken zoom eyepiece. The new 8” dob is the equivalent of a Rolls Royce to me and aperture fever is a completely foreign concept right now. Same goes with the BSTs, 60 degrees may as well be 360 compared to my ~40 degree Meade MAs!

I've been in that place too, as I own an eight inch SW Dobbie with all the BST range of eyepieces (minus the Barlow).

Does anyone else wonder why there's a G clamp attached to a chimney pot?🤔😂

On 27/04/2022 at 19:41, pointedstick said:

Most people have no understanding of the relationship between consumption of utilities and their cost. They will overconsume and then complain about the price rather than reducing their consumption. You have to have a good pre-existing relationship with someone to have a fruitful conversation on this topic.

 

Of course, because their eyes never adapt to the dark! Looking out the window at night is like staring into the abyss.

I think if they'd consume hundreds or thousands of Watts, as compared to a few dozen Watts with LED lights, then they'd probably cut back because of the electricity bill.

On 14/04/2022 at 21:58, maw lod qan said:

Over here no one seems to care!

It's all about look at me, look at me!

Homes have outside lights with sensors to turn them on at dusk. Driveways illuminated to find them easier. 

The local school and community center has new signage that stays on all night advertising their services and events.

I have often wondered, if "global warming" is really that important to those who can change it, why not mandate a 1/3 reduction in exterior lights for businesses that are closed at night.

I think that's why we end up needing laws against things like this, in the UK.  If people were more accommodating and not so selfish, then Draconian steps shouldn't be required! 

10 hours ago, JonCarleton said:

I don't like to "fix" things after they aren't broken any more, but you should be able to use both WiFi and Ethernet on a Pi.  I do all the time.  However, it can be a bit challenging, so the point of this post is just to mention that it is possible and practical, but not necessarily a good plan if you no longer need it.  If you are up and running sans WiFi, you have my applause and congratulations.  Ethernet on a Pi is generally rock-solid and significantly faster than any WiFi.

As I don't have broadband internet or a router in the house, it sort of complicates things.  I use my smartphone as a hotspot and it's mobile data for any internet stuff.

12 hours ago, FLO said:

Here y'go 🙂 

 

 

Nice to see FLO mentioned in the "Meade-ia"!🤣

5 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

Good point that was missed out. I do the same but forgot to mention Useful info for anyone new trying to establish similar connection.

It took me a while to work than one out too.🙄

Small Claims Court?🤔

Thanks for everyone's input.  I've managed to get the laptop and RPi to talk to each other via the ethernet cable.  I found that I had to disable WiFi on the RPi, then it would connect to the laptop through the ethernet cable - the RPi being controlled through VNC Viewer.

22 minutes ago, StarryEyed said:

I bought a cheap BBQ cover from amazon and during a spell without any rain I take the scope off and cover the mount. I can't for the life of me understand why I haven't been doing this years ago it such an obvious thing to do and I literally setup again in minutes. I've stopped being precious about my mounts and it's changed my viewing habits enormously. 

Unfortunately, I've got a shared back garden, due to living in flats.  So, for security reasons, that's not really doable.

A match "Meade" in heaven?🤔🤣

I've used my SW EQ5 mount for solar observing in the past, when fitted with either no motor drives or the Enhanced kit version.  As I'm now using the SW SynScan Goto upgrade kit, I'm not sure how to use it for tracking the sun.  I don't keep my mount permanently out the back door, but polar align it, whenever I need it for night time use.

For solar observing, do I just place the mount as if I would for night time use, but just omit the polar alignment, as it's day time?  Hope it's not a daft question...

3 minutes ago, scotty38 said:

No use to the folk with the broken kit though and if you're prepared to sell shoddy kit it'll do absolutely nothing to stop them doing it again I'm afraid....

Do you think a small claims court would be able to help?🤔

I've used the internal plate solver on KStars with some success now.  I just need to fine tune it and have some decent weather to get to use it.

19 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

When you update your RPi, do you use the hotspot for that too?

Yes, I do.  I've managed to get the LAN cable to work between the laptop and RPi. 

4 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

I use a gigabit ethernet cable connection, from my household network, to my external computers (Windows & Linux), and control them using remote desktop / xrdp with no issues....  I tried WiFi, but like you, I found it unreliable, so reverted back to wired connections.    

I don't have a household connection (router), as I use my smartphone for the internet and broadband hotspot.  I tried the NOOB version of RPi OS on a spare micro SD and can get the laptop and RPi talking, through the LAN cable - therefore it must be something configured differently in the RPi.  I do have SSH and VNC enable in Astroberry, so goodness knows..🙄

I've been using the Raspberry Pi with Astroberry for a number of months now, but I'm having some communication difficulties with Wi-Fi.  I've read that using a USB 3 thumb drive in one of the USB 3 ports can cause problems with the on-board Wi-Fi, the workaround is to connect the RPi directly to the PC using a LAN cable.

Previously, I was using Wi-Fi from my smartphone hotspot to get the laptop and RPi to talk to each other, without too many issues - using VNC.  I've tried a similar thing, but using a cat6 LAN cable between the laptop and RPi, but just can't get them to talk.  It's a Win 8.1 laptop.

Any ideas?🤔

21 hours ago, 04Stefan07 said:

Yeah, we pay through the nose here with a lot of things.

Is there some sort of banana plug to 2.1mm DC adapter as well?

I usually just make up a cable with banana plugs at one end and a DC barrel plug at the other. 

21 hours ago, 04Stefan07 said:

Can almost cook a chicken with that power 😛

It'll power a 100W HF amateur radio, no problem.