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Astronomy Snake Oil...

great_bear

By great_bear
in The Astro Lounge

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Ags

Ags

Posted
Posted
It is not snake oil if it works. I know how to find stuff, many don't. Let's not get into the "goto=cheating" debate.

My apologies. I didn't realise I was being controversial. I am a fan of goto actually, I'm not a complete Luddite.

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MG1

MG1

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I bought the whole of the Earth - from 21 December 2012, then onwards everyone on the planet needs to pay me rent :icon_confused:. Only downside is the cost of the Landlord Insurance:eek:

That's great news...no can you come and sort our leaky plumbing out?

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Dave Dubya

Dave Dubya

Posted
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I have some specially astro-vitamin enriched carrots if anyone wants some. They help you to see deep-sky objects without the need of a telescope.

Only £29.95 per carrot + p&p

Order now and receive this luxurious astro-velour carrot holder absolutely free!

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Dave Dubya

Dave Dubya

Posted
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There are quite a few simply everyday household things which are appropriated by certain retailers with the prefix "astro" added to them and then charged more.

Tarpaulin = Astro Scope Cover Deluxe

Red torch = Astro star map illuminator

Gloves with fingers cut off = Astro Mitts

Bit of glasses cleaning cloth = Meade Micro-Fibre Astro Lens System

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great_bear

great_bear

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There are quite a few simply everyday household things which are appropriated by certain retailers with the prefix "astro" added to them and then charged more.

Yeah that's true. Some good examples you have there.

Personally (and I know this won't win friends ;) ) I've always felt that Dew Shields fall into this category. I made my own (which I have a great deal of affection for) and it performs perfectly. I don't understand how anyone can think that a square of everyday plastic (or whatever) will perform better than one they make themselves just because it's got Astro Engineering (or whatever) printed on the side.

It's not like they need take any effort to make. All you need is a square of something and some sticky-sided velcro. Some even think the velcro's luxury. It takes less effort to make one of these than opening the packaging on a pre-made one! ;)

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jamespels

jamespels

Posted
Posted
There seems to be surprisingly little snake oil in astronomy, doesn't there? It looks like all of it is caught up in the hifi industry. There's quite a lot in the bicycle industry too, actually.

Maybe that will change with all the new punters attracted by the Brian Cox effect. My new company "Acme Astro-junk Ltd" will start trading forthwith - potential suppliers welcome but please note compliance of any claim with the known laws of physics or a margin less than 5000% will disqualify you.

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Ags

Ags

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I've invented these magnets that you stick on the side of a telescope. Due to their special shape and use of unique alloys, they produce a 'particulizing field' that biases light to behave more like a particle than a wave. The main benefit of this is that when light behaves as a particle diffraction does not occur, so it is not scattered into diffraction rings. For only 9.99 for a set of three, with full instructions, you can increase the Strehl ratio of your scope to 0.99 or even higher, with unrivalled levels of contrast and resolution!

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Smudgeypoo

Smudgeypoo

Posted
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Maybe that will change with all the new punters attracted by the Brian Cox effect. My new company "Acme Astro-junk Ltd" will start trading forthwith - potential suppliers welcome but please note compliance of any claim with the known laws of physics or a margin less than 5000% will disqualify you.

Who is this Brian Cox chap that people keep mentioning?

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russ.will

russ.will

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It looks like all of it is caught up in the hifi industry.
I don't know about 'all', but it's not far off a monopoly. Leaving aside the obvious (green CD pens, Peter Belt foils, directional cables, etc), it's the basic lack of engineering knowledge that leads so much stuff being mis-sold.

I was at a recent show with my press pass round my neck - The forum I review for, has a high quantity of savage, pro audio engineers and is thus avoided like the plague by tweakophytes, for exactly that reason. You'd think this would double as a BS deflector, but some think 'reasoning' will change your mind.

A bloke, from a very high end importer (who shall remain nameless) was showing me his £40/ea equipment support feet. Apparently, they're a vibration sink, not a damper. What do they convert the kinetic energy into? I enquired. The reply? Heat.....

Mind you, this is the same bloke who said that the £24k special edition CD player still represented good value over the 'bog standard' £17k item. Really? What does the extra £7k buy you? I enquired innocently. Red paint and chrome plating. $%&*? I reposted. Yes, but do you know how much it costs to chrome plate aluminium? He blustered.

Clearly, I was up against somebody who knew the price of everything, but little about the value. I got me coat....;)

Russell

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Macavity

Macavity

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More... "faces" than heads? One for the BBCee, one for universitee,

and one for "Nobbers" like you and me... [just messing about] ;)

Musicians - Especially (bedroom!) guitarists are though a prime case - Expensive "branded" coax leads etc. Back in the 70's a "Distortion Box" - Containing an "(op-)amp", a couple of back-to-back Ge diodes, cost a small fortune! But, such sounds (not to mention VALVES) have defined today's (reasonably priced) "clever" effects processors... Instant "Brian May" (uhm, relatively) if you want... ;)

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

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There is a guy on ebay that sells LED multifunction lights especially for Meade ETXs here. He also sells similar lights especially for Meade LX200s here . There are also LED multifunction lights especially for other Meade telescopes. I think I will ask him if he also has a range of LED multifunction light especially designed for Celestron and Skywatcher telescopes.

Peter

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steelfixer

steelfixer

Posted
Posted
I've invented these magnets that you stick on the side of a telescope. Due to their special shape and use of unique alloys, they produce a 'particulizing field' that biases light to behave more like a particle than a wave. The main benefit of this is that when light behaves as a particle diffraction does not occur, so it is not scattered into diffraction rings. For only 9.99 for a set of three, with full instructions, you can increase the Strehl ratio of your scope to 0.99 or even higher, with unrivalled levels of contrast and resolution!

Can I get a refund they do not stick to my carbon fiber tube?;):evil6:;)

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Ags

Ags

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Can I get a refund they do not stick to my carbon fiber tube?;):evil6:;)

You can just hold them in place with a rubber band. A normal band can interfere with the field. I sell a compatible rubber band for only 19.99. You'll be pleased with the performance! :-)

By the way, the magnets must be precisely oriented or no benefit is seen. If they don't work, you are just doing it wrong - please see the 1000-page instruction manual.

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