I've started a new astronomy podcast. Your opinion is requested!

[Hanuman]

Caught up these today. Great podcast. Keep it up.

[MikeWilson]

Thank you Hanuman!

You might want to know that episode 6 has just been posted. This one's got a review of the Skywatcher Explorer 150P vs. SkyMax 102 (and 127) - two scopes that I've owned and rate highly!

All the best,

Mike

p.s. I've just taken a look at your online astro logbook - nice pictures! At first I didn't see the chap in the middle of the latest image (I thought it was just a light) but then when I clocked him I almost poo'd myself! Great stuff

[MikeWilson]

I've just finished uploading a tribute? More of a discussion about Neil Armstrong, Apollo, the moon and why we need to go back:

http://www.2020astro.com/2020-astro-extra-time-via-skype-neil-armstrong/

I thought everyone might be interested. The tribute is in the introduction and the outro so if you'd rather hear that and not two guys chatting about it all, then feel free to skip the middle bit

[malc-c]

Hi,

just caught up on this thread. You wanted feedback and here's mine - I always beleive feedback should be honest and open, so please do not take offense over some of my comments

Interesting concept and as others have commented, love the quality of the sound you achieve. I found issue 1 and the Neil Armstrong issue became quite boring and disjointed after a promising start. Whilst I except the angle at which you are producing these casts is the "two guys chatting" , with little post production, a little research of the subject (such as Neil's exploits before joining NASA) would of stopped me turning off at that point. For me the rambling and off topic banter (and occasional joke) makes me lose interested and I stop listening. It's OK to introduce a little humor now and again, but it was happening too much for my liking. Having said all this, I couldn't do better and you should be proud of the project.

Looking at the pictures on your site you are taking a very professional approach with the equipment used (I can see why you would get strange looks for other punters - looks like a recording studio) and I'm sure that following the feedback you have received, it will only get better and become one of the leading subscribed pod casts in the UK.

[MikeWilson]

Hi,

just caught up on this thread. You wanted feedback and here's mine - I always beleive feedback should be honest and open, so please do not take offense over some of my comments

Thanks very much Malcolm - I value your thoughts and experience. Honest and open it should be and I am soliciting feedback in the title of the thread

Interesting concept and as others have commented, love the quality of the sound you achieve. I found issue 1 and the Neil Armstrong issue became quite boring and disjointed after a promising start. Whilst I except the angle at which you are producing these casts is the "two guys chatting" , with little post production, a little research of the subject (such as Neil's exploits before joining NASA) would of stopped me turning off at that point. For me the rambling and off topic banter (and occasional joke) makes me lose interested and I stop listening. It's OK to introduce a little humor now and again, but it was happening too much for my liking. Having said all this, I couldn't do better and you should be proud of the project.

Thanks for the feedback. Episode 1 was very much our first, rambling foray in the world of podcasting - we've changed the format and tightened up the show (more than trebled the amount of time we spend in research and planning) following some initial feedback. If you have the time and the inclination, would you take a listen to episode 6? It might be more your liking. (No worries if not!). Last night's Neil Armstrong episode was different to usual in that it was completely unplanned and recorded over Skype. I know our style might not be to everyone's taste (there are some superb other podcasts out there - namely, Jodcast, Astronomy Cast, Naked Scientists) that take a more matter-of-fact approach to the subject. We wanted to be something a little different

Looking at the pictures on your site you are taking a very professional approach with the equipment used (I can see why you would get strange looks for other punters - looks like a recording studio) and I'm sure that following the feedback you have received, it will only get better and become one of the leading subscribed pod casts in the UK.

That's very kind of you to say, thanks for the honest feedback.

All the best,

Mike

[malc-c]

Agreed, there are other casts out there, but most appear to be too deep for the amateur like me. I do like your casual, "two blokes having a pint and discussion on astronomy" like approach, and low non-hitech information when discussing equipment, but if the novice is your target audience, you may need to explain the reasoning behind your point of view in the discussions.

Mike, whilst the comments may of been a little on the negative, I have bookmarked the site and will pop back time to time and tune in to future episodes.

[MikeWilson]

Agreed, there are other casts out there, but most appear to be too deep for the amateur like me. I do like your casual, "two blokes having a pint and discussion on astronomy" like approach, and low non-hitech information when discussing equipment, but if the novice is your target audience, you may need to explain the reasoning behind your point of view in the discussions.

That's a really good point. In the earlier episodes we allowed "a few" minutes to describe some item, and following feedback from this thread and other places on it being a bit light on detail we've expanded it to discuss less but with more detail for the later episodes. It's a tough balance, but the feedback is key to getting it closer to where it should be.

Mike, whilst the comments may of been a little on the negative, I have bookmarked the site and will pop back time to time and tune in to future episodes.

Thanks, and I appreciate your truthful opinion on the content and production of the show. We're having fun making it but without sounding too gushy, it's a show for you - so any critique that would make our show something that you'd want to tune into is much appreciated.

All the best,

Mike

[malc-c]

Mike,

Not that it will probably mean much to me, but what equipment do you use to produce the podcasts. Do you record digitally or on to reel-reel tapes - Just that (in the case of issue 1) the quality of the recording was akin to that featured on the BBC productions.

[MikeWilson]

Mike,

Not that it will probably mean much to me, but what equipment do you use to produce the podcasts. Do you record digitally or on to reel-reel tapes - Just that (in the case of issue 1) the quality of the recording was akin to that featured on the BBC productions.

It's all digital, and there's quite a lot of kit involved - two boxes, two bags plus all the usual microphone accouterments like stands, etc. We wanted to keep things simple but it turns out that people walking past vibrates the microphones so we needed better mounts, then a mixer to control the sound, then... ahh, it goes on and on!

I'm glad you like the quality - getting that right is really important. More cream for one's ears than sandpaper

All the best,

Mike

[iamjulian]

Hi Mike, looked on itunes a couple of times but there was only one "extra time" five minute episode. Anyway, last night at 2am, when my baby daughter was refusing to sleep, I hunted around for something to listen to and found they were all listed, so I grabbed episode five and gave it a listen. Really nice. As others have said, sound quality is great. Love the informal style and that it is by and for "real" amateur astronomers, and the way you both speak so naturally and enthusiastically. I am a big pod cast listener (foothill college, astronomy 162, jodcast, slacker astronomy) and yours is definitely among my favourite astro podcasts. Keep them coming please.

[Naemeth]

Audio quality is great, and the Podcast gives a very friendly approach, the casual style definitely keeps it interesting. I do feel the Neil Armstrong episode was a bit disjointed, although I completely understand why it was. Other than that episode, I've really enjoyed every episode so far, and thanks to the book review section I've found a few books to get (the Red Mars series), and am looking forward to many others.

[MikeWilson]

Audio quality is great, and the Podcast gives a very friendly approach, the casual style definitely keeps it interesting. I do feel the Neil Armstrong episode was a bit disjointed, although I completely understand why it was. Other than that episode, I've really enjoyed every episode so far, and thanks to the book review section I've found a few books to get (the Red Mars series), and am looking forward to many others.

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. The Neil Armstrong episode started with a chat on Skype that turned into a "let's record this and put it out". It's completely raw, except for the edit that I did for the start and the end. The Red Mars series looks really good, I haven't read it myself but it looks fantastic. And believable, which is key really to good fiction.

Hi Mike, looked on itunes a couple of times but there was only one "extra time" five minute episode. Anyway, last night at 2am, when my baby daughter was refusing to sleep, I hunted around for something to listen to and found they were all listed, so I grabbed episode five and gave it a listen. Really nice. As others have said, sound quality is great. Love the informal style and that it is by and for "real" amateur astronomers, and the way you both speak so naturally and enthusiastically. I am a big pod cast listener (foothill college, astronomy 162, jodcast, slacker astronomy) and yours is definitely among my favourite astro podcasts. Keep them coming please.

Hi IamJulian - I think you might have seen the one "extra time" episode on the main channel as a guest post. There are two iTunes channels - the proper Extra Time channel is on iTunes too and can be subscribed to separately. I can't believe you did 5 episodes in one go - that's almost two hours!

I haven't heard of Foothill College but on your recommendation, I'll give them a listen. It is a honour to be considered among your favourite astro podcasts, thank you for your kind words.

Best Regards,

Mike

[iamjulian]

No, just episode 5. Downloaded a couple more today. Foothill astronomy lectures are great. They had a year off but are about to return this autumn. Great speakers. There is a video version somewhere too. iTunes university perhaps.

[nickdud]

like:D

educational beer drinking, what's not to like about that?

[MikeWilson]

@IamJulian: "The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures" by Foothill Astronomy - Got it! I listened to some excerpts. Pretty good although required me to think more than I'm used to this time of night!

@Nickdud: Crisps & Peanuts too, Nick! Don't forget the bar snacks

I posted up episode 7 about ten minutes ago. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for the critique.

[Naemeth]

@IamJulian: "The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures" by Foothill Astronomy - Got it! I listened to some excerpts. Pretty good although required me to think more than I'm used to this time of night!

@Nickdud: Crisps & Peanuts too, Nick! Don't forget the bar snacks

I posted up episode 7 about ten minutes ago. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for the critique.

Liked the latest episode, the search engine discussion (albeit a small discussion) didn't need to be there, but otherwise good! Keep up the good work.

[MikeWilson]

Liked the latest episode, the search engine discussion (albeit a small discussion) didn't need to be there, but otherwise good! Keep up the good work.

Thanks for your thoughts

We do often go off-piste a bit. It's too fun not to, sometimes There's another good example in the latest Extra Time (http://www.2020astro.com/extra-time-for-september-2012-part-2/) where an unfortunate arrangement of a well known planet causes .. a little eyebrow raising

[MikeWilson]

I just wanted to let everyone know that episode 8 is out. Covering webcams, DSLRs and CCD, capture software (Backyard EOS and Firecapture) and binoculars.

Warning though: This podcast episode contains nuts.

http://itunes.apple....918?i=121307983 / www.2020astro.com

All the best,

Mike

[nickdud]

when is the interview with the landlady/lord coming with her/his(we all know who wears the trooosers;) )about their opinion of astro stuff and general sales of edible snacks and beer related foggy nights?

[nickdud]

astro nibbles... fnarrr fnarrrrr;) ...sorry:D

[Distorted Vision]

Really enjoying the podcast. I really like the topics you've been covering. I'm just wondering when you said that the Philips SPC880 and SPC900NC webcams were available from Morgan Computers. Were they in stock at the time of recording the podcast? They are all out of stock now so I'm a bit gutted I missed out if they were.

[MikeWilson]

Really enjoying the podcast. I really like the topics you've been covering. I'm just wondering when you said that the Philips SPC880 and SPC900NC webcams were available from Morgan Computers. Were they in stock at the time of recording the podcast? They are all out of stock now so I'm a bit gutted I missed out if they were.

It's been a while since I last took a look at their website to see if they had any in stock. I expect that they'll get more in - there's always demand for them.

In the meantime you could try another budget webcam with a 1.25" nose adapter.

All the best,

Mike

[Distorted Vision]

I just bought a brand new Logitech C250 for £15 as it was the only CCD one I could find at a reasonable price. I've no idea how to mod it though.

[MikeWilson]

Does the lens at the front unscrew? If so, you might be able to get a screw to 1.25" nosepiece adapter for it

[mightyboo]

How I chuckled when I heard where you are recording It's only ten mins away