Stuff on the bottom of your little rectangle

[jeffmar]

Could someone tell me how you print all the things you own like my 43 inch Obsession   and my other cool things other things people might want to know or I want to tell them? Seriously it is interesting to know what people are using for our favorite hobby especially when there are discussions about equipment, imaging or viewing.

[wxsatuser]

Think you mean the signature.

If so click on your profile and click on My settings, you can edit signature in there.

[Scott]

I Think (should know) that you need 10 posts to be able to add a signiture. I'll have a look when I get home from work

[Dave Lloyd]

P.s welcome to sgl.

[Dave In Vermont]

Greetings & Welcome aboard! Nice to have you. We don't bite, and we love questions! Pull up a chair and make yourself at home.

The reason such perks are meted out slowly - or so it may seem, is as a safeguard against spammers. It's about the same in other well-run forums - those where you aren't constantly accosted by such bogeys as "flying spam-bots" offering you pills to make your wallet shrink. For example, you need 250 posts to find the EDIT button here. So forth. But you can always ask a moderator for assistance if need arises.

Have fun,

Dave

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

I think it's important that people list their stuff-not for the sake of 'I've got better than that'etc,but so many times I've read posts where people have quoted magnifications from certain EPs, FOVS,limiting magnitudes etc,etc and you don't have any context in which to place the information that they are trying to impart.

[laudropb]

Hello and welcome to the SGL. You do need 10 posts to add your signature

[ghostdance]

Funny isn't it? I find some of the more, er, detailed equipment sigs a bit intimidating. Inferiority complex I guess, lol...

I keep my stuff list on my profile, which I guess is not helpful as above, but....

In this regard, I'm thinking maybe to add just my scope to my sig - sort of a page number, for context or reference only... ie if I blather on about observing Saturn one evening, a reader could fill in the gaps. But then again...?

[Davey-T]

Keep meaning to edit mine but every time I think I've finished buying stuff something else irresistible pops up 

Dave

[barkis]

Welcome to SGL Jeff,

Enjoy your stay, and I'd like to see a picture of your 1 metre plus Obsession.

Some beast, and some objects seen through it must blow your mind.

Veil Nebula for instance?

Best Wishes.

Ron.

[Oddsocks]

I used to list my equipment with my signature but last year while away from home for a hospital stay my garden shed was burgled, observatory door was wrecked (but luckily all equipment had been removed a few weeks before while the concrete slab for plinth was dug up for re-cabling) and various windows around the house damaged although the security locks held.

So after a few weeks the insurance assessor paid a visit and we agreed a settlement for the power tools, plumbing / electrical materials for the house restoration project and bicycles that were taken from the shed.

Just as we were wrapping up and discussing the observatory the insurance assessor asked if I published on any public forum what equipment I used, at the time I did have that listed here on SGL, and the assessor said that the insurance company would decline payment had any of the astro gear been stolen, since listing what you had on a public forum could be taken as "not taking sufficient and reasonable steps to protect your possessions"

He went on to say that this is not unusual and had been prompted by increased targeted thefts of souped up cars that their owners had been showing on YouTube and similar web sites with unrestricted public access, and that insurers had in recent years rolled out this rule to include all sorts of other hobbies where expensive goods were published on an open web forum.

Since I couldn't afford to take the risk and continue in this hobby without insurance cover It seemed that the choice was to list my equipment and hide my location plus any clues that could identify me or just not list my stuff and be vague about my exact location, and this is what I chose to do.

Having taken these steps last year I am now trying to get Google Street View to remove the picture they took of my garden recently showing the observatory and garden shed, even though there is a seven foot high close-board fence all around the property their street view camera was high enough to see over the top of the fence and picture everything within the private garden area...

William

[barkis]

I used to list my equipment with my signature but last year while away from home for a hospital stay my garden shed was burgled, observatory door was wrecked (but luckily all equipment had been removed a few weeks before while the concrete slab for plinth was dug up for re-cabling) and various windows around the house damaged although the security locks held.

So after a few weeks the insurance assessor paid a visit and we agreed a settlement for the power tools, plumbing / electrical materials for the house restoration project and bicycles that were taken from the shed.

Just as we were wrapping up and discussing the observatory the insurance assessor asked if I published on any public forum what equipment I used, at the time I did have that listed here on SGL, and the assessor said that the insurance company would decline payment had any of the astro gear been stolen, since listing what you had on a public forum could be taken as "not taking sufficient and reasonable steps to protect your possessions"

He went on to say that this is not unusual and had been prompted by increased targeted thefts of souped up cars that their owners had been showing on YouTube and similar web sites with unrestricted public access, and that insurers had in recent years rolled out this rule to include all sorts of other hobbies where expensive goods were published on an open web forum.

Since I couldn't afford to take the risk and continue in this hobby without insurance cover It seemed that the choice was to list my equipment and hide my location plus any clues that could identify me or just not list my stuff and be vague about my exact location, and this is what I chose to do.

Having taken these steps last year I am now trying to get Google Street View to remove the picture they took of my garden recently showing the observatory and garden shed, even though there is a seven foot high close-board fence all around the property their street view camera was high enough to see over the top of the fence and picture everything within the private garden area...

William

Sorry for your loss William, it's an example of what can happen if details of all you own is there for evil eyes to see.

Best not to disclose what's in your Obsy, or Shed.

[jeffmar]

Thanks for all the feedback everybody. It really would be awesome to stare into the eyepiece of a 43 inch Obsession if one really existed. An f/5 version of that scope would be at least 18 feet long. I would not want to stand on a step ladder that tall even if the views were unforgettable. You would have to hire a crew to set up everything and tear it down after the star party. How much would a parabolic mirror that large weigh? Any guesses?

[ronin]

Fork lift truck territory. :grin:

Did SLAS ever get going? They have an entry as an astro club but the website is just a sort of holding page.

[jeffmar]

Yes, Salt Lake Astronomy Society has been working well for a number of years. They sponsor a bunch of star parties and small or large groups of the club will travel to dark sites for away star parties. The club also has a 36 inch permanently mounted telescope in a very nice little observatory in a place called Stansbury Park 30 miles West of Salt Lake City. I cannot remember the type of scope it is. It is similar to a cassegrain design but it has a primary, a secondary and a third mirror located some inches away from the main mirror. The eyepiece is located to the side of the scope toward the bottom but above the primary mirror. They do not put a lot of time into their web site.

[jeffmar]

I was in error in my previous post. The big telescope of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society is only 32 inches, not 36.

[ronin]

They do not put a lot of time into their web site.

Well that is true. :grin: :grin:

I wasn't sure they existed.

However it sounds as if you know them so suggesting looking them up is a little pointless.

[jeffmar]

I just looked at their web site. They have some photos of their observatory complex. They also have a Clark 9 inch refractor and maybe a 16 inch SCT if I remember correctly. I am thinking of paying my dues this year and getting out again to do some visual only nights with a little socializing. You meet a lot of interesting people at star parties. 

[Peter Drew]

Hello Jeff. The Cassegrain you described would be in the form of a Nasmyth Cassegrain where instead of the final focal plane passing through the primary it is deflected just before the primary by a Newtonian type flat as a tertiary mirror. This arrangement permits a lower mounting than the classic configuration and if designed for the focal plane to exit through the azimuth bearing the eyepiece describes a relatively small arc of movement. I'm currently doing some mods to a 12" version.     

[jeffmar]

I would love to see a photo of your scope. What are the the advantages of a Nasmyth Cassegrain other than a more accessible eyepiece?

I had never seen or heard of that design before I looked through it at a star party.

[ronin]

P.S. If you need 10 posts to add equipment then you seem to now have 11 . Give it a go. :grin:

[Peter Drew]

Not my telescope, helping a friend out. Another advantage is that the perforation of the primary mirror is not required. 

[jeffmar]

The third mirror would be in the shadow of the secondary mirror. The third mirror has supports also. Does the support(s) that cause more optical anomalies?

[jeffmar]

Oh, by the way thanks everybody for your help. Obviously it worked. I now have stuff at the bottom of the page.

[Peter Drew]

The tertiary (3rd mirror) supports need to line up with those of the secondary support.