Have the Psychlos invaded us?

[Ben the Ignorant]

Hi!

A little thing bothers me since I read the pages of telescope stores: some microfocusers are said to have a 1 to 10 reduction, others a 1 to 11 reduction. I thought, why? They seem identical from the outside, and since they probably come from the same subcontractor, why the difference? This added a little curiosity when I ordered my first apo: aside from the optics and the mechanical fitting, I wanted to know if the fine focuser wheel would really turn that odd number of times when the coarse focus wheel would turn once.

Well, my focuser is really a 1:10, I counted like a schoolboy, and there's no room for error. I have no idea why they advertised it as a 1:11 (not that it matters much when you focus but it's a curio). It reminds me of a syfy novel where the Psychlos, an alien race which invaded Earth thanks to much advanced technology, used math based on the number eleven instead of the simpler and more natural number 10. That was just to make their weaponry's math annoying to races who would study it in order to revolt.

So, are your focusers Psychlo outposts on Earth, or is this strange math just a typo that went unchecked and repeated?

[SilverAstro]

1 hour ago, Ben the Ignorant said:

 others a 1 to 11 reduction. I thought, why?

Probably to grab attention (that's what advertising is all about ?)  11 is more odd than 10 !!

It is quite interesting (QI) that the Babylonians settled on base60 (sexagessimal) all those years ago (leading to our 360deg in a circle , err duh ? ) and so they must have been aliens cos I dont know anyone with 6 fingers

Mind-u it could be to do with defs., like gradients,, some are measured up the slope & how high, others are measured how high up relative to the projected base ??

 

 

[ronin]

Car gearboxes have different ratio's and even on the same manufacturr they are different but very close. Last 2 cars I had one was 30mph per 1000 revs the other 32mph per 1000 revs. Same make, same car, same engine.

May also depend on how they count. Is a rotation of the earth 24 hours long ? That depends on how you count a rotation.

[iapa]

5 hours ago, SilverAstro said:

Probably to grab attention (that's what advertising is all about ?)  11 is more odd than 10 !!

It is quite interesting (QI) that the Babylonians settled on base60 (sexagessimal) all those years ago (leading to our 360deg in a circle , err duh ? ) and so they must have been aliens cos I dont know anyone with 6 fingers

Mind-u it could be to do with defs., like gradients,, some are measured up the slope & how high, others are measured how high up relative to the projected base ??

 

 

sexagessimal - I saw somewhere if you count using knuckles - it works out then

[iapa]

7 hours ago, Ben the Ignorant said:

So, are your focusers Psychlo outposts on Earth, or is this strange math just a typo that went unchecked and repeated?

Just keep your horses safe, and watch out for 11' high bears.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Base-60 arithmetic is a bit easier in various was because 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15 and 30, which leads e.g. to fewer repeating decimals in fractions. Using base 11 would be clunky to say the least, because all fractions except those with powers of 11 in the denominator would lead to repeating decimals. I do note that the mathematics would stay the same, it is just the arithmetic that changes

[r3i]

Could be an homage to Spinal Tap: 

 

[Ben the Ignorant]

On 05/10/2016 at 08:17, ronin said:

May also depend on how they count. Is a rotation of the earth 24 hours long ? That depends on how you count a rotation.

The large and small focusing wheels each have a screw on the side. I aligned the screws, turned the coarse focus wheel one turn, and counted the turns of the fine focus wheel: 10 exactly. If the fine wheel does one more turn, the coarse wheel moves a pinkie finger's width (36°). There's no imprecision such that an extra turn is possible.

So, we had many fun and interesting responses, but can someone do the count? I'd like to know if some microfocusers are really 1:11 in ratio. If not, I wonder how such a mistake went from the focuser maker to the scope companies to the retailers and buyers without being spotted.

[Dave Lloyd]

Oh no! Now I just know I've got to go out and count the revs. 

[Ruud]

The Psychlos are a race of hairy, 9 foot tall, 1,000 pound, sociopathic humanoids. The internet says so, so it must be true.

A base 11 number system would be horrible. Eleven is a prime. Divisions would be a nightmare. The sexagesimal system of the Babylonians was a dream. 60 factors to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15 and 30. No wonder the Babylonians were overrun by the Persians.