Astrofest, who went?

[Adrian Condon]

Hi Ian,

I appreciate a trip to London from the cold north is a bit awarkard....

I will give you the lowdown at the Galloway  Star Party next week.

The lectures were well organised, I didn't see any of the SGL people, met members from WAS ( Wycombe Astromical Society)

Talked to a number of the venders, two of which are thinking of attending the Galloway event.

Celestron had the new larger mount on display, looks heavy.

I spent two days there and stayed with friends at the Tara hotel just down the road from the conference centre.

Tonight, London Underground suspended service between Edgware Road and Euston and forgot to tell anybody, even two of their employees at Edgware Road did not even know what was happening!!   Strong case for holding the event out in the sticks.......

Anyway, home safe and getting ready to go to Scotland first thing Monday morning.

See you there.

Cheers

Adrian

[DirkSteele]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Did temptation get the better of you at all Matthew?

Any chance of a few pics for those of us who don't tweet?

Let me collate the pics and I will post them.

 

I was very well behaved and did not buy anything this year. I am very proud of myself! ;-)

[harry page]

Hi

 

I went today , did not see anyone

 

Harry

[DirkSteele]

[Alan White]

12 minutes ago, Stu said:

 

20 minutes ago, Alan White said:

They already do, it's called the IAS!

 

Thanks! I took an internet trip via the International Association of Sedimentologists and the Institute of Alcohol Studies before getting there, but it sounds ideal. May well have to pay it a visit.

This one I presume?

http://www.ukastroshow.com/

 

Simple answer, yes that one.

So glad you had an entertaining google tour to find it, makes Saturday evenings so much more enjoyable.

[DirkSteele]

1 hour ago, swag72 said:

I'm just a little curious Matthew - The M-Tre Avalon mount... is it offered for sale yet? Or still in 'prototype' stage?

Have to confess I did not see a for sale sticker on it but didn't ask for confirmation. That it probably didn't is an indication it might still be prototype but it looked great.

[John]

Some great pics Matthew

The forthcoming flourite F/12 Tak is an interesting prospect.

I seem to recall seeing many of those stands / scopes and the Kenilworth show (IAS) last year though

I've not been to Astrofest as yet. It's not easy to get to (the IAS is an easy 3/4 day trip for me) and by all accounts gets a bit crowded. Maybe one day though.

[DirkSteele]

44 minutes ago, John said:

Some great pics Matthew

The forthcoming flourite F/12 Tak is an interesting prospect.

I got rather excited when I saw that but it is not quite what it seems but still quite exciting.

 

Now I caveat the following as the person on the Ian King stand I spoke with was not super confident in the confirmation they gave me.

 

The scope in question is an amalgamation of three separate already existing pieces. The front end is the FC-76 Objective unit (that converts the FS-60 in the 76) which is f/7.5. The middle piece is the 1.7x CQ module which normally is used to convert the FS60 into the FS-60Q, the f/10 quadruplet. That is quite interesting as I thought that module was specifically designed to work with the FS-60. The final piece is the FS-60CB tube and focuser.

 

I already own all three of these components so guess what I am going to try soon! Now it might be a different extender module but no harm in trying.

[Davey-T]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Thanks! I took an internet trip via the International Association of Sedimentologists and the Institute of Alcohol Studies before getting there, but it sounds ideal. May well have to pay it a visit.

This one I presume?

http://www.ukastroshow.com/

And they've got camping facilities so you can hang it out over two days, I was going last year but my camper van was out of action, I'll be there this year.

Dave

[AKB]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

This one I presume?

Yes, that's the one.  Much better show area than AstroFest... all laid out on a single floor with lots of room.

 

[Stu]

Thanks for the pictures Matthew. The f12.5 does look interesting.

[Pete Presland]

I went on Friday due to engineering works on the peterborough/London line on Saturday.

The weather was really grey and damp, but brightened up by all the cheerful faces inside! Highlights for myself were :-

Had a real nice chat with a guy from the British astronomical association, which I certainly like the idea of joining.

I  had VR of the solar system,  courtesy of the university of Lancashire. It was an absolutely stunning experience! 

Very amused by the infectious enthusiasm of the guy on the interplanetary society as well, top man 

Loved looking at all the products. 

i did buy one thing, hopefully it will reach focus. First light and review on here, if the cloud's ever clear.

Still not many FeatherTouch focusers being used that I know of in the UK. 

A nice day generally chatting to anybody who was willing to listen 

[PaulB]

I can well recommend the IAS.

Parking is free because it is on site. But the venue is big with plenty of space for retailers and movement.

I've been to IAS twice now. And will go again in October.