What did the postman bring?

[LukeSkywatcher]

Not astro related, but a letter from my Prize Bonds saying I won another €50. That's € 200 that I have won in a month.

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

Lovely Mike. A thoroughly deserved win too!

Thanks Neil,

I wasn't the only one. There were winners across a range of subjects I believe, which I think is brilliant. 

[Nakedgun]

On 19/04/2023 at 12:35, Nakedgun said:

~

Vintage pair found online in very good condition, for little money:

 

 

Mfd. by Itabashi Kogaku Kikai Seisakujo, Inc. Tokyo

 

 

The year made I'm unsure about.

 

 

No strap, but case in good shape, too.

 

 

 

.

 

 

~

 

Here's another vintage find:

 

Like the 7x35s, these are from the plastic neckstrap era (70s?).

 

 

Leather case in pretty fair shape:

 

I'll keep these in the garage alongside the 7x35s for daytime targets of opportunity.

 

 

.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Nakedgun

[JeremyS]

2-inch UHC filter and solar specs courtesy FLO

[glafnazur]

48 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

2-inch UHC filter and solar specs courtesy FLO

That's a great filter,  I had my best views of the orion nebula with mine last winter. 

[bosun21]

20 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

, so I asked Rhubarb my English Bull Terrier

I love this breed and have owned several over the years. My first was a large Red male just like your photo which bought back fond memories of him.

[mikeDnight]

7 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I love this breed and have owned several over the years. My first was a large Red male just like your photo which bought back fond memories of him.

 They are amazing and Rhubarb is our fourth. Our first we called Mintie, and she was a small sweet little girl. My mother said she wouldn't come to our house if we bought one of those dogs, so I took the dog to her instead. It wasn't long before she fell head over heels in love with her.

Mintie our first Bully.

Mintie had 9 puppies, and we sold all but one.

The one we didn't sell stood out from the rest (third from the left above), as he cried every time he was away from us. He longed for human contact and rapidly made himself one of the family.  We named him Rumple, a black brindle male. He was my best friend and never left my side. It's 20 years since I lost him age 14, and it still breaks my heart.

Rumple.

 Our third was another girl, a fiery one who we called Inx. She was so loving but we made the mistake of buying her when she was six months old. She'd been brought up on a farm with other bull terriers  and had learned to be a bit more hands on than the others we'd had. She wouldn't start trouble but was definitely capable of finishing it. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't nasty, just willing to stand her corner if she thought she needed to, but gentle at heart.

Inx 

 

 Rhubarb is very much like Rumple in his personality. He's the most vocal and heaviest set bull terrier we've had. Hes like a high speed bag of cement, and the most vertical. Where Rumple was a water dog as he loved rivers, Rhubarb is a climber - furniture,  walls, trees and people, he doesnt mind. When he was tiny I made the mistake of letting him sit on my shoulders. He still does and he now weighs 80+ lb's. In Rhubarb's world, ears shouldn't be attached to our heads.

Rhubarb.

Edited June 1, 2023 by mikeDnight

[Ags]

The junk mail person delivered this helpful notification to me. Rethinking my eyepiece collection now...

[bosun21]

10 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

 They are amazing and Rhubarb is our fourth. Our first we called Mintie, and she was a small sweet little girl. My mother said she wouldn't come to our house if we bought one of those dogs, so I took the dog to her instead. It wasn't long before she fell head over heels in love with her.

Mintie our first Bully.

Mintie had 9 puppies, and we sold all but one.

The one we didn't sell stood out from the rest (third from the left above), as he cried every time he was away from us. He longed for human contact and rapidly made himself one of the family.  We named him Rumple, a black brindle male. He was my best friend and never left my side. It's 20 years since I lost him age 14, and it still breaks my heart.

Rumple.

 Our third was another girl, a fiery one who we called Inx. She was so loving but we made the mistake of buying her when she was six months old. She'd been brought up on a farm with other bull terriers  and had learned to be a bit more hands on than the others we'd had. She wouldn't start trouble but was definitely capable of finishing it. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't nasty, just willing to stand her corner if she thought she needed to, but gentle at heart.

Inx 

 

 Rhubarb is very much like Rumple in his personality. He's the most vocal and heaviest set bull terrier we've had. Hes like a high speed bag of cement, and the most vertical. Where Rumple was a water dog as he loved rivers, Rhubarb is a climber - furniture,  walls, trees and people, he doesnt mind. When he was tiny I made the mistake of letting him sit on my shoulders. He still does and he now weighs 80+ lb's. In Rhubarb's world, ears shouldn't be attached to our heads.

Rhubarb.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos with us. The photo of the pups was enough to make me want to get another. What age is Rhubarb? My four were named, Bosun(no brainer there), Duke, Jed and Argus. I like the patch on Rhubarbs face and his white socks. Delightful.

[mikeDnight]

18 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos with us. The photo of the pups was enough to make me want to get another. What age is Rhubarb? My four were named, Bosun(no brainer there), Duke, Jed and Argus. I like the patch on Rhubarbs face and his white socks. Delightful.

Rhubarb will be three years old in August.  His front paws are enormous and he puts them to good use when we're gardening together. He loves to dig! He also slides his clod-hopper feet as he walks about the house much like a fed-up teenager. He couldn't sneak up on you if he tried. I've just spent the last 30 minutes chasing him around the garden after he pinched a scrunched up plastic bottle that I was taking to the bin. I was worried he might swallow the plastic cap, but the more serious I became, the more he seemed to find it funny. I eventually managed to get the bottle off him after I asked if hed like a "tastey breakfast"? This morning I had to make him scrambled eggs. 

[Alan White]

He has eaten your wig as well Mike 😉 

[bosun21]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

Rhubarb will be three years old in August.  His front paws are enormous and he puts them to good use when we're gardening together. He loves to dig! He also slides his clod-hopper feet as he walks about the house much like a fed-up teenager. He couldn't sneak up on you if he tried. I've just spent the last 30 minutes chasing him around the garden after he pinched a scrunched up plastic bottle that I was taking to the bin. I was worried he might swallow the plastic cap, but the more serious I became, the more he seemed to find it funny. I eventually managed to get the bottle off him after I asked if hed like a "tastey breakfast"? This morning I had to make him scrambled eggs. 

They are definitely characters unto their own alright. I once took Argus into a corner shop for a few bits and pieces and while I was attending to the checkout I noticed that he was busy crunching his way through the loose potatoes on the vegetable rack and had started on the onions. I quietly reimbursed the shop owner and made a hasty exit.

[JeremyS]

13 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

 In Rhubarb's world, ears shouldn't be attached to our heads.

Pardon?

[Ratlet]

Two lens heaters from bhf.  For the princely sum of £10 for the pair.

[F15Rules]

Pentax Japan SMC zoom 8-24mm🤩👍

Saw this for sale in mint condition , with all original packaging and just had to have it! It was bought new in 2021 and has been little used by the original owner.

I've owned 2 of these in the past, one of them I bought new from FLO in a sale in 2016.  Sadly I had to reluctantly sell both of them, but always wanted another as they are just so good. The build quality is superb, (best I have ever seen,) the weight, at 550g is great as it will mean I can swap between my Maxbright II binoviewers and my cyclops eps (which are all large) with minimal balance adjustments on my FS128.

With the Baader Zoom 2.25x barlow I can go from 24mm right up to 3.55mm focal lengths, giving me from 43x minimum up to 292x maximum in the FS128 - perfect for high power doubles splitting and Lunar/ Planetary viewing.

The fov at the 24mm setting is only c40 degrees, but pin sharp. I already have  superb Axiom LX 23mm and 31mm UWAs at c 84 degrees for low powers anyway, and will use this zoom mainly for medium (c16m) to high powers.

I've sold my recently acquired 7mm XW as it was too close to the 8mm max of the zoom, but have kept my wonderful XL 65 deg 10.5mm.

My equally sharp BGO 18mm (which is a narrower fov but just superb when barlowed to 8mm) is now at risk, being the same 8mm fl when barlowed as the new zoom at its highest setting of 8mm and 60deg fov. I'll do some comparisons before deciding whether to keep the BGO or let it go (they are SO hard to find nowadays!).

So here's my new cyclops viewing lineup..

See how the "big boys" protect the little BGO..🫠😂

Left to right..

Pentax Zoom, Pentax XL10.5, BGO 18mm, Decloaked Celestron Axiom LX 23mm, and Decloaked Axiom 31mm.

Am well chuffed!😊

Dave

Edited June 3, 2023 by F15Rules
Additional text info, photo added

[Saganite]

Superb Dave. I remember how much you thought of this  zoom when you had one before, so I am happy for you that you now have another..👍..

[F15Rules]

Thanks, Steve. I can't wait to try it and tonight is looking promising..🤞🤞

Dave 

[bottletopburly]

Taking a punt on a cnc spider vane for my 200pds from AliExpress 

Edited June 3, 2023 by bottletopburly

[Ratlet]

1 hour ago, bottletopburly said:

Taking a punt on a cnc spider vane for my 200pds from AliExpress 

Where did you get these on AliExpress?  Been looking in to something similar

[bottletopburly]

8 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Where did you get these on AliExpress?  Been looking in to something similar

mind to pick the right size they do a 150 version too I chose package 2 for my 200pds 
Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! ￡38.92  6％ Off | Crafts Level Workmanship Cyck Xinda Big Black 200F4 F5 DOB8 Integrated Secondary Mirror Cross Spider Frame
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrH5mxA

[laudropb]

4 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Pentax Japan SMC zoom 8-24mm🤩👍

Saw this for sale in mint condition , with all original packaging and just had to have it! It was bought new in 2021 and has been little used by the original owner.

I've owned 2 of these in the past, one of them I bought new from FLO in a sale in 2016.  Sadly I had to reluctantly sell both of them, but always wanted another as they are just so good. The build quality is superb, (best I have ever seen,) the weight, at 550g is great as it will mean I can swap between my Maxbright II binoviewers and my cyclops eps (which are all large) with minimal balance adjustments on my FS128.

With the Baader Zoom 2.25x barlow I can go from 24mm right up to 3.55mm focal lengths, giving me from 43x minimum up to 292x maximum in the FS128 - perfect for high power doubles splitting and Lunar/ Planetary viewing.

The fov at the 24mm setting is only c40 degrees, but pin sharp. I already have  superb Axiom LX 23mm and 31mm UWAs at c 84 degrees for low powers anyway, and will use this zoom mainly for medium (c16m) to high powers.

I've sold my recently acquired 7mm XW as it was too close to the 8mm max of the zoom, but have kept my wonderful XL 65 deg 10.5mm.

My equally sharp BGO 18mm (which is a narrower fov but just superb when barlowed to 8mm) is now at risk, being the same 8mm fl when barlowed as the new zoom at its highest setting of 8mm and 60deg fov. I'll do some comparisons before deciding whether to keep the BGO or let it go (they are SO hard to find nowadays!).

So here's my new cyclops viewing lineup..

See how the "big boys" protect the little BGO..🫠😂

Left to right..

Pentax Zoom, Pentax XL10.5, BGO 18mm, Decloaked Celestron Axiom LX 23mm, and Decloaked Axiom 31mm.

Am well chuffed!😊

Dave

Hi Dave. I still have the one I bought from you a few years back. I use it all the time and it really is a great eyepiece.

Edited June 3, 2023 by laudropb

[F15Rules]

2 hours ago, laudropb said:

Hi Dave. I still have the one I bought from you a few years back. I use it all the time and it really is a great eyepiece.

Thanks John, was it the zoom or the XL10.5mm that you bought from me?..or both?😅

I don't think you can go wrong with most Pentax astro products..they just deliver, without fuss, and consistently high quality images..👍

Dave

[laudropb]

4 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Thanks John, was it the zoom or the XL10.5mm that you bought from me?..or both?😅

I don't think you can go wrong with most Pentax astro products..they just deliver, without fuss, and consistently high quality images..👍

Dave

It was the zoom. I think I might have bought an XL 7 from you as well.

[Astro_Dad]

Postie brought this a few days ago but having been away I’ve only just opened. Thanks @sorrimen for sending so quickly though. A nice Baader zoom (MK III) to complement my new eyepieces.

 

[F15Rules]

2 hours ago, Astro_Dad said:

Postie brought this a few days ago but having been away I’ve only just opened. Thanks @sorrimen for sending so quickly though. A nice Baader zoom (MK III) to complement my new eyepieces.

 

Nice eyepiece, I always liked the Mk III..

Dave