What did the postman bring? V2

[saac]

1 hour ago, moggi1964 said:

 The naivety of youth.

As the great Jay Adams said, "you didn't quit skateboarding because you got old, you got old because you quit skateboarding"

Yep, Kryptonites (Kryptonics), back in the day they were the cool of cool. My first proper skateboard was bought second-hand, a Benjy Board  and it came with a set of Red Kryptonites, a set of Green Kryptonites and a set of YoYos. I was in heaven for the best part of 77. You get a pretty price for a decent Benjy board now  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305071883424?hash=item4707b384a0:g:wg0AAOSw-9hktUee&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0MVsIyfYzoShlbOq%2BLaN%2FxJoxJR8LC7zRXoyFdLYOf7a3GrfqU%2FbYHn02c4h%2FSE6M8cFL8NOe9ibFWtY2ugSW2iceAGMengkAID05nO%2FqPPTml6nO0fTwVk1LLk0vIQUKP9i9AK7dRHoQttn%2BbO5wpduLRil5BI8EsydvkyfNC8XVBVpswg8bVuC5UYeo4dGMT6%2BjcjI%2B6NAOguUyxxOukeFhAnBJDTLK09DLQkPwS5y4adpLg%2Bs82aDwmv4ASuKmWgQL5cfmPF%2FuUTVpdgKAX4%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR56WtJvBYg

 

Jim 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by saac

[JeremyS]

[badhex]

7 hours ago, Zermelo said:

I've been thinking about ClickLocks since this thread, but since I was quite happy with the performance of my Revelation diagonal, I went for a reducer that will live permanently in it

Lovely. I suspect once you've used the clicklock adaptor it won't be long before you start thinking about going full clicklock 🙂

[johnturley]

Arrived a few days ago from Amazon, a Reesibi Air Duster.

Reesibi 90W Electric Air Duster Blower, Strongest 90000 RPM Compressed Air, Strong Blowing Force, Brushless Motor, 7500mAH, for PC, Keyboard, Car and Home Cleaning, Replaces Compressed Air Can : Amazon.co.uk: Stationery & Office Supplies

I had been thinking of getting one of these for some time after reading a favourable review (I think on Cloudy Nights), with the intention of it replacing my Kenair Compressed Air Duster. What tipped the can however, was that I found out that the cost on Amazon of a replacement air cylinder for the Kenair, had gone up from around £17 to £24, plus Amazon had 30% off the price of the Reesibi, reducing it from £49 to £37, so I bit the bullet.  

I'm quite impressed with it so far, it is cordless with a built in rechargeable battery, and the air jet (which has 3 settings) is much more powerful than a hand blower, and almost as strong as the Kenair, but spread over a wider area. I used it successfully on my 14in Mirror yesterday, and unlike the Kenair, you don't have to worry about it depositing propellant (which is difficult to clean off) on the optics, if it not held vertically. Another risk with the Kenair, is that some years ago with an earlier model, the metal jet became detached and shot out at speed, which could have smashed a mirror or objective. The Reesibi unit will also be useful for drying off my mirror after a wet clean, last time I think I depleted about half a Kenair cylinder doing this. 

It comes with several attachments, including a USD charging lead and a brush attachment, which I shall not be using on optics, but may be useful for cleaning computer keyboards.

John  

 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by johnturley

[Nakedgun]

On 18/08/2023 at 10:36, saac said:

As the great Jay Adams said, "you didn't quit skateboarding because you got old, you got old because you quit skateboarding"

Yep, Kryptonites (Kryptonics), back in the day they were the cool of cool. My first proper skateboard was bought second-hand, a Benjy Board  and it came with a set of Red Kryptonites, a set of Green Kryptonites and a set of YoYos. I was in heaven for the best part of 77. You get a pretty price for a decent Benjy board now  

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305071883424?hash=item4707b384a0:g:wg0AAOSw-9hktUee&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0MVsIyfYzoShlbOq%2BLaN%2FxJoxJR8LC7zRXoyFdLYOf7a3GrfqU%2FbYHn02c4h%2FSE6M8cFL8NOe9ibFWtY2ugSW2iceAGMengkAID05nO%2FqPPTml6nO0fTwVk1LLk0vIQUKP9i9AK7dRHoQttn%2BbO5wpduLRil5BI8EsydvkyfNC8XVBVpswg8bVuC5UYeo4dGMT6%2BjcjI%2B6NAOguUyxxOukeFhAnBJDTLK09DLQkPwS5y4adpLg%2Bs82aDwmv4ASuKmWgQL5cfmPF%2FuUTVpdgKAX4%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR56WtJvBYg

 

Jim 

 

 

 

 

~

Your post prompted me to dig around in the attic....

Kryptonics also made boards, and this was my second by them. A "carving" board, which worked better at skate parks for me, rather than a "kick-flip" type, which were better for street skating.

 

 

Kryptonics wheels, I think the green CX-66 were the hardest compound they offered at the time.

 

Tracker trucks:

 

This was my last board before I stopped skating, probably around 1981. 

 

I dare not set foot on it today!

 

 

.

[saac]

2 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

~

Your post prompted me to dig around in the attic....

Kryptonics also made boards, and this was my second by them. A "carving" board, which worked better at skate parks for me, rather than a "kick-flip" type, which were better for street skating.

 

 

Kryptonics wheels, I think the green CX-66 were the hardest compound they offered at the time.

 

Tracker trucks:

 

This was my last board before I stopped skating, probably around 1981. 

 

I dare not set foot on it today!

 

 

.

Wow that is a lovely board, there is a lot of history on that; did the wheels come coned like that or is that from use?  I started skating pretty much in the late to mid 70s when skateboarding really took off here. Of course no internet back then so it was impossible to find out about the  wider skateboarding scene and culture, especially if you lived outside the main cities.  As kids, we used our boards for getting about town, oh and falling off, which we did a lot   We didn't do tricks, to be honest we never really knew tricks were a thing beyond tic tacking a 360 and jumping kerbs - certainly no ollies.  Round about the early 80s following a very long and hard fought campaign by a very special and passionate man, architect Ian Urquhart , we got our first full blown American style skatepark. It was a first for both Scotland and for the UK and would soon make a name for itself on the world skating scene.  The Skatepark at Livingston (central belt of Scotland) affectionately known as Livi gained a reputation as a bit of a special place and even attracted a young Tony Hawk to visit and ride in the early 90s.   It has gone through both decline and a recent resurgence and now there is a campaign to grant it listed building status, support again coming from  key luminaries like Tony Hawk. 

Anyway back to Kryptonics, as an 11 year old kid growing up in the central belt of Scotland the very name just imbued those wheels with special powers. That they came from America just added to their authenticity and potency, I was the envy of my pals and I milked it for all it was worth     I got back on a board a few years past; like riding a bike you don't forget the balance of it.  To be honest though I was conscious of the effects of falling on my now older and heavier frame so I tried long boarding and wow I was addicted all over again.  Lockdown gave me the excuse to really invest some time on the board and I am so grateful for that, it is hard to explain but when I'm on the board it is like a zen like transformation. I guess you will get that experience when you are on your motorbike riding in the desert.  Your focus is on one thing only, the moment, it is a brilliant feeling doing big long lazy carving turns and pushing faster than it is really sensible to do!  What we do lack here is suitable roads/pathways to skate.  I occasionally will push it and skate on the public highway (very quiet neighborhood roads) or take a trip to Dundee or one of our nearby coastal towns to ride on the paved promenades.  I have a family member who lives out in San Francisco and  if I ever get round to visiting my board will be the first thing that goes into my luggage, I may even by it a seperate seat ticket  

 

ps - tx for sharing the photos of your board  - made my day. You need to get it hung on the wall , to remind you of what it was like, and you never know maybe again  

https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a34617191/livingston-skate-park/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/07/halfpipe-heaven-listed-status-for-stately-home-of-scottish-skaters-livi-livingston

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/10D08VCM1zPLMwsrJpCvj9j/the-kids-saving-an-80s-skatepark-with-some-help-from-tony-hawk

 

Jim 

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by saac

[Nakedgun]

8 hours ago, saac said:

Wow that is a lovely board, there is a lot of history on that; did the wheels come coned like that or is that from use?  I started skating pretty much in the late to mid 70s when skateboarding really took off here. Of course no internet back then so it was impossible to find out about the  wider skateboarding scene and culture, especially if you lived outside the main cities.  As kids, we used our boards for getting about town, oh and falling off, which we did a lot   We didn't do tricks, to be honest we never really knew tricks were a thing beyond tic tacking a 360 and jumping kerbs - certainly no ollies.  Round about the early 80s following a very long and hard fought campaign by a very special and passionate man, architect Ian Urquhart , we got our first full blown American style skatepark. It was a first for both Scotland and for the UK and would soon make a name for itself on the world skating scene.  The Skatepark at Livingston (central belt of Scotland) affectionately known as Livi gained a reputation as a bit of a special place and even attracted a young Tony Hawk to visit and ride in the early 90s.   It has gone through both decline and a recent resurgence and now there is a campaign to grant it listed building status, support again coming from  key luminaries like Tony Hawk. 

Anyway back to Kryptonics, as an 11 year old kid growing up in the central belt of Scotland the very name just imbued those wheels with special powers. That they came from America just added to their authenticity and potency, I was the envy of my pals and I milked it for all it was worth     I got back on a board a few years past; like riding a bike you don't forget the balance of it.  To be honest though I was conscious of the effects of falling on my now older and heavier frame so I tried long boarding and wow I was addicted all over again.  Lockdown gave me the excuse to really invest some time on the board and I am so grateful for that, it is hard to explain but when I'm on the board it is like a zen like transformation. I guess you will get that experience when you are on your motorbike riding in the desert.  Your focus is on one thing only, the moment, it is a brilliant feeling doing big long lazy carving turns and pushing faster than it is really sensible to do!  What we do lack here is suitable roads/pathways to skate.  I occasionally will push it and skate on the public highway (very quiet neighborhood roads) or take a trip to Dundee or one of our nearby coastal towns to ride on the paved promenades.  I have a family member who lives out in San Francisco and  if I ever get round to visiting my board will be the first thing that goes into my luggage, I may even by it a seperate seat ticket  

 

ps - tx for sharing the photos of your board  - made my day. You need to get it hung on the wall , to remind you of what it was like, and you never know maybe again  

https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a34617191/livingston-skate-park/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/07/halfpipe-heaven-listed-status-for-stately-home-of-scottish-skaters-livi-livingston

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/10D08VCM1zPLMwsrJpCvj9j/the-kids-saving-an-80s-skatepark-with-some-help-from-tony-hawk

 

Jim 

 

~

The wheels came that way. 

Getting off-topic but...

We started skateboarding mid-60s when the best available wheels were clay. By the late 60s I was riding dirt bikes and forgot about skating till I was in the Army stationed in Germany. Picked up a magazine at the PX I'd never seen before: "Skateboarder". Next thing you know I'd mail-ordered a skateboard. Two fellow Californians had skateboards, so when mine arrived we started terrorizing Bad Kreuznach. First photo is me at our Kaserne some weekend, spring 1978. I discharged that summer.

 

Someone shot this photo of me at a skatepark just about two years later. That is my first Kryptonics board, no wood-all synthetic, indestructable.

 

I stopped skating at age 24. I was married by then, and the falls were beginning to hurt more than I was willing to endure any longer. Falling off two wheels onto dirt is much "better".  😄

Great news on your skatepark.

 

 

.

[badhex]

3 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

~

The wheels came that way. 

Getting off-topic but...

We started skateboarding mid-60s when the best available wheels were clay. By the late 60s I was riding dirt bikes and forgot about skating till I was in the Army stationed in Germany. Picked up a magazine at the PX I'd never seen before: "Skateboarder". Next thing you know I'd mail-ordered a skateboard. Two fellow Californians had skateboards, so when mine arrived we started terrorizing Bad Kreuznach. First photo is me at our Kaserne some weekend, spring 1978. I discharged that summer.

 

Someone shot this photo of me at a skatepark just about two years later. That is my first Kryptonics board, no wood-all synthetic, indestructable.

 

I stopped skating at age 24. I was married by then, and the falls were beginning to hurt more than I was willing to endure any longer. Falling off two wheels onto dirt is much "better".  😄

Great news on your skatepark.

 

 

.

It's a very good off topic though! 

[Mandy D]

3 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

Getting off-topic but...

We started skateboarding mid-60s when the best available wheels were clay. By the late 60s I was riding dirt bikes and forgot about skating till I was in the Army stationed in Germany. Picked up a magazine at the PX I'd never seen before: "Skateboarder". Next thing you know I'd mail-ordered a skateboard. Two fellow Californians had skateboards, so when mine arrived we started terrorizing Bad Kreuznach. First photo is me at our Kaserne some weekend, spring 1978. I discharged that summer.

I guess it has to be allowed since you mention mail-ordering your skateboard! 🤣

[josefk]

Whoops! ...and now i have to get through ~9hrs working from my desk at home while this sits downstairs 🙂

[JeremyS]

1 minute ago, josefk said:

Whoops! ...and now i have to get through ~9hrs working from my desk at home while this sits downstairs 🙂

Those are the best boxes

All 3 of them

[josefk]

On 22/08/2023 at 05:20, Nakedgun said:

~

The wheels came that way. 

Getting off-topic but...

We started skateboarding mid-60s when the best available wheels were clay. By the late 60s I was riding dirt bikes and forgot about skating till I was in the Army stationed in Germany. Picked up a magazine at the PX I'd never seen before: "Skateboarder". Next thing you know I'd mail-ordered a skateboard. Two fellow Californians had skateboards, so when mine arrived we started terrorizing Bad Kreuznach. First photo is me at our Kaserne some weekend, spring 1978. I discharged that summer.

 

Someone shot this photo of me at a skatepark just about two years later. That is my first Kryptonics board, no wood-all synthetic, indestructable.

 

I stopped skating at age 24. I was married by then, and the falls were beginning to hurt more than I was willing to endure any longer. Falling off two wheels onto dirt is much "better".  😄

Great news on your skatepark.

 

 

.

Priceless photo's too now i imagine. Great looking film shots.

[Ratlet]

33 minutes ago, josefk said:

Whoops! ...and now i have to get through ~9hrs working from my desk at home while this sits downstairs 🙂

Thoughts and prayers to you mate.  I'm sure I would be setting the Teams background to an image of me sitting at my desk and going downstairs for a play.

[josefk]

Alright - i cracked at 16:30. I'll make it up tomorrow. 😇

It's taken me a while to commit to this scope...I'm nervous even now.

 

[PeterC65]

Askar FMA135, delivered from RVO first thing this morning.

I've been agonising over this purchase for six months, wanting a wider field of view for EAA but not sure whether a guide scope (at one third of the price) would be good enough.

The FMA135 conveniently has the same back focus as my reducer (55mm) so I can use it with my existing filter wheel / camera combination. Here it is looking rather small next to the rest of my EAA kit, fitted to an L-bracket on the mount.

The FMA135 is light enough to mount on the finder shoe of my refractor, and I happen to have a 'spare' Uranus-C camera, so the next test is to see if I can get two different fields of view at the same time.

 

[badhex]

A (synta?) Cheshire for collimating my refurbished Bresser AR-152S. Actually the first cheshire I've ever owned. 

[lawsio]

Postie has brought me something exciting today!

I purchased a Skymax 127 GTi recently and decided I wanted a small Newt to stick on the mount to offer something different when I take it on a trip. Managed to pick up an Explorer 130p OTA on eBay for about £80 delivered. Needs a bit of a clean and some serious collimating but it looks pretty good for the money!

 

 

 

[Dark Raven]

ZWO AM3 Mount and TC40 CF Tripod

Edited August 26, 2023 by Dark Raven

[WolfieGlos]

585MC, 2x barlow and IR cut filter delivered yesterday 🙂

Hopefully going to have a dabble in some planetary imaging if the skies clear up.

Thanks to FLO, even the day before the 585 was still out of stock due in 15-20 days so very happy with that!

[StevieDvd]

14 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

585MC, 2x barlow and IR cut filter delivered yesterday 🙂

Hopefully going to have a dabble in some planetary imaging if the skies clear up.

Thanks to FLO, even the day before the 585 was still out of stock due in 15-20 days so very happy with that!

The 585 is good for DSO as well.  There's a big thread on the cameras with the same sensor. I've only used my ZWO585MC for DSO so far and happy with what it can do.

[WolfieGlos]

1 hour ago, StevieDvd said:

The 585 is good for DSO as well.  There's a big thread on the cameras with the same sensor. I've only used my ZWO585MC for DSO so far and happy with what it can do.

Thanks, yep that's the intention too in due course, I just need to buy the adapters (which come with the non-planetary cameras, but not the 585) and a 2" filter for this. Some of them are out of stock currently through FLO, and I have a target to finish off with the DSLR first 🙂 For a first astro-cam, I'm excited to see what it can do. Just need the weather to play ball now......

[Space Oddities]

7 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

Thanks, yep that's the intention too in due course, I just need to buy the adapters (which come with the non-planetary cameras, but not the 585) and a 2" filter for this. Some of them are out of stock currently through FLO, and I have a target to finish off with the DSLR first 🙂 For a first astro-cam, I'm excited to see what it can do. Just need the weather to play ball now......

I love mine great for little objects at medium focal lengths  

Tomorrow I'll try to use it for planetary work, and get a pic of Saturn before it flies too far away!

[Guest]

So as some of you are aware Ohio knows all about dew.  We dont get your normal run of the mill stuff where it is a little wet, oh no.... we get the industrial grade get the waterwings out and waterproof boots kind of dew.  The kind of dew that laughs at dew shields and blows right past them.  The only real option here is heat. After the last foot soaking session and constant attention to keeping stuff clear enough was enough and Orions Dew Zapper and heating bands ordered and installed.  That will take care of that problem.  I will get one more small heater for the laser just to help keep the battery warm when the temp drops below 0c.  I guess i am ready for the cooler weather. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Mike Q

[JeremyS]

Accuview Move Shoot Move phone holder 

[Alan White]

Postie has been with a delivery from the classifieds, thanks Tim @Franklin for this next Vixen wonder 😁

7x50 ultimas, the build is sublime.