Hiya Trufflehunter

[ving]

welcome to the forum! :D

got any questions we'd be more than happy to answer no matter how easy of hard!
:confuse3:

sit back and enjoy the wonders of Ice In Space!:cool3:


and clear skies to you:astron:

[iceman]

Hi there and welcome, another from the newcastle area.. getting quite a gathering of novacastrians! :)

We should have a newcastle star party and get Orion's big scope looking upwards! :)

[[1ponders]]

Welcome Trufflehunter :welcome:

[RAJAH235]

A warm welcome, Trufflehunter. Clear skies & dry nights. :thumbsup:

[ving]

do you know the truffle man?

sorry reminded me of a scene in shrek :P

[trufflehunter]

Thanks for the welcome guys! (blushes)
This is my second attempt at a reply, so I'll keep it short to make sure I've worked out the system and it works, then I'll post a longer, more appropriate reply! here goes...

[trufflehunter]

...well, it worked that time!

Mike, what can I say? I stumbled across this quite by accident and I'm blown away by the quality of your site. In terms of the design, the content and the camaraderie that seems to have developed! It's brilliant! Thank you so much for doing this.

As for me... "who is this Hunter of Truffles?" I hear you ask! Well, the nic comes from C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Don't ask me why I use it, but I use it everywhere I go! hehehe. It just kinda 'works' for me.

I've been into and out of astronomy since my primary school days. We're talking 35 years! scary thought! Started off with the obligatory 60mm refractor, followed by a 8" Newt in kit form from Astro-Optical supplies in Crows Nest (although they were called "Amateur Astronomers Supply Company" back then... that's really showing my age!). Took a break for many years while I went to uni, got a job, yadda yadda. Then bought a Meade LXD55 AR 6" refractor a couple of years ago. Really nice scope. Sold that a fortnight ago... at the moment I'm "desperate and scopeless" while waiting for my new baby... a Meade LX90. Bintel reckons she'll be here early March! My first SCT and I'm hanging out for it! You know the feeling... the last thing you think about before going to sleep and the first thing that springs to mind when you wake up in the morning!

Mike, love the idea of a local star party!

Looking forward to getting to know you all... now where's that 'Submit Reply' button...aah! there it is...

[De-Gen]

Hello trufflehunter and enjoy your time here. :D

[Orion]

No problem Mike,:thumbsup: the scope is in the garage ready to go.
Just say the word.

Welcome trufflehunter:welcome: good to see there is another local here.

One question, have you been to the Newcastle Astronomical society?

[trufflehunter]

Thanks Orion!

aaah, Swansea! my old stamping ground (lived at Marks Pt, went to school at Swansea High)

aaah, an 18" dob!:eyepop:

aaah, a DSI owner!:cool:

When's the star party?:astron:

I haven't been to Newcastle Astronomical Society.:ashamed:, but I'm prepared to atone for my sins

[rmcpb]

Welcome trufflehunter :cheers:

[iceman]

Wow, thanks Wayne! Take note folks, that's a very good way to make an introduction :D hehe :whistle:

We'll have to start organising a local gathering.. it won't be in March though, so keep April in mind.

[Brendan]

I'll be up for a local star party.:astron:

Some site suggestions,

Lake sinclair singleton, the sports ground at Mulbring, the top carpark of Mt sugarloaf(probably not good for DSO).

Its nice to see some other forum members close to home.:2thumbs:

[trufflehunter]

April's good for me. Hopefully I'll have my scope by then!:confused: (anyone from Bintel reading this???)

I've already got my Astrozap dew shield and William Optics 2" diagonal and I'm getting some very nice views with those. It's suprising what you can see with a magnification of 1X :whistle: ...I'm hoping adding the LX90 to that combo will make a difference:P

Brendan, Mulbring sounds good. I've tried Mt Sugarloaf and as you say, prob not good for DSO's. Too much light. It also attracts a few hoons.

[iceman]

:lol2: Do you put the dew shield over your head?

Where's Mulbring?

[ving]

gee! thats only 4 hours away for me! :confuse3:

[Brendan]

Ice
Mulbring is a little town ship just behind Mt sugarloaf (western side) pluses are that it is very easy to get to from the freeway, take the Cessnock exit and its about 15 min from there.

for those of you in Sydney the crapiest part of the trip would be getting to the start of the F3.

Just let me know the date and i will try to be there.... April 2 is no good have to be at a wedding (not mine)

[rumples riot]

Hey welcome to the show trufflehunter. I am sure you will have a great time.

Plenty of Meade owners here, so if you have any questions when you get the Lx90 let us know.:cheers:

[Orion]

Going away for the Anzac weekend and there is a bight moon out anyway.
We will have to make it on the dark of April.
I'm easy on the location of the site.
:astron: