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Thank you very much David for your feed back.
I agree with you that it does not seem fair that campers and those in vans pay the same amount as those in dormitories. Unfortunately that is something totally out of the organiser's control. Lions Club charge us for every person who stays there overnight regardless of where they sleep. So it does make it hard for us.
The power has been a problem this year. For the campers I have tried to run three separate circuits and many also ran their own leads back to the power points in the family house. For the vans the situation is not as good as we only have the one power point for the entire section. I have tried to split the circuit to spread the load over two portable safety switches but that did not help. I agree with you that toasters, kettles and heaters are probably the culprits and as you stated people will need to be discouraged from using them in the future. Cutting off the plugs with wire cutters as they drive through the gate will do the trick :-)
The main problem on the field was earth leakage. It had to be reset a few times. It seems that as the dew got heavier tripping started. There were a couple of items out there that were dodgy but impossible to find during the day when they were dry. I did find one on Saturday but by then it was too late.
I would urge every one to use a UPS (or similar) on their mount to avoid having to redo an alignment. I run as much as possible from a car battery and simply keep a battery charger going. The only thing that I have yet to convert over is the external power supply for the Canon camera.
Like Houghy, I would like to sincerely thank Paul Russell. Every year he is a never ending source of advice and bits and pieces that he is prepared to lend so that you can get your gear working properly.
Like Tony I had a whole new set up this year at Astrofest so I was on a very steep learning curve. However, thanks to a lot of assistance from many of you, I got everything working and finally took some properly guided astro photos.
I am glad that all of you had a great time. next year Tony, Anne-Louise and I will have a lot more time to spend with all of you. I am looking forward to be able to put my feet up and enjoy your company in the rotunda. Meeting up with all you lot every year as well as people from other local clubs is what makes Astrofest really fun and enjoyable for me.
See you there all next year. Pat Pearl
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