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Old 08-12-2005, 11:00 PM
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sheeny (Al)
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Oberon NSW
Posts: 14,438
Mike, the site is excellent mate! Congratulations to you and all the moderators and members who make it the great site it is. I can't fault the forum section.

Now here's an idea that I don't imagine is easy to do, but since you asked here it is... Most members know their lat/long - I'd love to see that on a map. Even if it's just dots so you can see how many other members are nearby or within an hour or two's drive. It doesn't have to identify who the members are...

I'd like to reiterate the comments that some of the others have made about developing the articles, resources and reviews parts of the site. As well as "our own" articles, resources and reviews, what about links to others on the web? Helps provide a "second opinion" before you lash out on an expensive purchase! For example, following a telescope review could be a list of other reviews of the same scope from other sites on the web, so if you are seriously considering this bit of gear, you can access a variety of good info. Or perhaps a summary of pros and cons from other users of the same bit of equipment - perhaps collected by poll? BTW I would not be opposed to having more than one review of the same bit of gear especially if it gives a different opinion or point of view.

Some good articles on not just the challenging parts of astronomy but also on the basics. Some aspects of this hobby I have a good handle on because I was into this many years ago, but I'm a newbie when it comes to the newer technology like CCD imaging, Registax (been playing with it, but I can't say that I'm achieving what I believe it should!), and GOTO mounts. (I still feel more comfortable aligning a manual eq mount with an old fashioned drive and drive corrector - i understand that. I struggle a bit with the GOTO mount because it does some maths but I don't know what that maths is, so getting an accurate alignment can be frustrating at times and very simple at others... I have some "unlearning" to do I suspect) Some tutorials and "getting started with" articles on all sorts of things would be really valuable references for a lot of newbies.

The forums are great, and healthy. Improving the articles, resources and tutorials I think falls to all the members. Contribute something, even if you think it's a bit trivial because you know it backwards doesn't mean we all do!

Al.
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