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If you have not noticed I have not been here for a while ..I received a minor infraction but that was not the reason for not being here..moving the van resulted in no reception and so I organised my time to work rather than spend it on the internet.
I have been working very hard usually starting a seven am ..sometimes stopping at lunch time other days if I am doing ok continue until dark.
Although I put in the time the jobs are mostly small but include...painting all the inside of the van..inside cupboards and drawers to make it bright and well illuminated ( which made a vast improvement as it is bright and cheerful now) , created two work benches over the bench seats so I now have a large dedicated food preparation area where as before it was typical caravan space of two feet..not acceptable so I changed it and it now works brilliantly. The other bench desk is big enough to house my desk top computer and both microscopes and my printer..very practical and functional.
The areas under I have placed those plastic storage containers so I have plenty of space..my camper fridge also has a convenient position in the van.
Last week I purchased another camper fridge/freezer which I have placed in the observatory to take advantage of the abundant power there.( Van and observatory have independent system..the observatory having the best system). I was going to replace the old "van" fridge with a normal fridge but the old fridge makes a perfect pantry as mice, rats and ants can not get in..or snakes ...the set up just works so well.
I put in a new gas stove and it is wonderful and its oven actually is usable... I have my cigar box guitar and my electric guitar along with my guitar amp in one cupboard such that the amp stays there when I play..works great.
Simple but I dont know how I went without I built a ramp and a hand rail..before I added the rail it would look as if I was walking a tight rope with my arms outstretched going up or down without a stick...with crook legs and sore feet my balance is very poor...although I now mostly just use a walking stick and mainly using the walking frame to get to my cars..I get around the place on my ride on mower..it has a trailer so I can carry my tools, food, water and walking stick...so when I go from the van to the observatory I detour and cut some grass..and happily I have the grass under control.
I set up the large water tank with all the necessary plumbing (pipes from gutter, tarp, to two stroke pump, to van etc) and have a stationary gutter system to collect water off the slide off roof on the observatory..very clever even if I say that of my own design..also I set out a large tarpolin on higher ground to catch rain water and drain it to the large storage tank...again rather clever how that works and how I collect the water thru a 19 mm pipe with no skin fitting....little things that would take days to set up and make work..nothing to an observer but most satisfying to me getting around these challenges with limited resources in man power.
I rebuilt a drowned two stroke water pump to get water to the van from the big storage tank as they are some distance apart...that was just so satisfying..I had to chisle crud out of the float bowl, the tank was near unsavable...put it together pull it down over and over until finally it sort of ran then that gave me hope to persist ..now it runs perfectly...U should have just bought a new one but the challenge appealed to me.
The water tank for the van is just a plastic garbage bin and it has a small 12 vlt pressure pump to get water to the sink and shortly to a camp gas shower. I have a 44 gal with a bilge pump for washing hands etc by the ramp so its rather flash.
I put up a hamock overlooking the dam and happily there is a cool gentle brease from the dam thru the trees..it is nice as you can see the dam over your feet.
I demolished both piers in the small observatory as I am going to now use that structure for something else...a work shop spot I expect...that is the latest project.
I finally managed to get my little boat in the dam but have yet to work out how I can get in and out of it.. but its set up with oats, pump etc...
I have only this week got to doing stuff in the big observatory ..because of the rain there was little point putting astronomy first.
However I have set up three mounts ..HEQ 5 with 80mm, 115mm on EQ6R and RASA on EQ8R I have cleared the spot for the other EQ6 and the eight inch which I will most likely use for visual..but they all fit comfortably ( subject to seeing how it all works in practice.
Yesterday I trialed each of the zwo 2600 on the 80mm and have everything ready to go for the 80mm either in narrow band or OSC...
I have yet to fit the electric focuser to the RASA and make sure the cameras have correct spacings.
The old EQ6 is on a desk ready for a pull down but the eight inch is still in the van..it will need heaps of attention..I cant remember a thing about it..but I plan it for visual...something to do during exposures..although if I can get the three scopes all capturing at the same time it will be busy...mmm I will need another lap top.
I purchased an excellent little trolly desk for a lap top but I really should get one more .maybe two more
My two cancers in my right lung have stopped growing and one has possibly shrunk by a mm....anyways I am not dead although the side effects of the meds makes death an option...the worst is the pain in the rear part of my feet..at times it could make you cry but fortunately does not effect my driving..on that note the red car (MX5) is just getting better and better as I learn its capabilities and my limits.
My blood pressure went crazy high but we are getting on top of that...
There is heaps more that I have done or purchased but I think I have covered most of it.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe..me up to jab three.
Alex
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