Helloooo old friends, Its been a while..

[Shawn]

Hope this finds you all well....

[xelasnave]

Great to hear from you Shawn.
What have you been up to?
What new hobbies?
Do you talk to a y of the boys from back when?
Alex

[Shawn]

Hey Alex , good to see you old friend, I retired a few years ago now just kickin back, The only Astro gear I have now is a Nikon p900 and a pair of 100 x 20 binos on a parallelogram, portable stuff.. Developed an unhealthy interest in audio, and I thought Astronomy was expensive... Aside from that traveling and enjoying retirement.


Oh and no longer in Ravenshoe, I guess I should fix that...


Drop me a PM, tell me what you've been up to, or continue here if that is OK with Moderation and yourself.....I see a few old names here that might also remember me..



Shawn

[xelasnave]

The Mods here are great if they dont like my reply here they will just delete it and nothing will be said.

Well I am glad you left the old address up as otherwise I would not be sure it was you.

Me... not at the old place but in a van on another 100 acres closer to town which I bought for my X and my daughter.

A van suits me cause I always can grab hold of something for support cause my legs are not flash these days.

I am very happy in the van as it is laid out perfect for me...and I have spend every cent on astronomy stuff..Have a 4 x4 mt roll off roof observatory with four scopes..80mm and 115 mm triplets, 200 mm Newtonian, and a RASA 11 inch, and three astronomy cameras..two eq6, one eq5, one eq8 mounts...otherwise dont get involved really.

Have some minor health issues...a back operation years ago to prevent full time wheelchair and still dont walk real flash but I dont need a wheel chair...most of the time.. thiroid cancer which is also in my lungs but otherwise could not be better..you know me I am still the luckiest man on the planet.

I have added two microscopes and cameras to my hobbies and back playing guitars including a three string fretless slide cigar box guitar...plus realising time is running out bought a Mazda MX5 ..why I dont know but I love it now..I dont drive it real fast but I like it cause its rear wheel drive and that makes me feel confident somehow.
I have a ride on mower to get from the van to the observatory so I mow a little each trip and that way keep on top on block maintenance ...

I am so glad you popped in...I remember those days with extreme fondness... the gravity thread do you recall? they have found interstellar space more dense which gave me silent personal satisfaction ...

I am very happy to hear life is going well for you...out of anyone I know you impressed me more than most with an ability to get things done no matter what.. when I need strength to go on there are certain folk I think about who I look up to and I want you to know that you are one of them and so you are often in my thoughts.

Alex

[Shawn]

I don,t know what to type here Alex. I remember it all, If Mike is still running the forum, he will let it run for old times sake, He,s a good bloke.. Sorry to hear about your health issues, bought a tear to my eye to be frank. Yes life is good for me, camping fishing building my own HiFi stuff. If you can not buy it, make it .?... You too were an inspiration for me. I still have my reservations about the gravity push stuff though..


I,m going to get back into Astro photography on a portable scale,with just the camera and the bino,s. A small EQ will do the trick, going outback nowadays where the sky's are black.. No street lights or aircraft...



Shawn

[xelasnave]

We dont see Mike much but there is a great team looking after the place for him.

There is no need to feel sad as I am very happy and I live every day to the fullest just avoiding complaining is all it takes..I make the worst experience as if I have a part in some movie drama..I make it fun...look at all I have and not that my time is short..we each only have one day...the other thing is from ones personal perspective we are eternal that is all our consciousness registers..we dont know when we arrive or leave..we perceive no start or finish..that is reality.

Not entirely cheap or portable but HEQ5, 80mm triplet, zwo 1600 mono and filters..you cant go past that set up...out of all my stuff I hold the 80 mm as my favourite...however look into the folk who are into the Redcat..only 50 mm, uses a small mount and the images you see are jaw dropping..this Asiair thing and Redcat seems to have produced a whole different crew ..check it out...but probably perfect for trips to dark sites.

Alex

[Shawn]

I will most certainly look into that option, I often regret selling my 2 W/Os. the 14" well did not miss that so much..I see the tech around the optics has improved substantially over the years.. I should be fun to revisit this old hobby... . I live 50 meters from ocean now so, anything I consider has to be portable..

[xelasnave]

I remember you having a go at M31 with the 14 inch..this is with my 80 mm on eq5 pro mount and a little ZWO narrow band camera...once you get into the HA you will be hooked ... Game changer..trust me.

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/...d.php?t=197131

And I bet this set up will work on the water's edge..
Alex

[Shawn]

Yes, I have some serious research ahead of my. Big catch up. Hey the observatory went on to be a hay shed for nearly 15 years, only recently the dome was taken by an observatory up here somewhere to be put back into commission, I,m happy about that...

[xelasnave]

That would have to have been the best observatory ever...it was a real credit to your skill.
Alex

[Shawn]

Thanks Alex, I woulnt do it again though that is certain.. I,ll holler out when I settle on a portable setup..