I was looking for jupiter with the finder scope when I thought i found it, I looked through the eyepiece and saw just a white blob I kept on checking if the focus was right checked the colimation.. peered through again. then I realized... I was viewing a distant street light...
Last year we were on holiday in Malaysia and we borrowed a car to drive to the shopping centre. We parked the car and went inside to do some shopping. We come out an hour later and make our way to where we left the car. I press the remote to unlock the car and I remember at the time thinking that I hadn't heard the doors unlock, but put it down to not hearing it due to other traffic noise around. The kids open the back door to climb in, I open the driver's door and start to swing a leg in. It was then that I noticed a young girl (early teens) sitting in the passenger seat, eyes as big as saucers looking petrified waving her hands madly in a "no, no" gesture.
You know what it's like when something unexpected happens and it takes your brain a while to catch up. I am thinking "how did this girl get into our car and what is she doing sitting in the passenger seat?". It was then I started to notice things inside the car were somehow a bit different and then I realised it must be the wrong car!
Our car was actually parked 5 or 6 cars further down the row, but this car was the exact same model, exact same colour with the same detailing stickers on the side. The only difference was the number plate of course, but being a borrowed car I wouldn't have known what our number plate was. Boy was I embarassed.
I sometimes wonder how her side of the story went to her family when they came back, maybe how she bravely scared off a group of people who tried to kidnap her and steal the car.
I was looking for jupiter with the finder scope when I thought i found it, I looked through the eyepiece and saw just a white blob I kept on checking if the focus was right checked the colimation.. peered through again. then I realized... I was viewing a distant street light...
More recently in a hurry to get back to my scope launched my shin into a fair sized slab of silky oak I'd perched on a besser brick to feed my wild ducks that come and visit .. and while still staggering about from the blow with the blood a flowin .. stumbled into there water dish ( a large bowl).. which I'd also put there.. and cataputed 4 ltrs of water all over myself as I fell to the ground
Oh well ... heres another for me. I set up my collapsible Dob the other night when we FINALLY had clear skies. Set it up in the arvo, so all set when I went out when dark Alas, couldnt get anything focussed
Checked the mirrors, changed eyepieces ..... but nothing ... all very hot and sweat pouring off me in copious amounts, with multitudes of mozzies trying to land on me.
Went outside again at 4am .... thought I would have a go at the Moon, but still no go?????
Posted a thread, and Nettie asked if I had extended the Dob totally ... well, I thought I had, but, yikes, no. There was about 6" left under the tightening screws Live and learn Nettie.
Still havent had a chance to recheck, due to cloud, so hopefully that was the problem.
This thread is great. One from me the other night...
Been a while since I've used the SynScan controller on my mount, since I typically use EQMod. Was just visual testing out the new 10" newtonian so thought I'd keep it simple and use the hand controller. Set the location and date etc, went to do the 3 star align and it kept failing because RA was out by 45 degrees. Re-did it. Same problem. Re-checked all the dates and locations 3 times over. Same problem. So much for keeping it simple...
I now have a new mantra for using the hand controller:
The date format is MM-DD-YYYY
The date format is MM-DD-YYYY
The date format is MM-DD-YYYY
The date format is MM-DD-YYYY
The date format is MM-DD-YYYY
my biggie DoH!! was this Labour Day W/E just gone.
Rushing to get out of Melbourne Friday noon, Packed bags @ the ready,
3 hour later in the wife's car, I found I left one bag behind with the spare keys 2 the Obs !
and the 1st set of keys snuggled in MY car's glovebox 250Ks away
A few months ago I took my 8" dob outside to see if there were any sunspots about. Put on the Baader solar filter, found the sun (using shadows), took all safety precautions before looking in EP. After about 15 seconds, WOTS THAT SMELL? Looking up to see smoke pouring out of my Telrad, oops!! Maybe thats why there's a warning to remove it on the lid.
Hi All,
Spent all nigh last night trying to image Mars & Saturn. First mistake ,still had Hartmanns Mask in place.
Second mistake shutter speed incorrect.
Third mistake and KILLER!!!!!!!, the dammned Toucam was off center in the EP holder. 7 Hours for NOUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best viewing so far here in Weipa!!
OH WELL!! Try again tonight, but high cirrus cloud around.
My Camera adapter has a flared end going into the scope. With a focuser using friction screws, the screws once in would physically prevent the camera adapter from slipping out. The only way for that to happen is if the screws broke.
With a focuser using compress ring, the adapter is held in by friction, and due to the flair, has less surface area than usual. Camera adapter can slip out if static friction is insufficient.
My old scope used friction screws, new scope uses compression ring. You know what's coming next...
Yep, it slipped out and fell in the middle of slewing
Fell about 1.2 m onto hard tiles and bounced... seems ok though...
Spent a lot of time getting a black/while film negative (what is that???) to be just the right scale to insert into my 9x50 orion style finder scope. Loved the thing and used it 2 nights. Then a solar event was to happen so setup my scope of course very careful on front solar filter for the OTA and line up to the sun watching the shadow on the ground behind this scope.
Lookin at the sun and yes, the odd burned plastic smell and smoke was detected.
My hard earned film target had a 3/16 inch burned and melted a nasty chared edge hole dead center.
I was right next to a guy who does talks to beginners and I sent him a picture showing the burned hole and I think he was going to show people that to 'burn in' the idea that one should NEVER look at the sun through ANYthing.
LOL
Had to make another one later and improved the pattern anyway but next time I shot 5 or 6 of um in case I was stupid again but I'll remember that first one.
Spent a lot of time getting a black/while film negative (what is that???) to be just the right scale to insert into my 9x50 orion style finder scope. Loved the thing and used it 2 nights. Then a solar event was to happen so setup my scope of course very careful on front solar filter for the OTA and line up to the sun watching the shadow on the ground behind this scope.
Lookin at the sun and yes, the odd burned plastic smell and smoke was detected.
My hard earned film target had a 3/16 inch burned and melted a nasty chared edge hole dead center.
I was right next to a guy who does talks to beginners and I sent him a picture showing the burned hole and I think he was going to show people that to 'burn in' the idea that one should NEVER look at the sun through ANYthing.
LOL
Had to make another one later and improved the pattern anyway but next time I shot 5 or 6 of um in case I was stupid again but I'll remember that first one.
Had one last night (Thur 25 Mar). I had got all set up for a school viewing event, tripod setup, scope mounted, got the battery out, but no lead to connect to the scope. Ah, it will be in the other battery (I usually take both batteries with me in case one goes flat). Nup, no lead . I "always" leave it plugged into one of the batteries...well, almost "always". I tried to move the scope around to the Moon but the locking clamps are on the opposite side to the finder and my arms aren't that long. It is also very difficult to move an EQ mount manually, the CGE has no facility at all to move it manually and if you loosen the clamps you risk having the whole thing "go". So I packed up and went home early, thankfully we had about half a dozen other scopes
Unlocking the clutch on the mount after removing the counterweights but not the scope, having it swing around and hit me hard, and wedging my head between the scope and mount.
Set it up in the arvo, so all set when I went out when dark Alas, couldnt get anything focussed 
... all very hot and sweat pouring off me in copious amounts, with multitudes of mozzies trying to land on me.
Nettie.
later in the wife's car, I found I left one bag behind with the spare keys 2 the Obs ! 
and Rain Eh!
Wots that smell?
yep thats a Doh moment alright but i also would have had quite a few horror words to say after that too 
