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I can’t find the forum sorted by department. I found this extremely useful as it collected together all the emails on say ‘Equipment & Techniques’ together. Have I missed something?
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Found it. What appears to be an unmarked button called SUBJECT alongside the default option list.
Sorry I don’t get on with buttons that do not look like buttons.
Alan
Selecting ‘SECTIONS’ the drop down list goes off the bottom of my screen and when I move my cursor down I get to ‘M’ then off the box as I have reached the bottom of the screen, so the list disappears.
Using a laptop with only the cursor pad – no wheel.
Alan
Hi,
The new website is probably more useful in that many more categories appear in the menu across the top.So multiple choice searching for videos – can a video appear on more than one section by tags? Can we add tags or just the management team? For instance I came across Nick White’s very informative video about very close binary star observing and it was in the Meetings list but it should also be in the Equipment and Techniques list.
I know you have been busy but just a thought!….
Cheers
AlanHi Andy,
Logging is for the first time in your new system was particularly tortuous. The first login screen I came across did not recognise my email address or user name. It was only by clicking your link above did it take me to the Register screen where it was obvious I had to register as a new user then it clicked into place.It looks like it will take a while to get used to it. I think all the information is the same just reorganised!
Cheers
Alan BuckmanI also watched online. I have never made a London meeting and to watch online was a real bonus. The talks were first rate and kept me watching all afternoon. Benefit of YouTube was the pause button which you cannot do live! The format offered need to be continued as it allows for much wider participation. David Arditti in his discussion of the role of President did an excellent job of ‘presiding’ over the meeting. Well done all.
Hi James – You probably need to show how to measure qualitatively using Ronchi grating as a star test. There is an excellent book on the subject – Star Testing Astronomical Telescopes by Harold Suiter although he only uses intra-focal and extra-focal image appearance. Now that is an art!.
Cheers
Alan
Thanks Tim
Just in the process of setting up but I will be able to do more. We moved house a year back and we are still not straight! Too much going on. There is a 12 inch Newtonian f-8 waiting in the wings to go on my PEM mount, meanwhile it is an EQ5 with small stuff.
We do get a different climate here, so near the coast it is more a maritime climate so here’s hoping!
Alan
H Tim,
My observatory is in Deal which was within the red boundary bars for this occultation. It was a bit of a ‘first light’ experience for my new video camera. Beautifully clear skies. We managed to get set up and recording using the Watec 910 and a 50mm camera lens, So I have a video encompassing the predicted event. Very exciting as it shows stars to 10th mag and a satellite passing through about 8th mag. Playing it back at slow speed I can confirm there was no occultation visible from here. Very pleased to report, even a negative report is useful.
Not within the red bars on the update… shame!
Alan
Alex, Thanks for all the info. I have not come across any of the programmes / methods / equipment that people use apart from the basic video cameras, so this discussion has been very useful in that respect. I know it is old school, I appear to be about 20 years behind, but a tutorial article for the BAA would be great and perhaps persuade more people to take up this great method for visual astronomy which can contribute valuable science if one perseveres.
I looked up the MAX7456 used in the VTI equipment and found it is obsolete from Maxim but there is a Chinese copy. It just makes it harder to enter the field with a piece of equipment as it will require a software development using the sync pulse edge. The Arduino addon uses (used!) the Maxim chip, ok for end user / developers but not for a product.
Thanks again for all the valuable info.
Cheers
AlanAlex. Thanks that is brilliant!. That is what I am after. That is more or less exactly the same view as the picture in Burnhams pp 1445. Real time astronomy appeals to me and opens up the possibility to live astro meetings. What device have you to insert the live time and will it take a text string to display other info with the video.
Cheers
Alan
Thanks Alex and Robin for your comments. I guess I am harking back to the days of PE Photometry using PM tubes and photon counting. I was using this when I worked at the RGO at Herstmonceux for industrial training. in the late 70’s. The idea of attaching a video camera to a variety of lenses to cover fields up to about 20 degrees means I can wander round the sky and view in comfort and have the recording available for later. With the 6 magnitude dynamic range and the variable gain and integrating nature of the camera means I can see possibly down to 10th magnitude with a 200mm telephoto lens which will give splendid sights of large fainter star clusters with the possibility of measuring stellar magnitudes from the recording.
cheers
Alan
I have just looked at this image and it is so cool. There is the Hyades star cluster in all its glory, with grossly overexposed Venus. We can obviously do space astronomy from space!
Due to logistic difficulties I have never made a London meeting and the webinar series are a great way of communicating incredibly interesting stuff at a technical level that befits our community. Well done guys and please keep it up!
You are on the right track!
Good luck with the upgrade.
Make sure when you fit the belts that there is absolutely no rubbing any side walls, the pulleys are in alignment and there are no tough spots when you try to move the belt by hand.
We did it as Microsoft Team because the leader was conversant with it. Skype will work just as well. There is a ‘Share desktop’ button and ‘invite more people’. What it needs is a person with the imaging / telescope equipment hooked up to a computer to offer to host and you need a group of participants to link up with. A great deal of sharing of Skype addresses is necessary.
The Microsoft Team meeting – I received an invite being a member of Monkton Stargazers and was able to use video. It was quite manageable with a dozen and we could all take our turn discussing whilst the host was operating the equipment.
Hi Grant. The bearings that take a hit when the telescope is accidentally knocked are the 22mm dia ones both ends of each slow motion axle. The mount was designed with roller bearings in these positions and they do not cope well with large sideways forces. On the mounts we (AWR) have serviced ther ehave been distinct dinks on the rotation of some of the bearings we have removed. These must run smoothly else you will get unexplained jumps in the tracking especially visible in CCD work. I would not bother changing the large bearings on the primary axles. Certainly I would clean out the old grease. It is a magnet for contamination.
Hi all. We had a local virtual astronomy observing session with a remotely operated telescope at Monkton Nature reserve (Thanet in Kent) hosted using Microsoft Team meeting. there were a dozen of the Monkton Stargazer group present. Wonderful experience with the chit chat and pointing the telescope to an object, taking an image and post processing whilst we all watched. I would recommend any group if they can share a screen which is controlling a telescope to work this way and invite others to view.
