What did you do today (2015)

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Spring compressor MkII.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Muzzer, I like that one, probably worth making if you change a lot of them, very quick too.

Regards Nick.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Neat, Muzzer.

Anyone else staying up tonight?

I forecast the moon will be drenched in blood!

Neil

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

Yea I may stay up if sky stays clear.

I've just set my scope and my camera up so intend to have go at photographing the Andromeda galaxy.

Peter.

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Which telescope mount to you use Neil. Those aren't bad results.

John

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[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 27/09/2015 13:38:25:

Michael,

As an addendum, if you visit HERE you'll see an image of Uranus taken with a camera, scope and mount costing over forty times what I paid for my gear… indisputably better, but a good example of the law of diminishing returns.

Neil

.

Neil,

Thanks for the well-reasoned reply … and this addendum ^^^

Grateful if you could hyperlink HERE though.

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I've got an EQ34, but on an EQ5 tripod. Works best when I keep the weight down.

Neil

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 27/09/2015 20:34:57:

I've got an EQ34, but on an EQ5 tripod. Works best when I keep the weight down.

Neil

I've long suspected that the tripod is more important than the head. Far more than people seem to realise.

John

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[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

John,

It's people seduced by roller bearings again

Michael try here -which is pretty damn good!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 27/09/2015 22:22:44:

Michael try here -which is pretty damn good!

.

Thanks, Neil

Based on that excellent reference image; I reckon your 'reduced flare' version [on our right, here] is very good too!

MichaelG.

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Spent the day @ WDSME (Worthing, West Sussex) members exhibition and celebration of 40 years. Wow! what a show and Joe Public turned up in large numbers and weather was glorious.

In the Pavillion, there were some very nice Gauge 1 steam powered locos + a number of 3 1/2 & 5G locos,including a Vale of Rheidol loco and a prize-winning Isle of Man loco. , also a Gallileo clock exhibit and a couple of 3D printing machines with one doing working demos.

Kevan Ayling was driving his enormous 2-8-0 + 0-8-2T which has been an IMLEC entry. Another large tank loco from a South American prototype and 2 electric locos were also passenger hauling. Allan s large GWR loco and Jim s Sweet Pea also helped. Andy Breeze was steaming his Tasker TE which has been in a past ME Exhibition. Brian Hunt was also steaming his large TE in the grassed area within the track loop. A large radio controlled tank was also moving around.In the temporary boating pool,there was a Windermere type steam launch and a steam powered canal barge, both radio controlled by Charles Weatherley. Ernie was steaming his large (2" scale?) Portable.

My apologies to any Worthing member and his model not included above but I have tried to illustrate what a variety of exhibits were shown.

A great day. Looking forward to 50th celebration in a decades time, although the club has an Exhibition on alternate years.

John.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, early this morning I had a go at taking some photos of the lunar eclipse. Mine are not as good as some that you will see, but here is a couple of them.

Despite having the camera on a tripod, a little camera shake unfortunately occurred. These are cropped images and where taken with a Canon EOS 40D with a Canon EF-5 55-250mm zoom lens.

Regards Nick.

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Can you start a new thread on astronomy? That would keep this one clear for those of us who can't be bothered with star gazing.

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

I have been reluctant to ask if there could be a separate area for astronomy (being somewhat related to horology) but was a bit concerned that other folks might be a little protective of the modelling context of the forum. I'm also interested in astronomy and the equipment as well as model engineering. I'd like to make an EQ mount one day.

Ed.

[Involute CurveParticipant @involutecurve]

I disagree this should remain, after all its what he did today, same as dog walking bee keeping or what ever, if you dont want to read this thread then don't………

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I think it's perfectly Ok to post a 'what I did today' that includes astronomy, like the eclipse, but David has a point. Some of these posts start off quite lengthy discussions and it does seem that a significant minority are interested in the subject and that includes making and modifying equipment.

The ME index lists 105 articles for telescope, so it's definitely mainstream material for Model Engineers!

So, I will create new topic for Astronomy, for the in-depth discussion.

As for me, I had a great night watching and photographing the eclipse with my Daughter who took over one scope and used her iphone to get some very creditable images. From being able to read by the light of the moon to being able to see thw milky way. Wow

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

I agree with David, aircraft have a separate thread which works quite well.

Bob

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

Thanks Neil

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi involute curve I can't see what is on the thread until I look at it. That is why it is better on its own thread.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

How about a” rule”..
When a posting to a ( in particular this) thread illicits more than ( say 3) responses.
Those postings are copied to another thread
, created for that purpose. .with the expectation that the thread continues there…
…
All win.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

What I mean is..as often happens subjects not covered by the thread title come up. .and when they do they might be “hidden” by the apparent subject.

Search engines do not always help..for example

I have no objection to pictures of people “at it ” , being on the web..I just don’t wish those results when searching for “screw gauges uk”
…google..definitely delivers some “not safe for work” results….

Edited By jason udall on 28/09/2015 15:03:24

Edited By jason udall on 28/09/2015 15:04:09

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by David Clark 1 on 28/09/2015 13:04:01:

Hi involute curve I can't see what is on the thread until I look at it. That is why it is better on its own thread.

In my opinion it is the only way to see what is in a thread (i.e. read it). A great percentage of thread content bears no relation the thread topic or title.

My decision whether to read or ignore a particular posting is mainly based on the thread title (so 'I' might not look at model related titles) but I realise I probably then might miss interesting engineering information. Whilst I am interested in aircraft and aviation I usually avoid the dedicated topic here because its just too general, more specifically I cannot tell from the thread title what is currently being discussed. If I felt inclined I would probably seek out an aviation forum as in all likelihood the various aviation aspects would be separated out.

Maybe bee keeping, dog walking etc should have their own threads, but then maybe sites like Facebook cater better for those types of subjects (I would not know as I have not succumbed yet)

Ian P

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Well my vote is to leave it as it is! I'm not greatly interested in astronomy but the odd posts about this and other " non- core " subjects under " What did you do today?" give some snippets of info. and are a pleasant diversion and a glimpse into other folk's interests. If there are lots of posts on the subject then, sure, a dedicated thread is appropriate ( although maybe not on a ME forum ? 😐

Norman

Edited By NJH on 28/09/2015 16:25:53

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I like "off topic" threads like astronomy, bee keeping and aircraft. If they gain enough momentum (ie rate of postings) then perhaps it makes sense to group them into a dedicated thread. Makes it easier to review similar content which otherwise gets lost in the river of general posts. No need for hard and fast rules though. This isn't Germany, Tommy.

Murray

[davebParticipant @daveb17630]

Posted by Muzzer on 28/09/2015 16:47:02:

I like "off topic" threads like astronomy, bee keeping and aircraft. If they gain enough momentum (ie rate of postings) then perhaps it makes sense to group them into a dedicated thread. Makes it easier to review similar content which otherwise gets lost in the river of general posts. No need for hard and fast rules though. This isn't Germany, Tommy.

Murray

GIVE US A FEW MORE YEARS UND VE VILL CONTROL EVERYTHING, HEINZ. Do not underestimate us, der Beanz are ours already!

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