[Lancaster] Projects and Macs

[andy baxter]

Hi ken,

I just wanted to say I'm amazed at how freaking big that telescope is! I 
thought telescopes that size belonged to universities and such and 
you've got one in your back yard. (I know it's not the size that counts, 
but... ;) )

Glad you're finding interesting things to do with your time. :)

Would be good to see you at the next meeting if you can make it down.

Best wishes,

andy

Ken Hough wrote:
> On Monday 27 July 2009 12:23:41 Wayne Ward wrote:
>   
>> Hi hope all is well anybody on with any interesting projects at all??.
>> Im still on the look out for any apple laptops / computers if anyone has
>> any available
>> I have cash and various hardware to swap
>> Im looking for working and none working apple macs :-)
>>
>> Im wondering if we can make a meeting next month or is it worth again
>> looking at changing the time / night or even location?
>>     
>
> Most of my free time over the last couple of weeks has been taken up with 
> building a run-off shed for my astro telescope. I had a permanent pier 
> installed so that I could leave the mount and scope set up. This means that I 
> will no longer need to carry everything outdoors, set up and do polar 
> alignment, and then in the small hours dismantle and carry everything back 
> indoors. I'm not getting any younger!   :-(
>
> I've attached a pic showing the shed and gear.
>
> I hope that this isn't too much OT. I intend using a PC to help with 
> controlling the mount, focusers, and for capturing images. There's room to 
> fit drop down shelves into the shed  --  should be good during the small 
> hours of those FREEZING clear winter nights!
>
> I've also been trying to develop some software to go with my Arduino/stepper 
> motor project to serve as a remote focusing device for my telescope(s). This 
> will be a GUI/window application that will communicate via a USB port. I'm 
> using the 'CodeBlocks' IDE with the wxWidgets cross platform C++ library. 
> Both are open source and available for MS Windows, Linux and MacOS.
>
> To begin with, I found this to be real headache stuff, but the mental fog is 
> slowly clearing. I'm beginning to enjoy it!   :-)
>
> WRT LUG meetings:
> I wouldn't be too concerned about choosing/changing meeting dates at this time 
> of year. Suggest leaving this until the autumn when people are more inclined 
> towards indoor activities.
>
> Regards
>
> Ken Hough
>
> Note: This is my 2nd attempt at sending this message as the 1st was held as 
> being too big. I've squeezed the attachment some more, so hopefully this will 
> be OK.
>   
>
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