So the title of this site is “Nick’s Excellent Camping and Backpacking Adventures.”
But there haven’t been many adventures to write about in the past year, and zero since Joyce broke her ankle last September.
That is about to change.
Continue reading Where Have the Excellent Camping and Backpacking Adventures Gone?
In my last post I discussed the inaccuracy of an iPhone compass, and I promised to share the results of my Cammenga compass. The task, if you read the previous post, was to align my telescope mount to true North.
The challenge is the top of the mount is angled upward about 34 degrees, so I can’t place the compass on the top of the mount. So, I had to take a different approach.
Continue reading How Accurate is a Cammenga Lensatic Compass?
It’s been a while since I posted anything here. With the COVID pandemic we have been pretty much stuck at home. Unlike most people, I’ve been having a blast with my hobbies. So much fun, in fact, there is no time for TV or blog posts.
This is about the built-in compass app in my iPhone SE. Not the newest SE version, but the original SE. No, I am not taking my iPhone backpacking.
I needed an accurate compass to set up my German Equatorial Telescope Mount, and the iPhone seemed like a perfect solution.
The result was surprising.
Interesting that the most popular post on this site is Tire Pressure Secrets for Camping Trailers & Tow Vehicles with over 17,000 views since I published it in 2016.
Perhaps it isn’t popular and folks just think I’m an idiot. Given that, tires are important.
I just replaced the tires on our camper, which were a little over 4 years old. It might be helpful to share this information as to when tires should be replaced. Not when the tread is worn, which should be an obvious indicator, but is there a certain time limit for tires? Continue reading When Should You Replace Your Trailer Tires?
Many years ago, back before I had a cell phone with a GPS chip, I bought a dedicated GPS unit for my telescope. Even though I can use my cell phone to enter the time, latitude and longitude into the hand controller of my scope, I continue to use the Celestron GPS unit only with this particular mount and only when I am visually observing.
When I am taking pictures the mount is connected to a computer and it is easier to just enter the coordinates into the computer. I have two other telescope mounts that I only use for taking pictures. I don’t use a GPS unit with them either.
So the bottom line is you don’t need one. For somethings it is a “nice to have” item. For what it costs there is probably some other piece of equipment that would provide more value for the money, such as an eyepiece, a filter or a Bahtinov Focusing Mask, such as the one I bought for my Celestron 8″ telescope.
$24.99 (as of March 31, 2025 00:15 GMT -07:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
In this post I’ll discuss how this doohickey works. Continue reading Telescope Buying Guide For Campers (Part 7)