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.
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. In this post I’ll discuss how this Celestron SkySync GPS doohickey works.
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.
My son, Joe, called the day before and suggested we go for a hike together, which was an excellent idea. No better way to celebrate any milestone of holiday than going for a walk out into the desert.
Joyce’s ankle is healing. Although she can’t walk on it, she has a scooter and a wheeled walker enabling her to get around without any assistance. So no problem for me to take off from home for a day. Continue reading Seventy→
