Category Archives: Projects

Solar PV Generation Update October 2012

Posted on October 3, 2012 by james

And so the abnormal weather continues… Generation for September this year totalled 333kWh, up 7.5% from the previous September and a somewhat astounding 32% more than would normally be expected for September. That increase completely covers the failure to meet … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, September 2012

Posted on September 11, 2012 by james

We have reached the end of the first year with out solar PV installation and quite an odd one it has been, too. We had one of the mildest winters and generated far more in the first six months than … Continue reading →

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My 10″ Dobsonian ‘build’

Posted on August 20, 2012 by james

I’ve quoted the word ‘build’ because in some respects this turned out not to be. However, there’s a fair bit of woodwork involved, so I reckon it still counts… Some months back I wrote that I had obtained a 10″ … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, August 2012

Posted on August 3, 2012 by james

Well, at last we’ve had a little sunshine this summer, though ten days in July is a pretty poor showing even so. Can’t complain though; it’s a whole lot better than May and June. Generation for July was 407kWh. Lower … Continue reading →

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Dovetail Adaptor for Old EQ3-2 Mounts

Posted on July 12, 2012 by james

My EQ3-2 is one of the older models that has fittings for scope rings, but doesn’t have any form of dovetail clamp. The new models have both. I prefer to use dovetails as it makes swapping scopes around between mounts … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, July 2012

Posted on July 3, 2012 by james

Unless you have some strange rain fetish, June has been an awful month weather-wise. There’s been hardly a single day here when it didn’t rain and even when rain wasn’t falling the sky has been mostly cloudy. According to the … Continue reading →

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50mm Binocular Objective Finder Howto

Posted on June 28, 2012 by james

My second right-angle finder based on a binocular objective is now built (if not yet cosmetically finished) and this time I’ve taken photos so I can now document the construction process. My aim was to make a functioning right-angle finder … Continue reading →

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Xbox Live Camera Base Removal

Posted on June 23, 2012 by james

If you’re modding the Xbox Live camera for astro imaging then the base is just one more thing to get in the way. Here’s how to remove it. I’ll assume you’ve already got the front shell off to start with. … Continue reading →

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Fan-Cooled Xbox Live Camera Howto

Posted on June 23, 2012 by james

I modded a second Xbox Live camera to add a fan today and this time took photos, so here’s how it’s done. This one is slightly different from the first in that I’ve not chopped down the lens housing to … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, June 2012

Posted on June 18, 2012 by james

Well, another awful month weather-wise and they say there’s more to come 🙁 Generation for May was, oddly, exactly the same as for April at 395kWh. I was hoping for anything between 500kWh and 650kWh. You’d think all of those … Continue reading →

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