New World Datsuns...

How is your lettuce doing? I'll be doing indoor starts in about 2 weeks. Last weekend I got my almanac planting schedule and picked out all the things I want to grow this year from my seed stash. Then made a list with planting dates. I think I'm going to double-up on all my starts but delay the second planting by 2 weeks so I'll have redundancies in case we get a surprise late frost like last year. If I don't need the extras I'll just give them to my parents and friends.

DRIVEN wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 4:04 pm How is your lettuce doing? I'll be doing indoor starts in about 2 weeks. Last weekend I got my almanac planting schedule and picked out all the things I want to grow this year from my seed stash. Then made a list with planting dates. I think I'm going to double-up on all my starts but delay the second planting by 2 weeks so I'll have redundancies in case we get a surprise late frost like last year. If I don't need the extras I'll just give them to my parents and friends.

It would not grow in my bathroom under that light(not sure why for sure), so I put it in that little grow room place I made outswide and it still would not grow using that light, so I planted 4 of the plants outside in my garden with a glass cover because it was raining so much and then it got cold and then all but one died, then a cat killed it by digging a hole to shit in because the dry soil under the cover was easier to dig in than the wet soil, I will try again next winter by starting a few plants in the fall in large planters and see if they will grow under the light after established.

So I loaded the photos I had/took at the house as I do not need internet to do that.

This was the first dusting when it first snowed at maybe 10am when it was 35 degrees.


Here are the rest of the photos as time went by, I had at least 6" on the trucks even with the wind blowing as hard as it was.












It got 23 degrees last night and my pond water system plugged up and water over flowed out of one of my filters, it likely pumped about 4" of water out of the pond before the pond pump pickup tube went dry, I have the tube near the surface so if this happens it does not pump all the water out of the pond and kill the fish, it happened likely after sunrise as the surface of the water where the filtered water exits was barely frozen, I could easily break that ice with my finger, I pushed the pickup tube a little lower and got 2 of the three bio-filters flowing again, it actually went above freezing a short time ago, all the snow on my roof should start melting and fill the pond back up again, hopefully that will happen before it freezes again tonight.

I wish it would snow here. This is as of 1 minute ago.

Got up to 80° today.

I don’t think snow is in the cards for me this year.

Well it snowed several times the last several days since I posted them last photos, but none of them times did it stick as the temps were too warm(35 degrees), a couple times they were big flakes, I tried taking photos but the flakes were to spread apart and did not show in the photos, my best photos of flakes are at night where the flash illuminates them.

Well I bought a Demo 10,000 watt generator in late February, got it home and it was hard starting on gas and would not start on propane but would continue to run once switched to propane, it created a small oil spot under it while running, but after shutting down oil started pouring out of the intake filter area and made a huge spot on my garage cement floor.

I started to think scam, the hour meter only showed 20 hours, but this thing had a major issue in my opinion, the guys truck had the company logo and it was sold via a company representative, I first I messaged him and he messaged back and then I called him the next morning and told him the issue/issues, he then called me back later and said they would replace it with a new one, now I am still thinking scam but his phone number was good, he answered every time, I was feeling slightly better but still asked him to message me what he told me over the phone and he did, then it snowed and things kept being put off because of shipping, well he returned my call two minutes after I left a voice mail but I cannot hear my phone ring half the time and noticed he had called a few hours later, he said he expected the units to arrive Friday or Saturday, he called this morning and asked me to came over and exchange the generators, he was there and everything seemed to be on the up and up, I got home and removed the shrink wrap after taking the first photo, then took a couple more pictures.

Here is the oil spot on the garage floor after rolling it in the garage after test running it in the driveway.



And here are the photos of the replacement generator, it is a Cub dual fuel 10,000 watt generator with a 2 year warranty which is what the demo had, it is a silent type generator, he said it was test ran on propane at the manufacturer and already had oil in it, I have not started it yet, the demo came with a full 5 gallon propane tank and regulator, it also has an electric and pull start, it has a 6.5 gallon gas tank which I do not plan on using, I plan to only use propane which cuts it back to 9000 watts(10 percent less), I was clean and decided to go to the Library first before getting dirty.







I am unsure about the break in procedure on the engine, I plan on searching that as it only has an online manual, I do not think it was a scam now, but unsure of the quality of the engine it has if one with 20 hours was toast, I am hoping for better result with this one.

Looks like a nice unit. Hope all goes well.

I started this generator Sunday, all went fine, it started easily on either gas or propane, I did not see any leaks so I am hoping for the best long term.

It was supposed to have an empty/dry tank as I planned on only using propane, Harland thought it was dry and suggested only using propane, but there was fuel in it, it also had oil in it, I suspect it was test started on gas just not sure what type of gas, it might have ethanol gas in it, I have no intension on leaving it in there as I cannot tell what type it is, I will likely drain it and put some non-ethanol fuel in it, run it for a while and turn off the fuel and run the bowl dry, I am unsure if I should fill it with non-ethanol fuel and let it sit for possibly more than a year that way or just keep the non-ethanol fuel in the gas can ready in case it is needed and cycle it thru the Roadster or 520 kingcab every year, I will likely go that route.

The thing about propane is that it has 10 percent less power than gas watt wise(10,000 watts with gas, 9,000 watts with propane), so the 5 gallon propane bottle will not last near as long as the 6.5 gallon tank, this all makes me think about my hot water heater, it went out a decade or more ago and I needed hot water, I did not want to deal with replacing it at that time so I put my hot water machine I used when pressure washing where the wood stove was in my garage using that piping for the exhaust for the burner, my electrical bill was close to a $100.00 a month back then, it went to $60.00 using that burner for on demand hot water, I would just turn it on when I wanted to take a shower and shut it off afterwards, I was using 5 gallons of diesel fuel for a year, that was close to $500.00 savings a year and I used it for that over 2 years, well it finally quit working and I replaced the water heater, my electric bill did not go up any so I did not have the burner fixed, eventually I sold it for a couple hundred to a guy that wanted to try and fix it, that old water heater must have had issues to use $40.00 of electricity a month, maybe it was for 2 months, I do not remember when they went to monthly billing.

Almost every year I lose power once for one reason or another, it was out for over 4 hours once, when this happens I usually grab my inverter and a battery and power the wood stove fan, and TV with that until it comes back on, I never open the freezer, and only open the fridge if I have to, I worry that my meat will spoil if the power stays off too long like has happened recently in the Portland OR area, it was off for days for some, this is why I bought this, way over-kill.

Hope it works out for you. Looks like it will. Hell, at least you got a call back. That’s a win in my book.

I received a set of side bearings for my telescope from Teeter Telescopes, they were not cheap but were the size I needed and had all the coatings needed to be ready to use when mounted, this company has quit making high end telescopes(expensive) recently, but when I asked about side bearings he messaged back that he had planned on making a 20" and the deal fell thru so he was going to offer me the side bearings from that telescope that were already made, it took me a few weeks to decide if I wanted to spend that much, all the other inquiries I sent either fell thru or I got no response, so I bought them for my 16" travel dob/telescope, I want to get rid of all the wood/plywood and make it as easy to deal with as my 20" I use at home.

Here are a couple photos, I have been busy with the Portland Swap Meet or working to start anything on this project, but I will get around to it sooner than later as I want it ready to use when conditions warrant traveling to a dark site.

OK, I have this large 20" dob/telescope, it has a 24" bearing for the base which allows me to push/spin the dob/telescope in a circle, it is basically a "lazy Susan type bearing, the grooves in the 2 pieces where the bearings are are offset, this allows a person remove the bearings, flip the outside bearing over and put it back together so the outer ring is higher than the inner ring, so when the upper section of the base is mounted it does not rub on the inner ring, I suppose a washer could be used to accomplish this also, but this is how the bearing came on the telescope/dob so I find no reason to change it at this time.

Since the aluminum rings are flat and the bearings are in the middle of the two pieces(outer ring/inner ring) there is a gap between the two rings where you can see the ball bearings, this is my issue, moister and dirt can get into the bearings, since they are steel ball bearings they rust which is most the issue, mine rusted, along with the dirt in them also it was not spinning/turning smoothly anymore, I pulled them apart and did the best I could to clean them, but they would just rust again, so I put grease in them also, well grease attracts dirt, so I decided to make covers for the bearing/gap, this is not an easy task, the best cover would go in or out just past the edge of the outside/inside bearing(top/bottom) and turn down for the top so any water/dirt could not get in, this is not something I can make and have it look professionally made, so I bought around 1/16th inch aluminum sheeting and some thin(low profile) 1/4" wide stick on felt, my plan was to cut a ring for the top, put the stick on felt on the inside lower ring and put the ring over/mounted on the outer ring and have it rest on the inner ring where the felt is mounted, well the felt was slightly too thick and the ring rubbed on it too hard and the outer ring did not turn easily, so I made a plastic spacer for the outer ring and now it has a medium gap(slightly over a 1/16"), I made another thinner ring out of the aluminum sheeting and removed the plastic ring and installed the thinner aluminum ring and it still has a gap, but it is a lot smaller gap, it is amazing as it rubs too much without the spacer ring, but that very thin spacer creates an almost 1/16" gap, here are some photos of what I am talking about/doing.























I hope you all can figure out what I am doing, if I use thinner aluminum sheet metal it might bend/grab when I am trying to cut it with my angle head grinder with a cutting disc on it as the jigsaw with a bi-metal blade did not touch this 6061 T6 aluminum sheet metal I am using, , yes I want no gap if possible as grease attracts dirt/dust which messes with the ball bearings, I am sure that the aluminum groove the bearings ride in get ate up also with rusty ball bearings, it would be great to just buy a cover that fit but I suspect I could buy 10 brand new bearings for the cost of one custom made bearing cover, I suspect the second cover would be cheaper, except I would not want the edge pointed up catching water/dirt, so the lower cover would need the felt anyway.

I am making this stuff up as I go.

When I bought this plant(bush cherry) it said on the tag it was good for a lot of things like eating fresh, well it is not really that tasty, I figure it is likely good for Cherry pies. it took 3 or 4 years to produce even 10 cherries, a few years ago it had an alright crop, this year it appears to have more blooms(flowers) than leaves.




There are Raspberries vines mixed in with the bush cherry leaves, the Raspberry leaves are most the green you can see.

Raspberry cobbler and cherry pies. Sounds good to me

I am in the process of building a lighter easier to use 16" travel dob/scope which will be hard because the one I have is very easy to use and it is under 75lbs, but it has a lot of plywood in it and I want to get rid of all the plywood.

Everything you see in the photos weighs 30lbs, the side bearings were made by "Teeter Telescopes" and they were not cheap, but they were ready to use, I screwed up on the top brace in the front(silver tube), it is in the way on the front two truss tubes that hold the UTA(upper tube assembly), this means I drilled two holes in the side bearings in the wrong place, this makes me sad as I was trying as hard as I could to not make a mistake and drill holes I did not need in them as they can not be filled, they are aluminum.





Otherwise most everything is made out of steel so I can change or repair things I mess up, I believe that the primary mirror cell surface that the mirror rests on will be around 4" to 4.5" off the ground by the time I am finished, this will put the eyepiece pointed straight up(at zenith) at about my chin level, people 5'8" would likely not need a stool to see thru the eyepiece, this makes using a chair more likely when observing which is preferable to me, I would rather sit than stand when observing, that was what was so nice about my 14.5" F/4.5 Starsplitter, but sometimes the primary mirror would not cool enough the whole night so everything was blurry, this is why I moved on to sandwich mirrors, they cool fast and keep up with dropping temps.

This is my first try at making a complete dob out of a completely metal structure, I stare at it during TV commercials to see what can be made better or improved, I believe I have been working off and on for a month now.

I have not been posting a lot lately, when it gets hot I do not even want to go to the library as where I sit in the entrance where there are not a lot of people is not air conditioned, I will try to post more.

I need to post more myself. Just not a lot going on.

Yea I know what you mean, I have been busy myself working, but it has finally slowed down, I have not scheduled anyone for work in the last week or two so I have some time off coming next month.

I started over on the mirror cell base, it is the frame the side bearings connect to, the one I made was too flexible, it really did not stay square, so I made another one out of 90 degree angled steel, I am much happier with that one but I had to make so alterations, I am trying to get the mirror cell back to 4.5" off the floor, but the motions of the side bearings are much smoother, if it works out I am going to see if I can have a copy made out of aluminum, I can cut everything, but I do not weld aluminum, the gun I need for my welder would cost over a $1000.00, I do not believe I want to spend that much for something I do not know how to weld, I would have to learn how to weld aluminum, not sure it is worth the expense.

I will get some photos of the new mirror cell frame when I am happy with it.

Well this is what my 16" F/4.42 travel DOB looks like now, I have used it the last few nights, last night was by far the best night conditions wise I have had since late last fall/year, I was actually able to barely see the star just outside of the Ring Nebula gas cloud, last time I could see it clearly, not this time, I am hoping it is better tonight but I am not holding my breath.

















I have done a lot to this DOB, stuff that would not mean anything to someone not really invested in Astronomy, but things that make getting it to the observing spot and observing much easier, unfortunately my backyard is not a bortle 7 area anymore, it is bortle 8 and pushing bortle 9 which is the worst rating there is, I have a sky meter to measure the sky, anything less than 17.80 is bortle 9, I got a reading of 17.08 and 17.12 turned 90 degrees the other day for a 17.10 average and I have seen 16.something numbers in the past, I forgot to measure last night, tonight is supposed to be just as good.

I’m assuming bortle is light pollution ratings? Or is it atmospheric pollution?

Taterhead wrote: ↑Wed Jun 14, 2023 12:07 pm I’m assuming bortle is light pollution ratings? Or is it atmospheric pollution?

Light pollution rating is correct, anything below 17.80 is Bortle 9, I have seen 16.something in the past at my house, my normal lately has been mid/high 17.something, I have seen as high as 18.73 since buying the sky meter, I have never seen a 19.something at my house although I suspect I have had a few over the last couple years, the dark site I go to I seen 21.52 once, the other time was 21.3 something, I have been there maybe 8 times, they claim it is a Bortle 3 site, but it has been Bortle 4 for me, I bought the sky meter near the end of last years dark site outings.

There is a lot involved with Bortle ratings, seeing(air moving), transparency(air quality), and the clouds and smoke in the air are involved, there are not many Bortle 1 places left anymore in the USA, some states do not have any, Arizona/New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah have some, I think Southern Oregon has one area, but Washington State has none, we have a few Bortle 2 areas all in north eastern Washington near the Canadian border, there is one spot east of Lake Chelan close to Banks Lake where I used to fly hang gliders in the summer that is Bortle 2, but that is 6 hours of 70+ driving and it is only around 2000 feet above sea level, it is better observing at 4000+ at my Bortle 3 site, less atmosphere to look thru.

There is a 6000' observing site on the NE side of Mount Hood called "Cloud Cap", but it is basically a 4wd road that 2wd vehicles go up for hiking, it is a very long unimproved road with trenches in the road to divert rain water off the road, you need to pay an Oregon trip/hiking pass to be there online, I have no way of paying for the pass online and that road is hard on the truck and likely the telescopes, my frame hit the ground a few times going up that road, rocks stick 6"+ up out of the switchback road, the only time I went up there I seen a Mobile Home at the top, some crazy California woman drove it up there, the last 100 yards the road is so narrow I was worried my truck was too wide, and she drove a dually Mobile Home on it, but she had no place to turn around and had to get to the trail head hiking spot to even try to turn around, but the top area/pad was big enough to turn it around, I decided I would never likely go there again, too hard on the truck, every corner you think "I hope I am almost there", in reality your not even half way yet and already thinking that, I almost turned around a few times, but the farther I went, the more I wanted to get there so I could say I made it.

My neighbor gave me this old gate that she had bought some decretive add-ons for, she had planned on having 3 circles on the top, 2 in the middle, and 1 on the bottom, sort of like a curtain, she had already cut them so I welded them back together and made it 3 on the top and middle on each side, then I added screen on the bottom section for the trellis type "Tasty Green" type cucumbers to get a grip on, otherwise I would have to constantly help them clime the structure, I dragged it over to the supposedly green house and mounted it on the front, I only use the green house in early April but I determined I need to get my seeds/plants started earlier next year, maybe enclose it and use a small heater to keep it above freezing at night.



This gate had been sitting against my wood shed for a while, I do not remember if I mentioned getting it or not, this was my plan when I went over and looked at what she was trying to get rid of/off her property, I think it will make a good trellis.