Other hobbies?

Another cool and slow (and very loud) option is the Karman Ghia. It’s the poor man’s Porsche!

I almost bought it, but after 50km with 120km/h (I think that was max speed) I was deaf and my back hurted like hell!

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Literally what we called it :slight_smile:

You can put a real Porsche motor in it. And that changes everything!!!

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racquetball…really enjoy it.

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Astronomy and some astrophotography. I Have two telescopes, SkyWatcher Classic 150P 6" & a custom made 16". both are Newtonian Reflector Dobsonians.
As long as it is clear, cold or warm, I go out for at least an hour+ or longer. Take in the sights, literally. I have some dark areas that give amazing views. The chromatic aberration in the picture is due to useing a cell phone with a cell phone mount on the 6" Dobsonian for the photo. The sensors on cell phones are not made to hande the light intake. I still get great pictures though from a Dobsonian. I am working on motorizing both for some real astrophotography of galaxies, nebulae, etc. So much math involved in doing so accurately and plus adding the weight of a mirrorless camera. Already had custom Dobsonian mounts made as dew, anything wet ruins particle board fast and thats where Skywatcher cut their costs so they can put the money in the optics to make a good telescope, they use crap particle board for something that goes outside where dew it will meet and eventually warp and warp badly.

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Interesting! How well do Dobsonians take to motor mounts? I usually think of those in terms of Newtonian equatorial motor mounts.

Yes, they are Newtonian. They use the term Dob due ot being the main part being modified. From the ones I’ve seen in use, pretty good so long as it isnt cheap kits being used. I am using a “Astro Devices” product from High Point Scientific. Good knowledgeable people there. The 16" is gonna have some tweaking done to it only because the base plate is being custom made a bit thicker to compensate for weight (tooth wear) and to tighten up the rotation timing. The 6" is by far the easiest to modify. Still added $200.00 to the telescope. They go for 450.00 now. I got mine 6 years ago for 350.00 plus 45.00 to ship before COVID-19 hit and the lock downs began and the prices soared due to demand. 6" Dobs went fast, they are good. Was the standard for years to have and many regret selling their 6" Dobs for 8" and up to 12" Dobs. I use the 6" most of the time even though I take them both out and Celestron 15X70’s binoculars, which the binos are what got me hooked. Good thing about the 6" is that it only needs 4 eye pieces to fully maximize all it is capable of and not a handful of eye pieces. 2 for 1.25" and 2 for 2" eye pieces. Barlows and zooms are personal decisions to use and really not needed. Those are good for other size aperatures though. 6" is simple compared to bigger Newtonians. And there is so much they can see too.

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It’s really amazing what you can see in good binocs.

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I was camping at a regional airport with some buddies for a flying weekend, and as we’re sitting around the campfire one of the guys there that I didn’t know quite as well said that he had brought and set up his telescope over by his truck and since it was a nice clear night, we should come check it out.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I surely was insufficiently enthused until I saw what he was talking about, which is apparently what I believe to be a Skyflex 300P:

I can’t claim to remember everything from that evening, but I do recall him showing us some kind of nebula with it, which was really damn cool to see!

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Looks like you have enough space for a pump track, I’d do that in a heartbeat, lol. Then again that slope will be such a pain, :sweat_smile:

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You gotta watch Alex Filippenko’s 96 part documentary " Understanding the Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy".
We watch one or two episodes every evening - nobody loves astronomy and astrophotography more than him, and can convey his passion for it as much. Also, we learned quite a lot, though the series is a little old…

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Oh cool, do you fly? I’m a private pilot but not current, the wife vetoed my aviation and motorcycle hobbies a long time back. Still licensed though of course, never giving that up :rofl:

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I have taken shots of things around Sirius that are not in any catalog.

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Yes, but not general aviation. I had initially planned to get my PPL, then balked at the costs and storage requirements involved. Started looking into FAR part 103 ultralights which helped on the costs, but not so much the storage. Ultimately discovered powered paragliding, where I can bundle the wing up and throw it in my backseat and transport the motor in the back of my truck or on a hitchmount and store it in my garage. For grins, I once disassembled it and fit it in the back of a Mini Cooper.

So yeah, it’s pretty much a flying go-kart, but I love it. Costs me about $5-$10 in gas/oil to go flying for a few hours. I can legally go up to 18000 ft, I have a 360 degree unobstructed view, and can also legally fly low (footdrags are fun) and do aerobatic type stuff. A big downside is that we are far more dependent on having appropriate weather than GA.

There are a few pictures I posted a while back in this thread, here’s a short video:

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Yes it is. Its a great way to see many things with any binos 50x or better. Once I got my binos I was hooked. Then came the telescope purchases and moving on up. Those Celestron binos are real good for viewing. So good they raised the prices on them too. Went from around 68.00 to 99.99.

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Yeah cost was another reason my wife was giving it the serious side-eye. It got much, much more expensive and more of a hassle after 9/11. Back in the '90s it was much better.

Storage is an issue but doesn’t have to be so bad. I was in a partnership in a Cessna 150 we kept in a shade hangar and that was a really cheap way to have fun in the sky.

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That’s one I got into recently. Sold all basses and bass-adjacent things but one.

Me and the oldest boy got into loading and unloading little 30-06 and 243 brass bottles.

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Both of those are my other hobbies also!

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Garden season has officially started for me. Nothing calms me down more than blasting some blackened death metal while tendering to my vegetables and flowers.

Gonna construct a few cold frames. I’m thinking of transforming part of the yard into an English cottage garden style.

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