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There is an expensive Celestron model that takes a database of stars' locations and lets one train the telescope on any specific star one chooses to view, correcting for one's location on earth.
Locating a celestial object should be easy as pie with that device.
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Unless you have money to waste, this is not a model that I would recommend for a beginner.
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Used one of them about a decade ago. It was incredible. At the time, GPS and electronic compasses were simply not available for the inexpensive mass-market, so we had to tell it the lat/long and also orient its base. From there, it knew where it was and what it was looking at. It even had a feature that would take you on a tour of sorts, visiting interesting bodies along the way. It was rather small and nothing like the 18" diam one we've looked at the moon with, but the tour left us speechless.
That was by far one of the neatest things I've played with. Using a manual one to look at the rings of Saturn was another exciting moment. Too bad I didn't take a 35mm photo - that'd be neat, having a negative that was chemically changed by the light that had actually bounced of the surface of the ringed planet.
"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." - John Lennon
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Aperture width is much more important than magnification - the more light it collects, the better.
=========================================================
I'm an optoholic - my glass is always half full of vodka.
=========================================================
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Thanks to all of you for providing feedback. I will check this out and will let you know which one i bought.
Ravi Khoda
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Best thing to do here before spending any money; find a local astronomy club and attend one or more of their skywatches, or stargazing evenings. Something similar to this is ideal: http://nhastro.com/skywatch.php[^]
This accomplishes several things, all without spending lots of money on equipment. 1. it gives you exposure to astronomy as a hobby. 2. It gives you a better idea of whether there is a true long term interest in astronomy. 3. You get to sample a variety of telescopes and their usage. 4. You meet a bunch of hobby astronomers that really know their stuff.
A good telescope is going to be fairly expensive. A cheap telescope is much more likely to turn the budding astronomer away from the hobby than anything else.
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A friend of mine had, as a child, a 6" newtonian reflector with a manual (not motorized) equatorial mount. It provided enough detail that we could recognize nebulae that we'd seen photos of, and brought in enough light that you could use it successfully in the city. It was easy to move outdoors when he wanted to use it. The mount doesn't matter a bit if you're going to use your own eyes to look at stars. It matters a lot if you want to hook up a camera, because an equitorial mount tracks the stars' motion with a single degree of freedom so you can make long exposures. In those bygone days of film that wasn't an issue for kids, but in these digital days, it might be.
It was pretty fun for a summer, but after a couple of years he had moved on.
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The following is a true story, it happened last week. None of the names have been changed to protect the innocent; they are all guilty, in whole or in part, of being involved in a crime against humor.
A pair of co-workers were discussing cell phones, battery life and how much longer batteries are lasting. A portion of the conversation follows:
Tim R : Batteries are lasting a lot longer. What kind of technology are they using?
Michael: I think they're using lithium ion.
Tim R : Are they working on someone new?
Me : I heard they tried NaCl, but were told they can't - it's a salt (assault) and battery.
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Mein Gott.
Each time someone makes a joke like this a Polar bear dies. Luckily Cartesian bears seem unaffected.
Geek code v 3.12 {
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- r++>+++ y+++*
Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
}
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You should be put in a cell and charged!
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I'm an optoholic - my glass is always half full of vodka.
=========================================================
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Someone 'pushed the wrong button' and caused all the VMs to be deleted at a local ISP. Click[^] and click[^]
The company we contracted to take care of our network and source control backups were using Mweb to host it. All the VMs gone without the possibility to get them back. We lost some revision history. I'm sure some others lost a lot more than that.
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I find the Microsoft Azure VMs to be very reliable and very easy to manage, in case you're looking for a new ISP? 
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
modified 31-Aug-21 21:01pm.
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How come that such a button exists?
I always thought that the idea of 'red-button' from the movies is one of the worst...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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It's okay, there are comments around that bit of code:
[HttpPost]
public OmgResult DestroyAllCustomersHopesAndDreams()
{
var companyGoesBustResult = ArmageddonHelper.PerformRitualSuicide();
return companyGoesBustResult;
}
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
modified 31-Aug-21 21:01pm.
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Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote: I always thought that the idea of 'red-button' from the movies is one of the worst...
If you want people to push a button make it red and say don't push this button.
Once you lose your pride the rest is easy.
In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – Buddha
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I just took the cloud survey and the experience you describe (although not explicitly mentioned) confirms my non-positive view of this rather nebulous 'cloud phenomenon'.
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Thats one of the risks in the cloud business. I also hate getting offline 
Press F1 for help or google it.
Greetings from Germany
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Heads. Guillotine. Bucket.
Marc
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Lawsuit
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Heads. Pike. Warning.
Software Zen: delete this;
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"When the men with the power can't keep it under control some heads are gonna roll"
Geek code v 3.12 {
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- r++>+++ y+++*
Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
}
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Quote:
Double-edged was the guillotine that beheaded it
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Hello to everybody!
My task is to write program for testing a control cabinet, if it was built and wired correctly. Inside the cabinet is PLC (industrial controller, for example, Mitsubishi FX3u).The program itself supposed to run on a laptop with Windows OS. The laptop is connected to PLC programming input through USB port.
During the test, some action will be advised on screen, for example: "Connect +24V to terminal 233". Then the corresponding input of PLC has to be checked and evaluated. If it is high, signal and message "OK" to be created. If not-"Error" signal generated. After finishing test all signals are to be saved into a text file for documentation.
Questions.
1. What should I start with? Which software package is better? Visual Studio? Version?
2. Which language is better: C++,C#, VB or..? Personally, I prefer C#, but before this language appeared, many solutions were published.
3. Which drivers, ActiveX or something else what is needed for communication can be used? Where to get them?
Thank You in advance, Wal
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