Posts Made By: Jimmie Mayfield

A couple years ago a pair of researchers at Iowa State University announced that the oil produced by catnip plants was 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitos than DEET. I wonder if the mere presence of catnip plants in the immediate vicinity is sufficient to repel some skeeters or if one has to physically wear the nepetalactone oil?

Since catnip is a fairly easy-to-grow perenial herb, it might be interesting to plant some around your observing site just to test. Since your plants will probably attract every cat in the area, chances are any rodent problems would also be solved

An electronic image-stacking eyepiece. Allow the user to select the sample rate and how many samples to stack. Instead of sending the image data to a computer or a television, however, the eyepiece has embedded in it a tiny high resolution LCD or OLED display.

Nice shot. One of the best LX200 images I've seen in a long time. What mount did you use?

And if you have come up with some way to easily move a 10" Meade Cat, I would be interested in that too.

Obviously there's no easy way to make the Meade SCT lighter short of removing it from the fork mount but you can construct a neckstrap to help support the scope while carrying it. Since the Meade SCTs are especially awkward to carry, this really helps. I wish I'd made one sooner. Here's what you need:

* 2 strong nylon dog collars with plastic connectors (not buckles). $2 each.
* 2 stout metal D-rings or hoops. I found a pair of hoops at Lowes. $2 each?
* 2 metal clasping connectors used by rope climbers. Again, Lowes. $2 each?
* 3 yards of 3" nylon strapping like what's used for guitar straps. < $10
* 1 neckstrap adjuster for lack of a better word. It's the thing you use to adjust the length of a guitar strap. I'm sure you can find these at fabric stores but I sacrificed an old guitar strap for mine.
* Strong nylon thread. Go to the fabric store's re-upholstery section.
* Access to a sewing machine with a stout tent- or canvas-sewing needle

Wrap the dog collars around the base of the forks. Adjust them so that they're tight. Shouldn't be any play otherwise they might slide when you lift on them.

Construct the neckstrap just like a guitar or luggage strap but make sure the big metal rings are at the end. This will involve sewing one of the rings to one end of the 3" strap. Thread the other end of the strap through the outer two openings of the strap adjuster and then through the other loop. Then attach the end to the center piece of the strap adjuster. Take a look at how a guitar strap or luggage strap is assembled if I'm not making any sense. Make sure you do a good job sewing the pieces together.

So for less than $20 you can make carrying your Meade SCT far, far easier and safer. It's not difficult to expand on this idea and do a padded neckstrap or maybe even a full shoulder harness like you see used with large brush cutters.

Here's what mine looks like:

http://sackheads.org/~mayfield/pics/neckstrap/neckstrap1.jpg
http://sackheads.org/~mayfield/pics/neckstrap/neckstrap2.jpg

(I hope this msg's formatting looks okay. It looks weird in the preview screen)

I'm curious. Have you (or anybody who has noticed this effect) tried a binoviewer? Do you get the best of both worlds (ie. seeing all the craters that the right eye sees and all the crater rays and surface irregularities that the left eye sees)? Or does the dominant eye override?

Any clues what the subject patent covers? Hopefully other scope/mount manufacturers aren't also infringing.