I placed my own ladder order with Tallman this morning.

Brenda tells me that so far there are only the (2) orders, so please, if you
have been thinking about this, get your order in ASAP. Brenda @ Tallman says
that if other orders don't get placed in a timely fashion they won't be able
to get them built in time to ship.

I've used these tripod ladders on several occasions, and I can tell you from
personal experience that they are very light and very stable. Because of the
geometry of the layout, it is virtually impossible to lean out too far and
tip over. Even from the very top of Jimi Lowrey's 16-foot version, the
feeling of stability is very comforting, and having the steps close together
is worth the price right there, no more stooping or stretching to get to the
eyepiece.

By the way, my girlfriend Debbie could single-handedly move that 16-foot
ladder as needed, so moving a 6- or 8-foot version is no chore at all. If
you have been using a standard unmodified ladder, treat yourself to one of
these and you will be a happy camper.

As my old Pappy used to say, "Buy the best, you will never be disappointed."

\Paul A


-----Original Message-----
From: goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Randy
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 12:22 PM
To: goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [G Star] Re: Interest in Tallman 3 leg ladders delivered to GSSP?

I decided to proceed with organizing a group purchase with Tallman ladders
as originally specified.

I sent a writeup to Richard to add to the GSSP distribution emails and/or
GSSP website.  I will hold off re-posting that info until I see what he
finds fit to print.

The gist of the new info is that of the 5 ladder interest expressed in this
thread, the shipping would be $30 per ladder based on (5) 10' ladders (worst
case scenario).  If that number increases to 10, the cost drops to $25 per
ladder.  Greater quantities lower the shipping costs further and are in the
original post.

If you feel you have enough info to proceed, feel free to contact Tallman
directly and place your order.  Tell Brenda its for GSSP. She'll take a %50
deposit as the order is placed.

So, lets see what info gets distributed on this topic to the GSSP audience.
In the mean time I will field questions on this forum.

Randy



------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the goldenstatestarparty
group.

   File        : /GSSP 2011.kmz
   Uploaded by : barker4 <ibarker@...>
   Description : Google Earth Overlay  of GSSP 2011 site

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goldenstatestarparty/files/GSSP%202011.kmz

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/web/index.html
Regards,

barker4 <ibarker@...>

hey, my wife is still on the fence for joining me this year....  whats
the cuttoff date for pre-ordering the BBQ's ?

On 05/13/11 11:12 AM, Ivor Barker wrote:
>
>
> I see the site map has been updated.
>
> http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org/site/site-plan
>
>


fyi, I updated it a bit to correct the scale indications, and also added
a .KMZ (google earth overlay file) using the updated file.  turns out my
'100 meter' line was more like 160 meters, and the 200 meter line was
like 320 meters.   I knew I shoudl have double checked the scale,
hah!     Each row in the main camping area is about 100 meters long and
the crossroads are about 20 meters apart, so there's 10m (~32 feet) from
the road to the midline between the crossroads.    This is traced
exactly over the aerial photographs of a previous GSSP as seen on Google
Earth/Maps.

I have placed my order. Please remember all orders now have to be built. So if
you are thinking of this, do it now. These ladders are tripod ladders which work
great on uneven ground (no rocking) and have a different step cadence if I am
not mistaken... So it's really nice for those like me that often are a step too
high or a step too low. This is the same type of ladder as seen here and is rock
steady Of course I did not order a 16 foot ladder!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffgortatowsky/4593605675

 

hey, my wife is still on the fence for joining me this year.... whats
the cuttoff date for pre-ordering the BBQ's ?

I am planning my observing sessions for GSSP 2011 and need to know the Sky
Brightness at the site for my planner.

I would appreciate anyone's prior measurement of this.

Regards,
Curtis

See message #284...

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/goldenstatestarparty/message/284

... where a few hours of 22.0 were reported, although by a guy who slept
through them ;>)

Also, check messages between 301 and 306, there is some discussion there...

\Paul A

-----Original Message-----
From: goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of curtismacc
Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2011 3:09 PM
To: goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [G Star] Anyone know the Sky Brightness @ GSSP

I am planning my observing sessions for GSSP 2011 and need to know the Sky
Brightness at the site for my planner.

I would appreciate anyone's prior measurement of this.

Regards,
Curtis


------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

 

See message #284...

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/goldenstatestarparty/message/284

... where a few hours of 22.0 were reported, although by a guy who slept
through them ;>)

Also, check messages between 301 and 306, there is some discussion there...

\Paul A

-----Original Message-----
From: goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of curtismacc
Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2011 3:09 PM
To: goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [G Star] Anyone know the Sky Brightness @ GSSP

I am planning my observing sessions for GSSP 2011 and need to know the Sky
Brightness at the site for my planner.

I would appreciate anyone's prior measurement of this.

Regards,
Curtis

------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

On 05/15/11 3:53 PM, Paul Alsing wrote:
> See message #284...
>
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/goldenstatestarparty/message/284
>
> ... where a few hours of 22.0 were reported, although by a guy who slept
> through them ;>)
>
> Also, check messages between 301 and 306, there is some discussion there...

note those are all from GSSP 2008, which was the smokey year.  2009 was
plagued by sketchy weather (that was hte year it poured the first night,
IIRC.   2010 had quite good weather, but I don't know if anyone has any
sky readings.   I spent quite a bit of time looking at dark nebula in my
campmate's Meade 16" dobson.    my subjective experience is that the sky
is so dark that the milky way lights up the ground.  too many effin'
stars :)


--
john r pierce                            N 37, W 123
santa cruz ca                         mid-left coast

I have about 10 observations form the GSSP site (Frosty Acres Ranch) and other
additional locations around Adin on Skykeekpers California Sky Quality
Observations Page.  (see first few locations)
http://www.skykeepers.org/ca-skyquality.html

My SQM Readings Range from 21.32 to 21.83 at GSSP.
SQM Sn #0814 is the Original ~42° model and SQM Sn #2752 is the SQM-L.
Most values are the average of 5 or 10 reading.
The Shingletown location is also listed.

Unihedron reports that any reading of or above 22 are suspect, so 21.8 or 21.9
is very dark.
"Also, a reading of greater than 22.0 is unlikely to be recorded and the darkest
we've personally experienced is 21.80." Unihedron FAQs.
Although I have logged 21.95 and 22 at Bucks Lake.
When you get into these reading you actually are measuring star light.

I would appreciate any others readings from around the state.
Please include SQM Model and SN in addition to usual location, time, reading,
observer.

Regards
Jack Sales
jesales@...
Calif. Chapter IDA

--- In goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com, "curtismacc" <curtismacc@...>
wrote:
>
> I am planning my observing sessions for GSSP 2011 and need to know the Sky
Brightness at the site for my planner.
>
> I would appreciate anyone's prior measurement of this.
>
> Regards,
> Curtis
>

On 05/17/11 4:13 PM, calidaman wrote:
> My SQM Readings Range from 21.32 to 21.83 at GSSP.
> SQM Sn #0814 is the Original ~42° model and SQM Sn #2752 is the SQM-L.
> Most values are the average of 5 or 10 reading.
> The Shingletown location is also listed.
>
> Unihedron reports that any reading of or above 22 are suspect, so 21.8 or 21.9
is very dark.
> "Also, a reading of greater than 22.0 is unlikely to be recorded and the
darkest we've personally experienced is 21.80." Unihedron FAQs.
> Although I have logged 21.95 and 22 at Bucks Lake.
> When you get into these reading you actually are measuring star light.

probably off topic for this list, but what exactly is this SQM scale
based on?   I would expect a 'darkness' scale to approach zero for
absolute darkness, probably logarithmically.

and, yeah, the stars would get in the way of any such, and depending on
what part of the sky you're reading (summer milky way vs whatever?) make
readings rather arbitrary.

--
john r pierce                            N 37, W 123
santa cruz ca                         mid-left coast

Thanks everyone for your inputs.  I've input 21.7 into SkyTools 3 for the GSSP. 
Hope to see you all there.

Best Regards,
Curtis

--- In goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com, "curtismacc" <curtismacc@...>
wrote:
>
> I am planning my observing sessions for GSSP 2011 and need to know the Sky
Brightness at the site for my planner.
>
> I would appreciate anyone's prior measurement of this.
>
> Regards,
> Curtis
>

The SQM uses magnitudes/square arcsecond, a standard measure of sky
brightness, or in other words, the brightness of a patch of sky one
arcsecond square.

The higher the value, the darker, as with all magnitudes.

On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 5:31 PM, John R Pierce <pierce@...> wrote:
> On 05/17/11 4:13 PM, calidaman wrote:
>> My SQM Readings Range from 21.32 to 21.83 at GSSP.
>> SQM Sn #0814 is the Original ~42° model and SQM Sn #2752 is the SQM-L.
>> Most values are the average of 5 or 10 reading.
>> The Shingletown location is also listed.
>>
>> Unihedron reports that any reading of or above 22 are suspect, so 21.8 or
21.9 is very dark.
>> "Also, a reading of greater than 22.0 is unlikely to be recorded and the
darkest we've personally experienced is 21.80." Unihedron FAQs.
>> Although I have logged 21.95 and 22 at Bucks Lake.
>> When you get into these reading you actually are measuring star light.
>
> probably off topic for this list, but what exactly is this SQM scale
> based on?   I would expect a 'darkness' scale to approach zero for
> absolute darkness, probably logarithmically.
>
> and, yeah, the stars would get in the way of any such, and depending on
> what part of the sky you're reading (summer milky way vs whatever?) make
> readings rather arbitrary.
>
> --
> john r pierce                            N 37, W 123
> santa cruz ca                         mid-left coast
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

hi -- i've never been to a star party and am considering GSSP 2011 as the first.

i image regularly from my back yard and have done it with the idea of being
portable/untethered to home amenities so i think i have the requirements for
imaging away from home down (assuming i don't forget anything).

but i don't camp when i do that, so i have a lot of questions/uncertainly about
the camping side of a star party.  i get i need a tent, place to sleep, ground
cover, shade, etc.  it's more on the food/water side i have no clue.

1. do i need to bring my own water supply
2. food supply.  it looks like dinner is available (bbq), but what about other
meals/snacks.  is there food available?  can i drive 'into town' for breakfast
or lunch?
3. how do you refrigerate food for 3-4 days?

other newbie camping tips very much appreciated.

Lee

 

hi -- i've never been to a star party and am considering GSSP 2011 as the first.

i image regularly from my back yard and have done it with the idea of being portable/untethered to home amenities so i think i have the requirements for imaging away from home down (assuming i don't forget anything).

but i don't camp when i do that, so i have a lot of questions/uncertainly about the camping side of a star party. i get i need a tent, place to sleep, ground cover, shade, etc. it's more on the food/water side i have no clue.

1. do i need to bring my own water supply
2. food supply. it looks like dinner is available (bbq), but what about other meals/snacks. is there food available? can i drive 'into town' for breakfast or lunch?
3. how do you refrigerate food for 3-4 days?

other newbie camping tips very much appreciated.

Lee

On Mon, May 23, 2011 7:45 am, Richard Ozer wrote:

> You do need ground cover and we recommend an easy-up for some shade.

Because afternoon breezes can be strong, a sturdy one easy-up canopy, with rope
to secure the
corners.

Mark

on the GSSP web site it says there is a charging station.  i use two batteries
during an overnight session and they take several hours to fully charge the next
day.  is the charging station able to accommodate what i would guess is
'hundreds' of batteries needing charging each day?

how does that work out in practice?  how many outlets and how much time is
permitted to connect to them considering it's a shared resource?  do people
bring their own generators to recharge? (the sound during the day may make
people insane, but wondering how it works)

thanks

Lee

i've been giving some thought to an imaging plan if i attend GSSP.  i use
ccdnavigator and setup a site location based on GPS coordinates from the
website.

ccdnav is telling me astronomical darkness doesn't occur until 22:50 and ends
around 3:30am... is that right?!  (using july 1 date).  seems like a short night
to me, but i am in AZ, don't have DST, and am at a lower latitude (34deg)... so
i think that makes sense but wanted to get confirmation from you CA experienced
observers.

thanks

Lee

> is the charging station able to accommodate what i would guess is 'hundreds'
> of batteries needing charging each day?
> how does that work out in practice?

In practice you won't see hundreds of batteries :-) There aren't that
many people who need the service believe it or not.

I never had a problem recharging my batteries. Worst case you *may*
have to wait a bit.

Rogelio

> ccdnav is telling me astronomical darkness doesn't occur until 22:50 and ends
around 3:30am... is that right?! (using july 1 date). seems like a short night
to me, but i am in AZ, don't have DST, and am at a lower latitude (34deg)... so
i think that makes sense but wanted to get confirmation from you CA experienced
observers.

I don't know the *exact* time, but that sounds about right, give or take.
Some of us do consider that to be somewhat unfortunate, but the event
as a whole is still so much fun, it is well worth it.
You just won't be imaging nearly as long as you'd like.

Some visual observers - and maybe some imagers - will tell you that
everyone hits the sac way before 3am anyway. Hah!

I actually enjoy the morning twilight, contemplating Mount Shasta's
morning colors, looking at the whole field, not long ago full of
active folks but now empty of people - maybe just 2-3 die-hards still
around... Some maybe even just waking up... There's something I like
about being there and witnessing all that, not sure why...

Cheers,
Rogelio

thanks, rogelio.

since i started to use ccdautopilot to control my sessions, i stopped staying up
all night, which has been a great relief :-).  i figure the first night will
have lots of fumbling, being in unfamiliar surroundings, but surely by nights 2
and 3 i hope to be sleeping my midnight :-)

my wife and i are stilling working out 'logistics', but hope we can make it to
our first star party.

Lee

--- In goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com, RBA <rba@...> wrote:
>
> > ccdnav is telling me astronomical darkness doesn't occur until 22:50 and
ends around 3:30am... is that right?! (using july 1 date). seems like a short
night to me, but i am in AZ, don't have DST, and am at a lower latitude
(34deg)... so i think that makes sense but wanted to get confirmation from you
CA experienced observers.
>
> I don't know the *exact* time, but that sounds about right, give or take.
> Some of us do consider that to be somewhat unfortunate, but the event
> as a whole is still so much fun, it is well worth it.
> You just won't be imaging nearly as long as you'd like.
>
> Some visual observers - and maybe some imagers - will tell you that
> everyone hits the sac way before 3am anyway. Hah!
>
> I actually enjoy the morning twilight, contemplating Mount Shasta's
> morning colors, looking at the whole field, not long ago full of
> active folks but now empty of people - maybe just 2-3 die-hards still
> around... Some maybe even just waking up... There's something I like
> about being there and witnessing all that, not sure why...
>
> Cheers,
> Rogelio
>

thanks, all.  very helpful info!

Lee

--- In goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com, Ken Hudson <kohudson@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Lee,
>
> We've have been to one GSSP (2009) and we're going again this year.
>
> Here are my thoughts:
>

> since i started to use ccdautopilot to control my sessions, i stopped staying
up all night, which has been a great relief :-). i figure the first night will
have lots of fumbling, being in unfamiliar surroundings, but surely by nights 2
and 3 i hope to be sleeping my midnight :-)

No comments :-)

Cheers,
Rogelio

curious, what is the night time etiquette for visiting your neighbors?

imagers probably don't want people 'stomping' around in their 'space' :-)

the visual observers are probably more into the sharing mode/mood than the
imagers.  do they take up separate ends of the field :-)

Lee

--- In goldenstatestarparty@yahoogroups.com, RBA <rba@...> wrote:
>
> > since i started to use ccdautopilot to control my sessions, i stopped
staying up all night, which has been a great relief :-). i figure the first
night will have lots of fumbling, being in unfamiliar surroundings, but surely
by nights 2 and 3 i hope to be sleeping my midnight :-)
>
> No comments :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Rogelio
>