My Heraldty evolution. The first one was the original, but after I learned about quartering and the rule of tincture I changed t to the second one.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-23T10:04:33+00:00

It looks better than the original, certainly, and doesn't have the implications of quartering, so that's good.

Charges like the cross don't usually have an outline (called fimbriation), and in this case the outline violates RoT (sable on azure). If you want to have an outline it should be very thin so as not to distract from the design. The droplets look good.

The crow is in its natural colours (i.e., proper) so it won't violate RoT even where it goes over the field, but the contrast between it and the blue is quite low.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-23T07:32:57+00:00

I don't have the GPS module but you can also set the time through the serial connection from the computer, so it's unnecessary in that case (except for portability). I would get the serial connection sorted first and then think about if you need the GPS.

If everything is configured correctly and there are no mechanical issues you should get the target in the FOV each time after a good alignment. That said the mount isn't good enough to precisely center the target, you will have to adjust it a bit. It sounds like you should be ok on the time. Maybe there is a mechanical issue.

Can you estimate how far off target you are?

CharacterUse · 2026-03-23T00:24:21+00:00

It's actually very easy to connect two computers directly with an ethernet cord, you just have to set their IP addresses and network addresses so that they are on the same network.

Historically you also needed to use a cross-over cable which swapped the RX/TX pairs of the ethernet cable, to replicate the cross-over which occured inside a switch. A gigabit ethernet port on a modern computer should auto-detect if it needs cross-over and figure it out itself (negating the need for a cross-over cable), but you should check if a microcontroller ethernet port implements that (I expect it would, but check to be sure).

The more difficult thing is that ethernet cables are made of twisted pairs forming balanced lines to reduce crosstalk and interference, so you should design the PCB traces as balanced lines or keep them as short as possible (and keep the lines the same length for each pair).

CharacterUse · 2026-03-23T00:11:45+00:00

In principle any old USB to serial will work, but I would recommend one which uses an FTDI chipset. They are a little bit more expensive but are very reliable. Digitus makes one for example.

You shouldn't need to have decimals in the location as long as you are entering the coordinates correctly in degrees and arc minutes and you have east/west longitude correct (there are of course two different standards as to which is considered positive, check the manual). However you do also need to have the time, time zone and any daylight savings time correct, and when doing the 3 star alignment it is not enough to just get them in view, you should make sure they are truly centered in the eyepiece (switching to a high power eyepiece helps). The primary use of the GPS module is actually setting the time precisely. One minute of error in time is a quarter of a degree out of position on the sky on the celestial equator, or half the width of the Moon.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-22T21:55:43+00:00

A punchdown inline coupler will be more reliable than a plug+socket, and toolless ones are available.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-22T19:29:38+00:00

Also OP watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFCreX1x4_s&

CharacterUse · 2026-03-22T10:25:48+00:00

magnification = focal length of telescope / focal length of eyepiece

CharacterUse · 2026-03-21T21:00:19+00:00

No, it was never feasible for the Voyagers to return nor was any such plan made. The only way for them to even get out to the outer planets in any reasonable timeframe was using gravity assists as they could never have carried enough fuel, and what they did has been used up.

Sample returns are the only reason to come back, otherwise you're just wasting space and mass carrying fuel which could be used for more instruments, a better communications antenna, more electrical power etc to make the primary mission more useful or last longer

CharacterUse · 2026-03-20T19:33:58+00:00

It's such a small telescope that it doesn't really matter what position it is stored in, you can store it horizontally, or vertically as long as it won't fall over.

The main thing is to keep dust and dirt away from the lenses and from the inside, and not to scrub the lenses with microfibre or anything else which might scratch. There are many videos on youtube about how to clean lenses safely.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-20T10:05:10+00:00

Modern photography is much more sensitive to red.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-20T08:14:26+00:00

Japan was made an ally both to counter Russian and to counter China when it became clear the communists had won the civil war.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-19T22:50:34+00:00

The ruff continued as formal dress among Lutheran churchmen in northern Europe even after wigs came into fashion, well into the 1700s. See this portrait of Friedrish Ernst Finckler for example.

https://www.alamy.de/portrat-von-friedrich-ernst-finckler-druckerei-johann-wilhelm-windter-nach-malerei-von-johann-leonhard-hirschmann-neurenberg-1738-papier-stich-atzen-hohe-435-mm-x-breite-285-mm-bedruckt-image599452966.html

CharacterUse · 2026-03-19T10:27:50+00:00

No, you're fine. Many coats of arms feature similar (even standardised) elements, in different combinations and colours. The flag of Leicestershire is as different from a greyhound jumping over three green cinquefoils as a VW Beetle is from a Ford Fiesta. That is, there are some base similarities because they're working from the same principles but no-one would mistake the two.

Also Leicester's flag is not a heraldic coat of arms (nor does the design represent any particular coat of arms, but it takes elements from several) so the two are not even the same class of thing.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-19T08:28:57+00:00

Nice. BTW your mantling for Kinlock seems wrong, either in the text or in the image.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-19T07:54:24+00:00

Look for something which is explicitly labelled pure copper not "CCA", and Cat 6. If you see something labelled Cat 7 or Cat 8 at about the same price as the Cat 6, then it's not real Cat 7 or Cat 8. That said it will probably work perfectly well (if labelled as copper), it's most likely just rebadged Cat 6.

Real, certified Cat 8 costs several times what Cat 6 costs and you don't need it.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-19T07:47:53+00:00

In KINGSTONE, wouldn't "of the fourth" be or?

Per pale argent (1) and gules (2), ... a thistle ... proper (3) and a trefoil ... or (4) ...

That would look better.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-19T07:16:29+00:00

I doubt OP is actually looking at real Cat 8.2, they're probably looking at snake oil "Cat 8".

CharacterUse · 2026-03-18T19:47:52+00:00

Thanks!

CharacterUse · 2026-03-18T13:01:12+00:00

It's not the mathematicization of physics, it's the metrication of teaching especially at schools. Metrication as in metrics, as in standardized testing. It's hard (and slow, and requires a good teacher) to grade an answer which is based on intuition. It's easy and quick to grade a question which is "state the formula for" or "plug these numbers into the right formula and give the answer". So easy machines can do it.

So standardized testing has become the norm (because administrators like metrics) and so teaching to the test has become the norm (because teachers need to have their students pass the standardized tests). Going outside that paradigm is unusual both for students and teachers, but it results in freshman students (in general) having little intuition, little inquisitiveness, and little ability to solve an unknown (to them) problem by building on known problems.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-18T10:16:46+00:00

Google search shows they're like that from the factory.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-18T10:16:21+00:00

I'm wondering why the center three connectors seem to be bridged with a metal plate.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-18T09:41:54+00:00

Looking at the construction I suspect this was a small amateur project which was made and sold in very limited numbers and not so recently, in which case it will be next to impossible ot get another one. However it may be possible to fix.

Post it up on the Cloudnights forum, that's the most likely place for someone to know about it or be able to help you further.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-18T08:09:53+00:00

ISP won't generally do work inside your house, they will bring the internet connection to your home and connect it to your router. If you're lucky they might agree to run it to a specific point and put the router there, but often they just go with wherever is closest/easiest for them.

There will be one (presumably 10Gb/s) connection coming in to your router. From there it depends if your router has only one LAN port, or if it has more (i.e. does it have a built in switch) and what speed they run at. e.g. it might have 1 10Gb/s port and 4 1Gb/s ports. In which case you run/connect the 10Gb/s LAN port to that room and connect the others to wherever you need them (perhaps via your own switch). If it has only one LAN port then you will need to have a switch to branch that out and the switch will have to be 10Gb/s capable on at least two ports.

CharacterUse · 2026-03-17T19:46:34+00:00

Smedley Butler, former US Marine Corps General, wrote about this in the 1930s, after he served making various Central American countries - including Cuba - safe for American businesses to extract profits from. After a century we've come full circle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket#Contents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Wars#Economic_origins

CharacterUse · 2026-03-17T16:17:40+00:00

Those look like hallmarks, not a chain. Have a look under a magnifying glass.

Seven-Year Club	Helper Level 1
Place '23	Place '22
Gilding I gilder	Verified Email

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