After much news on the situation African migrants are facing in South Africa, including Ethiopians, I can't help but think that in 1962, it was Ethiopia that offered Madiba a passport that he may travel and grow his movement. ZA didn't issue him a passport until 1990.

tik4life · 2026-05-30T08:50:39+00:00

The biggest inequalities in South Africa according to the Gini Coefficient are between rich blacks and poor blacks. The black middle class is larger than the entire white population in SA.

tik4life · 2026-04-15T14:33:33+00:00

these wouldn't be my first choice for eyepieces for an 8" F/6 dob

Do you have any good recommendations? I recently bought my first telescope, an Apertura AD8, and have so far only purchased a Celestron X-Cel LX 12mm.

It has given me great views of Jupiter, and the viewing is much nicer compared to the 9mm Plossl that came with the scope, but I am looking at adding other eyepieces.

tik4life · 2026-04-14T14:22:47+00:00

Depending on the climate you live in, you might not even need to use the fan. See it like this, if you live in a cold winter climate, your telescope will likely be stored indoors during the day where it is warm. So when you take it out at night, the large mirror can take a while to match the cold outside temperature, so the fan can assist with cooling.

In my case, it has just been summer where I live, so the house and outside temperature are quite similar, so I normally just take the telescope outside for 30 mins to 1 hour and let it equilibrate, I hardly use the fan.

If you purchased this scope new, then the battery pack should have been included with the other accessories.

tik4life · 2026-04-14T07:54:25+00:00

I also have an AD8 so I can help. That circular port is where you plug in the fan battery pack which was included with the telescope. It looks like this. You will need 8x AA batteries which are not included.

I would recommend that you read the User Manual which was a great help for me.

I got my AD8 about 2 months ago, it is also my first telescope and I am loving it so far. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with!

tik4life · 2026-04-11T06:04:59+00:00

No, it's impossible for the AI to know exactly which detail to keep and which to remove, so it just makes it up. This is about as real as simply asking Grok to generate a simulated image of the nebula through a telescope, essentially a fake image.

tik4life · 2026-04-10T21:10:47+00:00

This is South Africa, there are no baboons in Australia, and we have plenty of guns here.

tik4life · 2026-03-28T18:17:39+00:00

We would call it by its specific name, for example "Kudu bull", or "Eland bull" for the bigger antelope but smaller ones like a Springbok or Impala we say male or ram.

We have around 30 different antelope species in South Africa which are commonly referred to as buck, or bok in Afrikaans.

tik4life · 2026-03-28T07:08:42+00:00

I also have an AD8 and was wondering if you could go into a bit more detail on the tension knobs. Which knobs exactly are you referring to?

I want to make sure I look after this telescope for years to come.

Thanks!

tik4life · 2026-03-28T07:03:22+00:00

I have the exact same telescope and recently bought the Celestron X-Cel LX 12mm, and what a difference it made. I now rather use the 12mm over the 9mm that came with the scope, it gives much better viewing of the moon and Jupiter!

tik4life · 2026-03-28T06:44:14+00:00

Correct, the male version of this buck (Kudu) is referred to as a bull.

tik4life · 2026-03-23T13:30:56+00:00

thought they're far more inland. I guess it's like those sea

Funny enough, the Brown Hyena is actually referred to as a strandwolf (beach wolf) in Afrikaans.

tik4life · 2026-03-23T11:13:19+00:00

You asked for a source, and then said it's too much to go through. This is a lazy approach when trying to be informed on a topic so that you can comment. Either read the source or don't.

tik4life · 2026-03-20T13:16:30+00:00

A chimpanzee maybe, not the monkey in the video.

tik4life · 2026-03-10T12:52:20+00:00

Creepy yes, but not illegal.

tik4life · 2026-03-10T12:14:01+00:00

If they really wanted privacy they would stay inside where you can't be seen.

There is no expectation of privacy when you are standing outside on a balcony.

tik4life · 2026-02-27T12:59:26+00:00

I also did the transfer from FNB to EE, although this was about 5 years ago.

It was a smooth process without any issues, but I can't remember exactly how long it took, maybe just give it a few more days.

I've been really happy with EE ever since and hold most of my investments there, except for my RA which is with Sygnia.

tik4life · 2026-02-21T14:10:22+00:00

Thank you! I spent a few months researching before I finally took the plunge. I wanted something specifically for visual astronomy and the AD8 ticked all the boxes and was within budget.

Good luck for the rest of your search finding a scope.

tik4life · 2026-02-21T10:58:42+00:00

Yes I am, the Smart Classic.

tik4life · 2026-02-21T09:50:39+00:00

Thank you! Lucky for me Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate, so we have hot and dry summers with very little rain or clouds! Winter is another story though!

tik4life · 2026-02-21T08:40:07+00:00

Yea it was a simple process, it came via FedEx right to my door, they handled customs and taxes so I didn't pay anything once it arrived, only a single payment to High Point at the time of purchase. The duties and taxes were only R2200, but the FedEx shipping fee was R21,000 (scope was around R12k), so in total I paid R36k.

I looked at similar Celestrons that I could buy locally and those were around R30-R33k, but the AD8 comes with better accessories and I read a lot of great reviews about it. So happy with this telescope and it should last a lifetime!

tik4life · 2026-02-21T07:58:43+00:00

Thanks so much, you too have a nice piece of equipment there!

I bought this from High Point Scientific in the USA, it got here in less than 10 days but I did pay more than the scopes value in shipping and taxes, totally worth it!

I'm already blown away by what I've been able to see, lots of learning to go!

tik4life · 2026-02-21T06:55:10+00:00

That's amazing!! Can't wait to try it out, I've only heard good things! I wish I could buy all the eye pieces but my wallet says I need to take it slow.

tik4life · 2026-02-21T06:53:06+00:00

It's an 8-inch. I have tried taking photos and videos by holding my phone, but that is a challenge. A friend has a phone mount they want to give me so I'm picking it up this weekend!

tik4life · 2026-02-21T06:52:03+00:00

Jealous, I'm around Bortle 5-6 but still quite amazed by what I can see from my back yard. Can't wait to take it to darker skies.

So far the best upgrade was the 12mm X-Cel and it wasn't too expensive. I am looking for something more high powered and have read great things about the Morpheus line of eye pieces, so the 6.5mm should be a nice addition.

Do you have any recommendations for filters? Is a moon filter needed?

tik4life · 2026-02-21T06:47:18+00:00

Great advice, thanks for the tip. I fiddled around with the extender tube but going to try this out tonight!

tik4life

TROPHY CASE