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29 votes
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Metal detectorist makes Norway's ‘gold find of century’ – cache comprised nine gold medallions and gold pearls that once formed an opulent necklace, as well as three gold rings
8 votes -
Tiny meteorites are everywhere - here's how to find them
7 votes -
How I discovered the Hummingbird Nebula
9 votes -
Any astrophotographers here? Share some nebula and galaxy shots!
12 votes -
Quasar hunting in amateur astrophotography
I'm not sure how big the astrophotography community, if any, is on ~tildes but I'd figure I'd open a topic up and see! Astrophotography is one of my hobbies, and it was brought to my attention...
I'm not sure how big the astrophotography community, if any, is on ~tildes but I'd figure I'd open a topic up and see! Astrophotography is one of my hobbies, and it was brought to my attention (see link for two quasars near the M3 globular cluster) that it's actually pretty easy to photograph quasars. The same are visible in my attempt at photographing M3. Anyway, my question here is does anybody know of any particular interesting or distant quasars to photograph? I assume most will just be "dots" but it still sounds like fun since they're among the most distant objects you can see. I assume most quasars would be broad spectrum, so no filters are really needed, but I'm also curious if there's any bright yet redshifted objects you'd need infrared to capture.
My setup is an Astro-Tech AT80EDT 80mm Refractor f/6. I just got the f/0.8 reducer which I'm excited to take for a spin. It's a chonky piece of glass. My camera is a ZWO ASI585MC which does decent enough for deep sky.
Edit: To add, using something like http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/ is great for finding interesting objects once I've already taken a photo, but it's less helpful to plan my shots.
13 votes -
DLARC Radio Library surpasses 75,000 items of ham radio, shortwave history
2 votes -
Hoard of 1,000-year-old Viking coins unearthed in Denmark – artefacts believed to date back to 980s found by girl metal-detecting in cornfield last autumn
12 votes -
The National Museum of Denmark is paying tribute not to professional archaeologists, but to amateurs with metal detectors
3 votes -
Two pro wrestlers developed ‘The Progressive Liberal’ to be the bad guy at matches. Then the atmosphere turned far darker.
6 votes -
Viking-era sword hilt found near grave of 'Gausel Queen' by amateur detectives – only twenty similar swords of this type have been found in Norway
4 votes -
The uncertain future of ham radio
11 votes -
Stealing Britain's history: When metal detectorists go rogue
9 votes -
A Swedish orienteering enthusiast working on a map earlier in April stumbled across a stash of some fifty Bronze Age relics dating back over 2,500 years
8 votes -
The curse of the buried treasure - Two metal-detector enthusiasts discovered a Viking hoard. It was worth a fortune—but it became a nightmare.
5 votes -
Long-lost US military satellite found by amateur radio operator
9 votes -
The State of California is getting closer to adopting the Fair Pay to Play Act, a law that would end NCAA amateurism as we know it
12 votes -
Archaeologists have confirmed a father-son duo discovered an Iron Age dwelling using metal detectors in Sievi, Finland
7 votes -
Any hams around?
So, I am far from the most experienced, or the most knowledgeable, or the most active amateur radio operator out there, but it is something that has piqued my interest none the less. Before I got...
So, I am far from the most experienced, or the most knowledgeable, or the most active amateur radio operator out there, but it is something that has piqued my interest none the less. Before I got into the hobby, I always assumed that the FCC just game amateurs a small bucket of useless spectrum and that was it. Maybe you could fly an RC plane, but surely that is about as cool as it gets.
It turns out I was dead wrong. Amateurs are allocated bands all across the RF spectrum - more or less. Bands from way below the AM broadcast frequency to way above the microwave frequencies used by our cell phones and wireless routers. Also, you are allowed to legally transmit at up to 1.5 kilowatts of power! That's 3,000 times as much power as your average walkie talkie! :) Also, importantly, the license exam only costs $15.
At many of the lower frequencies, the signals bounce off the ionosphere and you can make contact with people all over the world (propagation gods permitting). At the higher frequencies, you lose that "skip propagation," but more bandwidth is available. There are analog voice repeater networks, digital packet networks, mesh networks running on modified commercial WiFi gear, and even a handful of old school packet BBSes. There are some LEO satellites which run voice repeaters which allow you make international contacts, and sometimes even the International Space Station will participate in events. Lots of cool stuff going on. This hobby is kind of a bottomless rabbit hole of possibilities.
I got my technician license about a year ago, and I have been most interested in the data networking end of the hobby. Despite being a pile of hacks, APRS is still very cool, and sometime soon I hope to set up an AREDN node of my own. Every once in a while I'll call into the local repeaters and shoot the breeze.
So there's my story. Are there any other hams out there?
25 votes -
‘Deep Sleep’: How an amateur porno set off a massive Federal witch hunt
13 votes -
At Atlanta’s rail stations, a transit-oriented soccer league takes shape
5 votes -
Anybody here interested in ham/amateur radio?
I was wondering if there's anybody here who's interested in ham/amateur radio. I'm somewhat interested in it myself, and am planning on getting a BaoFeng BF-F8HP soon as my first radio, as well as...
I was wondering if there's anybody here who's interested in ham/amateur radio. I'm somewhat interested in it myself, and am planning on getting a BaoFeng BF-F8HP soon as my first radio, as well as a Tech (or maybe even General) license.
12 votes -
Thousands of amateur radio operators measured the solar eclipse's effects on the atmosphere
13 votes