Wow! It has been a while. Crazy busy, which does not offer the best state of mind for writing. Winter in Maine is a great time to catch up on household projects between clearing snow, snow machine trail blazing, skiing and/or snowboarding. The first an engaged activity, the rest all something other people do.
I was listening to Billy Walker’s classic 1961 version of Willie Nelson’s song “Funny How Time Slips Away”. It’s a version that belongs in 1960’s South Dakota small town bars, some beers, slow dancing, and taking a break from a long, hard work day. It has a wonderful nostalgic sound, very soft, until you get through a few lines and realize it is not a pleasant song at all. Funny how Willie could put a sweet wrapper on a somewhat angry message. I guess when you are slow dancing, you do not focus the lyrics.
Man Trapped In A Microwave – Photographer J. D’Alessandro
You’d think, with sub zero temperatures and frequent snow, being inside would offer winter respite. Yes, “respite” is the word. I looked it up. OK, I Googled it. In any event, there is no respite. Instead, all of the little projects that were easily buried in the summer, because of all the work required outside, presents themselves in a demanding way.
This Maytag microwave, which is actually a Whirlpool manufactured appliance, which is actually the product of a Chinese manufacturer, replaced three predecessors. All were GE and all just quit. I repaired the last microwave several times, until it became a total write off.
The Maytag has been functionally reliable and it has more than enough choices regarding things I would like it to do with my food. Its chimes are soothing, its stainless face and interior are easy to wipe down and its 1200 watts makes quick work of anything it consumes. The problem was bad plastic use in its plastic parts. Without encouragement, they just seem to crack and fall off. In this case, the front of the door separated from the back of the door, so the pieces flapped every time the door was opened or closed. I kept thinking one day leaks would microwave me.
Replacement models were reviewed and rejected; price, features, labor, emotional attachments. So I purchased a replacement door from AppliancePartsPros.com. At about the same cost as a whole new microwave, I was able to replace the door and keep my old comfortable microwave. At least until the next plastic part falls off.
Look down. Now look up. Now look down again
I accept I do not routinely look up. Not that I physically can’t, it’s just that I can’t think of much benefit in doing so. Looking down I might see sharp objects I need to avoid, dropped currency, coolant or oil leaks from vehicles or equipment… gopher or sink holes.
So I was in the spare bedroom which is home to the stack weight machine, looked down at the floor and saw the spots pictured above. I knew I had to look up to find the source, but I didn’t want to look up, because I knew what I would discover. Sort of like those horror movie scenarios where the potential victim sees ectoplasm stuck soundly to the ceiling, but dripping to the floor. Or perhaps a home repair movie where the bathtub is filled to overflow and falls through the ceiling.
Yup, a 4’x4′ section of dark stain waves, clearly the result of an upstairs bathroom leak. I dragged the ladder from the garage to the bedroom, climbed up and put my palm on a dry ceiling??! So I measured from the wall to drip centerline, 12′. went up stairs, measured 12′ and found myself standing in front of the toilet. The area around it was bone dry. The supply line was dry. Under the tank was dry??!
Sometimes a small inspection hole must be cut
That night, I got up at 4 AM, as old men are prone to do, looked down and found a micro pool of water around the supply line bell flange, but the line was dry??! Further inspection, flushing, inspection, flushing… it turned out to be the gasket at the bottom of the tank fill valve that only seeped occasionally, with drops chasing the supply line down into the floor and onto the downstairs ceiling!!! Confident in my assessment, I went back to bed.
The next morning I replaced the filler valve assembly, then cut out a 4’x4′ section of the downstairs’ ceiling to see what would sound and what had to be replaced. I am always worried about mold developing or delaminated sheetrock. Sure enough, there were still wet sections and the pool could be traced to an elbow at the end of the toilet supply line. A couple of days drying and I will clean up the opening, patch, tape and mud, roll on some Zinsser Gardz, then finish paint.
Telescopes and astrophotography
I have not abandoned pursuing astrophotography, in fact, I’ve made some pretty good inroads into preparation. Astronomy appears to yield help oriented individuals and services. So between retail tech support and some very helpful YouTubers, I now know how to proceed. Thanks to Ed Ting, I now know the Celestron Advanced GT mount can be controlled with open source N.I.N.A.. Software intended to control my equatorial mount and other associated devices such as:
Cameras
Telescopes
Filter Wheels
Focusers
Rotators
Switches
Guiders
Weather Devices
Domes
Safety Monitors
This was after retail product support indicated the mount was obsolete and would need a $3,000 replacement and a number of electronic control accessories. I am currently waiting on a USB to serial cable to connect my phone or a tablet loaded with NINA to the mount.
Another concern was the weight of my current set up. The mount with counterweights and tripod, but without telescope and accessories, is about 50 lbs of an unwieldy assembly. I don’t like keeping it in the garage without temperature control, so I park it in the house. It is a bit much to haul in and outdoors to the viewing site between snow storms.I suspect I will make a dolly for it so I can more easily move everything at the same time.
Thanks to credible information received from a very helpful person in Switzerland, Luna Bartek, AKA Space Koala, I have a much better understanding of the ZWO AM3N Harmonic Drive Equatorial Mount Head and associated carbon fiber tripod, and how it differs from a traditional equatorial mount in function and polar aligning. If my current mount works, why does this matter? The combined weight of the mount and tripod is only 14 lbs. If my interest outlives getting my current setup working, I may take a look. Not only is it light, but it is compatible with all modern automation accessories.
Progress…
I think this is it for the weekend. Another coat of mud, a little light sanding and I hope to have it wrapped up on Monday. Enjoy the Super Bowl!