projects
How We Hacked a 50-Year-Old German Giant
The Stardome Carl Zeiss retrofit: Software Bisque electronics, custom engineering, an angle grinder, and a bottle of chocolate sauce.
Read more →AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · ZL1STE
Hello. I’m Steve.
Projects from observatories, amateur radio, and whatever else turns up on the workbench.
Projects
Things I've been doing !
Astronomy
Observatories, instruments and amateur science.
astronomy
Practical Astronomy Recap: Equatorial Mounts
Why do I actually need an equatorial mount, and how on Earth do I set one up down here in the Southern Hemisphere?
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Through Other Eyes: Lenses, Mirrors, and the Night Sky
When you first dive into stargazing, it’s easy to think of a telescope as a tool that simply makes things bigger. While magnification is part of the equation, a telescope’s true superpower is gathering light.
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Tools built to solve a particular problem.
software
WSJT-X × Touch Portal
Live FT8 status, CQ and caller rosters, and useful operating actions on a Touch Portal deck.
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Commander Guide
A practical Strixhaven Commander companion: less card-text recital, more useful reminders at the table.
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K8055 Dome Diagnostics
A small practical tool for understanding observatory dome encoders, home sensors and calibration parameters.
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Quillmancer
A Magic tool for keeping track of what your deck is doing without turning the game into paperwork.
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