Hi,
my name is Eb Swarbrick and live in Prestwich under a bright orange dome.
I've never written to a forum before so if this message is in the wrong place then 'Ooops!'
I Got interested in astro stuff at the beginning of the year when I went up to the Singing Ringing Tree panopticon above Burnley as the sun went down in a clear sky, to take some photos. I saw the stars! Never really seen them before and always thought that astronomy was for other people who live up mountains with expensive kit.
Anyway, that was the start of the slippery slope. I read a lot, and bought a Skywatcher Mak 127 Go-To at a price I couldn't refuse even though my main interest is photography and a1500mm lens isn't what I want. The the learning curve has been brill. Clouds have been dominant ever since but I've had plenty of time to build an Arduino controlled barn-door tracker for my 60D, remote electric focuser for the Mak, web cam conversions, DSLR mounts for the Go-To and got to terms with DeepSkyStacker and Stellarium but IRIS is still a bit an enigma despite David Ratledge giving a super lecture about it on my first visit to the club. So when the clouds break I'm almost ready; all I need to do is decide what point my Canon at!
Thanks go to the various members who have given me a warm welcome and advice so far.
Cheers for now,
Eb

Hi Eb, and welcome aboard!
That Arduino-controlled tracker sounds like an good project, and I'd be interested in seeing it in action - please bring it along to one of our summer meetings. And how about doing a little write-up to go in a future edition of The Bolton Astronomer?
Regards from Ross