Sir Bernard Lovell - RIP

Channel Hopper

Channel Hopper

Suffering fools, so you don't have to.
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Possibly the person that spawned the new generation of astronomers (and astrophysicists).

Some 70% of everything worthwhile in the universe has been found by his particular design of receptor, and it just happens to be a parabolic dish.

_http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/9458836/Sir-Bernard-Lovell.html

Hats off, and R.I.P
 
Indeed RIP Sir Bernard, I heard this sad news on the radio and then forgot to post.
 
I heard about this only an hour or so ago as well What a grand age he got to though. And what discoveries took place during his lifetime.

RIP Prof.
 
Topper said:
Indeed RIP Sir Bernard, I heard this sad news on the radio and then forgot to post.
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Not really sad news, we are all stardust and his remains will be recycled to appear somewhere else in the universe, again and again, and again......
 
Too busy adjusting and tweaking in the sunshine to catch up on the news ...
A bit late adding my condolences on the passing of a great man...
At least we still have his physical 'legacy' in the form of a National treasure and eye on the universe...in Cheshire..
RIP SBL ...
we are all but motes of stardust in the eye of a cosmic maelstrom.
 
I hand built my first parabola after listening to this man talking about his struggle to build Jodrell Bank. One of the last of a really inspiring generation, I later had the priviledge of meeting, together with visiting his laboratory. Along with J Brownoski's lab at the Coal Research Establishment ("The Ascent of Man") , and the first Penicillin Fermenter at Distillers (now Eli Lilly) Speke the three most impressive experiences in my scientific career.

I am getting too old! Managed to get perfect 3D reception of part of Wimbledon from BBC HD in Tuscany this year, but still doesn't compare....;-)
 
Impressive, what size of reflector did you eventually settle with ?

Few people on here will have seen The Ascent of Man unfortunately.

Have you constructed a radio telescope ?

If you can receive BBC1 in Tuscany then The Sky at Night has been put back to tonight.
 
Don't laugh, well OK laugh but remember we learn things by fiddling around as kids.
I built three small dishes each about one metre. Separated by about 10 metres so around 20 metres in a straight line in my grandmother's garden! You have to remember I didn't have the benefit of current technology so my dishes were made of fine mesh (similar to C band antenna) and curving them with wire supports. I didn't really get much further than demonstrating they didn't work! The idea was to have three directional antenna (forget LNB, think dipole or various movable objects such as coils in the middle of a dish!). then using trigonometry I should theoretically have been able to measure the distance of any source.

Absolute rubbish, but I stripped a lot of old TV's and radios to harvest the circuits, valves etc and so learnt about radio and TV design.
1930's radios were amazing pieces of engineering -things like rectifiers consisting of metal plates on a long bolt, and valves where you could figure out the pin connections by looking at the valve. IC's are nowhere near as interesting. I just stripped a modern TV and I am going to frame the fly-back transformer because I bet no one makes them any more....
Rambling on is a sign of old age.
 
incold said:
Don't laugh, well OK laugh but remember we learn things by fiddling around as kids.
I built three small dishes each about one metre. Separated by about 10 metres so around 20 metres in a straight line in my grandmother's garden! You have to remember I didn't have the benefit of current technology so my dishes were made of fine mesh (similar to C band antenna) and curving them with wire supports. I didn't really get much further than demonstrating they didn't work! The idea was to have three directional antenna (forget LNB, think dipole or various movable objects such as coils in the middle of a dish!). then using trigonometry I should theoretically have been able to measure the distance of any source.

Absolute rubbish, but I stripped a lot of old TV's and radios to harvest the circuits, valves etc and so learnt about radio and TV design.
1930's radios were amazing pieces of engineering -things like rectifiers consisting of metal plates on a long bolt, and valves where you could figure out the pin connections by looking at the valve. IC's are nowhere near as interesting. I just stripped a modern TV and I am going to frame the fly-back transformer because I bet no one makes them any more....
Rambling on is a sign of old age.
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..I still have about 100 flyback transformers ...some are even from the valve age ..
Should have thrown them out as they will never get used ..
A classic case of pass the parcel ...
The music stopped and I was left holding ..
The 'prize'..once the wrapping came off... was simply wasted investment.
Bought as stock ...now redundant.

Some of the early simple flyback transformers in TVs were oil filled ..
Nasty when the failed and ruptured..
..and selenium plate rectifiers ..
Yes I've repaired/replaced those too..
cest la vie
 
Vipersan said:
..and selenium plate rectifiers ..
Yes I've repaired/replaced those too..
cest la vie
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I had a friend who once thought it would be a good idea to use those instead of the standard rectifier assembly ( vented and cooled) on a 125cc motorcycle.

I was following him out first time when his 'modification' caught fire under the seat ( a visible glow behind the sidepanel) , burning the wiring loom and igniting his waterproof trousers into the bargain.
 
Vipersan said:
..and selenium plate rectifiers ..
Yes I've repaired/replaced those too..
cest la vie
Click to expand...

I've had one or two of those burn out on the old TVs - they stink like heck, needed to keep the workshop doors and windows open for ages...
 
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