FAR SIDE OF THE MOON

[Sus_pilot]

Well, the website says it was a 76mm focal length lens at f4.5.  Theoretically, that meant the objective was 17mm, but that's clearly not the case. F-values for lenses really refer to the effective f-stop of the lens, based on the internal optics, transmission loss, etc.

Taking a WAG based on  the size of the magazine in the photo  and the handle designed for a spacesuit glove, I'm going to guess that the front piece of glass was in the range of 4 to 5 inches in diameter.

[Sus_pilot]

And to think all this film wasn't fogged by the deadly VARB and by the space radiation that would have rendered any astronaut, ill/dead

Well, that is a pretty dense bunch of polyester for a particle to drill through.  I've accidentally exposed bulk film to light and only the sprockets and outer couple of layers have been light shot.   But your point is well-taken, anyway.

You have to realise that most of these people have no clue what a sprocket might be.

I'm not old.  Just very experienced...  Now where's my rotary phone?

[Abaddon]

And to think all this film wasn't fogged by the deadly VARB and by the space radiation that would have rendered any astronaut, ill/dead

Well, that is a pretty dense bunch of polyester for a particle to drill through.  I've accidentally exposed bulk film to light and only the sprockets and outer couple of layers have been light shot.   But your point is well-taken, anyway.

You have to realise that most of these people have no clue what a sprocket might be.

I'm not old.  Just very experienced...  Now where's my rotary phone?

Someone else said that and I laughed. Then my kids saw a rotary phone and had no clue.

I stopped laughing.

[raven]

I'm not old.  Just very experienced...  Now where's my rotary phone?

Don't feel bad. Iron Man had a rotary dial mounted in his chest plate at one time.

[bknight]

I'm not old.  Just very experienced...  Now where's my rotary phone?

At least you prolly don't have a party line

[gillianren]

Someone else said that and I laughed. Then my kids saw a rotary phone and had no clue.

I stopped laughing.

They've got old toys at Simon's play group, which includes several toy rotary phones.  Simon is probably the only kid there whose parents' phone still plugs into the wall, but all the kids still play with them just fine.

[Sus_pilot]

I'm not old.  Just very experienced...  Now where's my rotary phone?

At least you prolly don't have a party line

Actually, the Bell System, in one of their educational movies that we saw when I was in second grade, had an explanation of the etiquette required for party lines.  I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago, so that was a non-issue for us, but it was something we had to learn in case we visited folks in rural areas.

I still think, occasionally, that 251 really is ALpine - 1...

[Bryanpoprobson]

At least you prolly don't have a party line

Sorry, side track of a fault (maybe a urban myth) from the 70's when I was a fledgling Telecoms engineer.

Party Lines (shared service in UK) work over a single pair of wires. The A leg is Customer 1 and the B leg Customer 2, when either party picked up their phone the polarity of of the loop, ie which leg saw the extended Eth would be charged for the call. However when the phone received an incoming call, a 75 V ringing current would be sent (to eth) on the respective customers A or B leg. The Eth being made at the customers premises.
The fault was this, the phone would be crackly and not work properly, but if the customer received an incoming call their dog would bark and then the phone would work fine for a couple of days..
Fault was:- The dog was tied via a metal lead to a radiator, the earth connection was connected to that radiator, the eth was not a full connection. When the phone rang the dog would get a shock and bark, it also pissed itself, the piss would make the eth connection good and stay good until it dried out.

[JayUtah]

You, sir, are a steely-eyed telephone man.

[Mag40]

You, sir, are a steely-eyed telephone man.

I disagree, that is more like Columbo territory

[ka9q]

Fault was:- The dog was tied via a metal lead to a radiator, the earth connection was connected to that radiator...

I've heard a different version of that story, one in which the dog seemed psychic because it always began to bark well before the phone rang. The core elements were the same: the dog tied to the loose grounding electrode and the ringing voltage shocking the dog who peed on it and made it work for a while.

[bknight]

Fault was:- The dog was tied via a metal lead to a radiator, the earth connection was connected to that radiator...

I've heard a different version of that story, one in which the dog seemed psychic because it always began to bark well before the phone rang. The core elements were the same: the dog tied to the loose grounding electrode and the ringing voltage shocking the dog who peed on it and made it work for a while.

Naw I grew up with a party line and the dog din't bark before the phone ran, not even after it started ringing, But then we didn't tie her to the readiator either Man it was really great when my folks got the central heating furnace installed, clean also no coal or heating oil, just pipe able nat. gas

[frenat]

In the early 2000s my wife worked customer service for Ameritech.  At that time there were still people in Chicago on party lines.  Mostly older people that had never had an upgrade in many years.  There were still people renting phones for $5-10 a month as well.  She left because part of the job was to try to upsell to people no matter what they called in for.

[Tedward]

The other things with party lines, being central heating was not the norm, was the earth was to a spike in the ground. Summer months the cure was to tell the customer to go and chuck a bucket of water on the spike.

Then there was the woman complaining of getting Radio Two on the cooker.

Pass me 746.

[Bryanpoprobson]

The other things with party lines, being central heating was not the norm, was the earth was to a spike in the ground. Summer months the cure was to tell the customer to go and chuck a bucket of water on the spike.

Then there was the woman complaining of getting Radio Two on the cooker.

Pass me 746.

You do get radio on long lines... I did, as an apprentice joke, tell a customer to put his phone in a bucket of water, to wet his ground connection.. Naughty boy