Thanks MrGreyface, I hope you can find out his secret. P.s, I think the forum is a great idea.

Without a doubt 'JLW' (Simon Anderson) has some amazing Moon shots, but his 'space machine' videos definitely caused a stir back in the late 2000s. When the UFO skywatch forum UFONV.com was around I made it my mission to find out what his secret was behind his UFO videos. Like most people that emailed JLW for some answers, silence was my response. With my slight obsession with camcorders back then and watching every video JLW and GRIDKEEPER had, I eventually worked out the camcorder that he was using was a Sony HDR-HC1 coupled to his then 8" telescope. GRIDKEEPER did let it slip on a few occasions on various forums that a tube was involved and the camcorder had it's optics removed, also the space machine videos were viewed using digital zoom, not optical.

Eventually, working with what I had at the time, a 4" refractor and a trusty Sony TRV40 camcorder I managed to create this...

The optics were removed from the camcorder so essentially it became a huge webcam.

Here is some footage that this setup produced.

A crude version of what JLW was using I think, but I was confident I was on the right track.

Several wrecked camcorders later and a new 5" MAK, I had a very much improved setup

Optics were removed using precision screwdrivers and a soldering iron. :/

Jupiter this time...

Soon after this I decided to give it up as it was getting expensive. At the time a sony hc1 camcorder and an 8" telescope was behold my reach, but I am confident that was his setup. As the forum thread came to an end on my 'Space Machine Quest', JLW did actually email me with some good advice regarding astronomy, we exchanged emails, but didn't say whether I was right or wrong about his set up. Going by some of JLW UFO videos at the time were very questionable, plus a lot of amateur astronomers around the world doubting his 'space machines' I think the general feeling is they are not what his is claiming.

Darren.

A classic hoax from JLW... pointless image manipulating and obvious lens flare. Even a description to go with it to try and throw the truth. It's footage like this that bring the others in to question. Greed and popularity seems to take over with some people, but it always bites their arse in the end.

Thank you Darren, your information is much appreciated. For those of us that have been ufologist for some time, it is our duty to inform newbies of past experiences, this way we stop our self's from going round in a circle, we must press forward. If we could manage to recreate JLW's footage then maybe he will disappear into fraudsters void.

This was my initial investigation before my account forgot my name (like it has again) Brian Paton, and I had to delete and try to sort it out.

As Charles and myself first thought that perhaps JLW was blurring or recording a tight bunch of stars and throwing them out of focus using some kind of light refracting device.

So I tried to emulate using my equipment.

These are the results.

This video also shows that the average amateur astronomer cannot achieve what JLW is filming or faking without owning the more expensive equipment required to do so.

I.e. higher iso and faster frame rate.

The equipment I am using here are an 11" cassegrain telescope and an Atik Infinity astro camera. I had to use a minimum of 3 to 4 seconds exposure to gather enough light to see what I'd imagine JLW would see using his equipment.

This means that only a small amount of people can do what he is doing.

A 3 to 4 second time lapse occurs in video mode, or a picture taken every 3 to 4 seconds. Not exactly the "fast" frame rate required.

So my attempt at an emulation or simulation was a failure.

I doubt I could even come close to what he is using knowing what I know now. Camera's of that caliber cost an absolute fortune.

On other research areas I found out that "gridkeeper" has a name Duncan Davis. I believe the person on JLW yt channel answering all the comments and asking for more money is possibly this person and not JLW himself. Gridkeeper is from Malta I believe.

I say this because this fellow can't speak or write proper english.

And after hearing JLW speak in his interview, you can tell he is a definite Englishman.

Here are some pics I've gathered over the last few days including from JLWs new but old (from 2007/2008) video uploads.

JLW with Kerry Lynn Cassidy who interviewed him.

This is his equipment from his video.

And how he uses night vision or IR

This is the "Star Wars project" he say's he filmed ships from.

Good find! That's interesting, I made very similar, but with a cascade tube. It's even the same scope. I'm guessing it gave me around 40x plus zoom. The sky looked amazing..

Jupiter with the same set up

Could it be possible that 'JLW' was actually filming a tiny fixed model that was some way away? These space machine videos are grainy where it is claimed to be digital zoom, with the telescope in a tracking mode that gives the impression the 'UFO' is moving?

He is claiming this is actually the ISS in this video? it obviously isnt, so what could it be that he is actually filming?

I filmed this last night......................NOT!

I took a still image of an anaglyph 3d ISS type object, I found it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptSwIkc49LA

at 00:36

I put the image in MS Paint, reduced the size to 25% of original. coloured the rest of the page black. I then turned the image to jpeg then loaded into a graphics program, I changed the colour values, then used the preview window in motion blur, I recorded the window while moving the still object with the horizontal and vertical bars. I then played the clip through VLC, altering colour again. I recorded the result.

This process took about 15 mins using programs that were available in 2007. Im sure with a little more experimentation I could emulate JLW.

Thanks guys,

Geez Darren I wanted to do what you did with the P8079HP tube attached to the telescope, but I think it would have broken my scope lol. I still would love to try it maybe with a lighter gen3 nv.

It pees me off knowing that JLW owns a Sony A7s now and is filming the Moon and stars using that. And yet still asks for money for a new van. I'd love one of those cameras, but out here they are $4k plus for the A7sll version.

Charles the video you were thinking off showing the expansion of an object he supposedly filmed is here :- at the 19:07 mark.

Also in this 2nd video, it appears like he is filming grass! through a long dark tube :- from the 2:43 mark. According to Gridkeeper, he was into crop circles too.

I'm not sure I can do much more with my limited equipment.

I'm still undecided whether to get a gen 3 nv for the scope or a Sony A7sll with the ridiculously high iso. Definitely temping the latter one. :)

Cheers.