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Are you sure your location is set correctly on the hand controller and also the time in UTC time format with DST turned off? I find both my ioptrons are quite accurate with goto. A long focal length scope will need more adjustments as it's a smaller FOV so the slightest movement can make a big difference.

The AI 1.0 is downloaded. And denoising in Siril works ok so I would be surprised if there is not enough memory. It is probably software new release issue. See if anybody finds the issue

Could it be the laptop doesn't have enough memory/processing power for the software?

Yes just tried Graxpert 3.0 in Windows 10. Error when denoising. The download went ok though. It started denoising but quickly popped up with error to look at log.

I love this remake on your fine scope, as Ed said above, smooth movement on a Dobson is a pleasure to use. Somehow ups had it in my head your scope was all wooden, clearly not from the above. Is tat sited in a unique looking shed or observatory?

Thank you all for your responses, yesterday I saw a 15x70, I think it was TS and it had some ep. huge, for God's sake, I couldn't fit my nose between them, what an awkward observation

Ben interviews Simon abot ZWO ASI2600 Duo Air

I get the following error in PixInsight using MacOS (Intel) platform. I have reset all the repositories and updated them again but still get this error for GraXpert and GraXpertDenoise. Processing script file: /Applications/PixInsight/src/scripts/Toolbox/Graxpert.js *** Error: Signature verification failed for 'GraXpert': Invalid code signature: /Applications/PixInsight/src/scripts/Toolbox/Graxpert.js

I have the same issue - tried with several different photos and gradient removal works fine. Required AI for denoising downloaded fine too.

Black paint 😁

I'm not convinced there are many SGL members outside all three of those circles.

1 more pic 🤪

One thing that puzzles me is that the gotos require so much correction from plate solving. I am almost perfectly polar aligned, so why doesn’t the goto get close. With a regular go to, you expect the target to be somewhere in the field of a wide eyepiece, but the HEM15 and AIR are not even close. Plate solving papers over the errors, but it is puzzling.

yes makes a difference, especialy high powers in the dob hole 🤣

Good work, a Dob with smooooth movements is a joy to use😊 BTW your workshop is a whole lot tidier than mine!! Cheers from Ed.

Pics now. also lowered the ep height by 50mm

Hi Vinny. You are correct regarding darks. These can be captured in advance and are not affected by changes to the image train. What you do need to remember is that your darks need to be captured using the same exposure time, Gain, Offset and Temperature as your light frames. I have a 'Dark' Library for my ASI1600mm and ASI294mc all at a temperature of -10c. For each camera I have exposure times for 60s, 120s, 180s and 300s. The Gain and Offsets for the 1600mm are based on whether I am doing narrowband or broadband imaging. For the 294mc I tend to use a Gain of 121 and offset of 30. I refresh mine every 12 months. It's best practice to take flats after every session to ensure the best calibration outcome. You can use flats from previous sessions only if your image train has not changed and assuming you keep your optics free from dust. As you mention, changing the image train between capturing your lights and taking your flats will result in poor calibration so don't touch anything. In regard to the filter wheel, as you take your flats for each filter the wheel will rotate round and your filters will be in the same orientation as they were when you captured your light frames so this doesn't impact the image train. The only way this will not be the case is if you alter your image train by moving the filter wheel or unscrew the filters and put them back in again. As to the rotation of the wheel moving dust, you would have to be pretty unlucky for this to happen, however, it does no harm to periodically inspect your optics to ensure no dust or other particles have snuck their way in. Hope this helps. John

hi everyone. been a while but never gone away. i have never been totaly happy with the dob movment. have tried all different types of bearing surfaces,polishs and waxs. spaced the teflon different still had to much stiction and movment was right. gone down the route now of polyurethane coated cam follower bearings, 3 on the ground board ( azy ) and 4 on the rocker bx ( alt ) its took a few months to complete. since sept last year 😄 to be precise @Peter Drew suggested it and a few on cn. so some pics coming and hopefully some more reports very soon mike oh yes movment is awsome. no notchy ness but stays put due to the polyurethane bearing

Are there other filters (e.g. colored filters) that are suggested for observation in white light? I'm planning buy a Baader ASTF very soon!

I get an error when running the denoise section in Windows 10. Anyone else have this issue? background extraction works just fine. Logs do not help

Hi, the star shapes are probably a combination of poor collimation and imbalance in the mount. It is roughly balanced but just about on the OEM saddle. I know there are weight kits that you can use for the front of the dovetail but I really don't want to add weight. I have ordered an ADM saddle for the mount so should be able to slide the OTA a little further forward. Here's how it is currently. I got the scope with the Astrozap heated dew shield. I have to say it's a very nice piece of kit and the cut outs fit perfectly over the dovetail bar and the shield itself stays fairly rigid once it's on. It has no problem holding up my flats panel. You may have a point about the flats. I'm so used to refractor imaging and flats are just easy and always work. Mirror systems always give me flat foibles. I may try your suggestion and dim the flats panel for 5s exposures and take some flat darks, see if that helps. I have only used a master bias for calibrating the above. Also have a 3D printed tri bahtinov mask coming from Ebay to see how it works with collimation. Will stick with the bobs knobs for now at least.

Probably a symptom of almost no new eyepieces for the past 4/5 years, combined with the unique popularity of the 3-8. What other launches have we seen? Tak TPL. Two new Pentax XWs. APM zoom. Maybe a couple of others I can’t think of. Think this is the new normal. It’s a completely saturated market. SVB did well to exploit a rare remaining niche, where the only alternative is 4x the price. APM to a lesser extent with its zoom.

Hey all, forgive me if this is a silly question…. I’m trying to get started soon with taking a shot at AP. My limited knowledge is that when it comes to darks you can make a library of those generally refreshing every 3-6 months or as needed. And the remainder of calibration frames must be done on a per session bases. In addition from what I understand - you cannot touch the imaging train in anyway in relation from when you take the calibration frames to doing the actual imaging run. So for example if I was taking flats - I would not be able to alter or touch the imaging train in any way as that may move around dust and render the flats useless? If this is the case how do things work in relation to a filter wheel? I have read people taking alternating subframes between different filters when doing mono for example. Does the rotating of the filter wheel not constitute “touching” the imaging train during a session? I would think that just the movement of the wheel could introduce new dust or relocate existing dust particles if your bouncing between filters on the wheel from frame to frame? I’m I understanding this incorrectly?

See here the sun's gravitational [removed word] is approximately equivalent to 633 m/s receeding. Regards Andrew Removed word was shift !

I am proud to be a Nerd. Class, what’s that?