steppenwolf

The stars on my FSQ were elongated radially with my 8300 equipped camera like Steve (Gnomus'), not pointing into the corners as yours demonstrate minutely in bottom left and top right but pixel peeking is the only way to see these and I wish my example had been as good as this. Autofocus is well worth implementing Steve (Kirkster) but as you say, one step at a time, get that lovely Mesu in and working first!

Steve (Gnomus) I recall only too well the way you were treated by both dealer and Tak Europe - I fully understand why you wouldn't consider buying another new one - neither would I. My dealer worked hard on my behalf and refunded with no quibble when it was clear that the instrument didn't perform as claimed.

This is, of course, the frustration with both this brand and others - consistency! If you get a good'un then life is great if you get a duff'un then the dream is spoilt! Opticaly, the FSQ 85 may be tapping on the boundaries but clearly, it can perform well - as usual, I guess that this is a QA issue but one would have hoped that at this price level, top notch QA would be included in the price? I'm saddened that my dream 'scope didn't deliver on its promise but I'm always pleased to see the results of one that does.

Yes, this would work better (counterbalance issues aside) as the dynamic of the pair would be constant and setting the distance from the centre of the RA axis to the telescope's optical axis as the centre point between the extreme inside edge of the first telescope and the extreme outside edge of the second telescope would make both telescope 'look' through the aperture. I've always preferred a side by side arrangement though as it reduces the moment arm of the RA axis and keeps the weight closer to the centre of the mount.

I too have a Pulsar dome mounted on a concrete base and it does a fantastic job - highly recommended! You might find this link of some interest. Somewhere within the pages there is an image of my AC mains power connection. In essence, yes but if the two 'scopes are of different weights then they will be offset from the centre line so you need to measure the distance from the centre of the RA axis to the furthest extreme of the lighter instrument and then double that measurement to give you the total diameter allowing for imaging of both sides of the meridian. This shouldn't be too much of an issue but bear in mind that one telescope or the other may well be below the base of the aperture slit at some orientations. There is no way of allowing for the offset as all the software that includes dome slaving assumes that the light cone passes through the centre line of the telescope. I have successfully used such a system with a WO 72mm Megrez and a WO FLT 98 mounted on a standard ADM dual bar and that was with my first Pulsar observatory (2.1meter) that had only a 500mm aperture slit - the current (2.2metre) one has a 600mm aperture slit.

A lucky escape but I'm very pleased for you! I have a nifty little LCD voltage reading module connected to my PSU and it is very reassuring to see its blue light telling me that all is well.

I have exactly the same PSU as you and can confirm that offload, the voltage immediately settles at 13.8v and, of course, remains there under load. Sadly this does indicate that your unit is indeed faulty.

I use MaxIM DL too - no issues.

The Mesu 200 is a far better mount with no known vices apart from getting used to the quirky SiTech software but this is a quick process and there is plenty of good documentation to help you. The Mesu is more expensive but you are buying into true craftsmanship and that doesn't come cheaply. I am a great fan of EQMod, it is a game changer for compatible equatorial mounts but in use, what you actually use is a planetarium program (I use Cartes du Ciel for both EQMod and SiTech) so your session GUI is the same, it is just what happens in the background that is different. If you can find the extra money, the Mesu is the one, if the cost is too high then you will need to reconsider. With regard to the tripod, the one from an EQ6 can be easily modified to work and there are lots of these sitting unused by EQ6 owners using a pier so that is a possibility. Both mounts still require auto-guiding.

Cracking design, David - very elegant.

Additional Note 23 - Observatory Drive Units Updated and Focus Issues 1. Updated Drive Pulsar have recently updated their azimuth and shutter drive motors and controllers. This has taken them away from the well-proven LesveDome software and on to custom software that they have had developed specifically for them. I have the latest system installed in my observatory and I am pleased to say that Pulsar have done a great job and the updated system works very well indeed. The new system can be operated in both stand-alone and PC controlled mode although I am using the PC mode as this is an integral part of my automation project. New Controller with built-in Control Panel Bluetooth actuated Shutter Controller 2. Focus Issues One aspect of this automation project has proved to be unreliable and that has been the auto-focus system! There is nothing wrong with the SharpSky hardware or its ASCOM driver - the issues are centred on FocusMax. FocusMax is a very capable piece of software that interfaces between CCD Commander, MaxIM DL and the focuser's ASCOM driver - and it is very clever. The main reason for using it for this project is that for many people, it works well and has one feature, AcquireStar that makes it very appealing for an automation project like mine. AcquireStar uses the PinPoint astrometry engine to plate solve the current location and then finds a nearby star of suitable magnitude for FocusMax to focus on and once it has chosen one, it slews the telescope to the star, plate solves, syncs and re-points to centre the star then it sets the focus routine in motion. After focus is achieved, the telescope slews back to the imaging object, plate solves and syncs again to ensure that the original location is matched and the imaging session resumes. Sounds cool? ....... and it is cool - when it works but there's the rub, for me it doesn't always work! I have decided to try a different auto-focus system and, to my surprise, one of the options supported by CCD Commander is the SharpStar focus routine built in to MaxIM DL itself. Although the focus routine is fully automatic, it works by centring a suitable focus star manually and then focusing on the star. To resolve this issue, I have been experimenting with a simple solution - pairing. I choose my imaging object and then look around for a nearby isolated mag. + 5 star to focus on then simply plug the coordinates of both into CCD Commander - simple. First results are very encouraging.

It certainly is a gorgeous setup, part Rapier Missile System, part astro imaging set-up - the original Rapier Missile System was guided optically by a system that included a Dove prism! I could tell you how I know this but then I'd have to .........

I am a great fan of multiple imaging systems and have used them to good effect in the past. Unfortunately, when using a side-by-side mounting arrangement (which I prefer) they become an issue when using a fully automated Dome observatory like mine because the mathematics for dome tracking assume that the telescope is mounted centrally! Here are some photos of dual systems I have used in the past:- Side-by-side arrangement before dome automation Side-by-side arrangement with adjustable mounting before dome automation Piggy-back arrangement with ED 80 just visible at base of image Piggy-back arrangement with ED 80 Piggy-back arrangement with SPX250 and ED80

Although I am not (currently!) in the market for a new refractor, this is music to my ears! I have long lamented here and elsewhere that I would be happy to pay the right price for a correct optic rather than a silly low price for one that may or may not be a good'un. From my own ownership of WO refractors, IMHO, FLO have chosen the right company to do this special service on and I applaud their motive and determination to sort this crazy issue out once and for all. This is a win-win for everyone involved both buying and selling. A proper, numbered certificate that ties in to the telescope's serial number to accompany each telescope that has undergone this service is a must I feel.

Really not looking good here in the south but it ain't over until its over

Use every tool available to achieve your goals!!!

I have had both an EQ6 and a Mesu 200 in my Pulsar Observatory and I aimed for a central pier - this has worked well for me.

I can't believe that I have missed this fascinating thread until now!! What a great project - I hope it works for you as well as it looks.

Buy that ticket, mate, you know I'll be first in line to help you get it all set up and working!

Additional Note 22 - I have discovered that my Flat calibration files are over-correcting I noticed recently that although I was fairly happy with the images that I was capturing with the automated system, something was 'missing'. I tracked this down to my Flats over-correcting resulting in bright corners and a dark patch in the centre of the frame. This was something new as previously I had been really pleased with the Flats that I was getting when I collected them manually. Having tried increasing the flush intensity to no avail (the camera disengages if a flush higher than 'Normal' is used), I re-evaluated some images that I took some time ago and confirmed that the Flats worked perfectly in the past so I started looking for anything that had changed. Full automation is the biggest change which means that MaxIm DL is now controlled by CCD Commander and therein lay the issue. Not a problem with CCD Commander as such but a simple case of CCD Commander taking its lead from a preset within MaxIm DL. I have set the exposure presets in MaxIm DL's Readout Mode to download images in 'fast mode' when manually locating stars, manually focusing or when checking the framing of deep sky objects. Unbeknown to me, CCD Commander was taking the readout mode from the first preset in the list and applying it to Light, Bias, Dark and Flat frames so all the frames were suboptimal. The solution was simple - make a new preset called 'Imaging Session' with the readout mode set to 'Image Quality' and place it at the top of the list. Problem solved.

I agree, the pier most certainly does not have to be level. The way I describe this to non-believers is this:- Imagine an infinitely long round pole with a diameter that is a perfect fir in the polarscope's mounting hole. Assume that this pole cannot be bent and that it reaches light years into space aimed at the North Celestial Pole (NCP). Now slide the mount (an EQ6 will do fine) onto this pole through the polarscope's mounting hole. The polarscope hole is now pointing at the NCP.You can rotate the whole mount around the pole to ANY angle you like and it will remain polar aligned. So, let's go wild and rotate the mount to , let's say, 31.6 degrees from vertical and get a local builder to build us a wall that touches the the flat base of the mount and then blot the mount to the wall at this crazy angle. The mount is still polar aligned! Is there an advantage to having a level mount? Yes, a perfectly level mount will not show any interaction between the azimuth adjustments and the altitude adjustments when you carry out a polar alignment adjustment but really, this is no biggy!.

Additional Note 21 - Last night was the first imaging session that proved the advantages of this project for me! Last night had plenty of promise for a clear night but we had friends round for the evening from 19:00 onwards (before my chosen object even came into view above my local eastern horizon) so under 'normal' circumstances, I would have had no chance of taking advantage of the clear spell. However, before our guests arrived, I programmed up a fully automated session that started at 19:30 by checking the sky and then opening up the observatory, cooling the camera, locating the Rosette Nebula, acquiring a guide star and then starting to capture a series of 600 second subframes - nothing special so far, this is all standard fodder! What makes the whole project so worthwhile is that at 21:26 the sky clouded over - normally cause for calling it quits, closing down and going to bed! However, the system simply paused the session, carried out a meridian flip at 22:58 and then, when the cloud dispersed at 23:07, the session re-started automatically, capturing a total of 21 x 600 subframes before carrying out an automated close-down when the nebula reached my local western horizon. We had a great evening and meal with our friends and I didn't have to look in on the observatory at any time - it was only this morning that I realised that the sky had clouded over at all. Happy boy? Oh, yes! The Rosette Nebula in Hydrogen Alpha

Additional Note 20 - Dome Ancillary Control Box construction and installation completed The appalling weather this week has given me an opportunity to construct the ancillary control box from the components I got for Christmas. Obtaining a suitable project box wasn't as straightforward as I had expected but I found one at Maplin that would just accept the larger of the two boards (the relay board) by grinding off the bottom section of the two centre pillars. The smaller board (the controller itself) attaches to the lid for easy servicing. The divided section on the left hand side houses the relay for the dehumidifier/12v PSU changeover thus keeping the 230VAC section as far away from the digital boards as possible. Not shown in this image is the micro USB cable which has a détente cable clamp attached to the lid to ensure that no tension can be put on the controller board if the USB cable is pulled. Roll on the next clear night!

That's a nice elegant solution - unfortunately my software writing skills are firmly embedded in the past with FoxPro and DBFast! Luckily, my dome control software (LesveDome) has built in support for 9/10 switches so I can use that. I can, however, also control each of my 8 switches (and one other on the dome control board not shown here which is for the 'flat-flap') using a set of VBScripts that I can run from either a batch file or call from CCD Commander. Here's a couple of examples - unfortunately, VBScript has a limited range of 'buttons' so I can't write my own 'button dialogue box' to call them! Turn on the first switch driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 4, True Turn off the first switch driverID = "ASCOM.LesveDomeNet.Switch" set o = CreateObject(driverID) o.Connected = True o.SetSwitch 4, False