Ewan

Sorry edit button seems kaput!!

I meant to say that I usually use AS!3 for all my solar processing but I found that AS!2 gives totally different results so that's the one I used for these. Into ImPPG for sharpening, PS for false colouring.

9 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

What exactly were you using to take and process these granulation images??

I was just trying different filters in single & combined with a Baader Green, haven't got a clue what 'combo' those were though 😀, my first FD where I didn't do a mosaic as well.

Some WL imaging instead this day & my first FD without doing a Hi Res mosaic.

Have a great weekend

Cheers Pete

Very nice images, looks like that little group could do some great stuff, fingers crossed

Nicely done boss 😉 

Sorry to hear that fella, how is the 2nd hand one image wise ?

I could do with a prom version or something around the 0.8A area would be nice.

Try AS!2 fella & compare the two

Cheers Dave, yeah long time no see fella, after last years washout I kinda lost hope for a while, it's been very very quiet & then this.

Very lucky catch, right time / right place n all fella.

That region has gone quiet for now mate but as you know surprises do happen so keep on trying & keep your peeps peeled 😉 

Try shinning a very bright LED torch on it, it the ITF is failing you will see it clearly, sometimes rusts in rings from the outer edge in (because of lack of edge coating protection maybe) or in little patches, contact supplier they may well fix it  for you.

Atb

My usual setup :-
152mm F5.9 Technosky Achro
AZEQ6-GT...
Daystar Quark Chromosphere
Baader 135mm D-ERF gives effective F30 ish
Point Grey IMX174

180.tif 185.tif 308.tif 532.tif 675.tif 730.tif 860.tif different.tif

Not many chances of Solar Imaging this year so far but caught this one.
AR2741 from the 12th late afternoon

AZEQ6-GT
152mm Technosky Refractor @ f5.9
135mm Baader D-ERF
Daystar Quark Chromosphere + Eliminator
PG IMX174

5862 Frames, 4Ms 30 second capture @ 195Fps 1024 x 768 Mono16
Best 45% Frames stacked in AS!3, ImPPG then tweaked in PS
Atb

Great product for those wishing to get into solar imaging if they don't already own a mount that is (stating the obvious I know), hope it goes well FLO

A great thread started, thanks Martin.

A few of my better attempts.

Thanks everyone & all the best for the future.

Thought I would join in the fun :-)

My Technosky 152mm bought originally for Quark Solar use but i will be trying out some other targets as well.

This scope is the same as the Altair, Lyra & TS model so should be readily available. I have been told these scopes have the same cell as the 152mm Lunt costing many thousands more (the filter being where all the £'s go i guess) so i am hoping first light should be something worth waiting for.

First time I have mounted this on the AZEQ6, the mount seems to handle it pretty well, made sure it was well locked down though.

Made my 80mm look like a finder scope, now to work out the best way to fit the guider i have then im in business.

About time too Michael  , should be a sticky.

Once I get a few more Quark sessions under my belt I may give this a try as well.

Now looking at a new ccd to give me either FD's or maybe something so I only need 6-8 panes as I do like the hi res images.

PS I meant to say M78 is simply gorgeous, all that dust !!!

Well done Olly, you got it done in the end.

I knew it would be good but that's going to be a classic astro pic somewhere soon.

Stunning does not even start to describe the detail in there.

Fantastic work, the both of you, dedication to the last degree.

Hi,

Sorry to hear you have such problems. I  bought a used one from a member of the forum  ( it is in mint condition )  a couple of weeks ago and I don't have your issues, but I found that once the illuminator was attached to the EP the resistance of the focuser on the supplied diagonal was not enough to keep the EP from rotating the focuser and it constantly goes out of focus. I may take the focuser out and apply much thicker grease to the barrel to resolve this annoying problem.  The other problem is that my finder guider came with a helical focuser for attaching a guide camera, the helical focuser is not a None Rotating type therefore as he focuser turns so does the guide camera and therefore the FOV, not a big problem but is shows that some corners have been cut to keep the cost down.

Regards,

A.G

Lensman do you mean whenyou bout the AA finder it came with a helical 'attachment' for using as a guidescope ?

I bought the AA attachment on their website specific for this finder, an extender tube with s threaded locking ring as far as i can see & it stays rock solid. Focus as a finder was bang on, you can still use it without the diagonal if your ep is inserted a little less.

For what it is worth (bearing in mind my newb status) - my experiences in using one.

I was quite clear that I wanted decent RACI finderscope for my 6" reflector and I was quite impressed with it when it arrived - beautiful piece of kit!

My problem was with focusing of the supplied 23mm eyepiece. It has a ring for focusing of the reticule and I have found that when reticule was sharp I was running out of focus range in the main helical focuser.

It was OK when I tried it in daylight on distant objects, but at night when trying to focus at infinity the focuser was "bottoming out" and running out of adjustment.

Altair Astro very quickly provided another eypiece to compare (thank you for great customer service!!), but I have found that there was no real difference between the two eyepieces.

I could use/easily focus supplied 23mm illuminated eyepieces providing reticule was out of focus.

I could easily use other 1.25" eyepieces with no problems in focusing.

It seems to me that the scope tube would benefit from being shorter by a couple of mm.

It maybe that it is as it is because of all the other options available for this scope (for use as a guide scope etc).

Other thing that I have discovered was that for visual use (and that is what I do) 23mm eypiece giving x10 magnification was possibly not the best one. OK it is aimed at "...astro-imagers who want to centre an object more precisely in the camera field-of-view, yet the field of view is still very large...", but I found it was far better for my type of use with 32mm eyepiece (unfortunately not illuminated, but this may be another DIY project).

I would love to hear opinions of other users, please.

Sorry to hear your problems with this finder, i to have the same one which i bought for use as a finder but i now use it for guiding.

The finder comes with a fitted diagonal as well dosen't it, bit odd this then as mine is fine, ihave used the recticle in the finder , in the SCT & i now use it on the Triplet for setting up PA, it has a lot of in/out focus & have not had any issues with it.

Thought i would reply & i'm guessing nothing i said will help but keep the thread alive & i am sure more help will follow.

One of the few I look upto, he lived for astronomy and inspired a lot of people to look to the heavens, a sad day for this world. RIP

Hubble thanks for the pm mate :-), i'm glad you are so honest as i would have been prepaired to help you out so you could keep the setup you have, i hate seeing people having to give up what they enjoy doing because of various reasons. I hope no one thinks i came across a bit of a 'flash g**' because i'm not, hope i didn't make anyone feel awekward either, like i said i have been there before & i know how it feels. I hope you decide to re kit yourself out one day & pop back on the scene. All the best & do have a good one :-)

I don't think Richard meant anything by his comment he was being genuine but it's really difficult to convey that to some people & even then others just don't get it.

I have seen Hubbles ad on FleaBay (pretty sure it's his) & 6 bids puts his sale to £236.00 at the moment with almost 5 days to go, it's a b***** shame when things get to that point, i know i have been there & sold almost everything for my family & i vowed never to get in that position again but life just throws a spanner when you really rerally could do without it.

I am going to contact Hubble for some more info & see if i can help him in any way, i may have an idea to help out & maybe SGL's forum members to chip in as it were.

Please check back here.

Just wanted to say a very BIG thanks :hello2: to the guys at FLO for delivering my new DMK21AU618 CCD today, you guys live next door to me or what as it turned up so fast. Had to laugh as it's the wife's birthday this month she thought it was a treat for her , now i'm going to have to spend twice as much on her prezzie.

My filter wheel arrived today (sorry FLO you didn't have a suitable one) so i'm just waiting for my Baader LRGB filters to get here then some cloudless nights would be great !!!

So any tips not available on here about the cam would be greatly appreciated ie what to do & what not to do.

Roll on clear skies :-)