Sp@ce_d

😲... Wow.. I'd love a second one too.. it's normally the Devil I have to deal with to get another scope though... 🤣 Very nice.. I've been trialing StarXTerminator in PI & have to say, going over some old data too, I'm very impressed.

Yeah that's the other thing, the licence says it covers all versions PS, PI & Affinity, its quicker & doesn't make my 10 core i9 128gb Radeon Pro 5700 XT 16 GB iMac sound like a steam train at full pelt!!

Slightly off topic as such but I've been trialing StarXTerminator in PI lately & I found myself using it far more than StarNet. For instance, being able to use it at the linear stage is a big help to give you the stars before a stretch as you'll often want it far less than the nebulosity. I think they both have their place, StarNet is good for the masks for instance, I don't think so far I'd just want the one but another useful tool in the right place. Theres a 30 day trial well worth checking out, if a bit pricy some may think for a single plugin though.

From my experience Esprit.. I’ve 2 (& a 150) I sent a gt81 back it just didn’t compare with build & star shapes but that was a few years ago. As said use a reputable dealer (FLO were excellent at dealing with my issues), there are others that look interesting & Stelamira sounds promising. If the results FLO are getting with the one in the IKI obsy are anything to go by.

oh and... at that focal length... OAG.. regardless

To be honest?... I went from fracs to a C925 & RC8... & 6 years later.. I'm back to a frac..with an Esprit150... no comparison for ease of imaging. The C925 is a lovely visual scope but I wasted a year trying to stop the mirror moving during imaging. Ok so Edge has the locks to sort this.. next was the carbon (altair - gso) RC8.. nice, lasted a few years in the Obsy but collimation & striving for pinpoint stars wore me out in the end. It's a nice scope if you have the time to maintain. Lucky my wife treated me to a nice frac for a "special" birthday last year... lovely.. it just works. Downside.. the cost.. fracs at that focal length are expensive but considering the time, effort.. worth it in the end if you're running a remote Obsy.. even if it's down the garden! Funny enough I'm just through my old subs from them all as the weather has been so bad.. for some reprocessing & I'm surprised the C925 when it worked had nice contrast.. but if I had to choose between 2 for imaging ( C925 is a great visual) I'd go back to the RC8 & accept collimation is part of the "joy"..

Well, following on from the last post.. I've added some OIII & SII & had a play in Pixinsight.. trying out the new StarXTerminator which seems to have benefits at the linear stage over StarNet.. but still early days with it. Anyway here's 4.5 hours of OIII & 4hours of SII added to the 3 Hours of Ha. The sad sum total acquired since January .. weather just gets worse.. Oh & I threw it into GigaPixel after.. I never know when to stop 🤔

Nice one, that stands out very well

Oh I just noticed there’s now a version for Pixinsight too.. excellent. Time to try it out.

I'm running mine with 36mm, ok still tweaking the setup but on sloooower.. fracs.. so far seems ok

How many clear nights do you get & how dark/un polluted are your skies. Here in UK it’s becoming increasingly harder to finish mono & filter images unless you have an Obsy setup all ready to go the moment that cloud passes. Even then I’ve got projects on the go spanning years! I setup another dual rig outside the obsy in August with a 2600MM & MC to see how that performs against my fully automated obsy just running a single mono. Well so far I’ve had no output from it as the cover has been off just twice & only enough time to align & not even finish testing setup! Out of all 3, 1600, 2600 MC/MM. If it’s going to be used in my obsy I would choose mono, if I didn’t have the 2600 it would be the 1600. For anything I have to setup each time then the 2600MC. Mono still gives more flexibility & sensitivity from what I’ve seen so far with the MC but it’s an amazing camera. I’m not so sure how it performs under heavy light pollution though and even having used it with good results through a NBZ filter it’s not the same as mono through separate filters. That’s still my preference but it’s always a compromise with what we’re trying to do anyway. The 1600 gives great results you just have to be a bit more careful with the calibration & micro lenses as mentioned before. The 2600 sensor is another step forward worth taking if you can afford the extra outlay.

It’s condensation & then freezing with the shock. My QSI did it first time I used it the cooling power is so aggressive & having never experienced it with my Atik 314 I was taken aback. But it’s just a case of letting it warm up for a bit & then gradually cooling down to target temp. As said my ASI,s have built in dew heaters so I never seen it with them so far.

Oh very moody. That’s worked rather well. Was wondering how this would look with this setup.. turns out it’s pretty amazing. Can’t wait for the mosaic now Steve.. go on.. you know you want to.. 😏😆🤣

Oh very nice. That’s a pretty amazing result, like the colour range.

Looking good, glad someone’s getting enough clear skies to even think about taking on mosaics 😀

Haha.. did anyone else think it funny when Bezos was trying to pin their "Medals" on them & the pin bent.. kinda odd you would expect to be able to push a pin through a "space suit" is it not.. 🤣

Glad he's finally Boldly gone.. he's certainly "touched" by the experience.. got me going.

Thanks both.. so yeah you are right and TBH I've lost the appetite for doing it with this setup now. The last mosaic I did was probably 5 years ago, having had such a poor start to this season think I'll be happy just getting the single frame. I'll see what I can make of the data so far with the OII & SII. I did like the idea of the resolution but it needs at least 4 panes even if I switch out the QSI for a ASI2600. The Esprit80 with an ASI2600 might just do it and yes the Redcat that I've not had a chance to check out beyond hooking it on a DSLR for some daytime tests! It's typical, I've got the kit now but not had the time as works has been mental. I really can't face changing the setup as its all working nicely with ACP just running the Obsy. I put a dual shooter together under a telegizmo thinking I'd run it with Voyager. It's had the cover off twice since August and not even setup properly. The Voyager trials expired & never even run the setup in automation! Can't see that getting off the ground this season unless The Wife lets me retire.. but then again, I have that expensive hobby to fund.. 🤣.. first world problems ay

Wow, isn't it soo frustrating taking this long to have anything to show for the investment in this "hobby"!.. I started this in January thinking I'd do a mosaic in HSO.. yeah right! For Ha I managed 2 hours collected in Jan.. wind forward to this weekend.. and got another hour. Got similar for SII & OIII but only had time to have a quick process of the Ha so far for an idea how its doing.. I'm either gonna have to accept taking 4 or 5 years to do the mosaic at this rate or change the kit and go wider field.. I do like going up close & personal though. Esprit150, the trusty QSI683 & Astrodon 5nm Ha. 900x12 subs.. (threw quite a few away)

Lovely.. well done. I've always wanted to have a go at this but I have no chance from up here!.. wonderful target

Nice one. You’ve been lucky with getting the data even with an automated Obsy. I reckon I’ve only had 2 nights this season so far where the data is worth keeping. The cloudwatcher might’ve thought it was clear but the seeing & amount of moisture in the air has been awful. Then again it’s more than I’ve had from another setup I’ve had waiting for me to use under a telegizmo! You can’t beat an Obsy. That’s a nice result you’ve got there.

Oh brilliant that was quicker than I thought bet you’ve glad you didn’t change mind. Storage of the flight case is the next thing.. mine became a very handy table in the obsy 😁

I used to use teamviewer but been using RDP for a while now & prefer it.. I run it from a Mac to the Obsy ‘puter & also another rig I have a mini pc on the scope. Probably best to set it up with a fixed IP address rather than DHCP or make sure your router/dhcp server hands out the same IP to it.

The HEQ5 has been the de facto starting mount for AP for years really. Nice little mount light enough but still sturdy and gets even better ( & quieter) with a Rowan belt mod. If it’s goto & getting framed correctly on target that you’re thinking about with minimal fuss you really need to be thinking about the capture process as a whole. Plate solving will do this for you. The mount is your foundation that you build upon. It needs to be able to carry the weight of your chosen imaging scope & kit and guide. The HEQ5 will do that for the scope you’re talking about & that’s your starting point. The no fuss “get on target” comes from a combination of goto & plate solving if you don’t want to manually tweak centring the target. More like a “Make it so” button. So, back on topic.. I would still recommend the HEQ5 as the minimum to consider really.

That’s lovely, good to see. What setup are you using with these? I’ve got the 36mm set I’ve put together with a ASI2600mm & Esprit 80. I’ve only had time & clear sky to shoot some test subs & I still need to tweak spacing & tilt. However I noticed the ones I did around Sadr show a bit of halo with Ha. SII & OIII seem fine, I was if anything expecting OIII to suffer. Just wondering if you’ve done any bright star tests?