Sp@ce_d

Wow that’s impressive, lovely light & stars. Very 3D but not overly processed. I’m trying to remember if I’ve seen a lunar one from you before, don’t think I have but it has your touch no doubt. I do like the way you process.

This is 32x300 of an IDAS-NBZ on a ASI2600MC with NO dithering or calibration whatsoever.. its a raw test and quick process of first light with an Esprit80 back in Feb.. purely for my own interest it's not a process I'd do with such limited data for a final result but gives you an idea. Not had time/skies to do any proper ones with this camera since. I've also recently got the Mono version (2600MM) & I have to say I'm still in the Mono camp if you have the time & patience..(I'll forgo the argument that Mono is quicker anyway) none the less the OSC is very impressive with the IDAS-NBZ. I've used various IDAS LP filters over the years & been impressed. Not tried Optolong. 

EDIT: Sorry just checked the headers, these were actaully 180s (3min) exposures, so 96 mins in total.

Depends how you mean "checking". My obsy runs with ACP so I go for quite a while without actually physically going to it even though its at the bottom of the garden, but months comes to mind. Obviously I have cameras to look at it inside & out if I desire! I generally shutdown the Obsy at the end of Astro darkness so it can have 4 or 5 months in the summer where it will "rest" & maybe I'll visit if I run out of room for storing stuff but on the whole it's left alone and yes I have been surprised at the lack of wildlife wanting to make a home but I put it down to all the electronic activity going on in there as I never shut it down completely.

Theres not really anything to rival the EQ8 for capacity at that price. Which makes me wonder what the new stock will actually come in at.

I've used EQMod just about forever & was a bit daunted by getting to know something else but the iOptron Commander seems great.. if only for having so many "pre-cooked" parking positions in addition to custom & it does feel a bit familiar in some ways .. nothing to be worried about if that's a sucking point for you. I always have an ip camera to keep an eye on things in the obsy, sometimes after a win10 update for instance it can loose ascom home position & I need to remotely re home it. With the iOptron so far its been rock solid.. to the point I'm not looking out the window to make sure it going where I sent it!.. Currently setting up another ip cam to monitor it but then again I can hear it's whine so can tell if its moving.. unexpectedly 🤔

I've left the EQ8 running on an older version of EQMod.. if it ain't broke. I know its a bit long in the tooth & last I knew Chris was the only one maintaining it. I didn't join the new group when they closed down google groups so not kept up. I've heard good things about GSS (Green Swamp) I was going to test it out over summer but didn't get a chance.

I've had an EQ8-Pro running in the obsy for.. wow, 7 years next month looking back at the receipt!.. that went quick. As vlaiv says, The EQ8 will take more weight and the equivalent is the CEM120.  I've done a small amount of tweaking with the backlash on the EQ8, balance for the offset motors & disabled encoders. Thats it, its been in there for 7 years now. The new version doesn't have offset motors or encoders to worry about. I can't really knock it, for the price and performance I've had from it, there was nothing else around that price to carry the weight.

I also have a CEM70 I got in August, for another semi portable setup I'm working on with the 2 Esprit 80's.. (It'll live on a tri-pier under a tele gizmos cover for now). I think the CEM70 will take around 3 KGs more imaging weight than the EQ6 (18kgs), ioptron recommend 2/3rds of the advertised carry load so around 21kgs. Why I got it as my setup is just over 21kg's & would push my NEQ6 a bit far.

I'm still setting things up with it. I've not had much chance/time/clear skies to really get any performance figures from it yet. It seems to guide happy enough so far while I'm testing out the dual imaging rigs anyway. The finish gives a higher quality impression although all my SW mounts are older versions so not seen new ones for a few years. It gives the impression of being less "agricultural" than the SW mounts I have. The integrated ipolar align works quite well, I have a QHY pole master on other mounts and it compares. The goto's seem more accurate straight off a polar align. Although as I use plate solving not really big deal. Couple of things that I notice straight away are the exposed pcb/wiring.. the boards are not enclosed as they are in the SW mounts and the noise. It whines quite loud when slewing & also at a quieter rate when tracking. Don't get me wrong, compared to the bag of bolts the NEQ6 sounds like its not as alarming however, its louder than my EQ8 & my HEQ5 (modded with Rowan belts) is a whisper compared to all. It's the sort of whingy whining that is annoying and carries quite far on a still night! So may be of concern if you have any close neighbours with windows open at night. Mind you as my ears are ageing a lot of sounds in the "wrong" places are annoying me anyway  

Aside from the price if I now had to choose between an EQ8 or a CEM120 (I'd be looking at Mesu in reality, probably though) I'd lean towards the CEM120 route. Purely because my CEM70 comes over as a nice newer more refined mount. No regrets getting it however I don't have the long term experience with iOptron as I do with SW and the EQ8 has been delivering for me for 7 years. I do wonder If the CEM70 will still be going in 7 years with those more exposed pcb boards.. but then again more airflow to dry out.. who knows.

If you can't wait for the EQ8 the CEM70 will probably carry your load ok as its about the same as mine and so far seems ok. You will be on the limit though I suspect. You have a dome so shouldn't be too worried about the sail effect of the newt. I did have to add another weight. I used a spare 10kg EQ8 one I had & even then they're just past halfway down the bar. I'm tempted to add more to get it higher up for the momentum as you say but I need to get the rest running properly first.

It's always a big tradeoff unless availability & money is not an issue! Do you jump on what's available now and make do or wait who knows how long? All I can say is, I jumped on the CEM70EC because it was all that was available & I was panicking a bit thinking nothing else would come up & I'd not get anything else till next year.. missing a season effectively. However, in reality I've only had 2 clear nights & one of those was full Moon. Plus, FLO got more mounts in anyway & I'd have gone for a non encoder version.  I blame them for my actions after posting that "get your mounts now before they're all gone" in August. 🤨.. now you'll have to excuse me.. I need to order more loo roll and go drive around filling up petrol cans.. just in case I buy another car 😆

Welcome Geoff.. at least when the skies are clear there.. they are pretty rewarding!  

When I got my QSI and took that first frame I thought the KAF-8300 was the most scariest sensor I'd seen.. I was used to the Atik 314L+.. so much snowstorm & bad columns!!.. and QSI were not a cheap brand!  But man.. dither and calibrate!!.. wow.. still takes a lot to beat it.. 

Lovely image.. I still think this chip, over 10 years on, has so much to offer. I have the QSI (same chip) on the main setup (Esprit150) in the Obsy. It's just so nice to work with. I've been messing about with alternate set-ups with the CMOS ones & other scopes in my sig but with lack of long enough periods of clear skies & work getting in the way I don't have any finished images. I really need to setup another obsy or 3 but the Wife's not having it so the Telegizmos cover has been earning its keep. As you can see I still have 3.. yes 3 314L+ Atik's .. I haven't used in a while but they are such lovely little cameras.. need no darks.. I've not been able to bring myself to let them go... they work nicely with the RC for small stuff if I ever get around to conquering the collimation and setup another obsy I'll put one on that again.

I’ve been wiping a tiny bit of ACF50 on threads with cotton bud. Then there’s the freezing treatment of course if it’s stubborn 

Mine arrived yesterday but I've not had time to check it all out yet.. I also ordered the dovetail mounting brackets in case they were of use. TBH I think if you have a strip of aluminium and a vice to do a 45 90 degree bend & drill some holes you could easily make your own though 🤔

Nice one..good to see this..  it's almost "retro" its so rare to see it presented like this these days 😀..

You've got HH555.. (I can even see the jets) in perfect balance. My favourite "peacock & elephant" that I'm rather obsessed with! I must set the Esprit 150 loose on it again this year. can never have enough  

I have mine set to only allow updates during daylight hours 

Brilliant..  looking at that bottom right corner you just know it’s crying out for a mosaic 🤣

3 hours ago, StuartT said:

Ok, the Ultimate it is then! It also means I can get a Motor focus kit instead of the FocusCube I was considering (because the Ultimate has a stepper motor controller, right?)

Yes, the page you linked to has all the specs..

Supported Stepper Motors

If the cost is not a showstopper I’d be inclined to go for the ultimate because you’ll always find you want that bit extra at some point in this money pit hobby 😆

They both only have one port for variable voltage. The Ultimate actually supplies 20 amps now I’ve had  another look too so your Nevada will provide up to 30 if you use the right output terminals... plenty! I’d suggest you power it from the bench supply and power all your kit including the mount with the Pegasus as that’s what it’s for, remote control of all your kit. Depending on your software you use to run everything it can all be scripted. For instance I use ACP in my obsy and that will start up everything open the roof do my sky flats and grab the subs on my shopping list all night, shutting and opening when weather conditions dictate, then shutdown and power off everything in the morning. All without me needing to be conscious and the Pegasus “should” do all the switching as commanded. It will also be a bit tidier than my current setup of separate power switches and usb hubs. I have the original hitech mount hub pro that did a similar job but I could never get the scripting to work with it and prolific drivers were rubbish but the idea was really good. Pegasus have come up with what that should have been as I see it.

As Carole says the Heq5 is a nice mount. Much easier to lift about than the 6! Had mine for years, did a Rowan belt mod on it and it’s so smooth & quiet. I usually have an Esprit 80 on it for imaging but it handles the C9.25 fine on the occasions I’ve gone visual 😃

I ordered one of each from RVO a couple of weeks ago to try out.. I’m waiting for... one for my ‘remote’ obsy and one for another semi portable rig I’m putting together. The main difference is number of ports and internal or external option for focus controller. Power load seems to be same at 12 amps. RVO have a uchube vid explains the differences that’s worth a look. My main interest for remote use is the ability to cycle reset individual USB ports. Currently my setup using the industrial star tech  hubs only lets me cycle the whole hub. So it’s down to which one gives you the number of connections & ports you need really.

Gosh, this is like following Michael Aped’s “Up” series! ... brilliant 

Wow that's a pretty impressive "sky hoover" Goran! Looking forward to seeing the results of this in action.. when will you have time to process all that data!! 🤣

I've just got a CEM70 myself to set up another rig with my 2 Esprit 80's on a side by side & have the same JTD saddle. I got it a few years ago when the Robin Casady ones were like gold dust.. knowing it would come in handy one day  

I see ADM now do the same design here.. https://www.admaccessories.com/product/tgad-tandem-guiding-aiming-device-altaz-aiming-device-for-side-by-side-systems/ 

I'm still putting the bits together for mine but I saw that the recommended imaging weight of the CEM70 is 2/3rds of the 31.8kg payload so ~21kg?  So it'll be interesting to see how you get on!

How did you go about moving the saddle around to 90 degree? I see there's no option in the handset to re home and when I unbolted and had a look under the saddle I can see there's a cut out for the PCB of the onboard USB/power ports that protrudes down. So it won't rotate and reseat at 90 degrees as the deeper cutout is on the lower side of the DEC housing only. I also read that the hard stops are there to stop damage to the wiring loom and not to remove them?

I'm expecting one of these to arrive today to try https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetails-saddles-clamps/cgx-sbs-celestron-cgx-side-by-side-adapter.html but all the bars/saddles and this really knocks the weight up! Plus I'm now wondering if that payload is reduced by any extra counterweights added.. it probably does!

Blimey this is a bit of a rollercoaster read. I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach just reading what happened! So sorry to hear but what an amazing response from the manufacturers and also your attitude to it all. I’ve been looking at using some of the Pegasus kit to replace stuff in the Obsy & on a new semi portable rig I’m building at the moment in hope that will last me into retirement too. This has certainly given me confidence in their support. I hope it’s not too long before you’re back up & running.

blimey, your obsy looks very neat.. as does everything in all your piccies.. even the tools & screws lined up. I envy this methodical approach and organisation. I start out like this and somehow get distracted once I get it all working and get lost looking for the vacuum to clean up 🤣

 +1 for autofocus... if you can do this stuff you can do autofocus.. and TBH if you're wanting to do remote imaging whether from your back garden or the other side of the world you DO want it.. Also, you should think about making it autonomous. What IF you loose your connection while in the middle of of controlling the scope?  I've been mainly using FocusMax for years (MaximDL & ACP runs my obsy) and it just does it.. refocusing when needed, filter change.. etc. The one time I've needed help for some obscure licensing/windows thing.. CCDware/Steve Brady was there.. superb response & support.

Looking very good, can't wait to see it in action  

You might be oversampling with the 183, 533 looks a bit more forgiving. Thats with no reducer. https://astronomy.tools/calculators/ccd_suitability

Worth also checking out the field of view calculator on there for your intended targets  

I have no experience with these particular sensors though. You'll notice coming from CCD to CMOS (as I am, I'm still getting to grips with the ones in my sig.) there's a few things to consider with amp glow, bit depth & calibration in comparison to CCD. However, the sensitivity is quite something! 

Welcome back.. & well done on finding the mount. For portable, mine has had much more use than the NEQ6 has the last few years. So much easier on the back to move about and just works.. I did a belt mod on it which I recommend, a lot easier than on the 6. It'll be perfect for the motor home trips to dark skies 😁 

Just awful news..

Thats pretty neat.. its almost pushing out of the screen at me.. nice one Peter