Star Gazer

I would give onshape https://www.onshape.com/en/ a try. It's free and can be used on just about any computer, since it is browser based in the cloud. Noe that if you do use onshape then your designs are public unless you pay for a licence.

On 08/09/2020 at 18:39, Ken82 said:

Yes you could be right. I didn’t want to give up on a good optical test but I’ve been trying hard to resolve this and it just  feels endless at the moment. 

I contacted primalucelab in the hope that I could increase current or change settings to better lift/hold the camera but they said if my settings are already “heavy load” then the limit is the focuser itself. It doesn’t surprise me seeing how loose it was without the auto focuser. 

Ian is on holiday now for a week so I’ll see What he can add but just a little disappointed. 
 

Ken 
 

Edit - I should add the focuser isn’t mega loose, it would certainly be fine for a dslr or a light camera. Or indeed if you focus and then lock it I think that would be ok ?? But using a auto focuser to automate the process it’s not usable at this moment. 

Hi Ken, Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I have the exact same issue, so I am wondering how you resolved the issue? At the moment I 'half' engage the focus lock but it's a bit hit and miss. Also I am not sure what a locked focuser is doing to the EAF motor is I was over zealous with the lock level.

Cheers

1 hour ago, Richard_ said:

Thanks! 

If you follow the below link, it should take you to the power cable section on Dew Control. Here, you can choose connector type on each end (eg 2.1mm DC, cigarette plug) to suit your needs. I don't believe they have USB cables, so these are just for power. You can choose a preset length from the drop down menu or enter a custom length as a note during your order. Before buying these cables, I set my telescope with PPBA and mini pc as I wanted, then measured the required cable length using a tape measure with a little bit of extra slack, same thing for the dew heater cable lengths. 

https://www.dewcontrol.com/Power_Cables_-_All_Types/p3099125_13437763.aspx

The Lindy cromo USB cables (shown with silver USB plugs in the pictures) were sourced from FLO and are available in 0.5m, 1m and 2m lengths. Most of the ones shown are 0.5m in length but there are two 0.25m cables on the Redcat setup which are just a generic brand from Amazon. 

Remember that you have a USB hub on the back of the ASI2600MC, so if you run out of ports on the USB hub you can always plug your EAF into that! 

Awesome info there Richard! Many thanks for you detailed post..

7 hours ago, M40 said:

I note in your initial post that you would look to use the asiair as a usb hub, didn't know it could do that, so it would be worth making sure if you decide to go that way. 

If you are looking for something that just tidies power and usb cables, how about a simple usb hub into your local pc and a junction box for your power? I've started playing with an asiair as it seems to cover all i currently do, but I don't use it for the12v supplies. I have cut off the cigarette lighter plugs or whatever, shortened and reterminated the cable and just use a small set quick release connectors. Food for thought hopefully, options are always good. All the best. 

Thanks M40. You might be right that the ASIAir cannot act as a usb hub, I just assumed it would do that.  yep there are lots of options out there, but not that many power box solutions like the PPBADV. I'm looking for this box to manage all of the highttime consumers (including the mount, dew heater, cameras and the PC and anything else that might come along like a flat panel). Anyway looks like the PPBADV will be my next purchase..

7 hours ago, Richard_ said:

Having used both the ASI Air and PPBA, I'd recommend the latter. The ASI Air will not be able to control the guide camera so you would need to purchase a ZWO guide camera. The ASI Air Pro retails for £330 at RVO whilst the PPBA retails for £259 at the same store, so the Pegasus option is cheaper. Are you sure you weren't looking at the Pegasus Ultimate which retails for £519?

Powering your mount via these devices is usually not advised depending on the mount. For example, my EQ6-R mount can be powered via 12V but if the voltage drops a little bit, then the slewing speed slows down or the mount just stops working. So having a dedicated power supply for the mount is the preferred option and it's what I've always done. Is your Rainbow mount picky with voltage? 

Regarding cable management, the best way to combat this is to replace the cables with good quality ones of appropriate length. I use Lindy Cromo USB cables and made to length 12V DC cables & dew heater straps from https://www.dewcontrol.com/

I've included some images below of my Redcat and FLT120 setups utilizing the PPBA and the cables I mentioned above, to give you an idea. 

 

 

 

Thanks Richard.. I do intend to get some cables of the right length when I get a better idea of how to organise everything after I settle on the right power box. Can I ask where you get your cables made to length with the right connectors?  

Everyone is opening my eyes to the PPBADV, so I think I will go this route. There is the WondererBox Lite V2 https://artesky.it/it/wanderer-astro/power-data-distribution/5987-wanderer-box-lite-v2-8052278161459.html, that is supported by NINA but I think the PPBADV looks like it is better supported.

BTW you have some lovey bits of kit there

Thanks Steve

The reason I say I wouldn't be using 90% of the ASIAir is because I will be using NINA on my MeLe Q3 PC. So on the ASIAir I wouldn't be using the polar alignment, the guiding, the image capture, what's on tonight etc. etc. All I want the ASIAir is for the power it might provide, but I think you are  changing my mind on that front. I realise that the ASIAir is really a one-step solution and a closed one at that, but I thought it might be a good option for running a lightweight setup, as well as largely hassle free one at that, or at least that's how it comes across to me.

I think NINA is awesome and despite its sophistication is pretty easy to use, so I will stick with NINA unless the ASIAir suddenly ups its game.

BTW whatever product I buy it will need to power:

Rainbow Astro RST-135E

ZWO ASI2600 MC

ZWO EAF

Lodestar X2 guide cam

MeLe Q3 PC

Tim

Thanks StevieDvd, I did not know the ASIAir might be picky in this respect. Definitely food for thought there..

I am aware that these two boxes are not exactly thing, but in terms of cable/power managment they do have some similarities.  Obviously the ASIAir does a lot more than the PPBADV, but only if you have a DSLR or a ZWO camera.

Anyway at the moment I am very happy performing image acquisition using NINA and a MeLe PC mounted on the scope. I control the PC using VNC on a iPad, however my cables are a nightmare and something needs to be done.

I've looked at many options, including DC Hub 2, and the WondererBox plus, but none of them are obviously appealing for one reason or another.

Am I missing something here but I think I am going to go with the ASIAir Plus, even though I will not be using it for 90% of its functionality. In short I will use it mainly for its power distribution functions. In some ways the PPBADV looks like the obvious choice, but it is quite expensive compared with the ASIAir, and since I have an ZWO camera, but not a ZWO guide camera, I would have an upgrade path if I fall out with NINA.

So my idea is to power the mount, camera, dew heater and PC from the ASIAir, and then use it as a USB hub for the data for the main and guide cameras as well as connection to the focuser.

 Do you think this is a ridiculous idea? Have I overlooked something?

8 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

An aside, but Takahashi do the Extender Q which is designed for the task, but I've never used the one I have. There's a big loss in field of view.

Olly

I'm aware of the Tak Extender, but I was hoping the Powermate was going to give me a similar result. The narrow field of view is what I want, with the increased focal length of course. 

Is there a back focus calculator out there, may be that's my question? I don't see one though. I'll keep looking..

18 hours ago, Stu said:

From a bit of searching, I think the opposite is true ie you need to wind the focuser in to reach focus. Have you tried that, all the way in?

Yep tried that. ..All the way in and all the way out. "as the bishop said to the a..."

Yep I tried two extension tubes, but never found focus. I even tried moving the camera backwards an forwards in fresh air, but still couldn’t focus. Unless it’s a shallow depth of field or something like that I am at a loss to know what to try..

Is it possible to double the focal length of my FSQ 106 with a TV x2 Powermate.  I thought this would be no problem, but I cannot get anywhere near focus. I've tried hunting the Tele Vue web site but it's not clear from what I can see.

Has any had any experience with this combo or similar?  Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks   fozzybear  for the suggestion. I have a RPi that I flashed it with Stellarmate, but I have experienced too many issues and wasted precious imaging hours.. The RPi and Stellarmate is a formidable package with some great features, but for me there were lots of issues with plate solving and camera and mount connections. There was also a moderate amount of crashing, which is sad because if it were stable it would be an awesome solution.

In my original post here I said I never tried to connect the RPi when out in the wilds, away from any know Wifi connection. Out of curiosity I tried it, and it was so simple to connect to the StellarMate hotspot on  RPi from my iPhone using VNC. Really awesome to think that two tiny devices could provide such a powerful totally portable package. I flashed the RPi with Stellarmate three times, and each time I had a new set of issues. It doesn't matter how powerful or tiny a device is if it isn't reliable then your wasting you precious time...

Thanks for the suggestion  ONIKKINEN looks very interesting. I was thinking of a software solution, but may be this would worth a try.

I'm looking to replace my creaking laptop with something small like the Raspberry Pi, that can run windows and NINA. There are many mini PCs on the market which may suit me, but my question is how to control this potential  headless PC. At home I can use VNC or TeamViewer etc, but what about when I am at a dark site without any networking infrastructure? Is it even possible with a windows PC? I think the Raspberry Pi creates a Wifi hotspot if it can't join an infrastructure network (e.g Stellarmate) and you can connect that way - I've never tried it.

I should say that I would be using a tablet to connect the headless PC if it's at all possible - has anyone tried this? Seems like a simple requirement but searching with Google does get me anywhere. 

I guess disconnected PCs aren't going to be able to advertise any irrelevant junk at you, so why would anyone design one of those.

Any contributions are much appreciated

Tim

I spent a long time waiting for a suitable adapter from QHY for a PoleMaster CCD for my AP Mach1 mount. There were postings from the company that one was on its way, but it never materialised. So, in the end, I came up with my own solution, which others might want to take advantage of. Essentially, I designed an adapter in Onshape and then sent it away to be 3D printed (I don't have a printer). The design works really well and sits over the polar scope exit port, and while it has three holes to accept the thumbscrews of the sliding door, it sits so snuggly it doesn't really need them.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6399e6c65d7ca220918c69e8/w/d68b250f8767100c43389209/e/91882ebb44b3b26c6c192228

If you open the design in Onshape (using the link above) simply right mouse button click on the tab at the bottom of the screen to export the design in a format suitable for your 3D printer.

Here are some picture of my adapter fitted to my Mach1 mount. As you can see I did fit a QHY PoleMaster adapter for AVX mounts in addition to my adapter. I admit this is a bit over-the-top, but it is convenient for installing and uninstalling the Polemaster camera. If you wanted to save money you could screw the camera directly to my adapter. You could then just push fit the camera and adapter into the polar scope exit port every time you wanted to use it. Like I said it is very snug when I had it printed.

Sorry about the bad quality of the pictures - let's hope my astrophotography is a bit better ??

Hope some Mach1 owners find my design useful - I'd be interested to know if anyone actually prints my design....