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Posts posted by sloz1664
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Good ol' Terry. Helped me out on a few occasions, both software and hardware related, fast response and a complete success on every occasion. The SX support is second to none.
Steve
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Hi Steve, I know it's obvious but have you tried changing your usb lead, I've changed a couple this year and supposedly good quality ones too. Also, a while back I had issues with my Atik 460 not connecting and had to change usb ports, although the original usb port connected to other equipment.
Steve
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If you have a local engineering company near you, give them a ring and if they want to proceed take the RC6 & focuser, they will manufacture an adaptor to suit. no need to understand thread sizes etc..
Good luck
Steve
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Just now, sloz1664 said:
Try for the THIRD time.
https:/petition.parliament.uk/petitions/632558
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I set my humidistat to max 60% min 56%
Steve
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18 hours ago, Tomatobro said:
Correction. My NINA is the 64 bit version not 32 bit as stated earlier. Its also interesting to compare our two experiences with Pulasr controller issues.
I could not get any sense out of the induction charging unit and found Pulsars support very lacking. Requests for help were met with "I will speak to the developers and get back to you" which they never did. In the end I built my own charging system which connects when the dome is in the home position and it works ok. Also produces sensible charging data as to what is going into the batteries.
Don't get me wrong, the rest of the system is good so overall I am content.
Look into solar charging, which is what I have done on my Pulsar mark one dome.
Steve
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VisibleDark has a great YouTube video on Pixinsight's updated WBPP script.
https://www.youtube.com/c/VisibledarkAstro
Steve
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On 26/08/2022 at 11:22, Mark Henthorne said:
Hi Mark
Sorry for not responding earlier as I grabbed a late Summer break.
On 26/08/2022 at 11:22, Mark Henthorne said:Having long-admired your efforts and the end result in automating the dome rotation on your observatory, I will shortly be in a postion to replicate this process on my own 2.1 Pulsar.
I have a couple of questions to ask of you please, before I dive in.
Firstly, looking at the shelf construction, did you in any way join together each of the 16 segments to each other or are they simply butted against one another, or was that achieved solely by glueing the drive belt in place, resulting in one unified piece then? (Supplementary question, was it the shelf parts alone, or the inclusion of the belt that made the dome feel more solid/rigid to you?) They were butted against each other. Each piece was clamped in place to it's neighbour and screwed into place with stainless steel screws through the exterior shell of the Dome. I'm sure once all the segments are in place and the drive belt fitted it will be more rigid. I never checked before or after.
Secondly, in constructing the shelf and adding the drive belt, this effectively seals off ready access to the support bearing wheels, which should they need cleaning, lubrication, or replacement, poses something of a challenge. I am considering using a holesaw to cut a single hole above the door inside the dome, centred a little higher than axle height, and slightly over the wheel diameter size, so that in theory would facilitate all of the above. The hole, because it is over the door, should allow access by just myself, with spanners either side on both the inside and outside of the dome. Is this a solution that you have used, or have you elected to take another approach. I really want to get the shelf and drive belt arrangement that you have, but without shutting the door on maintenance of the support bearing rollers. As we all know, these are old obsevatories, and as far as I know, the source of the original bearing wheels is something of an unknown to us all. As the dome wheels are situated in the centre of each segment I manufactured each segment with a cut-out so I had access to each Bearing wheel (see photo attached)
Before undertaking this project I removed each bearing, in turn, refurbished them and lubricated with silicone grease and all securing bolts replaced with stainless steel replacements.
Cheers,
Steve -
I have an Avalon Linear Reverse installed in my Dome, unfortunately I fabricated my own pier and mounting plate to suit my circumstances. You could get an off the shelf pier and have the two M8 holes drilled and tapped at your local fabricators/Engineering works.
Steve
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2 hours ago, dan_adi said:
I thought I was the only one finding PI made for mathematicians :)).
I even complained on their forum about making the software more user friendly, but the moderators didn't take it very well
My opinion is that software needs to be user friendly and automated as much as possible. If you have to take paid courses like those by Adam Block in order to use it, the design is simply bad, like in the old days in Linux when you had to use a terminal and learn commands to copy a file from one place to another....
I can understand the frustration on the steep learning curves of either PS or Pixinsight. It's not just learning on how to use the software, to a degree where you start feeling comfortable with it, you have to keep using it on a regular basis or keep a precise journal of the techniques used in your processes, Because, if you do not, you will forget what you have done. In my past working life I used many 3D computer aided design software programmes, some with complex rendering software and vastly more complex than either PS or Pix. I was paid for getting results so you had to learn very quickly that you learn from your mistakes. Even a two week holiday set me back a few days to get back to the level I had before my holiday. I soon realised that keeping a journal of the processes, commands and steps needed to attain the desired results.
Regards to automating processes have you looked at the EZ processing suite by Dark Archon. It automates quite a few of your processes to make using Pixinsight a lot easier. There a quite a few tutorials on YouTube on how to install and use the software and it's free.
Steve
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The areas around M101 & M51 are not a great area of sky for stars. PlateSolve needs around 30 stars to work correctly. I am currently using a f/l of 1700mm and a PlateSolve 50s. Any lower and it fails. To prove you are obtaining the amount of stars to PlateSolve successfully take an image with your 2s exposure and check the amount of stars you can see, if needed, increase your exposure until thr required star count is met. With regards to your excessive star trailing, increasing the mount settling time should help.
Steve
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I use a vbs script to custom park in EQMod. I my case to slew to my light panel for taking fllats as Park 3. Set up your EQMod custom park and replace my "park 3" with your version by copying my "yellow" vbs script in Notepad and saving it as as a vbs file ie Custom_Name.vbs
Custom park script
Dim Telescope
set Telescope = CreateObject("EQMOD.Telescope")
Telescope.Connected = True
Telescope.Tracking = False
ret = Telescope.CommandString(":PARK,3#")
Telescope.Connected = False
To return to your standard park position copy and paste the following,vbs script in Notepad and saving it as as a vbs file ie Custom_Name.vbsDim Telescope
Set Telescope = CreateObject ("EQMOD.Telescope")
Telescope.Connected = True
Telescope.UnPark
Telescope.Park
Set Telescope = nothingI use these scripts in both SGPro & Voyager. I know you certainly can add scripts in Nina.
Steve
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No one has mentioned Harry Page's Pixinsight videos, they may be a few years old now, but still a good insight into Pixinsight and he's an active member of SGL.
Steve
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On 01/02/2022 at 12:57, Starwatcher2001 said:
The local authority charged you to cut out the light they are projecting into your property???
I would certainly contact my local MP on being charged for alterations for poor lamp positioning in the first place.
Steve
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17 minutes ago, kirkster501 said:
^^^Hope you are right guys, it makes sense what you say.
I've captured it again this evening. Will share tomorrow.
Nice one Steve. I was really impressed with your first effort & especially with the Nottingham weather of late.
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I would have thought that if any there are issues "time off" would be the last thing on their minds.
Steve
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Hi Harry,
Have you downloaded Chris Rowlands Ascom Safety Monitor Driver You then set your Safe values and point to the CloudWatcher Boltwood dat file in the SGPro settings
Steve
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With regards to my humidity levels, I have connected mine to a humidistat, set at 63% and leave it to it's own devices. I have had constant humidity for the past 3 years and no issues.
Steve
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Hi,
Have a look at Robert Brown's arduino project:-
Arduino mySQM Sky Quality Meter - Browse /mySQMPRO/Documentation at SourceForge.net
Steve
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16 hours ago, Xsubmariner said:
I hear you jonk, but them there is the 3rd party focus controller, mount controller, sequence generator I.e Nina or Apt or SGP that doesn't function correctly without the necessary software updates. Boy this hobby is fun with plenty of software tinkering.
I've had enough with SGP and their promises. I needed my Obsy to be 100% trouble free and that didn't always happen and confidence in this game is paramount. I have moved over to Voyager and once I got my head round Dragscripts relating to my equipment it just works, it's safety events scripts boost your confidence, that in any emergency it make your equipment safe whether it's just pausing for clouds or shutting down for adverse weather. I now have my two scope rig running with Voyager's Array software which let's me run both scopes independently. Something SGP has had in the pipeline for years.
Steve
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2 hours ago, Xsubmariner said:
Hi dan-Asi, may I enquire what application you used to create the Seeing and star elongation graphs?
This week I acquired a Mesu 200 non MK2, from a very nice gentleman who stored the mount for 5 years having acquired another premium mount prior to the Mesu delivery. I was unsure if a “never used” Mesu stored for that time would have some stiction problems, I needn't have worried. Commissioning the mount yesterday with a 12” Meade ACF load everything is working as it should. I will never tire of watching these mounts move large loads so effortlessly, smooth and quiet. Now looking forward to seeing how this mounts operational performance compares to my 2 Mk2 mounts.
After the challenges of my first premium mount, CEM120EC2 and then the PEC, T Point, re-greasing and worm drive adjustment demands of a Paramount MX. I love the fact that the Mesu needs no more than an initial plate-solve on startup and then it centres on DSOs to within 3 pixels in 2 or less plate-solves. The guiding is excellent with the apparent limiting factor being the PA and seeing. If my Mesu’s deliver the long reliability experienced by Olly I will be a very contented man. Bring on the longer nights.
You'll get bored. Every man has to tinker.... 😉
Steve
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Hi Nick, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge
Steve
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If you HAD to keep only one scope?
in The Astro Lounge
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My Tal 200K. Incredible optics. Also, can I include the amazing finder scope as this will suffice foe wide field.
Steve