Vortex

Thank you Neil H and Cornelius Valley. Yes, I suspected FOV, so I think when calibrating the Starsense, I will use gradually shorter focal length eyepieces until I have the target centred with the lowest I have ( a 5mm I think). That will maybe do the trick. Best Regards V

Hi All, A question about alignment on astro targets ... I always set up in the following way :- 1) Align Tripod and Mount pointing North. 2) Polar align using Polemaster. 3) Calibrate scope using Celestron Star Sense 4) GOTO target (in this case VEGA) - VEGA is slightly to one side in my 25mm eyepiece. 5) Calibrate STARSENSE using VEGA - swap to a 15mm eyepiece and centre VEGA. 6) Perform a STARSENSE AUTO alignment once again. After these steps, whichever target I choose, it ALWAYS appears smack in the centre of my eyepiece .... HOWEVER .... when I switch the eyepiece out and replace with my ALTAIR GP-CAM 290C - the target is not in the FOV, I have to go hunting for it. If at this point, I pop my 15mm or 25mm eyepiece back in, the target is dead centre again! Is this just because of the FOV of the CMOS camera ? What would be the best way to ensure that I don't have to keep hunting around ? Many thanks! Regards V

Thank you Dr.Strange and JoshHopk for your advice. I have done as everyone here has advised and got it working really well now - thank you all !! V

johnoelliott Thank you for your reply. Just for clarification, I use Polemaster 1st before anything else. Shimrod Thank you for your reply - my firmware versions are all up to date. I will maybe look into using CPWI/Starry Night or similar software to control the mount. Kind Regards V

Hello all! A question for all you Starsense users out there ... When I do an auto align with Starsense, it duly goes through it's routine of moving the scope to different star targets and resolves each one fine (5 targets I believe). Then it displays on the handset "StarSense Ready". At this point the telescope tube is always pointing in some random direction - is this how yours behaves after it finishes alignment ? Just pointing at the last star it used as a target reference ? At this point I usually set my scope to go to it's "HOME" position, but whenever I "GOTO" a target it is never in the scopes eyepiece and I have to manually hunt around for it. (Using a wide angled eyepiece). Should I just "GOTO" a target without going to "HOME" position first, or should it not matter ? NB - All this after precise Polar Alignment using Polemaster. Grateful for your input Many thanks Kind Regards V.

Many thanks Michael8554. I'll give it a go! Thank you for taking the time to explain. Cheers V.

Hi CraigT82, Yes, I think I must be out of focus - maybe I need to add a T-Adapter or length of tube to the scopes eyepiece and add the camera then - could be my Celestron 8 inch reflector just doesn't have enough back focus. I will try it. Many thanks!

JohninDerby :- Thank you for your reply. Yes have tried all frames rates. When first starting Altair Capture and activating the camera, it settles at about 97 fps. I have altered it right down to 15 fps and then gone up in very small steps - still nothing. Bruno: Thank you for your reply. Yes, tried all sorts of settings on the gain - still just a black screen unfortunately. Have tested the sensor - it picks up light and dark - all seems well with the camera (should be it's brand new!). Maybe it's a driver issue although the camera is showing up detected fine in Windows 10, and in Sharpcap and Altair Capture. I would have thought that when activated I would at least get blurry blobs on the laptop screen - but no, nothing but blackness - very frustrating.

Help ! Novice Imager needing guidance Firstly my equipment :- Celestron C8-N Relector Telescope + Polemaster and Starsense, Advanced VX GOTO EQ Mount, Altair GP-CAM 290C, HP 250 G7 laptop ( Intel Core i5-8265U 1.6GHz, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD). The Issue Polar aligned using Pole-Master, followed by StarSense setup. Everything bang on, and looking through eyepiece super sharp and clear stars. Swapped eyepiece out (1.25 inch 25mm) and replaced with Altair GP-CAM 290C, and plugged into Usb Port on laptop. Fired up Altair Capture software and connected camera in software. Expecting to see similar view on laptop screen, or at least something, but got nothing but a black screen. Frame rate was high (97 fps) so USB throughput no issue. Read through the article on Altair's website, but still no joy. https://altaircameras.com/black_preview_screen/ It is is very frustrating. No matter how I tried I could not get any semblance of an image - any ideas what I am doing wrong ? (Yes, the lens cap was off - he he). Any assistance or tips much appreciated. Thank you. V