JonHigh

Hi All Just out of curiosity, I have an assortment of M48 and M42 spacer rings but they are a little too shiny on the inside for my liking. What paint would you guys and gals recommend to get a flat or flatter matt black in there?

Wow! Lovely camera! Never liked the long winter nights so much! I had issues when I got my 26c. I was running it a bit too cold and the heater too low. Since then I have balanced it out and seems to be behaving itself now. Cooler at -10, dew heater on high.

Cool. Thank you for your advice. Offsets are okay and not clipping the blacks however I do definitely agree that I needed a much longer exposure times. The last ones I took with the SkyMax were 4mins but due to the issues I was having with the laptop and PHD I didn’t want to push it. Plus the weather a was turning which didn’t help matters and living under Bortle 6 skies. I’m seriously thinking about selling the Mak, a used C8 is looking on the cards!

Yup. It works fine in every other program under its native driver. What’s odd is that the camera worked fine in PHD using the native driver but for some reason it just stop working as it should. I believe there was an issue with the laptop re. the two instances but even after a complete format and reinstall of Windows (although the instances issue are now resolved) PHD still didn’t want to loop and only applied to the 290! This was the same plugging it into three different computers! The ASCOM driver has resolved the issue.

Thanks Roy. The hazy skies don’t help but when it’s hardware or software that just doesn’t play ball it's incredibly frustrating. Everything is work perfectly and I sometimes wonder what the benefits are in dong updates. What camera are you having issues with?

Hi all. Skies became awful, PHD playing up, laptop playing up. Issues with my guide camera and only 20 usable subs before I almost kicked the tripod over and threw the laptop down the garden!! 🤪😂Just another reason why I love this hobby!!! Anyway this is all I got for my battling efforts with my Aa26c attached to the SW SkyMax 150. 3mins subs, gain-100(HCG), offset-150. Not sure about the horizontal banding that I’ve not seen before?

Altair support came back to me this morning with a solution! Downloaded the Altair Ascom driver. Done and all working now. Thank you for replying and hopefully this will help others if need be. Download the ASCOM driver. 🙄

Hi again. I have just loaded all the software on a fresh install of windows 10 on another laptop and the two instances are gone. Just one appears now. Off to a good start! However just opened PHD2 up and went through the setup wizard, did the Darks and the Bad Pixel Map. Great it works then went to start looping and that’s it. Just says ‘Stopped’ and that’s that. Massively frustrating. Can’t find an aux camera in the drop down list if that where you mean?

Thank you for your reply. Yup I have tried everything including a full computer reset annoying. However what’s more annoying it’s that after reloading the Apps on the fresh install of windows 11 it’s still the same! I have in the meantime dusted off an old Windows 10 Dell laptop and going to see if that works. I’ll post again once that’s done. If you remember how you fixed it I will be keen to know as I like my Lenovo! Wondering if it’s Windows 11?

Hi All. Hoping someone can help? I have an Altair GP-Cam 290M camera which works fine in APT, SharpCap and AltairCapture albeit it the apps see two instances for some reason. Not sure how to sort that out? However my main issues is with PHD2. It will connect to the camera but will not do anything else just says “stopped.” Started a new wizard and ran the darks and get a message “Operation Failed - no changes have been made.” I know the camera works but PHD doesn’t! Loaded with the previous version of PHD and just times out. I’ve used different cables with no difference. Running on Windows11 everything is up to date as of yesterday. Does anyone have this issue or do you know how to fix it? Help would be appreciated! incidentally my AA178M works absolutely fine!

Came today. So much better. Thanks.

I polar align my AzGTi with sharpcap as my cameras are attached to my scope, nice and easy. I did pop a camera on for PA then replaced it for an eyepiece for a quick setup for observation. I have changed it to AltAz mode although it gets confused re its orientation. Eg. Down is up and left is right! Slightly off topic but since it has been mentioned and I have a wedge. I was in two minds in buying the SeeStar for my daughter as she has shown interest in AP. Would the SW wedge support the Seestar? Personally I think it’s a great idea although I still think there’s still a way to go with Smart Telescopes. I have seen some good images but still in no way as good as a regular setup. i wonder if they will come out with an 80mm version and stick 585 sensor in it. I might not be sitting on the fence then!? However. Perhaps someone can shed some light on using it on a wedge as I don’t see how it can be run equatorially if the software is in AltAz mode only. You’re fooling it I guess but the motors will still track in both axis rather than in RA? Unless ZWO comes out with an upgrade like Skywatcher did for the AzGTi?

It is a fantastic camera. It has taken a while to understand it and I still need to do some experimenting with it. I just wish we had clearer skies more often so I don’t feel like I’m missing precious acquisition time! The fun of AP!!! I think Robin has done that so it’s more akin to the automatic switch over like ZWO cameras so you don’t have to think about it. I quite like the variability in having it fully manual. Enjoy your new camera.

Thanks for the compliment. Looks good enough that I might actually print this one out! 👍🏻

That’s great to hear and thank you for the feedback! 👍🏻 May I ask which M6 one did you get as sounds like a good a solution to that ‘to a price’ handle? At the moment if I can find a cheap second hand WO wedge at a sensible price then I will go for it but in the meantime I have a wedge that is modded to how should have been.

Cool. Please do let me know if that works.

Due to the lack of clear stable nights I have been working on processing techniques of some of my old data from my 26C. I wasn’t never too happy with the results of this from last year. Came across a procedure in Siril of splitting the RGB channels and reassembling it with the extracted HA data. It really worked a treat…

Hi. Yes I definitely hear that!!! Waited months for someone to help me but in the end I had to figure it out when the skies cleared on those rare occasions. Hate wasting on experimenting too but once it’s done it done I have been using my AA26c for ages on 100 LCG but heard the DR / read noise is better once changing it to HCG. I found that the results from using gain 100 at HCG were notably noisier. However, that said I realized after the fact was that I had kept the subs at the same length of 3mins. Probably should have drop it to 2 mins. But hey the results I’m getting are very good using LCG (as pictured) so I’m not sure sacrificing the apparent noise for a bit more DR is worth it even if you’re getting a few more subs in. Likewise I will be trying it again at some point as I will need to drop my exposures to compensate for the higher gain. Also I manually switch from LCG to HCG so I might go to 300 LCG (Ultra Low Noise mode) instead of 100 HCG? Just have to experiment further I guess.

Yup I got that for upper clamp to lock the scope down as the supplied thumb screw was too big for the RA axis to revolve. Bought from Amazon (made by Sourcing Map). I haven’t upgraded the Alt ratchet, although it could do with it but I really don’t want to spend any more on it. Looking at prices and to save £70 odd pounds, the Omegon Deluxe might be the way to go. Seems to be a solid performer.

Hi all, Thanks for all the replies. I have had another look at the skywatcher wedge last night after dismantling it. The pin for the Az was a bit loose so tightened that up! Indeed it seems better once everything is nipped up followed by small adjustments. Went slightly higher in Alt then eased it south so it’s resting on the gear and seems to be better. I think I might save up and get the WO one. However, I’m only using the Az-GTi for a light AP payload or a quick visual setup. Otherwise my modded StellarDrive HEQ5 comes out!

Cool. Thanks for that. i believe the AZGTI can handle up to 5Kg payload and I’m not putting anything too heavy on it so should be okay. The Ioptron seems to be the one to get if it doesn’t move when locking everything down. Will check out the Minitrack so thanks for all your help.

Well after some experimenting I have decided to go back to LCG at gain 100. Looks so much better to anyone else seeing this post.

https://amzn.eu/d/3kv0drE Sloppy is a good word to use. As soon as you go to lock it down PA is lost! Yes. I had to do a bit of a fix as you say to get it working. I bought a M8 x 20mm thread with a push button ratchet that worked well. I know it’s for fun in EQ mode but I have got some decent images from it. The wedge is just frustrating and flimsy as you know. I take it this is the Ioptron one… https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ioptron-mount-accessories/ioptron-alt-azimuth-adjustable-base.html?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw26KxBhBDEiwAu6KXtxoA7i09_s7AiV0qKB67t_C7gp52irh5ZkZ77biFQv4mbmP8is7FvRoCQH0QAvD_BwE Seen the Omegon polar wedge as well if it’s any good but starting to see £200!! Seems to me that I will have to have patience and get a used WO wedge. 🙄

Thanks. Agreed, the WO does look the business. There was one on Astro Buy/sell for £120 but sold already. That’s about as much as I want to spend in all honesty. I did see the Bresser star tracker wedge but can’t find much by way of reviews other than Amazon. Will have a look at the IOptron. Can only be better than the SW offering. 😂

Hi all. Just a quick question. I have a skywatcher AZ-GTi that I have converted for use in EQ mode using the Skywatcher wedge. However it really isn’t great. Any suggestions on a decent replacement without spending a vast amount. Looked at the WO but costs the same as the mount so that’s out. Any advice would be appreciated.