Trippelforge

37 minutes ago, paul mc c said:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/manuals/How_to_clean_ASI_camera_and_redry_the_desiccant.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjl3dL73br8AhWaEMAKHUhYBNUQFnoECDoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3AqDDFg5yrXMR_WCLOowMd

Thank you very much!

I assume it's the same for a DSLR? I wonder if the cleaning feature has been disabled do to being modified? As I have both those types of spots showing up on images... 

I think I have a few dust particles on the new camera I picked up. Unless the guy "forgot" to warn me about any defects. I haven't ever cleaned a sensor before and my old camera never got a smudge. I noticed a few various things I have purchased came with microfiber cloths. But I do not want to damage the camera at all, and wasn't sure if once modified things could be more fragile.

Can you guys tell me the best / safest way to do it? I haven't recently cleaned my scope lens either, and was curious if that would be the same process. 

On 08/01/2023 at 05:57, Royboy said:

Hi all,this is my first post on here ,

I saw this post and decided to say what my experience with the eqstar pro kit,

I have had the kit on my Eq5 for about 3-4 years now, presently I am narrow band imaging and can manage 10 min subs most nights,I regularly get around 0.6-0.7 on my guiding,

The system is pretty quiet I think,I did have a problem with the control box which Alexander sorted out brilliantly.

I have found that balance of the scope really has to be spot on to get the best out of the system,I run Ascom and eqmod to control it,I have not had any problems with parking the scope but I always reset the encoders at the start of a session in eqmod.hope this might help someone 😃👍

Nice, thanks for taking the time to share your experience! I only have an EQ4 so I don't expect hitting the 10 minute mark but it still IMO was a good upgrade for the cost. 

Glad to hear yours isn't screaming loud, it seems so hit and miss with the units. Still waiting on mine (48 days) but it finally got to the US yesterday. I am hoping the setup goes fairly smoothly, but it is what it is. 😁

Welcome to the forum also, this place has really amazing and helpful members. 

I picked up a D5300 and always wondered what the typical related AP centric specifications were for it. Luckily the chip it uses has been featured in a few dedicated AP cameras. As the Nikon D5300 uses the Sony IMX193, which was featured in an older AP model under QHY247C. With that in mind you can actually find the specifications on it, things like well capacity, read out noise etc. However I was curious if those specifications transferred over to other devices that use the same chip.

For instance the chip is listed at having a 36ke full well capacity on the dedicated camera's specs. It also lists the peak QE at 74. Does that mean that the Nikon does as well? I know things like readout noise are greatly effected via cooling, so obviously the DSLR isn't going to retain the values. But I am still curious if cooling would be the only reason?

Thanks for filling me in!

Welcome! I am new to this community also and everyone has been amazing!

1 hour ago, HeadwindH said:

Hey guys.   I would love to get the EQStarProEQ3 kit for my old CG-4 but it is a little out of my budget for now.  I have a Celestron 2 Axis EQ drive kit for my CG-4 but the controller fails with a yellow/orange LED after 3 minutes.  It will reset and work O.K. again if turning off then on but fails again after 3 minutes.  All stop and only have the yellow/orange LED.  I can repeat the process over and over and it still works for 3 minutes and then stops.

I really don't want to spend $180 U.S. to replace the controller by buying the complete kit.  Do any of you guys who have converted from the Celestron 2 axis kit to the EQStar have a used handset or used complete kit for sale or know where I can get one for a lot less than the $180 required for new?

Any body have any ideas about the problem with the faulty controller.  I have done a lot of trouble-shooting.  It is not a power issue.  The controller handset fails to the yellow/orange LED after normal green LED after 3 minutes even when not plugged into the motors.  Really strange.  All works fine in the 3 minutes before the LED turns yellow/green then all stops.

Anyway.  Sorry if I am off topic but I thought some of you EQStarPro guys might have a Celestron kit laying around unused.

Thanx for reading and for any suggestions.

Headwind H

 

It's not shocking that something randomly failed with that kit. Over the years I always shook my head when using it due to how cheap it was made. I don't think I have ever paid that much for something so shoddy looking. Anyways have you checked how tight your gears are meshed? I know that's something that can trip the system. The only thing I have ran into with the light is that it will alternate between orange / green when the batteries were getting low. Then it would turn solid orange when there wasn't enough power to turn the motors. Hence why I mentioned the tightness of the gears, it could be straining some and eventually noping out. 

BUT I am sure you checked all of that, just sharing my experiences. I still don't get how Celestron came up with the design for the battery pack and thought it was on par with the price.  

It's obnoxious for sure and something I pay pretty close attention to. I got so frustrated I asked a similar question, I am glad I am not the only one!

On 01/01/2023 at 14:07, Celerondon said:

You should receive that kit soon if you don’t already have it.  Please let us know your impression of the sounds that the stepper motors make when idling and slewing.  Because users report different levels of irritation with these tones, I suspect that there is a strong subjective aspect to this “noise” issue. 

To me the sounds are noticeable but not annoying.  If I even suspect that my neighbors can hear these steppers running then I will stock up on mercury and silver bullets and further limit my observations around the full moon!   🌔 🐺. 😉

Here is a software tip that may help you if you plan to control your mount with SkySafari.  This EQStarPro controller works fine with a smartphone or tablet but I suggest that you should use an Android tablet.  The reason why I am warning you away from iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones did not exist a few months ago.  I make this suggestion despite the fact that, until recently, I lived in a pure Apple bubble of iOS and OSX bliss that barely tolerated Windows hardware and refused any contact with Android devices.  Because a recent software update for the SynScan and SynScan Pro apps broke their ability to connect with some non-Sky Watcher hardware, it necessary to use an older version of the apps.  Using old versions of apps has become challenging because of intertwined mandatory updates for apps and operating system software.  On networked devices like cell phones and Internet ready tablets, avoiding mandatory updates is essentially impossible.  (Believe me, I have tried!)  

My refurbished Samsung A8 tablet arrived the other day and it works like a champ. It only connects to my home WiFi when I allow it to and has very few apps installed.  The tablet is stuck on version 11 of the Android OS and I will probably leave it there.   I hope that this advice smooths your installation routine.  
 

For power, I use a TalentCell battery pack that I purchased on Amazon.  This compact LiFePO4 unit has three power outputs and an impressive capacity.  

Sadly I have not received it yet. It's been over 5 weeks since it went out and seemingly has been sitting in Turkey since December 23rd. I however reside in the US, so I am not shocked it is taking awhile. Kind of sucks that there hasn't been any movement lately though.

Thanks for the tips, I planned on running it straight through the computer... but it sounds like that can be an issue? I don't own a tablet, just a Samsung phone. So basically your running safari on your tablet and using it to slew to the targets. Are you able to align it with the tablet? I really don't know how that works.

Battery / adapter wise I haven't bought one yet, I will check that pack out. 

Thanks!

38 minutes ago, ONIKKINEN said:

It depends on the sensor used where the ideal range of ISOs is. Sensors usually have a point where increasing ISO decreases full well capacity significantly but no longer reduces read noise as much. At that point its pointless to increase ISO as it will just saturate stars earlier but offer no benefit of significant value.

There is also this misconception that DSLR images should have a specific looking histogram or that the subs themselves should look good and show the target clearly. That is not necessary, the only thing deciding whether a sub is long enough is the amount of electrons in it, not the ADUs or histogram shape and placement. You get a brighter image by increasing ISO past the optimal point but it will still have more or less the same SNR as an exposure of the same length with one setting lower of an ISO.

I haven't come across a well size for a DSLR before. Is it due to needing to look up the sensor itself? 

I ordered my son a new custom motor drive system for XMAS,  however it got built and shipped from Ukraine. As such it is taking forever to arrive, and won't be here until mid next week (supposedly). So in a panic I picked up one other thing he really wanted, an upgraded camera. Over on Cloudynights someone was selling a modified Nikon D5300, they also lived close enough that shipping would only take 2 days. It was in excellent condition as well, and was modified by Lifepixel. So I jumped on it, it was 400 bucks, but I have no idea if I over payed or not (kind of late now). But I do know it's a decent upgrade over the old Canon 500D that we use, and he will be able to open it XMAS morning (whew).

OK sorry, just explaining why I didn't dig too deep into the camera prior to buying it.

Anyways so I asked the seller what modification was done to it by Lifepixel, he said he got the Ha-Alpha conversion option. I am not completely ignorant to what that does luckily, but I am a bit confused on the modification vs clip in filters. As such is it possible to get the same result with a clip-in version, verses paying for it to be professionally modded? 

I don't know if I explained my question right, but I have been scrolling through this website comparing various optimal ISO settings. The one thing I noticed is that most of the Nikon's listed have extremely low ISO suggestions (100-400). When I scan through the Canon list most are MUCH higher overall (800-1600). 

Can someone explain it to me? My thoughts on this subject are extremely basic. I always thought that ISO values increased the brightness of an image, and that there was a limit on how high of an ISO you could go until you were getting too much noise. So the goal was always to raise the ISO as high as you could before that point. According to the linked article my Nikon D5300 should only be set to ISO 200-400, and my Canon 500D at 1600. 

Hopefully what I am asking makes sense, as I would love a simple explanation as to what it actually means. I know currently if I drop my Canons ISO down to 800 I have to really crank up my exposure time. 

Thanks for the help!

On 20/09/2022 at 19:47, BenHayes said:

I am looking to have my Canon 60D modified for astrophotography with the h-alpha conversion sensitivity boost using both lenses and telescopes. 
 
The most important facts: 
 
I want my camera to preserve focus to infinity with lenses after the modification for widefield Milky Way astrophotography
A conversion with just h-alpha and sulfur II sensitivity increase but blocking infrared light to avoid out of focus halos around stars 
The Best companies offering this Astro Conversion service for a clean modification with even focus across the image  
 
I really appreciate your answers regarding this matter. 
 
Clear Skies
 
Benjamin

What company did you end up using? 

On 26/09/2022 at 23:28, Pete K said:

I had my Nikon D7500 modified with the Full Spectrum conversion by AstroGear (https://www.astrogear.net/). I've had it a few months and so far I've been really happy with it. Nebula images after the mod show much more H-alpha (red). 

As was mentioned by @Elp, for normal daytime photography you'll have to set a custom white balance (or correct the WB in post processing). I use a Hoya UV-IR cut filter to prevent the IR in daytime photography from causing blurring.

You are the first person I have come across that mentioned Astrogear. I have spend an hour searching for reviews and have come up empty handed. They seem to have the best prices of the few places that offer services so I have been considering them. Did you just go for it, or did other people suggest the company?

52 minutes ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

I also have a cooled and a non-cooled ASI183, and rather like them. Might go for a bigger sensor at some time, but for now they will do. I also still have a modded 550D, which can produce some nice results, despite its age, especially when paired with the Samyang 135mm F/2.

 

The photo is from your 550D?

10 hours ago, rickwayne said:

Trust me, you're not paying by the photon and it doesn't hurt when you just spray them past the sensor. I thought that it would, but it doesn't.

Now, if you really want to optimize everything, sure, a sensor as big as the light cone from your optical train will give you the biggest pixels (for a given X by Y) and thus likely the lowest read noise. And a bigger sensor does increase your FOV.

But of course the converse is true, too: a smaller sensor with smaller pixels lets you image smaller objects without cropping. Eh, you tries it out in Stellarium and takes your choice, I say. 

I haven't yet used my reducer/flattener with the longer scopes and the 183, though I have with the Stellarvue. I had trouble figuring out how to make the backfocus work out with an OAG. A straight reducer would be good, but I only have the SFFR-70APO that came with the SV70t. Between the fairly flat field of an RC and the tiny sensor, I have not needed a flattener at all for the AT8RC or the AT12RC.

When I went to the CEM70 I mounted my little 50mm guidescope right to the side of the saddle, so I could swap imaging scopes at will and still guide. But the guiding image scale is 4.77"/px and the imaging scale for the 8" is 0.3"/px, which is really asking a lot of the guiding system, so I want to get an OAG setup running again.

I looked through your Astrobin at the ASI183MM images and they look pretty amazing. I was a bit surprised due to a lot of people kind of writing off the more budget minded camera's. I get the FOV issue, I have spent some time with the online tool and was pretty amazed at how much I would lose moving from my DSLR. But it seems a focal reducer can mitigate enough of that to not be horrible.

This has been a VERY hard decision for me. In fact I skipped out on buying one and picked up a custom drive system for my sons XMAS present. Ugh, I just am so stuck on this issue. 

12 hours ago, rickwayne said:

We are talking about deep-sky, yes? I would second Olly's advice to look for used gear, but you'll likely get better results more easily with more-recent cameras (meaning CMOS).

Since the only moving part in these cameras is the fan, and that's pretty bulletproof, buying used is relatively safe. Expect about 75% of new pricing.

I don't know what you're looking at that was $1500, but ZWO are selling the 533MC Pro for near half that right now. That is one of the most highly recommended cameras going if you can live with a square 1" sensor. After using APS-C I thought I'd hate that size but wow was I wrong. Totally enjoy my 183, and the 533 is worlds better tech than the 183. I imaged Andromeda with it and yes, a mosaic with a mono camera is a bit of a pain but OTOH I get nice sharp results on smaller objects.

Ya purely DSO, and I was not looking at the 1,500 price range. The 533 looks to be a pretty good value. Do you use a reducer?

Ya it's been rough, my son and I recently got into AP and were rabidly watching the forecasts. We got a good solid few weeks in then everything changed. It didn't help either that he had the FLU during the perhaps last solid week of the season. Looking ahead it's cloudy, rainy and snowy into the next week. 

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

I'd see what comes up and then look up the spec. There was (and may still be) an Atik 460 on here for about £500. That can take world class images which a DSLR of comparable price cannot.

Olly

Thanks I will dig into that!

18 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Have you considered a second hand CCD camera? Market prices have fallen enormously since CMOS cameras appeared yet CCDs are as excellent as they always were. There really is no comparison between DSLR and CCD. 

Olly

I have been just browsing newer models. Any suggestion on what CCD chipset to look at?

On 04/12/2022 at 05:12, Neil H said:

Hi I also been looking and there are a few on Astro buy and sell the dearest so far was 380 , so may be worth a look at 

I haven't gotten on there, isn't that the site that costs money to browse?  What camera is coming up for 380?

My son and I recently got pretty into AP and the first few weeks we were able to spend 1/2 of the nights outside. This past week we got one evening that was a bit breezy. Since then looking into the next week there won't be any opportunities for us. And between now and Jan things are sketchy normally. Then of course in January the temps drop below -6, sometimes even hitting -15. Come spring we get strong to severe storms constantly, and the humidity skyrockets, temps can end up hitting 37 (although if lucky they drop to a "cool" 30 after dark). Toss in the bonus of swarms of mosquitoes and I probably lose about 75% of nights. So I completely feel your pain!

It also just made me question why I am doing this... LOL

3 hours ago, UKRoman said:

It doesn't come with a power supply or cable. I use a single cable between the Celestron Powertank Lithium Pro and the control box. The cable I use is like this: 

https://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Lighter-Extension-Supply-Adapter/dp/B08F2D8TSS/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1GE1EG63S5Q4W&keywords=cigarette+lighter+to+5521+adapter&qid=1669975999&sprefix=cigarret+lighetr+to+5521+adapter%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-9

But you can use other connector types to connect to the battery end depending on your battery, as long as the control box end is a 5521 connector (5.5mm x 2.1mm) 👍

Oh OK so the 5.5 x 2.1 is just the over all dimensions of the plug (LxW). So as long as I buy one with that size plus 3A I should be fine? Thanks for the help!

13 hours ago, UKRoman said:

I’ve been using a Celestron Powertank Pro with mine, which works great. 
 

Fingers crossed for you 👍👍

I will look that up, I noticed it requires a 12v / 3A unit. And it says 5.5mm / 2.1mm plug. That kind of confuses me as the unit only has one power connection. Does that mean that they usually come with an adapter?

Thank you very much for laying that all out for me! 

1 hour ago, Jonny_H said:

Hi @Trippelforge

Thanks for the response.

I will take some photos of the patio, probably in the morning now.  When you say sightings, I assume you mean of the skies? I can get these over to you too, again probably in the morning to get a better orientation.

funnily enough I have just been looking at solid concrete blocks you can buy used for foundation support. Not sure on the strength/consistency etc... but could be an option. Only (I say only loosely) 35kg though so might not give enough stability!  Or of course I can make my own as you say.

Ya I meant what you could see from the location. Again not that it matters, I was just curious to see the new home for the observatory. 😁

12 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Junk is a rather strong adjective to use. The mount as is can be roughly polar aligned to allow you to track your targets in the eyepiece by using the slow motion cables. It would also benefit from adding some additional weight to the tripod. You could place the weight(s) on the eyepiece tray or fit a hook on the underside of the tripod and hang the weight(s). If you decide after a while that you want to upgrade your equipment then the mount should be one of the first things to upgrade. Good luck   

   Ian 

Ya maybe junk wass a bit strong, I just had a similar one years ago and didn't exactly have a great experience with it. The entire setup though almost killed the hobby for me. lol

Probably an EQ2, not 100% though.