Longinthetooth

Exactly my point Dave! I recently subscribed to PS CC and thought - going to this expense surely they could have provided the facility to load FITS files. I have posted this topic on the PS community site - so far without any positive result. I'll post here if I get any info.

Thanks James. I have FITS Liberator as a stand alone. Can it be incorporated into PS?

Quite right Ouroboros. I got a new faceplate with the mobo. I've not used it yet - and yet to find out all it can be used for! Skipper Billy - I'm very grateful for all the assistance I receive here and I've received a lot! This is not my first enquiry nor will it be the last! This site is a fantastic resource and I'm pleased to be able, at last, to contribute!

I'm surprised to discover that PS doesn't load FITS format. I've been converting to TIFF to accommodate this. Is there a way to have PS load FITS files? Regards JB

Just to bring this to a close I've fitted a new motherboard and now have a steady red light. Connected to mount with EQMOD and able to slew etc. The new mobo adds a usb port to the faceplate - it's for AZEQ6Pro and the attachment points are in different place. However, there was a wiring diagram enclosed which made it simple to swap over. I've attached a photo in case anyone needs to do the same conversion. OVL assure me the motherboards are compatible, and the usb is a welcome addition. There's no obvious defect on the old board. It looks perfect but I guess there's an issue there somewhere. Is there a used/for parts/not working market at all for such electronics? Seems a waste to have it in a box or recycled. Thanks to everyone who contributed. JB

Here is a single frame from my stack, stretched and compressed to show here of course. I don't think there's a pattern visible but perhaps others will know better.

Thanks for that Olly.

Thanks tooth_dr. I'll give that a try along with the other suggestions above.

Thanks, all, for your swift replies. Yes top left to bottom right. I've not got to guiding yet, never mind dithering, but know I have to give it a go! I've been darkening the background to make the pattern less obvious but losing fainter detail in the postprocessing. Without going "off topic" how do I go about removing "colour noise" please? JB

Many of my images suffer from what I've been calling "digital rain" because it looks like rain falling on a windy day, slanting diagonally across the view. Is this "walking noise" which can be dealt with by dithering? Roughly 1.5 hours of 90 second exposures unguided.

Hi Julian - I can't connect my laptop to the mount - it times out, presumably due to this issue. I always use EQmod for control. Merlin66 and Ouroboros - I'm still concerned my mains regulated power supply may contribute to the issue - I'm thinking to replace it now anyway. I've now contacted Altair Astro who supplied the mount and they've ordered me a new mobo. Unfortunately the supplier is currently out of stock so the saga continues..... JB

I've now tried the mount with the 12v supply from my car and sad to say I still have the rapid flashing power light. 🤔 Does this rule out a power supply issue altogether narrowing the issue down to the electronics in the mount? JB

Here too Julian. It's miserable! I think I'll give the car trick a try - if the weather improves. Don't go checking those readings for me just yet. It may not be necessary! Cheers JB

Thanks Julian - what readings should I expect?

The mount is permanently set up in an observatory (hut) which, being in the middle of my garden, isn't accessible to vehicles. It'll be a pain to have to dismantle and set it up again but I suppose that's just what most folk have to do every time they want to observe! It's such a boon having a permanent set up! First I'll check the voltages on the mobo. I can see how to check the power at the molex but can't find any info to locate the regulator. Could you describe its position in more detail? If the voltages are ok I'll then try the car trick. Thanks again for your help! JB

Thanks again Julian for that suggestion. I'll check that. There was no evidence of spiders that I could see.....😉 I hope I can recognise the regulator! Ouroboros - unfortunately I don't have an suitable alternative power supply at the moment but that had crossed my mind. I have a 12v supply @5amps but it has a DC plug end rather than the Skywatcher connector or cigar outlet. 12v may be a bit low anyway, the mount likes 13.8v. I really need to get hold of something suitable.

Thanks for that. Here's what it looks like. I can't see any evidence of damage, or anything loose.

Hi Julian and thanks for your input. I always control from a laptop via eqmod and my first inkling that something was amiss was being unable to connect to the mount - it was timing out. Then I saw the flashing light on the mount. I connected via the handset to check the voltage and see if I could get the mount to move using the direcxtion buttons - it doesn't.

Hi everyone - I've hit an issue and hope for some guidance here. AZEQ6 power light now flashes rapidly, within seconds of power on. Handset says "Dec/Alt No response" but I can access the Utility menu where the voltage is reported as 13.8V as expected. I'm using a regulated mains power supply capable of delivering 4amps sustained, 6 amps max. I had a look inside the mount cover plate and could see no obvious damage. The power connector looks and feels solid enough and I withdrew and reseated the connectors to the power block on the mobo. Retried starting up the mount but no change. I replaced the Skywatcher power cable with a beefier one but this hasn't helped either. Power supply issue or mobo? Can anyone suggest what I might try next to identify the problem? Thanks John B