haitch

44 minutes ago, Maideneer said:

This was a frustrating night I must admit. It wasn’t a simple as plugging in and playing with exposure. I literally saw a black screen the whole time, no stars, no star fields, nothing. I pointed at the moon and it got brighter but still couldn’t make out a thing no matter the setting.

I haven't scanned back over the whole thread so this may have been mentioned but have you tried getting an image of a distant object in daylight?

Edit: sods law - come back after making coffee, hit post reply and see the message above yours saying the same thing. Lol

Presuming it's Wi-Fi and works like my mirrorless M50, I reckon your best solution might be the Canon app on a smartphone (if you're an Apple user the Cascable app is a worthwhile updgrade)

SCTs aren't really flimsy though... 

11 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Even so, I suspect that the chances of anything getting to Mars are a million to one.

James

... but still it goes

1 minute ago, Nik271 said:

Here is the proof! Our man on Mars reported flying machines back in 1918!  (Hardly mentions any canals)

 

That takes me back...I read all his Mars and Venus series when I was a kid.

As for canals I thought the consensus was he was seeing blood vessels in his eyes?

Well they say don't dither but in this case that may be the best approach

http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/us/spe9/lrgb22.htm

Thought I’d draw a line under this comet... or at least get some astronauts to do it for me 😂

15 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Thats xcellent, thanks for sharing.

Thanks and of course it’s yet another comet pic 😆

Not strictly an all sky camera as it wasn't fixed in place but I stuck my EOS M50 with Meike 6.5mm fisheye on the roof of my car in the middle of nowhere in Central France last week controlled with Cascable on my iPad for a temporary arrangement.

I see I'm not the first to be posting one of this target - I guess it's popular when its around.

Anyway here's my effort from Central France last week (I've got a few pics to post up later).

EOS M50 Canon 70-200 f2.8L @ 200mm on an Astrotrac (unguided). I'll need to check back but I think it's about 10 to 12 x 2 minute subs

I'll post mine in a separate thread

52 minutes ago, DaveS said:

This was a short run to try out my mobile wide-field rig. Leitz 180mm f/3.4 Apo-Telyt-R on ASI 183 at -20C with 5 pos wheel, ZWO RGB and Baader L and H-alpha filters on Star Adventurer (Dark Frame optimised)

20 mins each RGB in 60 sec subs, and 10 mins H-alpha (Before a tree got in the way), calibrated with Darks only. Given Trichromy and DDP. H-alpha added to the Red channel. Finally binned 2x2 for upload here

Problems: Star trailing, I thought I had the PA on, obviously not. Focus / Blue Bloat, looks like I need to focus each filter separately at f/3.4, plus more care with the Bahtinov Mask. Thought it was spot on, but very slightly off.

Will have another go, maybe tonight.

That's pretty low in the sky I imagine from West Dorset. I've just had a similar go at it but from Central France with my Eos M50 and 70-200 f2.8L (@ 200mm) and found it close to the limit of what the atmosphere would allow.

1 hour ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The rectangular flat field closest to the toilet block...

Yeah I think it's the one I'm thinking of. "Relatively" sheltered with hedges around. The fields either side slope away?

Drop me a line if a formal Autumn Party thread gets started so I don't miss it. I'm gagging for a star party after the only ones I could make earlier in the year were cancelled.

Looking at a pic from the last one it’s the small field in the middle? (Where UKAI used to block book)

10 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

You're not the only one. I had problems with AZ-GTI gotos. On arrival home the realisation I'd not given Synscan location permission on the new phone taken to the camp hit me. I can only blame my wimpyness in the biting wind affecting the brain!

 

Haitch, all the pitches on 'our' field 

Great - count me in. Which field? Is it the main one that slopes down to the lane or the one over the back? (I did a couple of the original camps there and even got myself on tv when S@N visited in 2012)

Me too if I can get an EHU

The main problem is being able to get unadulterated files out of the camera. If you can get hold of an old Philips ToUcam (preferably one of the higher end models with a CCD sensor) you can update the firmware so it will output raw files. There may be other brands/cemeras but I don't know which ones.

If that's the sort with the thin aluminium walled focuser tube then you've probably stuck a dent in the tube wall. It may be possible to get it straightened out but given the tolerances it'll possibly never be the same

Lol, thanks. Ever since I’ve been there I realised how much it features in tv programmes set in LA.

I’ve started trying to make it conditions of any holiday that we visit any local observatory during our stay. Last time I did was the Fabra observatory overlooking Barcelona last year for a lunar observing evening and tour of the museum.

1 hour ago, Gina said:

In one of our WI meetings a year or two back, we had a talk by a lady from East Devon District Council on recycling so after the talk I asked if scrap 3D prints could be recycled (particularly the corn based PLA) but she said NO.  There were no 3D printing thermoplastics that they could recycle so I guess I should put the PLA in the landfill waste bin but I reckon they will recycle more plastics in time.  ATM they recycle PET but not PETG.  I know that all these plastics can be recycled if the councils put their minds to it.  It annoys me that we consumers do our best with recycling where permitted but are stymied by the councils!

Isn't PLA biodegradable anyhow?

I once saw a program about recycling where even when certain things weren't currently recyclable they wanted them included in your recycling waste so they could gauge demand and build a case for recycling them.

I've also seen a device that can turn scraps back into filament although the guy demoing it seemed to be struggling to get consistent results.

10 minutes ago, InterstellarTim said:

So after thinking i was settling on an EvoStar 120 Refractor, the slightly larger and incredibly good looking Bresser AR-127L has popped up and has thrown all my previous research on what to build for an EvoStar 120 setup out the window.

Any suggestions for a good AltAz mount for it? Ive currently got a PowerSeeker 80EQ Refractor and i just couldnt get on with the EQ mount as i like to explore, look around and star hop/interested in seeing the planets. No interest in photography currently either.

Thanks for any suggestions/discussion, this place is great!

Beofre you finish making your mind up, have you seen the price of the Celestron 120 on Altair's site at the moment? (Same optically as the Skywatcher) https://www.altairastro.com/celestron-omni-xlt-120-optical-tube-assembly-2819-p.asp 

Also, sorry - I was looking at Dave's RDF but in principle I was talking the same issue that John is trying to resolve for you. It looks like the holes in your tube are too far out to be able get it lined up. 

2 hours ago, Dannomiss said:

Doesn't seem to work at all. Pretty off regardless. I'll have another play at some point but it's a pain in the behind lol

I'm on about loosening the screw(s) that attach the shoe to the tube itself. So if you undo the 2 thumbscrews and take off the finder there'll be 1 or 2 screws fixing the base to the tube - I think that's your only option for getting it straight enough. Generally speaking that type are half decent RDFs.

13 minutes ago, Dannomiss said:

This has been the thing that Has freaked me out, but so much simpler than I thought 😊 phew... 

Now The darn red dot finder - so far off and won't go Left or up anymore 

Maybe try loosening and moving the finder shoe a little

On 11/06/2020 at 09:25, daz said:

Just a bit!

@silentrunning- if you ever fancy doing tutorials in FreeCAD.....!!!

I think I'm going to have to give it a go - Tinkercad has sufficed until now and it's really easy to get something in your head and turn it into reality but there's something about being about to create that technical accuracy that I like.