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Aenima

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Posts posted by Aenima

  1. Thanks QM, it's great to hear the extra '50 in 350D might allow the pc connection that the 300D lacked. I had hoped for focus assist, but not looked into it before now.

    I have heard also that the 350D has compatibility issues with anything later than winXP.... might be worth reverting to an earlier OS just for that reason.

    ASTROEQ looks at first glance to be mainly for non-goto users, but still a nice piece of DIY :)

    Regards

    Aenima 

  2. Great  post, looks like a nice set-up.

    I managed to come across a 350D recently thnx to a very kind deal from a fellow stargazer - i'm quite pleased with it, it's definitely an upgrade from the 300D..

    Im interested in the possibility of using it with the laptop -- the 300D wasn't supported by BYEOS or  other astro software , but failing that i'm happy using the remote timer (very useful things aren't they?:) )...

    ive had laptop trouble which halted guiding for a while but shouldn't stop me for too long ;)

    Aenima 

  3. Yeah, mate cheers - couldn't agree more. :) I also prefer the fast and light approach but making progress is part of the whole obsession isn't it? I liked the idea of guiding slightly more than the actual guiding tasks themselves. Some targets, ones you wanted to try but couldn't get the exposures as long as it needed, is enough to keep you moving along and always hoping for the next 'favourite' object. :p

    So much of my processing is stunted by the lack of a coma corrector and 'in your face' light pollution, not skyglow just a couple of gazillion watt security and street lights right next door.

    But you are definitely right with the three 'must have' things to do decent imaging - mount, software skills and dark sky --- its nice though to see good stuff from lesser set-ups around the forums where folks have really put their gear through the grinder so to speak :)

    All the best,

    Regards

    Aenima

    • Like 1
  4. I'd like to post a little update if I may.

    Partly for reference - my particular path to long exposures may have bearing on someone elses current struggle (and no, 'struggle' isn't used for drama - it IS a struggle! :p ) and partly to thank the many members here on SGL regarding my initial confusion and questions, I finally got some guided exposures :grin: happily reaching 300sec using my 200p, EQ5, 9x50 finderscope/toucam finderguider. :p

    I since ruined my laptop so its all on hold for now but the main thing is that thanks to the advice from SGL, Yahoo EQMOD group and a nice chap on facebook I finally managed it.

    Having goto is a strange mixed blessing. It is very nice to set-up and be 'goto-ing' in minutes - and unguided you can still manage 60secs exposures, but with guiding the goto tends to become an extra system that needs configuring before you start guided imaging.

    When you configure goto with ASCOM/EQMOD, a planetarium program like cartes du ciel / stellarium takes control of the mount and performs the goto's, but it needs to be sync'd to the synscan firmware which means losing the handy handset and pressing keys on the laptop to slew. (a wireless gamepad is a bonus here) while straining to look in the eyepiece.

    The requirement is that for PhD or similar software to control the synscan it has to talk through the ASCOM driver directly, taking the handset out of the equation, and the laptop assumes control in order for the guiding software to be in harmony with the mount. This means aligning via the computer screen. But the finderscope is still needed for this, so if like me your finder is now a guidescope, aiming the scope can be tricky! - you need two finders or you can swap after star-alignment, so QM's plan of using a second finder is probably the better of the two options - Otherwise, I would sync the scope/mount to the computer software by finderscope, then unscrew the rear EP to attach the webcam to the finder, get it focused and then calibrate PhD. :eek: this can take all night. So be ready to find another way of lining up your scope for alignment using the laptop.

    But once all this is done:

    1.Set up.

    2.Power on. 3.Connect the mount to the laptop and to EQMOD. 4. Configure the two with ASCOM and connect in your planetarium software.

    For goto users this is where you lose your precious handset and have to use computer keys while stretching to view through the finder and EP - or use a gamepad :grin: - and sync the mount to PC. Cartes du ciel is quite easy in my opinion slightly easier than stellarium, but only just.

    5.Then you find/choose your target for the night.

    6.Attach the guider and calibrate PhD on a bright-ish star

    Note: let it settle into guiding - letting it settle helps to smooth out the kinks, the RA "Hysteresis" kinda learns as it goes and PhD works better after its 'got the hang of the rhythm' for a few minutes. Also, the guiding pulse' gain' in the set-up under PhD's "Brain" menu needs to go right up due to the finder being short in F/length. (Mine didn't get going until I upped it to 4000! from a default of, I think, 750.

    aaaand then- 7.Center the target.

    8. Push Here Dummy....... and off it goes, :shocked: .

    Hope some of it helps someone looking to, or trying to, set up a budget finderguider (with or without goto) on their EQ5/200p - 9x50 / spc package. I never thought it would work but it does. :)

    http://www.flickr.co...lus/9030192598/

    post-18772-0-85645300-1377733824_thumb.jpost-18772-0-84808000-1377733864_thumb.jpost-18772-0-30418600-1377733944_thumb.jpost-18772-0-40253400-1377734352_thumb.j

    Now to fix my laptop.

    Regards

    Aenima

    • Like 1
  5. I find with the EQ5 synscan that since the 3.35 update, a 2-star align is easiest and still allows for polar align feature to be used. Best to try and start at 'Home' position and looking through the finder polaris wont be exact in the crosshairs but close, then go for wide low stars either side approaching up and right buttons for backlash then PAE corrections each time a convenient object is centered.

    The biggest hassle I had with the synscan was knocking the power cable after everything was done, so then needing to start over, however I have noticed that if you already have your target in view when you get a power cut, its ok to just quickly switch it back on and go into the set-up menu and select 'tracking' = sidereal and it just starts RA tracking without needing to re-align. You might know this but I can remember many times giving up in a huff and packing up if this happened at just the wrong moment, but since finding out the 'tracking' works without the rest Ive not had the stress of power offs.

    Regards

    Aenima

    • Like 2
  6. Telescope house are a well known and long lived supplier and probably have plenty of reviews already, so I really only need to add my little piece of customer experience to the list.

    After a difficult time trying to choose the right barlow lens for imaging with my 200p - (its best to try before you buy, but with purchasing online thats not an easy way to shop!) and research led me to look at F/ratios etc. and I went for the 5X (for a F5 scope, planetary imaging requires a bigger magnification than visual does, meaning the 5X wasnt as overkill as it sounded) and it arrived nice and fast.

    One look at Jupiter through the new barlow told me that despite doing the maths the 5X was slightly over the limit of the optics - there wasnt much in it, just very slightly stronger than my scope and collimating skills would tolerate.

    So I contacted Telescope House and tried explaining the problem asking to return the barlow (I only tested it out the once and it hadn't been marked or knocked etc.) in exchange for a less powerful one at similar price.

    Not a problem. Telescope house were happy to swap for another barlow.

    I had decided that a 3X would work but on asking via email for 3X barlow I discovered they had already sent out a 2X that day. I asked about it and because the 5X was revelation astro, it seemed like the revelation 2X was the logical choice.

    This would have been great - the difference was refunded to my account and the new barlow speeding towards my postal address already. :)

    The trouble was, I already owned a 2X barlow and hadn't told them about it.

    Understandably, as I didn't request the 2X they were happy to make yet another exchange (at this point mention was made of the virtues of Patience & Humour - luckily there was a plentiful supply, with both parties light-heartedly assessing the confusion I seem to bring with me when shopping on-line.).

    So I sent the 2x back immediately on arrival and marshalled my finances during the next couple of days and Telescope House refunded me in full, so in the end I was able to buy a great quality Tele vue 3X from them, it really should have been my first choice but at the time I didnt have enough money, so I made a purchase based on a compromised budget and am extremely grateful to Telescope house and the patient shown by the staff regarding my indecision and multiple exchanges that resulted from it.

    I am very happy now with my 3X barlow, and with Telescope house. - Without the patient, easy exchange of posted items and the understanding of customer support I would have had to stick with my purchase of a barlow that my optics couldn't keep up with and needed to still buy the more suitable (and satisfying) 3X barlow that I like so much now.

    Thank you Telescope house. :)

    Hope this is helpful to anyone considering a purchase from them that might not be 100 percent straightforward. :p

    Regards

    Aenima

  7. As someone who has just bought a scope for the first time and was wondering if I would regret not buying a GOTO scope, thanks very much for this :) Kind of re-assures me a little bit for just buying a mount that can track and not going the whole hog first time out.

    Very true.

    I have to be honest and say for my purposes I would be lost without it. But its not like that for everyone. ;) with light pollution nearby and little time to set up the goto location really helps me get a target fast to then try for a picture, otherwise starhopping would take more time than anything else. The handy 1 star align means I can be out and on target in less than half an hour. :p

    Aenima

  8. Thats interesting the 3.32 v being withdrawn, it was for the polar align feature that I upgraded. Although my set up isnt permanent I still found that if I got the polar alignment close as possible using the polarscope reticule then just went through the new PA feature once as a extra tweak my exposure times before startrails went from 30sec to 60sec.

    Still not perfect but an improvement on the polarscope alone.

    I did notice the readout on the handset showed the PA (mel/maz) error to be far from zero but my impatience with centering stars in FOV and only doing one alt az adjustment when the feature allows many cycles of the process means that my method is not the most accurate test nor the most thorough, maybe those with permanent mounting along with drift alignment are getting a better idea of how spot on the accuracy really is...

    Hopefully someone who has tried 3.32 and / or 3.34 v can give an update here regarding any improvement with polar alignment feature in the new firmware.

    Regards

    Aenima

    PS with my AZ goto I never needed to point north, 'park' or use the home position, but it was set up in a different place each session and I only used the goto for locating objects and webcam imaging - longer exposure stuff I did with the EQ5.

  9. Hi Nigel, thanks for the info. I have just bought the 127 GOTO Had I known the difficulty in setting this thing up, I would not have gone this way, but i have so I'll have to knuckle down and join those little dots up in the night sky.

    It doesn't say in the manual where to point the scope to when you set up for the first time, I spent hours trying to find what to point at in the manual so I started by pointing at Polaris. I soon found out that it doesen't matter but it does save some time if you can get it in the general direction.

    I have one other point to make and that is something you touched on Nigel, I can only see from about 140 deg to about 300 deg. I am fortunate that I live in a small village and have very little light polution My house covers north east and I have close trees covering the rest, I live on a hill so the trees between the above co-ordinates are at the bottom of the hill giving me a reasonable viewing area. I guess the point I am trying to make is that the setup routines are extreemely difficult. Is there any way during ether one stare or two star methods that you can select the star(s) you lign up on?

    Clackvalve

    Hi,

    Once you get familiar with your particular sky and the goto system it should take less and less time and trouble to get going.

    If you go into the menu and under alignment stars choose alphabetical instead of magnitude you should get more choices. Also, Stellarium is useful and a good way to learn the names in a particular area of sky.

    HTH

    All the best,

    Aenima

  10. Don't know if anyone else has has this experience but I had problems one night doing a 3-star alignment with the Synscan. First star selected for me was Sirius. Couldn't see it so went to given alternative. Followed all the prompts, centring on stars given to me only to be told 'alignment failed'. Repeated process a number of times with the only difference in result being an increase in frustration levels. By this time Sirius had come into view and I was able to start with it, centre on subsequent stars and all was fine. I have wondered since if, having rejected the handset's choice of first star, I should have also rejected it's first choice of second and third stars on gone to its second choice in each case. Perhaps I'll try it one night but at the moment observing time is too precious.

    Something i found useful was to go into the set up and under alignment stars choose alphabetical - this gives more options (stars) than star magnitude or section of sky (I only had a limited area to work in) .

    Also if you dont select the handset's first star its probably best to start again, choosing the star yourself. I think that rejecting the first star after alignment has begun it might leave the goto computer a little less sure of where it is, although dont quote me on it :)

    (I always found that choosing the first star myself helped the process go easier than if I was given a star by the handset but then skipped onto the next or the one after etc. )

    " I should have also rejected it's first choice of second and third stars on gone to its second choice in each case..." < not sure if this is how it works, if you use the handset's second choice the rest should still be okay to align with, hopefully if you can find a first star that works the rest will go smoothly.

    HTH

    Regards

    Aenima

  11. Hello all,

    I just installed my skywatcher EQ5 Goto Synscan upgrade kit but when i press the arrows on the hand controllers, the motors dont seem to move as they should. It's almost as if something is keeping them from moving as they should. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Hello,

    Sorry to hear ur trouble, if u post a picture or describe the situation it'll help people to give advice - first of all have you followed the how-to that is posted earlier in this thread? and if so, did u get the cogs the right way?

    I noticed a problem with getting the amps and volts exactly right else it doesnt work properly, what is your power source?

    Hope u find a solution soon.

    Regards

    Aenima

  12. No worries,

    Jupiter will stay put once you do a 1 or two star alignment, this just locks your mount in the right position so it knows where it is and where its pointing. U only need to worry about polar/north alignment with EQ mounts.

    When the synscan is set up you'll have pretty much full control. :)

    Regards

    Aenima

    ps. i'll msg u back shortly :)

  13. I saw the nebula for the first time last night, (27th January 2013) I was wondering if there is a common exposure time or is each telescope different? I'm new to all of this as I got my telescope for the Christmas just gone, I've done pictures of the moon easily it's the planets and nebula I'm struggling with can anyone help? The telescope I've got is Skymax 127 SynScan AZ GOTO Telescope i understand I may need a new mount as the one I've got isn't the best if there's tips or trick id be glad to listen

    Thanks Chris Twell

    Hi there

    The scope u have is a really good one for planets, you'd do well to get a cheap webcam and a small laptop to try it out. The main problem with nebula is the long exposures - you need an EQ mount to track the object across the sky.

    Planets and the moon are much easier to start on.

    Regards

    Aenima

    PS any help u need just pm or post somewhere in beginners. :)

  14. Hi,

    Have really enjoyed this thread so far and have found it very enlightening.

    I find myself in what seems to be a very common dilemma of just which scope I am going to get and though after several years of backyard stargazing

    I can find my way around the sky with bins... I find the prospect of looking through a scope a different kettle of fish and so have been strongly considering

    a “goto” mount...but depending on the time of day and my mood this changes, and changes and changes as I struggle to make a final decision

    mainly between stability and portability

    So can I add what could be a deciding question? What if you cannot see Polaris from where you are viewing?

    Is it a written in stone must...to be spot on north via Polaris for setting setting up a goto mount?

    Where I live I have a pretty fair panorama from the southeast thru south to west but north at least as far as Polaris is concerned is out of view, this is due to the close proximity of my and neighbours house,

    If I move to the front garden the recently upgraded lamppost is far, far too bright. (Though I have a bsa airsporter .22...ha ha) :evil: :evil:

    Using bins I can get away with it somewhat, by getting into different viewing positions

    but with a scope I don’t think it’s going to be such a good prospect. And so I would have to travel, hence a poss portability issue.

    So do I have to have a clear view of Polaris for a goto??

    and as i am here just how big bulky heavy is a skywatcher eq5 pro mount

    Thanks

    gra

    Hi there,

    I understand the stress involved when trying to decided on a scope, and questions like the one above is the best way to go about it in the interest of not regretting your purchase.

    One thing that will make the difference - photography - whether you want to try imaging (most people say its not an issue, then take a look through a scope and are immediately hooked! I was, for sure. Didnt think it was important and got a scope for visual and have been compromising and compensating ever since. So, for imaging an EQ driven mount is a bonus for lunar planetary and a must for deepsky stuff.

    Otherwise, for visual with goto you would only need a rough polaralignment - if you get an EQ that is - with AZgoto polar alignment is not even important.

    Face the tripod leg north with a compass/ a idea of where polaris is and this will do for most purposes including goto (and lunar/planetary photography is still do-able too)

    My EQ5 is a chunky thing and the difference between it and the bigger mounts is more stability than size, its still a heavy mount/tripod with large weights - it dwarfs my 130p AZ goto (which in comparison is 'my grab n go' scope now!)

    Hope this helps,

    Regards

  15. Very much in agreement, those batt-packs are not up to the task, only for emergency use really.

    I always use a mains adapter - and it has to be both the right watts AND amps - but if you want to head out to a dark site away from power supply then those 12v power tanks work.

    If u have a car then a lighter socket will let u run it from the battery, though not tried this myself/

    Best of luck,

    Regards

    Aenima

    edit - just seen ur post. ignore the above ;)

    Hope it goes well.

  16. Hand guiding is where you sit and watch through the guidescope / or on screen, and make adjustments to the mount yourself. Long and laborious if you ask me! Quite hardcore!

    Can I ask either of you if you know the weight of your 200p's?

    Does 'too heavy' count as an answer?

    No idea really, there will be an official number on the site but never actually weighed it meself, sorry,

    Aenima

    EDIT: wow, i really like your pics on the blog link in your signature O.O !

    • Like 1
  17. Yeah, man, given the option i'd have to agree - the idea of not having to worry about getting a full minute exposure with no trails is very appealing. And i'd love to be able to keep my 200p, its a great scope with a bit of care and attention the optics can really deliver good views though with a f5 fl collimation needs to be perfect, which mine is not.

    Looking at my signature i'd entertain selling the 130p goto to help pay for the heq5, or something along those lines - better one scope that does what I want than two that cant quite do the job. :)

    Anyway, back to the point. Yeah i'm certainly not gonna use a big guidescope and if possible - by using goto, maybe - will just have a finder/guider scope, if needed my telrad can go on and come off v easily. My problem then is guiding methods, and how to use it economically but effectively enough to make guiding worthwhile at all.

    Appreciate the info, dude, thnx.

    One thing - what exactly is hand guiding? And how is guiding different to autoguiding?

    Cheers :)

    Aenima

  18. Thankyou. I have just had a frustrating time failing to get my new goto working. I'm happy I got the date, latitude etc correct. I manually slewed to Jupiter, but then when it came to find the first star the scope went off in a crazy direction, far from the stars I was asking it to go to. I tried it several times with different stars and with 2 stars rather than Jupiter but it did the same each time.

    I am using rechargable batteries - could this really have such an effect? Also I didn't use a spirit level - again is this vital?

    I'm a bit perturbed that I'm going to have to go through this each time I use the scope! I thought if I aligned it once that was all that was needed.

    At least I got to see Jupiter :embarrassed:

    Hi roobydooby,

    Can I ask what set-up you have?

    Goto can be great, but without the exact right alignment procedure it can be all over the place.

    For some mounts the power, both watts and amps, can make the difference.

    Regards

    Aenima

    edit. fyi the new firmware is now official - 3.32

  19. Cheers QM,

    Where I am now there are two ways to go - trying to sort out better polaralignment via software/polr-scope whilst letting the laptop control tracking and such, and making the attempt to use guiding (again via software and goto kit, hopefully with a finderguider) and i'm really not sure which option to make my priority, as I dont know enough about the technical aspects of the equipment involved and the one thing I do know is that with a compromised set-up like mine certain limits - gears,weight,stability etc etc. - will render some of these options less useful than others.

    For example, the ST80 makes an excellent guidescope but with my 200p on a EQ5 it will only add to the weight problem and be a waste of time. Another example is some guiding methods that really work well on HEQ5's wont be any good with the EQ5 as the gear precision is too low.

    Obviously this is not gospel (i dont know enough to be sure of it) but hopefully you know what i'm on about. :p

    Is there a guiding method that works with the synscan port that's on the EQ5? Could I extend my exp times another way or is guiding pretty much the next step?

    I dont mind if its controlled with laptop or handset, not bothered about standing out in the cold - just want to get more than 30sec exposures with my set-up.

    The reasons for keeping the EQ5 versus selling to get heq5 is mostly having to carry it out every session, its about at My weight limit but also i'm stubbornly trying to stick with it as its the stuff i've got now and selling everything to get another mount is a last resort.

    Many thanks

    Aenima

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