cplee42

On 08/03/2021 at 20:23, noah4x4 said:

If you use a x6.3 Focal Reducer you typically require 105mm back focus (distance between FR and camera sensor).  I read earlier today that one of the Click Lock diagonals has a 112mm light path, hence too long.  Most 2" diagonals are far too long. You need to check your light path. 

I achieve 105mm as follows and am resigned to having to embrace a different optical train if I want to pursue visual. 

OTA > FR > T-Adapter > Baader Varilock (or other spacers)  > camera.

EDIT

Think I might have misunderstood. If you are referring to a click lock replacing the visual back, then you would attach FR to that and the 105mm trails that. Whether you can achieve focus is another matter (I don't know). But most of us screw FR directly to OTA as shown. 

Thx. Indeed I now have a similar set up as a direct chain as your image suggests. On the one hand I can attach the Clicklock plus my 2" star diagonal to the Focal reducer and either use an eyepiece or an imaging camera although this sends the back focus way past 105mm. I was able to do EAA quite well. However I found the vignetting of the imaging chain in my live stacks to be very obvious and off-putting although I could manage some of this with flats. I found it just as easy to stick to swapping out a visual chain (click lock plus star diagonal and eyepiece) with an imaging chain as in your image. Just required careful unscrewing so as not to upset the tracking! This is a bit fiddly so increasingly I make a decision which observing chain I will use at the start and stick to that. 

On 16/01/2021 at 05:26, Dhuddy said:

Hi Folks -

I just joined SGL because of this post!!

I have a lot of experience with the ASI Air, both original and Pro versions.  The ASI Air actually works quite well with Alt Az mounts.  I have been using it with an iOption AltAz Pro and its fantastic.  I’ve also used it with no problems with my Meade LX90 Alt Az.  I just received my Nexstar 5 SE and experienced the same problem... I slew to an object and the mount just drifts....  I only spent a bit of time with it tonight and intend to fully vet it tomorrow night.  I was a huge Celestron Fan for many years and finally gave up on them about 3 years ago and switched to iOptron.  

I often had problems with the ASI Air and both my CGX and CGX-L.   Interesting that it was a similar toggle on/off the tracking to correct it.  I don’t think this is an ASI Air problem.  ASI Air uses the INDI mount driver library, so my gut tells me that Celestron has done a poor job of creating that driver.   I’ve also noticed that the “Sync Scope” button is missing under the telescope connect/configure screen for Celestron (not to be confused with plate solve and sync).   Both my iOptron and Orion SynScan work just fine and I can sync (time and GPS cord).

I’m going to give it a go tomorrow night and if it gives me problems, I’ll just sell the 5se... I’ve lost way too much of my life and valuable clear sky time fussing with Celestron.

Dave

Thanks Dave for joining because i am having the same issue. If i set up my Nexstar 8SE (i use star sense HC) i get good tracking. I connect to AAP, see my image and all good. I can goto an object from the AAP database and it knows where it was pointing so the AAP is taking to the mount before it sets off and stars to slew correctly to the new target. It finds and frames this. As an aside, on my Nexstar 8SE i get about 5secs subs before multiple stacking failures arise (and in fact on ipad i can’t modify the defaults (5sec or 10 secs) - seems to be a known bug). Anyway i personally prefer to use Sky Safari to get context of the night sky and whats out there and what nearby my targets. I also use it to record my observations via Live Sky. So i open up my SS on my same ipad and “connect” at which point the scope mount seems to detach from AAP. The image location is always off (not where i was observing) and tracking is somehow toggled off on AAP. The SE handset reverts back to “Awaiting Alignment” and the stars in the FoV of the camera are now tracking fast across the image.
 

I can’t seem to find the correct connection sequence to insert SS into the chain yet i see others are doing this and using it for “go tos”. Like you said i have no “sync button” on the AAP mount page (outside a plate solve). Driving me nuts!

Turns out Helios will no longer be adding this function to their range so if you want such a set you will need to make sure from the vendor what version they have in stock. The advertising blurb on this feature are not being updated on the various websites for this product.

I appear to have a dead AVX motor control board and so looking at options. I might just abandon the Eqt AVX route for my scope and go back to ALT-AZ but I like the rigidity of the AVX legs vs my old Nexstar SE. So wondering if there was a simple plate mod out there that lets you attach the Evolution 8 mount on to the AVX legs? I hear the Evo legs are not great (although better than the SE). I know Baader do a tripod conversion plate but this does not support AVX I understand?

3 hours ago, billhinge said:

Presumably you looked on cloudy do-dahs https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/680923-dead-celestron-avx-motor-board-nxw445-rev-h/  could  this be similar issue?

Indeed - I have a related forum question out there on CN after reading several posts but found none that map my situation and I certainly don't have the skills to go routing around with multiprobes and drilling out the MC board components!

Thanks both. Yes replaced the battery just because the system was open. And yes I did the reverse tricks I see reported (HC into Aux and Camera into HC port; HC into either Aux 1 or 2) 

No changes. 

I have been struggling over recent days with a problem with my AVX mount.

When I attach my Starsense HC as usual and then switch on I get (quickly) an "Err: Model Num" screen a few seconds after the HC Initialisation process starts. I have since upgraded the firmware on the HC in case this was a problem, but during the CFM update process the software did not detect the mount, only the HC and the Camera.

I notice when I switch on the power (I have tried battery back and AC-DC converter variations and different cables) the power light starts bright then fades about 50%. Not sure if this is normal. I have therefore detached the Motor Control Board and it all looks fine (no scorches) and the leads all seem to sit correctly. The power plug socket itself looks OK but in no way am I an electronics expert. 

During one set of fiddling I did get a different error message on the HC. I had by now started to use my HC back with my old Nexstar SE while I sorted out the AVX. It switched on and noted I was trying to use the HC on a new set up and did I want to dial in a new "user profile"? Not had that message before but it quickly went to "Critical Error!: and a reference to "Line 1468". I then realised I had forgotten to reattach the 6 port white cable. I reattached and... back to the usual "Err: Mod Num" etc. I tried to recreate this error chain by detaching the port but no luck - back to "err: Model Num" etc etc.

I can't use the original AVX HC that came with the mount - this has been sitting in a cabinet for 3 years and when I try to use it I get NO signal with attachment to AVX or Nexstar SE. It's just completely dead. Not sure why that should be the case since it was replaced by Starsense HC but was functioning adequately. I have looked at the HC board and no obvious reason why it doesn't light up on switch on.

I really don't want to shell out for a new Motor Control Board (and especially since my AVX is the old version - 6 leads vs the new 8 leads so needs a conversion "addition") yet confused why I get power of some kind, why it dims and why I get the various messages on the handset.

Any thoughts out there?

Thanks all. Got these from 365astronomy so will call them on Monday to find out what is happening here...

OK so i just purchased Helios Apollo 15x70 to replace a cheaper pair. Part of the reason was to occasionally use filters. However on unpacking the binoculars i cannot for the life of me work out how to screw the 1.25 filters in place?  I attach an image. I see a metal “well” on each eyepiece with a series of steps but not an obvious thread. When i insert the filter it sits nicely and rotates but never threads no matter how many times i turn it. I worry that i have an Apollo in theory but a Stellar design eyepiece in practice? 

Any thoughts?

Thanks

OK thanks for the advice on GPC so can I ask is it better to get the 1.25" nose piece and the smaller GPCs vs the 2" GPC which is double the price? I have a 2" nosepiece already and use this with my 17.5mms but adding another £200 for the occasional mag views vs £120 is a consideration.  Will this markedly affect the view? I like the 2" nose partly because it grips nicely in the click lock diagonal but never quite sure if the view thru a 2" diagonal is very different with the bino vs a 1.25" nosepiece...

I have upgraded my 8" SCT with the Baader 2" click lock diagonal and the Maxbright II Binoviewer with two Baader Morpheus 17.5mm eyepieces. Last night the views of Mars were excellent as where the star clusters (although, since I do not use a focal reducer, I mainly swam amongst them!). The Moon was excellent and, as a sketcher, it is so much easier to observe and draw with two eyes. I had no issues getting focus for my system.

and so...

Question 1: I would like to use the binoviewer at higher mag. I already have the Baader Hyperion 8mm and so I wonder if I have three choices and, if so, which is best? I could buy another Baader 8mm and so have high and low power eyepiece sets for swapping in and out... I could just add a GPC (say 1.7?) and stick with the 17.5 mm pair or I could get a 2" 2x Barlow and similarly stick with just the 17.5mm pair. The prices for these options are not too dissimilar (roughly) but I wonder which would be better for me optically?

Question 2: Mars was very bright and so I sought to reduce this by using the only 2" filter I possess - the variable polarising filter I use for the Moon. I screwed this into the MB II nosepiece and inserted into the 2" diagonal. However the image appeared to have some ghosting and I could not really snap it into easy focus. Is there an optical effect here for splitting the polarised light between the two eyepieces and so confuses the brain vs mono viewing? How will this affect lunar work? To be honest the moon was so "dim" low down last night that I never had a realistic chance to see the polariser in action in the new set up.

Thanks for any thoughts

For those interested in a good read, today's UN/IAU Dark Skies conference looking at the impact of constellations and other night sky blights on dark skies for astronomy have led to a few reports on the background, the consequences and the mitigations under consideration. https://owncloud.iac.es/index.php/s/WcdR7Z8GeqfRWxG

This will I am sure become a hot topic in the next few years. Currently 3000 satellites are active but this will rise to 20,000 in the next 5 years and prospective plans for 100,000 are now approved by International regulation teams. The professional astronomical world are currently assessing the impacts - it would seem that low LEO orbits like Starlink may be mag 7 problems in twilight periods but less prominent at later times. On the other hand OneWeb (owned no in part by UK Govt) will operate at high altitudes and so will remain visible for longer but their brightness may be less (being further away), around 8/9 mag. The professionals look for mitigation strategies (challenging if honest) but they are asking FAS to investigate how the amateurs are affected and at what point it becomes a problem. How effective will stacking be etc etc vs the number of trails etc etc? It might be a piece of work members of SGL might wish to contribute to in the coming years. The new concern will be radio astronomy and SKA but I imagine less of a nuisance than optical?

and so after a long struggle with a Draper rubber wrench I did indeed have a piece of the CL still attached to the scope - if extraordinarily tightly. Now reassembled and cleaned up on both threads and the CL screws back on again in one smooth motion. Duh!

I think I have my own answer - I think part of the Clicklock is screwed tight against the Nexstar and what I can see is the ring of part of the CL  - a thin ring etc and its locked solid. No obvious way of twisting this off! Argghhh!

Hi everyone,

I have acquired a Nexstar 8SE for use with an AVX. I have had this for some time and it came attached with a 2" Baader Clicklock (CL) for insertion of my 2" Star Diagonal. This has been fine. I now discover the CL has been attached through tight screw down of its 6 grubber screws. 

However I have recently become interested in being able to unscrew the CL to insert a focal reducer. However to do this I must use an Allen key on all the grubbers to remove the CL. Not ideal. On taking off the CL I see a thin thread but the CL does not/cannot screw onto this. It "caps" it. Hence (I assume) the use of the grubscrews. 

I wonder now if I am missing a screw piece as I see frequent mentions of simply unscrewing the CL to place on a focal reducer and for the life of me I have no idea how such a thing would screw on to such a thin protrusion from the back. 

So I attach the image of my Nexstar 8SE and ask "am I missing a piece somewhere"?

Thanks

Thanks Shimrod. Do you screw your Clicklock onto the Edge or, like me, bolt down the grub screws? On the Nexstar 8SE there is hardly any thread on the back to screw on to..

Can anyone explain why the ZWO monos are always more expensive than the same model in colour mode? Mass manufacturing?

This is a dumb question - OK I know it but...

I have an 8" SCT with 2" Clicklock directly attached to the back by the 6 grub screws. I use this to give strength to the binoviewer setup I normally use vs the standard visual back. Its rock solid. I don't use a reducer. However I am thinking about EEA and purchasing a ZWO camera for live viewing/stacking but still keen to be able to use my rig for binoviewing and not keen to keep detaching the click lock/grub screw combo ahead of an EEA session. Ideally I just want to insert a ZWO camera and sets of extn rings into/through the Clicklock, do my EEA and then perhaps remove the camera train and reattach my diagonal for visual binoviewing. Would this be possible when I read so much about careful judging of the ZWO back focusing measurements etc?

Of course in my set up I also assume its not possible to insert a focal reducer into the picture?

As I said - dumb question but...

Bit of a newbie question on this ASIStudio and related. I simply want my 8" SCT to offer an evoscope like functionality ,so that I can augment visual observing from my site. I would like to use a mono zwo camera and "throw" the image to my iPad while it builds up some live stacking so that I can see the faint fuzzies a little clearer. I do not plan to then process the image offline. It's a visual tool. I understand ZWOStudio will allow that to happen and ZWOAir will control the scope but I cannot see Polaris from my garden. Currently I use StarSense and that is usually good enough for a night's observing. 

So, can I use StarSense to set up the scope then switch in ZWO camera into an eyepiece mode with link to ZWOAIR and use Studio to connect all this together for the "evoScope"-like imaging session?

Sorry for the dumb misunderstanding this question might reveal!!

Thanks Martin. What camera set up are you using? and how do you interface this to the scope? Your signature suggests you use a SXLodestar Guide Camera but is this the main one? I have looked up Jocular which I was not aware of so my learning curve is beginning!!

For several years i have toured the sky from my back garden using 8” SCT And AVX mount plus various eyepieces and i still enjoy the challenges. However i am finding i have now seen most objects that are visually appealing and now find the remaining targets harder especially with encroaching sky glow around me. I could consider upgrading to a firmer mount and the 9.25” (i must set up and tear down my kit each time i use it so not keen on going to 11”SCT).

 I am therefore wondered if EEA could allow me to see more. Nebulas i can never see or more distinctive galaxies. I am not so bothered about capturing images and post processing so would like to set my scope up with relative simplicity and “see” the image build up on my ipad (preferably). 

I have seen some videos on ASILive and ASIAIR etc but it seems to require quite a bit of kit and fiddling with autoguiders etc. Would a ZWO like camera plus ASIAIR just do the job on the ipad? Would this work for planetary as well as deep sky? I have also seen reports about (Expensive) NV eyepieces but i cannot assess whether they too take me in the direction i seek...

i have also seen the eVscope setup on line and to some extent that seems to move in my direction as a principle but i already have a decent scope set up and so look to augment rather than abandon. 
 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks Stu. Likewise great job. I have been surprised not more people seem to have been out there that night to "make the run" vs say a Messier Marathon... especially with a comet around...🤔

Finally have had some time to post my observing session across late evening 1st Aug and early morning 2nd Aug at a remote dark site near Bristol. I am calling it my “Solar System Marathon” for want of a better name. Captured the following on my iphone against either 15x70 binos or my 8”SCT. Comet Neowise, Mercury, Venus, (Earth 😉), Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, asteroid Ceres and Noctilucent Clouds before finally catching Sol at sunrise. Not a bad session at all! Pluto was never possible in my Scope so glad its not a Planet! Interesting where astronomy can take you on a single night when conditions permit...

Gosh it’s been a while since i posted to this group (like many years!) but retirement now means i can get reacquainted with my pencil and my scope. Ironically this post has no scope action! A sketch of my Perseid observations. The lack of a clear radiant is down to the artist!