lardy

On 06/02/2023 at 13:22, MalcolmM said:

Very very nice! The FS60 as a finder really gives an indication of the size. It looks enormous!

Malcolm 

Its a big old lump, bit of a squeeze in the sky shed pod …a pleasure to use though.

On 06/02/2023 at 10:30, JeremyS said:

Wonderful. 👍🏻

There don’t seem to be many FS 152’s in this country.

How long have you owned it?

I’ve had it for 9 years … I believe there were 5/6 sold in the UK, Moonraker carried out a re spray and baffle repair for me and I had to replace the focuser as the original Tak had some slop in it due to wear.

FS 152  with a FS 60 finder

My little wheeled table makes for an easy connection👍💪

Hi Daz,

A 12 volt leisure battery pack ? 
 

They do sell dedicated battery packs that last the night for astronomy or knock up one based around the above.

Regards

Mark
 

Sorry about the lack of Hyperlinks ... Not that tech savvy.

search dew heater kiwifotos on amazon ..they are £16.99  and it runs from a USB.

Dewalt USB battery adapter (or Bosch) a Chinese copy is £15 yet again from Amazon

Dewalt 5amp 18 volt battery Chinese copy £30.

I had the deWalt battery and splashed the extra for a pukka Dewalt usb charger, it'll power the above heater band for 8 hours on  the high setting starting from a fully charged battery, it also allows me to use my usb powered EL panel for Lightframes.

I presume that you add or subtract these layers to achieve that recommended 1/3 -1/2 histogram? and the use of baking paper is a more controlled way rather than a sheet of A4?

SOooo a longer exposure to remove/smooth fluctuations then tone down the brightness with paper to get that perfect flat?   

So much to learn .... I can see why I've stayed visual these last 50 years😳

Yet again thank you to you all for all your help .... Bias and darks once i wrap my head around achieving a usable flat👍

Thank you for all the great advice, having never taken a flat before I didn't know what to expect.

Gerd answered my email this morning and pretty much put what you have said above ..... onwards and upwards.

Regards

Mark 

My thoughts bottletopburly but never having taken a Flat before using the Gerd I dont have anything to compare.

1/500 david_taurus83 , a longer exposure gets rid of the lines but moves the histogram.

dabbling my toes into the dark arts of astrophotography and looking for some advice.

Got myself a Gerd Neumann 100mm aurora panel and the battery box to allow me to carry out the Flats on site ...

Having a play with the panel and my 85mm lens this afternoon, I find taking a flats with my camera set on AV I am getting lines on the picture, the Histogram is to the left of the middle which is recommended, so is this the "normal" flat? 

If i up the exposure time then I get rid of the lines but wash out the image with the histogram being on the hard right. 

Hopefully somebody can point me in the right direction

Many thanks

Mark

I do John, a truly fantastic scope (But you know this).. Gives the Tak a run for its money, both excel in different areas so both "keepers" in my books :o)

Rainy day and idle hands, seemed like a good idea to set up my FS152 indoors. Just about fits.

Dispatched my camera on Tuesday and received it today Friday ... A 3 day turnaround,  a truly excellent service by Juan. 

I think the wording is "Fit for purpose" and a mount that does not deliver what it is designed to do is "unfit for purpose".

Feel for the dealers, and Astronomers who have saved hard, this mount is by no way a cheap mount. Going to be some very unhappy folks with Synta

and word of mouth soon gets around.

Zeiss Victory's 8x42T*FL and 10x56T*FL

42 years ago with an old pair of bino's ... a table placed by the bedroom window so I could lie on my back for looking up at the zenith ... parents used to worry as it was always a problem getting up in the morning for school.

RIP will always be remembered.

A site I came across while researching how to clean the corrector plate on my SCT http://www.arksky.org/asoclean.htm

Doc Clay lists the do's and dont's and how to mix a cleaning fluid used ... the Windex mentioned is not available in the UK (ammonia based, UK are vinegar based) but a teaspoon of household ammonia sufficed (Doc Clay's recommendation)