Ratlet

It might just be you're in focus is why you get the red halos. I found best results by getting it in focus and then backing off slightly.v if you use a bahtinov mask with some vintage prime focus you'll get awful red stars. With the takumars you get red halos on one side of focus and very light blue on the other side. The red is very noticeable, but the blue much less. You basically want to err on the blue side as it ends up looking like very slightly bloated stars. I've noticed that going by Nina if I focus for the 'best' focus my stars look awful, but if I back it off slightly they look better so long as I head towards blue halos.

Welcome back. My wife is similarly afflicted with boardgames. She'll be delighted to know that the Venn diagram of astronomy and boardgames has some overlap lol. You'll get some good feedback on dob choices here for sure.

Aye. Every time I've used the mount previously it didn't ask for alignment just gave me the cross. It was asking for the RA to be rotated but I kept thinking it couldn't possibly be that so gave up. I was pretty tired by that point lol. It was 100% operator error. I know what I'm doing now so won't be a problem in the slightest. I did have one of the 3D printed brackets but it wasn't great. Wouldn't be hard to fix the design flaw. I think hanging it off one of the screws on the 2" adapter would be perfect, just the little bit of rope wants to go flat so I need to open it which is very slightly frustrating with gloves. Very slightly though. To an extent I think I've been looking at greater automation (integrating wth sky safari) with my mounts to make it easier, but honestly using the hand controller was much better I think. I'm still going to try and get sky safari to work, but ultimately doing some proper planning and making an observing list is what I need to do. If you know the NGC/messier/etc number it's a doddle getting it to navigate with the paddle.

Hope you're not coming down with Aperture Fever. There is only one cure...

I had my Gem28 out last night for some visual. A marked departure from my usual is the mount has been imaging only so far. My other mounts are nowhere near enough to handle the TecnoSky 102ED so I'm a bit limited in choice! Initially I got caught out because the ipolar wanted me to confirm positions which it has never needed before. I got out quite late and had a busy day so the instructions on the screen didn't make much sense, but the with benefit of hindsight they are perfectly sensible. In the end I just used some numbers I found on a cloudy night thread which I think corresponds to the middle of the sensor with no calibration. Can't remember them off the top of my head, but they worked well. Next time I'll do the proper alignment routine. I decided to try and pair it with SkySafari on my android phone but could not for the life of me get it to work. I managed to get the setup done but could not get Skysafari to assume direct control. Again the middle of the night is not the time to try and resolve IT issues. Honestly I think with some better prep work on my part I can sack off the mobile completely. I found the tactile feedback of the hand controller miles better than working with a mobile. Especially with gloves on. In the end I did a 1 star alignment on Vega and was off to the races. I managed 3 or 4 targets and it did a good job finding the targets. I needed to sync on a bright star when moving to the other side of the sky but that is to be expected on a one star alignment (my experience of the azgti was even with 3 star alignment and perfect setup it would still get lost). The tracking was good and more than adequate for observing. A massive step up on the AZGTI. One thing I hadn't considered was unlike the AZGTI the GEM28 is not fitted with coffee grinder motors and was whisper quiet slewing around. Whilst superficially a mixed bag I'm actually really happy with the result. The GEM28 is an excellent mount for visual, handles to 102ED perfectly. I thought the ipolar and using a laptop would be a pain, but it doesn't take long and honestly it gives the tube time to cool down. The goto is night and day compared to the previous cheap mounts I've used. I'd even go as far to say I liked it. The only real issues were attributable to operator error or poor planning on my part and could have been solved with some prep work (prepare an observing list with NGC numbers, etc.) and RTFM before using the mount. I was previously considering an EQ5 with a tracking motor for the 102ED due to poor goto/controlling experience with the AZGTI and a celestron 127SLT I had a couple years back. That plan is now on hold (and my bank balance breathing a sight of relief). EDIT: My only minor critiscism is that I had a habit of accidently hitting the back button whilst centering things. I'm going to have a look at 3d printing some thing to make it clear which buttons are for direction and which are for menus. Maybe a barrier or an extension for the existing buttons. Also need to 3D print a holder or maybe just a ring to keep the loop on string on the handcontroller open. A holder would be nice, but it hangs off the eyepiece holder perfectly well.

Ended up the wife had had her family visiting from accross Europe so I didn't get out till about 2245. Tough choice tonight, I could either take the Dob out for some guaranteed visual goodness or try mounting the Technosky 102 on the GEM 28 and figuring out that for visual. In the end I decided to try the refractor. Initially things did not go well. The mount wanted me to callibrate the ipolar which I've never had to do. In the end I couldn't figure it out and just used some default options from a cloudy night thread. I then tried to pair it over wifi to skysafari and that was an even bigger disaster. Just no joy at all. I decided to throw caution to the wind and try a 1 star alignment on the handset. Vega was up and not far off north so decided it would do. To my surprise it wasn't a million miles away with the 32mm plossl after the slew. Dropped in the 12mm BST, Aligned and threw it to M92. To my great surprise, it was right in the middle of the FOV! A delightful sight. I love the difference you get in targets between small and big scopes. The 102 is obviously not going to present the same view as a 10", but it was really something watching the glob fade into view with more detail coming in all the time. I've never really noticed before but there is a sweet spot for averted vision. If you don't get it right the target looks a bit brighter but if you nail it it fairly pops! I tried for M61 but I couldn't make anything out. I remembered that with the AZGTI you were better off finding a bright star nearby to sync to first so I pointed it at Arcturus, and sync'd on that. Before I went for a new target I dropped in the 8mm BST and decided I would try a star test. I think with my Newts I've never seen a diffraction pattern quite like it. perfect circles on both sides of focus. Tried for M3 and got a fleeting glimpse of it before it got clouded out, literally seconds. I plumped for Cor Caroli next. I can't say why, but it's one of my favourite doubles. Didn't get as much done as I would have liked, and hopefully I'll get some more cloud free nights before I'm back to work, but it was still a good night. The GEM28 is a great mount. It was nice having something capable of supporting the 102 at higher powers (it's now significant'y heavier with the handle and 2" diagonal). After having persistant issues with the coffee grinder powered azgti it was a revelation. Incredibly quiet even slewing at max speed and more accurate on the pointing to boot. Quite happy with the evening all in all and felling much better (but very cold) for having gotten out!

It's that low down for me that I'm starting to doubt the existence of Sirius A, never mind B! ''

Nothing wrong with wanting an upgrade, but I tend to agree with John. For the price of a focuser you could pick up a use 130pds and stick that in the tube rings.

I'd buy new just to avoid hassle, but I believe you can contact Celestron if you run out of activations. Hope so. I used 3 goes trying to get a phone that worked, a 4th on my daughter's iPhone and the 5th on my pixel after they released a patch because despite it being compatible it did not work! Might email them tomorrow actually and check. I'll report back. I got the az80 cause it was on offer at flo, but it is absolutely worth it I think. If you need a mounting solution for another scope and don't have a 3D printer, let me know and I can do one for cost + postage + hobnobs. Someone is selling my design for £28 on ebay (rip off, but nought I can do) but I rattle them out for about £8 (inc postage). If you do have a 3D printer, go for this one: https://www.printables.com/model/559841-starsense-explorer-finder-shoe-mount-holder But back to your question, it's brilliant. Provided your phone is compatible (iPhones just are, android is a bit hit and miss, but pixel phones now work). The app is a bit weak though. You cant save observing lists so you just need to search for each target in the software. I think iPhones can integrate it with sky safari but I've no idea how good/bad that is.

I'm wanting to build an electronic focuser and whilst there are plans available I figure it would be a good idea to actually try and understand electronics and programming (my job now involves both). Won't be building a focuser with this, but will at least understand it a bit better. I get stressed doing things without understanding why I'm doing it. Figure this would be a good place to start. Figure with the lack of clear skies I can spend an hour or so a night doing the projects.

The desiccant isn't a magic bullet and needs time to work. Or at least time to work before the water condenses out. I think your desiccant is working, it just needs time. If you are sealing the unit in a warm location (like inside) the air inside the box will be loaded with moisture and will need time to dry. In this case you need to leave it for a while, sealed with the desiccant to dry out whilst it is still warm. If you take it out to the cold before the desiccant dries the air then the moisture will still crash out of the air when it cools down.

Could be integrated flux nebula?

Love slow mo control on an alt az mounted newt. Feels like you're giving the tube a cuddle.

How much space is there inside? Could you try to more effectively seal it with some dehumidifier packets inside?

Sounds like a win, although one with a long lead time. Fortunately (ahem) the weather is garbage so you've probably not missed much imaging time,

For all the times I've used (and I've taken it apart) I still can't find the coffee grinder.

Playing devil's advocate here, but Ed Ting is known to have high standards and to be particularly cautionary on astro imaging, particularly for people just starting out. His standard position is that if not to start out in astrophotography, so something that is designed to be an easy start (and one that is soon outgrown) it's unlikely to be a comfortable fit for his opinions on what is useful. Edit: I'm wishing I hadn't wandered in here. I'm looking at the images and thinking about getting one. Would be ideal for going on holiday, or even for imaging faint stuff to sketch from. This forum is dangerous!

I guess the 'there will be a better one along soon' doesn't apply if you collect vintage scopes? Ed collects vintage scopes so it might inform his statement.

I love Ed's videos but I made it 3 minutes in and gave up. He's missed the point of the scope. I couldn't help but think of @MarkRadice on Refreshing views on taking his 90mm on an azgti to Florida and doing live stacking. I think Mark would get the point and the benefit of a scope like the seestar. I think it would be great to take it out quickly set it up on some targets you couldn't hope to see by eye with a scope 10x the size. I really enjoy sketching and the images the seestar makes look just about perfect for something to sketch from. Nice balance of detail and colour. I wish something like this existed when I started out. I think it would be a better fit for what I want from my images than the cooled camera route I went down. Though that's with the benefit of hindsight of course.

Fantastic! I feel this is a silly question, but how do you get the curve looking natural? Mine looks like they've been done by a 5 year old. Also the shading of space, when I try that It looks awful

I've not got on with it so far. I suspect that part of that is I was the azgti trying to point a 130pds. It's pretty much on the limit of the mount. I'm definitely going to give the gem28 a try though as I've heard good things. It'll also fit in the workflow pretty well. The 130pds lived in the shed so was already at ambient. The refractor lives in the house for now so will need to acclimate, which will be time to setup the polar alignment.

Cheers. Perfect. I'm a big fan of plonk and play setups.

I was going to make a sepearate post to ask, but really it was your input I was looking for, and you've gone an posted a picture of both articles! I'm looking for something to upgrade the mount from my inadequate AZ5 and I'm about 90% certain that you used your EQ5 it with a motor for tracking? I'm thinking something with tracking (for sektching), but not goto. For some reason I prefer hunting targets down or just using starsense where as fighting with goto makes my blood boil. Basically I'm wondering how accurate you needed to be with the polar alignment to get decent tracking? I've got a GEM28 but with the ipolar and full goto it feels like it would take longer to setup than an EQ5 with a single motor for tracking. (As an aside I did get the scope on the GEM28 once, but it clouded over. All I managed to confirm was that I could comfortably use the starsense on an EQ mount) Do you need to do a full polar alignment with a setup like yours or is it a case of setup properly once and then get it north enough? EDIT: Should probably mention that this is the picture that made me want a Starfield lol.

I use the laser without Barlow to make sure my laser is central to the dot and then the barlowed laser to line up the primary. It's pretty darn precise and quick.

Coolio. Offer stands for others also. I love an excuse to fire up the 3D printer. Just upgraded the mini to input shaping so it rattles them of quick. Must say @quasar117 your setup looks lovely. Need to recover and get my az5 replaced with something functional.