steveinhants

I took advantage of the rarity of a clear sky last Thursday evening and targeted the Jellyfish Nebula. First time on it. 59 x 300 secs | 10 x 600 secs EQ6, RASA 8, ZWO ASI533MC Pro, ZWO 120mm mini, ASIAir, Processed in PI

Far from perfect but I'm happy with the results so far - done on an uncalibrated monitor so will need a revision for sure. 30 x 60 secs 24 x 300 secs 5 x 600 secs

Yep, just had one delivered so will use it next time.

Just spent the last 2.5 hours setting up a whole new outfit - EQ6 R Pro, RASA 8 with the ASI533MC Pro. Huge upgrade from what I had and I was half-dreading the artefacts that I'd heard about. However, just ran a 5 min test image on the Horsehead Nebula and we most definitely have lift off. This thing sucks in photons - actually it has to be seen to be believed just how much data it can capture in a few seconds. I'm aiming to get about 3 hours in and will post my results over the weekend. Hopefully I haven't just cursed myself by this! Tried to get an image of the setup with my iPhone.... BW Steve

Captured IC1848, The Soul Nebula, last night. Just over 12 hours of subs with the Redcat 51, ZWO ASI 533MC Pro, HEQ5 Pro, Optolong L-Extreme. Controlled with the ZWO ASIAir and processed in Pixinsight with help from Youtube tutorials by Lukamtico and Astro Journey UK.

I decided to treat myself to a William Optic's Redcat 51 and as luck would have it, it arrived in time for last night's clear sky! This is 11:40 mins of subs - 5 x 600 secs and 130 x 300 secs. HEQ5 Pro, ZWO EAF, Optolong L-Extreme, ASI 533MC Pro and ASI Air. Stacked and processed with Pixinsight.

It's a real shame and I didn't realise the mini had better wifi capability. I'll take a look at what you mentioned but I'm now wondering if I do just use ethernet. Very frustrating.

Hadn't actually considered it could be device related. I'll try on an alternative and rule it out.

Hi, I've had the ASIAIR Plus for around a month now and can only use it if my ipad is outside. I've looked at Dave Eagle's tutorial and connected a Vonets wifi repeater and while it does extend my range slightly, it takes transfer speeds down to 2kb/s - 150kb/s..... not practical. I've also tried station mode as my home wifi has good coverage of the area where my mount is. Again, the same thing happens regarding the transfer rate. Wondering if anyone has a solution - I don't want to use an ethernet cable if it can be avoided. CS Steve

I've recently added a ZWO ASI533MC Pro and ZWO EAF to my SW ED80 DS Pro on the HEQ5 Pro. Problem is I'm struggling to balance the setup on the original dovetail bar. Would anyone have any suggestions or be able to share an image of a similar setup please? My HEQ5 doesn't have the dual puck that I've read about in a couple of posts. As always, any help gratefully received! Steve

Just wondering if there is a specific speed to have this set to when it comes to guiding or is it an auto setting? Thanks

First attempt in 5 years! I upgraded to a dedicated cooled camera and went with the ZWO ASI 533MC Pro. Using a Peter Zelinka workflow for Pixinsight, this was my result. I'd appreciate some feedback.

Hi, Just wondering if I need to alter the focal length setting in the ASI Air Pro if I apply a reducer to the setup? Thanks, Steve

Bit of an update...... I went out for a couple of hours this evening and started guiding. A few mins in I lost connection so restarted. Unfortunately I kept getting the error that "PHD2 is not able to make sufficient corrections in Dec. If you have just done a meridian flip, check to see if the 'Reverse Dec output option' on the Advanced Dialog guiding tab is wrong. Otherwise, check for cable snags, try re-doing your calibration, and check for problems with the mount mechanics." So, does this mean my setup is too heavy for the HEQ5 motors?

Ah yes. I use a HEQ5 that was stellar tuned by Dave from Dark Frame. Had some fantastic results from it in the past with exposure times of up to 4 mins unguided. I've just sorted the guiding set up too.

Yep, I really like the ED80 but I also have nothing to compare that to! Regarding filters, I am in a Bortle class 4 sky - would I need anything like the L-extreme?

Yes, it's the SW 0.85 reducer. Am I correct in thinking that ZWO will provide the correct accessories in the box to achieve back focus with this reducer? I'm aware they don't provide power but not sure about the accessories.

Thanks a lot for a quick reply. I’ve looked at a lot of targets on Astro tools with the setup and most seem pretty decent in respect of the field of view

After dusting off the equipment I'm now looking to move from a DSLR to a cooled astrophotography camera. It's a minefield to say the least and I'm taking in as much info as I can. My love is narrowband imaging but being realistic, I don't have the time or funds to pursue that just yet. So, I want to go down the route of a colour camera. I've been looking at the ASI533 and comparing it to the 294 and various other models. I was originally put off by the square sensor but actually, I'm past that and figue that on most images I could look at cropping in post processing if I really needed to. My current set up is an SW Evostar 80ED DS Pro with a .85 reducer to the DSLR. First question is can this reducer be used on a dedicated cooled camera? Also, after reading it seems that people aim for a resolution of 2" per pixel and using astro tools I can see that my setup is around 1.5" (assuming the reducer stays). Is this a problem? Appreciate there are many threads on topics about which camera etc but I think for my needs, the time I can dedicate to the hobby and the budget I can comfortably assign, this camera fits. Would welcome some clarity - not just in the sky! Steve

Thanks a lot mate. Would like to upgrade the camera to a dedicated astro camera but probably need to save some pennies for that.

Thanks for all the help on this one. I've ordered an extension and last night tried it with the diaganol which worked! First time seeing stars from the ST 80. Just need a clear night now.

Do you recall where you bought this extension? I've searched but keep finding 2" ones instead of 1.25"

I have the 1.25" nosepice that came with the camera in to the scope - could it be that I need an extension tube? Hopefully I will be in home in time to try what you said.

Good monring. I have come back to this amazing hobby after a few years away from it (funny, I didn't expect to pack my kit away for 5 years when I last packed up!). Anyway, it's amazing to see how technology has moved on in the field and one thing I never got round to was guiding. I set up last night witht he following: HEQ5 Pro Main scope and camera: SW Evostar 80 ED DS, and DSLR with focal reducer. Guide scope Star Travel 80, ZWO 120mm-S I use Synscan Pro and downloaded the drivers for it to PHD2. The issue I have is that in PHD all I see is noise. I tried the full range of focus on the scope, very slowly, tried altering the gain and the noise reduction but absolutely nothing other than noise. I feel like I'm missing something quite basic and would very much appreciate any help!

Hello everyone. After a break of 18 months I'm just getting back in to imaging. I use the synscan pro app with a wifi module and last night attempted a two star alignment (several times). Usually the mount will be told to slew to the given location as you all know. However each time it came to the first star, synscan pro failed to send an instruction. It basically came up with the manual adjustment bar that displays once it the mount has slewed. If I skipped this to test, it had no problem slewing to the second star. I hope this makes sense and would welcome any comments. Steve