Scooot

Thank you. Doing it again has brought back all the memories of seeing it and the many attempts to capture it.

I had a massive light pollution gradient when I first processed this so I’ve had another go at it. It’s still a bit noisy but I’m pleased with it now so hope you like it. Its a stack of 65 fifteen second shots with my 450D

That’s a lovely image, beautiful colours. The nebulae are stunning.

Doh, 16/1/21 I bought mine. Maybe because sterling is so much stronger?

I’ve been using a canon 450D on a star adventurer until very recently and I’ve just upgraded to the Asi 2600 and Eq35-m mount. I still haven’t managed to get a good nights imaging yet but I managed a bit in between the clouds. This is just 19 three minute subs. I haven’t quite got my spacing between my flattener right yet. It was much easier to process with nicer data, even if there wasn’t enough of it. I’m sure there are other cameras I could have bought that would also have been a huge improvement on the 450D, but I didn’t want to upgrade again in the near future and I wanted the same size sensor as the Dslr. I also wanted to be able to image without saturating stars so quickly so in the end I bit the bullet. So far, albeit not long, I’m very pleased with it. I’m looking forward to using it more when I get a chance. I did seriously consider the Altair Hypercam 26C which has the same sensor but I wouldn’t have been able to use it with the Asiair which I already had so that made my choice.

I’m sorry it’s more of a problem than I foolishly suspected. I don’t think you should have to attempt to repair it yourself, shouldn’t the supplier just replace it, although that’s a bit of a pain to say the least.

It sounds as if you have the clutch off? There is a black clutch release knob for each axis. If you can move it by hand you have. Also, 9x is very slow, if I’m trying to slew mine I have it on 600x, unless I’m trying to centre a star or target.

Hi,try adjusting the speed, I had my mount set to a slow speed and thought it was unresponsive at first.

I thought mine wasn’t working at first either, but then I realised the speed was set too low to notice any movement.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I used the dew heater on the sensor but not on the telescope tube, although it does have a dew shield. I’ve never really had much of a dew problem with the little tak before but it was pointing almost vertical. I also wondered whether it was a reflection from the bright moon but as it seems to be around all the bright stars I thought that was unlikely.

I was trying out my new Asi 2600 and EQ 35-M last night and I have some big halos around the bright stars. I think they're over exposed as I can see them in the linear image, but even so, the halos look odd. I wondered whether it is the effect of dew. This is a single 5 minute sub at 100 gain controlled with the Asiair on my Tak FS60CB with flattener. Asiair calculated the focal length as 375MM. I've just done an STF stretch on the image to show the halos but nothing else. In addition, the star shapes on the edges are off, so I wonder whether my back focus is slightly out, and if so, is it possible to determine from the distortion whether I'm short or long back focus. I've set it up at 56mm using a baader varilock spacer. Thanks for any help.

A beautiful image , I love widefield.

Hi you can add the gain to the name of the image file in the Customize File Name section.

For info, if you execute one plate solve with the Asiair it’ll calculate the actual focal length and use that. I was using my Samyang 135 F2 with it the other evening and it calculated it to 130mm. I’m not sure if that’s indicative of my spacing being slightly out or if 5mm matters that much.

I’ve been using it with my Canon 450D. It works ok but I couldn’t use the focus mode easily because the camera wouldn’t take images quickly enough and the image wobbles when you touch the camera or scope. So I left it in preview mode, took an image, changed focus, then repeated. I used a bahtinov mask but got it pretty much focussed the old way by looking at the back of the camera first. Once focussed you can use the Asiair for the imaging run as normal. You’ll have to check your camera is in the list of supported DSLRs, from memory I think most canons are.

Up to now I’ve been using a Star Adventurer and I’ve mounted it on a mini clamp on the dovetail which I happened to have. However I’ve just bought an EQ35-M which I haven’t used yet, but I’ll probably attach the mini guide-scope to the top of the Asiair and that to the top of the tube ring. It’s very light, could just rest it on an accessory tray as well. Have a look here there’s various ways of configuring it for attachment. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo_finder_shoe.html

Hi, You just need a WiFi device such as a smart phone or tablet (IPad) to connect wirelessly to the Asiair itself. You don’t need a WiFi signal from anywhere else. So from a WiFi viewpoint, being “in the sticks” isn’t an issue. You would need portable power though. However if you do have a local WiFi signal, you can connect to it, such as your home router. The WiFi range of the Asiair itself isn’t very good so if for example I set my scope up outside my lounge window, I can sit indoors and operate it. However if I move around the house I’d lose the connection. If you do lose the connection everything carries on working, and you can just reconnect when you get back in range. I believe some people have bought a WiFi extender to get around this. Its very easy to use. Of course at first it’s a bit strange but after you’ve familiarised yourself it’s extremely intuitive. I had an issue with the sockets on my unit not working. I didn’t discover it for 3/4 months after I’d purchased it. ZWO support helped and as soon as they realised it was an issue FLO replaced it. Although I think FLO did that off their own back. oh I forgot to say, I haven’t used a polemaster but the Asiair is great, very straightforward. The plate solving is very quick and very helpful, especially when I was trying to find things.

I love that, super image.

Great start Adam, I’ve just bought one but haven’t used it yet. Did you use either of the recommended gain settings, zero or 100.

I like it, but I have no experience of guiding with anything else. I like the Asiair a lot, it’s very handy being able to use it as a power hub as well, providing you have enough amps from your power source of course. Plate solving is great to ascertain where you’re pointing if you’re not using a goto mount. I haven’t tried live stacking yet but I will do now I have a cooled Astro camera.

I have used it quite a bit since but I’ve never found the settings that intuitive. Occasionally it would repeat the imaging run when I didn’t want it to, quite probably down to me but a bit annoying all the same. I’m using an Asiair now.

Hi Andrew, how did this work out in the end? I’m interested in a similar setup.

Will do thanks.

Thanks, I always wonder what method people use to combine as it’s not always that easy with the moon. You’ve done a very good job as the bright full moon retains a natural look amongst the clouds.

Lovely image. I presume you took different exposures?