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SteveNickolls

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SteveNickolls last won the day on December 11 2018

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    Nottingham UK

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  1. Hi Cindy, pleased you have devised your own means of setting a good 'Zero Position' to begin sessions. The GEM has four RA lock positions-the 'Zero Position', an 'East', 'West' and storage positions. The 'Zero Position 'is the one with counterweights pointing straight downwards, the 'East' and 'West' positions can be useful when you employ the iPolar or some other polar alignment tool that requires you to move the mount by 90 degrees. Now I've found that these three lock positions are more felt by the fingers than can be visually seen-when the rig is in just the right location (be it the 'Zero Position' 'East', or 'West' position the lock will fully engage. It feels like a definite engaging clunk. Maybe it was designed that way to be able to feel the right lock position at night in the dark (and after all the lock knobs and mount are all black coloured)? Let's call it an iOptron feature. Rather envious of your conditions allowing you to actually get out and use your mount-enjoy! Cheers, Steve
  2. Hi, thanks for your feedback on first using the GEM28, your results with such a big fl are especially very encouraging. As Elp mentions the axes are very sensitive to imbalance and its my suspicion the internals aren't symmetrical-the GEM28 has connections for an iGuider which I think helps balance things. Enjoy what you have and I hope you have more clear nights to image and test things out. I did find moving from having to star align the mount to plate solving quickened the set up time and it can be done from indoors. Getting out under the stars can be good fun too. Cheers, Steve
  3. Hi Cindy, thank you so much for your very kind post. Yes, it's usual to get rain after buying new astronomy equipment but hope that soon clears away so you can properly use the GEM28. I also hope you find this thread of continuing value-please do feel free to post any comments, successes, ideas if you can to help anyone else in the market and thinking of buying the mount. I haven't any personal experience in pairing the GEM28 with an iPad unfortunately and a lot of sleeps have passed since I looked into the wi-fi aspect of controlling the GEM back in October-November 2021. When I first got the mount I did sucessfully try out all ways of controlling the GEM28 including wi-fi but that was to my laptop running Windows 10. subsequently I have moved to controlling the mount from indoors using USB over Ethernet which is very useful in the Winter. You likely know the wi-fi module for the GEM28 is located in the handset and is similar if not the same as iOptron's iStarFi adapter that other mounts have to add as a separate module. I think each owner finds the way that best suits their use of the mount and their circumstances and we amateurs are never afraid of trying out new things. Do let us know how you get on and we wish you clear and dark skies. Cheers, Steve
  4. Yes, there's a few cameras now with NIR ability. Wish I had enough ££ to buy more things. I recently also contacted ZWO regarding a future ASI678MM. Cheers, Steve
  5. Further to my recent post I've had confirmation from ZWO Support in the US confirming the ASI585MC-Pro comes with an AR cover slip. Cheers, Steve Added 29.2.2024 13.44 PM-FLO now list the camera as having the AR slip cover/protection window-
  6. Thanks ratlet and elp for helping answer Sathya's concern. 👍👍 Cheers, Steve
  7. Hi Sathya, thanks for your post. I've had the GEM28 for around 28-29 months now and apart from my recorded issue with the iPolar USB port the mount has performed well for me. I haven't had any pointing problems, I use a combination of iCommander software and Stellarium to control slewing and both have worked fine. iCommander has the useful return to the Zero Position capability and Stellarium its useful planetarium. In addition I have used SharpCap Pro's 'go-to image' tool to slew to past positions to add extra data to targets. I hope this account is helpful to you. Perhaps other contributors to this thread can give their views on the matter? I can confirm the GEM28 is light enough to be readily moved into position each night. Cheers, Steve
  8. I've enquired over whether the Pro version will have an anti-reflection cover slip like the uncooled version. No one is sure right now. I'd like to try out the sensor's NIR capability. Cheers, Stdve
  9. Hi Paul, thanks for your post. You will have been rightly pleased to capture those images of the eclipse. The hobby has moved on and despite the present costs is more affordable now to more people and technology has come on in leaps and bounds though it mostly involves a computer or more somewhere along the line. That can be either off-putting or an added interest to astronomy since it allows so much more. Sometimes I wonder how far removed we might get with the AI ability to make changes to images and if it crosses the invisible 'cheating line' of letting the technology produce something that isn't there (and would we know anyway?) but that's a whole other avenue and views will range over that. There has lately been frustration over the poor weather, certainly in the UK it has dramatically curtailed the number of sessions possible. In response my hobby has diversified to include lunar and white light solar imaging on a shoe string using older gear repurposed to get me back under the sky. Pehaps the least affected by the weather is radio astrostonomy, the detection and recording of meteor trails, again using parts from DIY stores and a small software defined radio, but again it relies upon a computer to run. Others in the hobby instinctively go for their wallets and retail therapy which last a wee while until there's no dark, clear sky to image under. You could still use your old photography gear and try to replicate under the coming eclipse-there's a lot more choice now. Alternatively you could watch the event on the Internet. So to sum up I'm not frustrated by image processing or computers but by the weather. I do hope you can feel that you can return to this satisfying hobby out under the stars. Cheers, Steve
  10. Good to read others view on this topic. This sums up my feelings on the matter, so 'yes' to being a stargazer- "I stood and stared; the sky was lit, The sky was stars all over it, I stood, I knew not why, Without a wish, without a will, I stood upon that silent hill And stared into the sky until My eyes were blind with stars and still I stared into the sky." From 'The Song of Honour' by Ralph Hodgson (1913) Cheers, Steve
  11. Totally agree. With engaging the clutch knob its more feeling the knob is properly engaged rather than anything visual. Maybe that's helpful at night when its difficult to see. Cheers, Steve
  12. Hi, the RA clutch knob is meant to be either in the fully locked or loose position to let you move the payload in RA but you have to get the payload/counterweight just right before locking again else you can think the RA is properly locked but it isn't and there's some wobble. You can feel if the counterweight is either pointed down to the ground or at 90 degrees to polar align with. If there's any play it's not properly in position. Hope this makes sense. Perhaps another way to explain it is the RA lock knob can sometimes lock but not be propetly locked giving rise to the wobble. If the mount's RA is not properly locked it will throw out your mount's 'Zero Position'. Cheers, Steve
  13. Also try a gain of 100 with the 533MC and a wee offset (brightness) and see how you go. Much lower Read Noise and DR around 12-bits- Cheers, Steve
  14. Hi, thanks for posting your observations using the Pegasus unit. I have the smaller brother unit the Pocket Box Micro which has powered the whole rig-the GEM28, main camera (ASI533MM-Pro), two dew heaters (for Samyang lens and guide scope) and StarTech USB over Ethernet hub. The unit is powered by the Pegasus mains adapter that you also use. I check and record the number of Watt hours and Amp hours drawn during sessions and while obviously the amount of electricity used varies mainly due to the weather conditions the greatest draw I have recorded was of 114 WHr/8Ahr when the outside temperature was -2.3C this winter. You do see a slight increase in output during slewing but that is very a small part of a multi-hour imaging session. The Pegasus unit copes very well and is rock solid in output. Cheers, Steve
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