SteveNickolls

Hi, I use the Synscan Pro App to do solar and lunar imaging on an old SW Merlin mount and it works fine. A friend on the other hand had to give up using SharpCap Pro due to issues caused by the App which others have also related. Celestron are expensive. Cheers, Steve

I would agree that his autumn has been poor both for observing and DSO imaging, my last DSO imaging was over six weeks ago. I keep details of observing and imaging sessions and this year only by starting to image the Sun and Moon (when clouds have allowed) have the overall figures kept generally healthy but actual DSO work has virtually stopped. Here's the imaging record since 2016- Year Month J J A S O N D J F M A M Total Av 16-17 2 1 6 3 2 1 3 1 0 4 5 2 30 2.5 17-18 1 1 7 6 2 2 4 4 1 1 2 3 34 2.8 18-19 1 3 8 4 5 4 5 6 3 1 1 3 44 3.7 19-20 0 0 5 8 2 0 1 4 4 3 4 1 32 2.7 20-21 0 1 2 9 2 3 5 3 5 0 3 0 33 2.8 21-22 1 5 2 5 0 2 2 10 2 4 4 5 42 3.5 22-23 2 0 11 2 4 5 6 7 5 2 3 2 49 4.1 23-24 6 5 9 9 6 11 0 Cheers, Steve

Rudolph's nose is surely made of incandescent-proof stuff, maybe red kryptonite or Madras paste?

You can watch Santa's progress here- Happy Christmas All. Steve

Thanks for the heads up. Really hope it's not cloudy would love to see/image the display. Cheers, Steve

November 2023 Update Adding a 5.5" pier to the GEM28 I've recently purchased a 5.5" pier extension part from FLO to add to the GEM28 set up. After adding a long 290 mm x 90 mm William Optics plate to hold the imaging gear and Pegasus Power Box Micro unit there was a chance the plate could catch on the location of the mount's hand controller and top of the tripod legs so the next acquisition has been the iOptron 5.5" pier extension. The extension comes in one piece, is made from aluminium and feels very sturdy. Also supplied are two hex bolts that connect the pier extension to the head of the tripod and an additional alignment peg which can be seen in the photo inside the plastic bag. This alignment peg should be fitted on the top of the pier as it is slightly shorter than the peg used originally on the mount. Don't take out the original peg to use it on the pier as I first did-doh! IOptron also make a slightly longer 8" pier extension shown below should your set up require slightly more room to operate- Cheers, Steve

Hi, thanks for posting about your experiences with the new Vixen 81's. I've had my earlier version of the binoculars for around 10 years and use Vixen SLV eyepieces, notably pairs of the 10, 15 and 20 mm ones without issue. The binoculars do best with straight barrelled eyepieces. Hope you can get more clear sky soon to use yours under. Cheers, Steve

Here you go. https://www.pbase.com/image/37608572 Cheers, Steve

This on the Shetland webcam site tonight. Cheers, Steve

There's always the 'cloudy sky' clause written in small print, somewhere. With the current weather in the UK we would miss the Second Coming it's so bad for cloud.

The outlook for the future is wet and average temperatures for the time of yeaar. If anyone is interested in weather forecasting this site is worth subscribing to- https://m.youtube.com/@GavsWeatherVids Xheers, Steve

Not sure which version of SharpCap you are using but they all have a written manual. The latest version is for version 4.1 of SharpCap. Good look reading up on the subject. I note you are using an iOptron mount do you involve iCommander to control your mount? The software has settings on what you wish the mount to do at or near the Meridian. Cheers, Steve

It is tough right now, tonight the weather is as bad as it's been for ages and who knows when we will get a decent night again? The conditions will improve and a pair of binoculars will not break the bank but will keep that contact with the night sky until you can best decide what to do. I've decided I have enough stuff so no new purchases here and will wait to use it some night soon. Cheers, Steve

Hi Phil, yes the mini has never worked with the Eagle Core just the USB 3.0 version of the camera and as you now say the camera cost exceeds that of the Eagle Core. 😯 The Eagle Core should work fine for what you want and I noticed PLL do have a repository of software for the device on their site. Hope once you have a suitable camera to try with it that you get some good images. Cheers, Steve

Hi Phil, all the time I used the Eaglr Core I needed to use the 120MM for guiding, that is the USB 3.0 model not the mini. I see the120MM model you need is currently £184 at FLO. 😒 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi120mm-s-usb-3-mono-camera.html Cheers, Steve

I don't think it would be a bad thing to be colour blind when it comes to Clear Outside. I wish you well. Cheers, Steve

Hi SkyPhil, sorry not to have seen your original post concerning the Eagle Core but pleased you have it working, at least with Ethernet. I created a thread here- after getting my unit back in the day (July 2019) but haven't used it much recently having moved to a iOptron GEM28 mount and astro-camera's. I was able to operate my Eagle Core both by wi-fi using an Android tablet and Ethernet (I used a cross-over Ethernet cable though it might not be necessary depending on your computer). To use wi-fi you employ a different address to when using the Ethernet version. Wi-fi use 192.168.4.1 Ethernet cable use 192.168.0.250 At the time I created myself an aide memoire- Procedure When Using Eagle Core.docx From memory it was important to connect things in a particular order but was able to use the device numerous times and include guiding. I recently last posted on the thread that PLL had discontinued the Eagle Core though some retailers were still selling stock. I take it you have a written manual to help setting up? I hope you can get your unit working on your mobile. Cheers, Steve

Long live the Eagle (Core)! I notice that PrimaLuceLabs no longer advertise the Eagle Core product on their own website though the software can be found here-https://www.primalucelab.com/info/downloads.html Some remaining examples of the Eagle Core are still available on certain online astronomy retailer sites and eBay but I feel the toll of successive waves of ASiair versions able to support DSLR’s has finally ‘done for it’. Certainly there has never been a time when so many different control solutions for astro-photography are now ‘out there’ an the onward march of technology contianlly moves ever onwards. The Eagle Core units will still provide useful life for imaging in the future with supported DSLR’s and still great for people entering the hobby in a relatively low cost way. Looking back I consider the structural element of the Eagle Core, as with the newer Eagle series models, was underappreciated but was a valuable attribute of the product and still not really shared with other computer solutions. I always found the Eagle Core to work well but for me it’s primary selling point of controlling a DSLR finally lost much of its hold on migrating to a dedicated astro-camera having the benefits of much lower read noise, higher quantum efficiency and Tec cooling over my modified Canon 700D. I still have the Canon 700D DSLR in my collection and intend to hold on to it and the Eagle Core as a legacy of the past and the many good times had imaging under starry skies. Long live the Eagle (Core). Cheers, Steve

Sorry to read of the frustrations with tne hobby in tne UK. I've never known a week of sucessive clear nights to image under and don't think I'd have the stamina to stay up consistently into the wee hours. As regards an observatory unless you fully automate it you need to be awake to open and close it! Maybe better to have arrangements in place as other have said to be quickly able to set up alightweight rig in a pre-marked location? I think if you have the passion, (t's in the word amateur) try diversifying to overcome the lack of long, clear night skies-solar imaging, EAA, meteor imaging, lunar imaging, double stars. One weather defying hobby is detecting meteors with an sdr radio and diy parts from Wickes or B&Q. Having an alternative, quick set up rig means you can get out under the stars and Moon or the Sun and take images; or try a pait of 10 x 50 binoculars and see more objects on one night than ever before. I have wondered if the Dwarf 2 and SeeStar units would be useful for less than perfect nights? Certainly they will help pay for new children's ponies ar FLO this Christmas. Hope you can keep on in there. 👍 Cheers, Steve

Hi Elp, thanks for your feedback and for showing and describing your working arrangements. A picture paints a thousand words so they say. Nothing is going to happen fast here developing a dual-rig set up for use on the GEM28 but the potential to collect upwards of x2 the light in a session is a very strong motivator if money is no object. Cheers, Steve

Hi Elp, thanks for this practical advice regarding a dual rig set up. I had considered alignment of the two optics and there are a number of products on the market to allow adjustment of one of the pair. https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p9974_TS-Optics-Dual-Mount---parallel-mounting-with-fine-adjustment.html Price 285 Euros. You can get two of the adjustable units at more cost. Avalon X Guider (c300Euro’s). With both these you have the concern over balance. Presently I'm at most using 3 minute sub-exposures and dithering every 2+ frames. With such a dual-rig arrangement this would have to be decresed in frequency. Here is my updated write up, it is based on my particular control arrangements but there might be somethnig useful in it for you. I don't intend going down this line despite the attraction of almost doubling available imaging time. Cheers, Steve Project Tweedledum and Tweedledee.docx

I do like the idea of using two lenses on one mount to capture more data in the same time and have looked into the pro's and con's of it all. It would be very useful for making the most from our uncertain weather. Do you incorporate any dithering in the image capture sequence since one camera can be syncronised to the dither and will not lose sub-frames that way but the second camera will be affected? Anyway I hope you can obtain better balance in the future and so lengthen your sub-exposure times and remove spoilt frames. Cheers, Steve

Hi Elp, thanks for your message. These photos show the current payload on the GEM28, I recently added a Hyperpod unit to hold a ZWO EAF and a Williams Optics Vixen plate to give more space for fixing the Pegasus PowerBox Micro unit. Typically I stopped weighing individual parts last season since the payload capacity of the mount (12.7kg) was clearly well in excess of the intended use it would be put to but my best guess is the total payload is modest at around 4kg plus cables. I do now use the original 4.7 kg counterweight for balancing. As regards balancing I agree you have to work hard at it, I have found adding a spare Omegon Tri-finder (weighing around 210g) to the side opposite the EAF has helped balancing in the 'z' axis. It is my understanding that the internals of the mount head are not symmetrical and lead to imbalance in the 'z' axis'. In its design the mount can accommodate the iGuide accessory kit (weight 200g) on one side and think this is meant to help balancing on the 'z' axis without making the issue noticeable. I would suggest adding some mild additional mass on the side of the mount head where the iGuide accessory can be loated and see if this helps overall balance and performance. Your HEM with it's semi-harmonic gearing neatly side steps any RA issues with balance and is a nice feature. The Samyang has the virtue of having just 135mm of focal length and with the ASI533MM-Pro the resolution of the set up is 5.74" per pixel the longest sub-exposures I've needed to take have been 3 minutes but apart from cloud spoilt frames I do not expect to get bad frames. Sharpcap Pro controls dithering and have not had issues relating to settling down at all. If you do try to balance by adding a small mass to one side of the mount head I'd be interested hearing how you fare. Cheers, Steve