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recceranger

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Everything posted by recceranger

  1. Taken at Brecon Beacons NP using my trusty D7500 and ED80. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ‘
  2. Sky Watcher Star Adventure Pro 2i, D7500 and Samyang 50mm at f2.8. 10 x 120 sec lights (no calibration frames) at ISO 800. Processed in Sequator and Ps.
  3. Took this yesterday evening using an ED80, L-eXtreme L-Pro filter and D7500. 40 x 180 sec light frames at ISO 800, stacked in DSS and processed in Ps.
  4. Had my first real crack at wide field acquisition using the Star Adventure Pro 2i. 20-30% clouds did their best to ruin the night, but I was more interested in the operational aspect of using the gear. The tracker is extremely straightforward to set up, with out of the car to full set up in 10mins. Tripod levelling is easy using the spirit bubble and this was despite the fact I was on slopping ground. Polar alignment was also a simple process, and the only drawback using the ball head as opposed to counterweight shaft set up is that once the camera is attached, any movement of Polaris in the polar scope is a known unknown! However, at 14mm f2.8, the only thing required is rough polar alignment, so no issues. This was evident give that there was absolutely no star trailing over 20 x 2min tracked exposures, using the D7500. The other joy is that when you are tired at 03:30 and are stripping out the equipment, itโ€™s as simple as switch off, collapse tripod, into the car and home! Design issue? - the equatorial wedge below the actual tracker could be more robust. Itโ€™s up to the job, but when adjusting the declination knob to get Polaris into position on the reticule, your chasing error due to the mechanism being somewhat โ€˜plastickyโ€™. William Optics make a far more robust wedge for the Skywatcher Star Adventurer, but at ยฃ189 Iโ€™ll put up with the original! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ In short, really impressive piece of hardware. Easy setup, precise tracking over long exposures, and fast pack up after a long night on the Brecon Beacons.
  5. Full moon, high humidity, light pollution and not the best guiding on PHD2. But hey, youโ€™ve got to love being a UK astrophotographer! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ‘โ˜˜๏ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿบ๐Ÿ”ญ
  6. Had some issues with AZEQ6. It was doing crazy 360 degrees rotations etc. But turns out the my power tank DC power was dipping when I had to many devices attached. Once I just plugged the mount in, it performed like a dream. Some images of prep before the evening main event๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ‘
  7. Thanks and yes, thatโ€™s the plan as soon as I get my head around EQMOD and APT etc. Ps; got the mount working and you were spot on with initial analysis. The power tank was dropping current in AC when to many devices were attached. Iโ€™ve got it hooked up now and itโ€™s working a dream๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ‘ Thanks for the help ๐Ÿ‘
  8. Thanks Ju, Iโ€™ve been using a power oak 500 portable power tank over the past year and itโ€™s been great. The issue is regularly intermittent. Sometimes when I power up I wonโ€™t get the warning and can accomplish star alignment. Then when I attempt to slew to an object it either ends up in a strange configuration (pointing at the ground) or does continuous 360 rotations. On other attempts the warning โ€˜no link with mountโ€™ will flash up immediately and the mount will perform erratically on attempting star alignment?๐Ÿค”
  9. My mount has went crazy! Itโ€™s doing 360โ€™s and pointing all over the sky. I also get a message on handset saying no link with mount. Any advice would be great.
  10. Itโ€™s a great scope and just on the right side of being manageable, both physically and in focal length. Youโ€™re never going to get the crisp clarity of an APO refractor, but when precisely collimated itโ€™ll be pretty close. I to a few frames of M51 using the D7500 and it was good. If I had just give a bit more attention to focusing and tweaked the collimation it would have been much sharper. But it gives you an idea of the scopes reach.
  11. Used the SCT the other night, guided on the AZEQ6. Using the 50mm I was really surprised at how effective the guiding was via PHD2 software. Error of around 0.70 to 0.90 was the average. The AZEQ6 was well up to the task. The C9โ€™25 collimation is ever so slightly out, but Iโ€™ll correct this prior to next session. Itโ€™s fairy straightforward. I took several images and the close ups of smaller DSO was superb. But I was particularly impressed with M13๐Ÿ˜ƒ
  12. Three targets as first go using C9โ€™25 on AZEQ6 (guided via PHD using Evoguide 50ED ZWO ASI120 mini). Lights approximately 20 x 2 to 3 min subs at ISO 800 using Nikon D7500. No darks/flats etc. No LP Filter from B6 skies. Doing a star test identified the C9โ€™25 was marginally out of collimation, but I just went for it to trial run it through. Iโ€™ll ensure I get it done before next session. Really happy as my first go with this set up.
  13. Hi folks, Iโ€™m setting up ready for PA and have a question about the position of my polar scope reticule. The image below shows how my reticule orientation looks when my scope is in home position. To get my reticule perfectly vertical from 12 to 6 my scope needs shifted out of home position some considerable angle. Can this be fixed?
  14. I was looking through some pics the other day and they took me back. Great times at the IAS in Warwickshire and the Astro Observatory social science project I delivered for the local community. Great days and hopefully we get back to it this year. My plans are: 1. To link up with as many local astronomers as I can and see if we can lobby for light pollution reduction. 2. Be more transient and explore dark sky location all over UK and Ireland. 3. Get to the Cape and watch a launch. 4. Attend a COMICON! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ Whatโ€™s your break out plan folks?
  15. Hi folks, Iโ€™m in Aberaman and would love to join a local club. Any advice/knowledge would be great. Clear skies๐Ÿ˜ƒ
  16. Love them or loathe them Craig! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿบ
  17. My first serious attempt at DSO AP. Taken from a B5 class location using ED80/D7500 combo on AZEQ6 using PHD2. I had to shoot between LED street lamps for Rosette so time was limited. Details: NGC 2244; 15 x 180 Sec exposures at ISO 800. Processed using DSS and Ps. Used an L-eXtreme Dual Narrowband Filter but no reducer. M51; 20 x 120 Sec exposures at ISO 800 with same processing procedures. No LP filter used.
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