alan potts

That's how the sky looked when I was a boy, lovely images but just a bit of fun I guess. Alan

I mis-read that, well I have to say I am leaning very much that way towards the CEM. I still have myself to convince as I have just been out in the observatory and on the AZ EQ 6 got really rather nice guiding. My mates been down today, he is an IT guru and he has my new screen running superb with a now connection of internet to the house, he is going to fix it up next week so I can control everything from inside if I wish. Only time tonight in90 minutes that guide was poor was M9 and this was only 20 degrees above horizon and setting, never get good guiding on this side, must be down to balance. As stated above, this adjustment is fairly easy but take time over it, I did mine and it is much better. Alan

I am sure it does in your hands Francis, but I haven't got mine on it yet, I'm sure something will go wrong. I have just said on another thread seeing results from the Encoder version of the mount, maybe I should bin my guiding gear and just go with that, very good results with long F/L's too. Alan

Seeing Wiu Wiu's results I am beginning to think buy the encoder version and throw my guiding gear in the bin, amazing results on long F/L's which are never going to be easy meat and test more experienced people than me. Does any one know if you will get similar results with guiding on a basic mount? Alan

I have a AZ EQ 6 as indeed do many others, It guides very nicely without setting the world on fire at 805mm and I dare say it will guide my 1M SW 190mmM/N, however 1400mm is a fair bit more. I could easily talk myself out of going for a new CEM here. The trouble is there is not a massive choice in the spend area, I would have though you already have the best offering in the shape of the encodered CEM you have, but for sure my mount get better stars than you showed the other day, I really feel this has to go back and be looked at. I am sure Vixen mounts are decent quality but few of us seem to have them, maybe expensive for what weight carring you get compared to SW and Ioptron, even Losmany are more costly and there seems little new in any design in them from 10 years ago when I wanted one and was given a year lead time. Alan

The Meade tube for the 12 inch is 17kg as far as I can find out, but these f/L's are so hard to guide anyway, I am not even sure the CEM120 is of high enough quality to get the best out of it. I have seen work from them with mounts costing as much as a small car, though Gorann has started to use his 14 inch on a EQ8 with decent results, he though is so much more experienced than me. Alan

Francis, I feel this may well be the mount as even though the other are affordable for me, I'm not actually sure I would use that extra size, in fact having just got a 77EDll Borg I am looking at 2.5kg counter-weights as I am sure the one with it will be way too heavy, with that saved money a ASI 183mc may be a good move for this scope, the coating on the glass are amazing and everything is just quality. The one thing I really feel I will miss is EQmod, I have got so use to it. Alan

Now I have my IR/UV filter I may play with the 071 tonight, my mate has just deliver a rather nice S/H 28 inch screen for the obsey, so do you go away I could be needing help with my IT skill. I am not too bad in PS as I have been using it a long time. All these other programs I never have been able to get on with and keep coming back to PS. There is a very useful section using either select colour or highlights, then checking Select and Mask. It is a wonderful tool, Astro Backyard did a tutorial on it, worth a look. Alan

I like the image Francis but feel it has more in there with a bit of reduction in the brightness, the centre of M27 is a little washed out and the background sky it a bit bright. I accept it is purely personal taste. Alan

Another stunner from you, looked at this last night for 2 minutes then looked at the Moon and slewed to M13 for a play until one of my walnut tree got in the way, chainsaw time. Alan

Thanks for the input, I am beginning to wonder if the CEM120/EQ8 may be a bit on the big side for my space in the obsey, as much as I would like one of them. The main thinking behind them is they can easily carry my 12 Sc, thought the CEM60 should manage it as well at 18kg, maybe 19, but no more. Now imaging with this scope on anything but the finest mount is never going to be easy, Olly has told me about this and he is a man I tend to take notice of. Being a man that was responsible for quality in the worlds largest pottery I have an eye for detail and feel I may always find things wrong with my shots, even though I haven't actually tried. In truth I haven't even managed to get it off its forks yet. Waiting is an unknown for me living out here, I will not use businesses other than FLO and I am worried events of the 31st Oct may have a part to play in the shape of import duties of the like, if I don't do it now I never will. Alan

I have to say that also appealed to me, the cables and wifi part, even though my understanding of this system is worse than awful, my friend knows these things inside out though Alan

I must try and understand this pixels/second figure, cracking image there, I was going to post my effort, saw everybody else's and thought , er no. Look forward to the finished item, I realise black and white image are lovely and highly detailed in many cases but i do prefer colour . Alan

It would be the un encodered model I would be looking at on either size mount, but then I am sure these would guide well too, my skies are a step above that at I would say 2, very little light from the village and even more important no industry around here, South North and West there is nothing other than a few villages for tens of miles. Alan

I keep coming back to mounts, I decided I am OK as I am with my AZ EQ 6 and then I open up FLO's site and start wondering. As much as I could afford pretty much any mount, even the 5 figured prices, I feel if I were to buy one I would be filleted and put in a hole in the garden, maybe with a nice tree as a headstone. I like the look of both CEM's, 60 and 120, I wish to guide otherwise the gear I have bought recently I may as well throw away as there is no market here and sending to the Uk is ridiculous for the money I will receive after couriers have been paid. I also keep looking at the EQ 8, how good is this for little more than 2400 pounds, not that that is free with Cornflakes? I also feel i could very easily use the Meade SC 12inch tripod before I have a pillar made and plant it. The same planting would be true of the CEM 120 as well. But maybe not the 60 With the CEM choice I sort of value the 120 over the 60 only because I have a Meade 12 inch SC that could be mounted and played with, whilst the 60 may carry this at 18kg the 120 will for sure, though at 3000 pounds plus I can hear filleting knives being sharpened. So I would like to hear the thoughts of owners of Eq 8, and CEM 120 and 60, especially though that have a few KGs on the mount or multi scope set ups. Alan

I regularly kill all spider in the obsey, even with covers over everything the little and not so little things get everywhere, last night a web across the front the objective lens, eviction was instant. Alan

I like the design of these mount, I feel if I were to get on it may be the basic model of either the CEM 60 or 120, as I have just recently spent 500 quid on new guiding kit and have a spare set of scopes and camera to do likewise. These are not worth the cost of trying to sell in the Uk and here the market is either almost give away or keep it. That looks like a winner for you though, a very nice capture too if I may say. Alan

This is making me want one, judging by that you sky may be the limiting factor before guiding, very good isn't it, right next try 12 SC 3048mm, then for sure I will transfer the money😀. Alan

I use Deep Space Stacker and you can stack different; exposures, speeds and different nights. You load you first set in with Darks, Flats etc, then look at the bottom of the display and you will see the Tab Main Group, this is where Darks and Flats go with you first group of captures. As soon as you enter this the Tab Group 1 will show up next to main group, in this only enter the next night of speed/ diff exposure, no Darks etc. As soon as this is entered Group 2 will shoe up and so on and so on. I have evn stack different ISO in one group and it handles that fine too, and it's free. Alan

Gorann, I have a mate that has a s/h camera business, I had masses of kit from him between 98 and 2013 when I did a great deal of MF photography as well as 35mm and digital. His name is Malcolm Collins and the business is Camtech Cameras in Cotterham near Cambridge. He has some of the keenest UK prices and is very dependable, worth dropping him line or phoning, he will send out but of course a charge, last time to me it was 20 quid for a body (camera that is). Alan

I have a Brightstar Mammut with large pixels which I believe are 8.6x8.3 or similar, but it is a very small chip and more suited to being a guide camera maybe. It was bought for my 12 inch SC and never used. It would probably do a job if you could ever locate a target on the chip. Alan

I feel as a cluster it will not win me over but there are other parts of this fine shot that do, lovely delicate structure to the clouds in sharp focus and well controlled stars in my opinion. Great shot I would say. Alan

That doesn't really matter to me as I am in Bulgaria, but they manage my purchases with good speed and are always on the ball, but I know what you mean. Alan

You really need to ask a question direct on FLO's web site, you can't hope they may just read it here, I am sure they will advise. Alan

As much as I would like to try and help the air is very dry here, it hasn't rained for 6 weeks. It is 34 outside at the moment and sunny, I am not sure I can get down to minus 10, maybe later on or tomorrow I can give it a try, can't stay this hot forever. I will see what I can do. I am very new to this, a bit daunting if I am honest, the software is my biggest bug bare, just not use to it. Just a thought how do you turn the heater on, I have seen a warm up routine in APT and cooling, but not noticed heater. Alan