astrosathya

Thanks for the reply Anthony. Unfortunately, I live at 13deg latitude Bortle 7-8 sky (Bangalore City), which means that most of the dimmer stars around Polaris are all but invisible to Sharpcap as I tested it once when the feature was newly revealed. I therefore rely on my Polar Scope as well as DARV to get PA accurate.

I have a 2012 model HEQ5-PRO and it has the older reticule in the polar scope. Could anyone direct me if I can urchase a new polar scope reticule or a new polar scope with the latest reticule?

Ah, no, I haven't I'll do that tonight and check

Yes, to achieve the 75mm spacing, I have done the following. 1) 44mm from Canon DSLR flange to sensor 2) 11mm T-Ring 3) 20mm T-Thread extension rings. I am assuming the coma corrector is slightly tilted. I have to verify it through tests.

I connect my mount to PHD2 using ASCOM and most nights I have the error "Star did not move enough" as well as "Suspicious blah blah, axis may not be perpendicular". This does not happen when I connect the mount via ST4 cable. I read somewhere that I can do a Calibration Sanity Check in PHD2. I am however unable to find that function in the software. Is it some pop up feature or does it have a location in the settings/brain icon? Any help will be highly appreciated.

I recently tried imaging M7 with my 6" f/4 Newtonian. I had earlier commimated it with a Cheshire and Howie Glatter and was sure of the collimation. However, when I imaged using my DSLR with the coma corrector installed, I get focused stars off centre and not on the optical axis. Anyone experience anything similar before? What could this be? Tilt in the optical train? The focuser was drawn out only about 5mm to reach focus along with a 50mm extension tube. Any suggestion is welcome.

Recently someone got 10min tracking with EQ3-PRO with guiding. 20s is very less especially you've mentioned drift aligning it. Its quite obvious something is wrong somewhere. Try to do drift alignment by software assistance like using PHD2 or Astrophotography Tool DARV method. EQ3 mount is not really as bad as it seems. Can you see the pole star correctly from where you are? Sometimes from a dark location its also quite easy to "polar align" on another star close by. I'd highly recommend you use APT for drift align. It doesn't get easier than that. But you need to have EQMOD connection for this. You could also do a manual DARV method.

You aren't supposed to use any lens with the ASI120 when you want to take pictures of the moon etc. Thread the 1.25" nosepiece to the camera after you remove its lens, then remove the eyepiece from the telescope and insert the camera+nosepiece combo into the same place where the eyepiece was and finally, turn the focuser knob to get a crisp image. Do this during daytime for practice, but make sure that the object you are practising on is about a kilometer or more away because if its closer and you're able to get a clear image of it on the camera sharpcap screen, then you may use the same focus point to aim it at the sky at night and you'll end up disappointed because the moon is further away etc etc... and will not focus at the same point as your neighbors window.

You're Astrostace from some other forum on Facebook? just curious.

I have encountered a unique problem last night while trying to image using my GSO RC6. The scope is well collimated using a long Cheshire as well as a Howie Glatter single beam laser for verification. CCD inspector also gives me good results when checking with an artificial star. However, when I check using a collimation cap the innermost shadow looks offcentered as well as when I pointed the scope on a real star yesterday (Alp Libra) as well as Spica, it showed a crescent shaped star. This I found to be really weird. Anyone have any idea whats happening here? I live in Bangalore, India, so there's virtually no cool down time required. The temperature gradient between outside and inside is very little if any.

Very beautiful image. Looks like the 183c series from several brands (same chip) all seem to be performing well.

If you have the original silver Orion SSAG, open up the body and look at the print on the PCB. I wouldn't be surprised if you tell me its printed QHY

QHY-5R colour at the very least. The ZWO ASI 120MM or MC will be great too. Expensive one is a Lodestar, but its a really good guide camera, will burn your pocket a little bit.

Good Choice. I've had my HEQ5 since exactly 5 years. No issues at all.

EQ5 is based on the vixen GP II mount and it can take a max payload of about 9kg visual and about 5kg photographic. The HEQ5-PRO (I have this) can take about 18kg visual and I load it for a max of 10kg photographic. HEQ5 is also better made than the EQ5 and is a really good mount. EQ5 Pro is definetly a good mount to start off with. Try giving it to Dark Frame Ltd to have it hypertuned etc if possible and its performance will be better.