astrosathya

3 hours ago, Simon Pepper said:

I am in East Sussex I am about an hour from Ashford! 

Good to know  Once I get a car, would love to meet-up and exchange thoughts over a drink.

13 hours ago, Simon Pepper said:

Welcome back!! 

Thank you, Simon. Where in the South East are you?

Brilliant photos Francis. Would love to see pictures of your rig.

Hi All,

I am not entirely new to Astronomy/Astrophotography/Telescope Making, but after almost 2 years sabbatical I am slowly inching (and itching) my way back to Astrophotography. Just curious if any member is in Ashford as this is where I live and would love to meet up with fellow Astrophotographers. 

Valid points Adam and Ian. That's what my mind is playing badminton with. Large sensor or better sensor? I will be getting the Sky-Watcher 150P Quattro for now and later perhaps an RC6 or 72ED whichever I decide to as my second scope. Too bad I am in Ashford and you guys up North

23 hours ago, iantaylor2uk said:

I've had this camera for about 3 years or so and it's been excellent. Never noticed any amp glow and have got some great photos from it. 

Newer cameras, like the 533MC will have a higher quantum efficiency (the QE of the 071 camera is only about 50%).

I tend to use mine at quite high gain (200, when unity gain is 90 and max gain is 240). These cameras can also frost up if you cool them too much or too quickly. I only usually cool the camera to 0 C. 

I have followed Ian on instagram. You have good photos.

Hi All,

ZWO ASI 071 MC PRO seems to have the USB3 and DDR 256MB buffer. Are there any users here who are facing amp glow currently with this camera? I am planning for either 533MC or 071MC, but leaning towards 071 because of APSC.

Hi Everyone,

Having owned a HEQ5-PRO for 12 years, I am now thinking between CEM26 or GEM28 mounts. However, several of my friends have reported pointing issues, especially to targets in the South like M16. What are your opinions about this? anyone use it recently?

Hi Steve,

This is by far the most detailed report I have seen/read. I am in Ashford, Kent and planning to buy a new AP Setup which is lightweight. I have been eyeballing the GEM28 for a couple of days. I used to have a HEQ5-PRO etc etc, all heavy stuff. 

I have read reports from India that the GEM28 has pointing issues, especially with Southern targets. Have you ever faced anything similar? 

10 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

Great.  What’s a namesake member? Never heard of that. 

Just something I came up with. "Namesake" is just that I became a member, but haven't participated in any activities

Just now, Ouroboros said:

If you’re at Uni it looks like they have an astronomy soc.  https://kentunion.co.uk/activities/space

yes, I am a namesake member  (who soon hopes to become telescope officer )

On 02/05/2023 at 06:48, Ouroboros said:

Welcome to SGL, Sathya.  Many decades ago I spent my teenage years near Canterbury and have fond memories of it. A local astronomical society would be a good place to meet up with fellow astronomers. I’ve just googled and was surprised to find Canterbury doesn’t appear to have one.  Maybe others can advise on other societies near by. Or it’s an opportunity to start one!  I know there are some SGL members who live in the Canterbury area. 

Hi, apparently the locals go to the Kent Astronomy Society, they have an obsy somewhere closer to Dover. Uni doesnt really afford me the time. Hope to make up now in the summer.

On 02/05/2023 at 08:42, newbie alert said:

Hi and welcome Sathya,  are you Canterbury in Kent?

Hi, yes I am, at the very end of High Street

On 03/05/2023 at 10:33, PeterCPC said:

Hello and welcome.

Thank You Peter

On 01/05/2023 at 19:12, Floater said:

Welcome. I hope you have lots of fun, Sathya. 🙂

(… and think it is forever, I believe the Carl Sagan quote continues.)

Thank You Gordon

Hi Everyone, I should've said hello in September itself when I moved here (Canterbury) from Bangalore, India. I would love to meet up with fellow astrophotographers and checkout their "equipment" (pun intended). I love looking at different telescopes and mounts and learning from like minded folk.

Hey, you can use the WemosD1 CNCV3 OnStep Controller easily. Here is a link of someone's build. I built the CNCv3 version too. works well.

Does anyone here have a 3D printable case STL file for the AstroEQ telescope controller based on the Arduino Mega+shield please?

What an excellent thread I must say. I recently completed an 8.5" f/8 Mirror and since I plan to use it for outreach (needs to be portable), I do not want to make a full tube DOB for it but a truss design. I have used The Dobsonian Telescope Book and found that with a 9" tall mirror box and a single ring secondary cage (0.75kg total weight including secondary mirror, focuser etc) and 70 inch long trusses of 3/4th inch OD, I get the torque in the front aseembly as 5.4kgm and the bottom section a mere 1kgm. Will this play a role in the balancing of the scope? How big would the bearings need to be? I hope I am not hijacking this thread, just thought my question would fit in with the very experienced folks here.

TIA.

5 hours ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

I take it you just mean the parts that hold the motor in place ??  on what scope ??  what motor do you intend to use ??  .... 

no, the complete focuser body, drawtube etc... for a handmade telescope i have an ascom focuser for my factory made scopes

Hi Everyone,

Would someone happen to have STL files for a simple printable Crayford/R&P focuser please?

The statue of the Buddha at #langza is at 14300 feet above sea level. The village itself lacks mobile phone connectivity, yet no one who visits this place misses phones. Such is the sheer beauty of the village and it's surroundings. Mesmerizing mountains, the thin air, the chill will literally take your breath away. The pic of the #milkyway in front of the Buddha is quite cliched perhaps, yet a joy to capture.
Acquisition: #canon80d ISO2000, #samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens, 20s exposure.
#astronomy #astrophotography #nightscape #universe #milkyway

On 24/07/2021 at 13:07, Chriske said:

A few years back we made 3 MoM's. Two that can handle 20" mirror and a third one capable of grinding a 10" mirror.
We built the two larger machines in my workshop. They’re standing side by side and together with my best friend Marc we grinded lots of  mirrors with it. That small machine we made it to install it in Marc's garage, so when he was at home he could continue working with his small MoM at home.
We installed peristaltic pumps to automate these large MoM's. Every grit has it's own pump system. Feed speed of the slurry is done by electronics. The containers continuously mix the slurry to keep it homogeneous. The MoM's can be left alone for a longer time as there is a safety built in. When the containers are near empty the machines do stop automatically. The electronics part of MoM's project was made by Guy. Sadly enough he left our ATM-group.
Anyway, only grit #120 was done manually because the peristaltic pumps couldn’t handle that larger grit.

The reason for these two MoM's was simple. We didn’t want to spend to many hours grinding on a mirror. We started grinding early '80 and made 'a few' mirrors/telescopes. So we decided to work on more complex systems like for example a Schupmann telescope. But first we wanted to build a Stevick-Paul. A Gregorian telescope was already finished and awaits a coating session...
Again, long grinding and polishing sessions are out of the question, finishing a say 10" mirror took us about 3 days. We prefer to spend more time on building/tuning the scopes itself, and obeserving of coarse. While grinding we only use 3 grits btw and do not clean in between them. Only for polishing we do clean of coarse.
Sadly enough my best friend Marc passed away jan'20.(I knew the man for almost 40 years). And since then I didn’t touch the MoM's at all. Only a  few weeks back now I'm thinking of restarting using my MoM. But first I need to remove that second one. That will be a very difficult task...

I absolutely loved your reply because as i read through it, I was visualizing both of you working on the machines. My heartfelt condolences for your loss because it takes a really long time to overcome the grief of loosing someone you knew for 40 years. I am always asking for guidance on the forums because I want to be one of the new generation ATM'er who can carry forward the legacy of you seniors. I am grateful for the guidance that you all provide. Below are two pictures of my "fresh out of the oven" White Portland Cement Tool for polishing. Please do give your CC.
I am also looking for copies of the entire set of the Telescope Making Magazine and ATM by Ingalls (not sure if I can pay though). I know thet even though they are old, the content in them are nothing less than treasures.

On 22/07/2021 at 14:28, Chriske said:

I have two larger MoM's in my workshop(up to 20")
Most probably I would not build a MoM anymore if I'd start all over again.  I would go for a fixed post grinder. Very easy to build.
This site has lots of info about such fixed post grinding machines.

also, i would love to read/view your experiences of the MoM, especially the figuring. May i please know how do you generate the initial sagitta? any details you could give me, i will be very grateful.

On 22/07/2021 at 14:28, Chriske said:

I have two larger MoM's in my workshop(up to 20")
Most probably I would not build a MoM anymore if I'd start all over again.  I would go for a fixed post grinder. Very easy to build.
This site has lots of info about such fixed post grinding machines.

I have interacted with Mr Waite a few times. However since the past year he hasn't been replying and I kind of tend to fear the worst when that happens.

On 19/07/2021 at 17:43, skybadger said:

Did you find the group's.io forum for MoM ? It all used to be on yahoo groups and then moved over. 

It doesnt exist anymore. I did download the archive, nothing much in it though.