Merlin66

I've used the second one (5.5mm thickness) and the Baader quick release coupling ( https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p558_Baader-T2-quick-changing-and-rotation-system---T2-female-to-T2-male.html ) Both work very well. The Baader is obviously more robust. It comes down to the available space.....

The shadow technique needs to be done around noon. Suncalc gives you a direct measure of your (north-south) meridian. Just input your location. https://www.suncalc.org/#/-38.1667,144.7167,3/2020.04.08/08:30/1/0

Try the latest... I don’t experience any problems with FireCapture......

I ended up building my own version based on a Baader CCD blue filter as a CaK ERF then a collection of Omega filters and the famous “yellow” filter from a PST CaK scope. seems to work well for me......

Phil, When you open EQMod say with CdC and then the settings/ Gamepad Configuration can you calibrate? What about trying the different system settings??

Try posting a message on the EQMod IO forum. Not all gamepads are compatible with EQMod. They do say if your game pad is recognised and working on your PC it “should “ work with EQMod. I use an ol’ Intendo no-frills hand controller - works well for me.

Hmmmmm, nothing I know of. AS3! is still the preferred weapon of choice. Use with ImPPG for best results.

I use FireCapture for all my solar imaging. With the ASI 174MM is set the gain to 189 and the gamma to 50. Vary the exposure to set the histogram right hand edge close to 80-90%. Take SER video, 500-1000 frames and process in AS3! start with the "best" 50% then try "best" 25 % - see if you can notice any significant difference (will depend very much on your local seeing and focusing abilities)...... ImPPG to do some "smart" sharpening. That's the basics......

I've used two 20Ah "golf buggy" sealed batteries for over ten years - no issues, no problems still give 100%..... The charger I use is a "smart charger" - a triple stage charger - the charging current is high when the battery is flat, then as the battery improves the charge rate drops and finally when the battery is fully charged it drops to "trickle" charge - the battery can then be left on the charger indefinitely without fear of cooking or over charging. Something like this: https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/calibre-sca-battery-charger---3-stage-12v-6-amp/305595.html

Fabio has advised his latest AstroArt upgrade: Version 7.0 SP3 - April 3, 2020 ----------------------------- * New feature. Canon CR3 file format. * New feature. The focuser position can be saved in the FITS header. * New feature. Separation and position angle from any star pair. * New feature. Autoguide statistics can be zoomed and panned. * Improved. More options for autoguide calibration. * Improved. Autoguide is more robust against noise. * Improved. Big saturated stars are used for plate solving if needed. * Improved. Scaled dark frames are faster and more precise. * Bug fix. Position angle of binary stars was offset by 90°. * Bug fix. User shifts of 0.1 pixels didn't work for slit autoguide. * Bug fix. Stopping an exposure was not possible on some cameras. * Bug fix. The Undo icon was not updated after some cosmetic filters. Available at: http://www.msb-astroart.com/down_en.htm

In CdC..."setup/solar system/Comets/ Load MPC file" This will load the latest comet info.

Re. The OP .... For more than twenty years the SCT was the telescope of choice....I agree it’s not a perfect solution for today’s AP requirements, but it does meet the novice needs to view the planets and other Astronomical objects. Obviously when the starter develops the necessary knowledge and skills he/ she many want to try other options. IMHO an ED80 and a EQ5 type mount is a very good starting point. (some things don’t change....back in the 1960’s we recommended the novice start with a 3” refractor or a 6” reflector.....some things never change.)

Full frame, 4/3, Crop factor etc are "normal" everyday photographic terms and in my opinion should not be used in the context of astronomical imaging..... We are primarily interested in pixel size, frame size and QE....full frame etc looses it meaning.

The solar grid comes from TiltingSun3. https://www.atoptics.co.uk/tiltsun.htm It provides a graphic overlay https://www.atoptics.co.uk/tiltgrid.htm This can be cut and pasted onto your solar image....

OK, I realise the solar images I was producing with the ED80/ASI 1600 and the x2.5 Powermate resulted in a full disk image slightly larger than the chip size....bumma. The answer (other than finding a different Barlow...) was to take two images and join them as a mosaic covering the whole solar disk...sounds simple. Took the necessary two images, but noticed straight away that there were significant problems with gradients within the images which did not match.. First MS ICE; used by many to produce very good panoramic images - didn't work for me - couldn't get the two images to align... Over to CS5 - spent far too much time messing around with layers and gradients..... and ended up finding Photomerge....two minutes later (well actually more like 10 minutes, they were BIG tif files) - job done! (I had started with Scott Ireland's "bible" - Photoshop Astronomy, only to find it very out of date and only talks about CS and CS2...it was published in 2005) The attached H alpha image was taken on the 27 March 2020, SM60 DS/ ED80/ ASI 1600. If you can identify the joint, I'll send you a packet of toilet paper, or buy you a beer, whatever you prefer. Another tool in the box - hopefully to provide better full disk images in the future.

Thanks! I try to orientate the full disk and detail to give north to the top, so we can apply the solar grid to show/ determine the solar latitude of spots and other detail. Ken

Yeah, a 1.25” to 2” adaptor.....

Andy, You can use the 1.25” nosepiece which came with the camera and just slide it into the focuser..... keep it simple....

On my ED80 these are M4 screws. I replaced mine with M4 x 8mm dome headed stainless steel screws.

Richard, come to Oz.... I get probably four to ten days a month where the conditions are OK. obviously don’t know about the UK.

New AR 2759 in CaK, H alpha ( Double stack and single stack) and White light. The bright proms made good targets....need to improve the processing skill's to combine prom images....

When focusing, make the final focus movement by turning the focus knob anti-clockwise....If I remember correctly this moved the mirror down the baffle tube towards the rear cell. Easy to check, just look into the front and watch the mirror movement....

This morning (1/4/20) the new AR 2759 - a couple of spots and faculae in White light and visible in CaK and Ha put on a great show. At 30 deg solar latitude.... Add the two bright proms and you have a good reason to break out the solar imaging kit. Images to follow.

I regularly use the C11 for spectroscopy... I've fitted a JMI focus motor to get "best" focus... The mirror slop/flop is generally caused by the grease on the baffle being "thinned out" by the mirror always sitting in roughly the same position... Wind the focuser through full travel (about thirty turns) each way every month or so to re-spread the grease on the baffle. This helps. And always approach final focus from the same direction. I don't find the slop/flop to be an issue. (The Celestron focuser design is MUCH better than the Meade SCT's , which I had for many years!)

I’d stay with a Baader film until activity picks up. In a few years time there will be probably justification to move up to the wedge.