Merlin66

I ended up buying a hot shot gaming computer with 32Gb and an SSD 500Gb drive to handle 400 frames per sec from my ASI 174 for solar imaging.

I use FireCapture to acquire SER videos (ASI 174 and ASI 1600) then process the video with AutoStarkket3 and finally sharpen with impp or Registax6. your favourite imaging program for colourising.

Winter here in Oz, cold wet and windy.....

I was testing out an SME60 II combo on the ED80 with the ASI 174 managed to catch the large prom group between clouds... i’ll get onto the computer later and upload on of the images.

I've been very happy using the Baader UV-IR filters over the past many years.

Compared with field curvature????

I’ve measured up my “box” to make sure the Genesis goes with me! I split the double double at x49 a few years ago with the Genesis......majic!!!!

Glen, Yes, it's 44mm. The standard T2 adaptor is 11mm thick bringing the total to 55mm for DSLR's.

There’s also a mechanical need for etalon tuning. The F-P etalon used relies on a very fine gap between the elements, usually around 80 micron. In the Lunt and Coronado this is an air gap and in the Daystar Quark it uses mica as a spacer. Temperature and atmospheric pressure can change the effective gap, so the etalon must be retuned to maintain the nominated central wavelength.

Doesn’t make much sense... the surface detail and the proms should be visible at the same setting. unless there there are significant Doppler shifts this should be the case.

Rusted, A polarized filter won’t have any impact on the “double edge” visible is some Ha scopes. It comes down to the bandwidth and effective blocking.

Peter, is correct. with single etalon solar Ha scopes (+/- 0.7) and poor characteristics ( poor blocking) can show the Photosphere as a “solid” edge with the Chromosphere suspended above at the limb. with tighter bandwidth (and effective blocking) the photosphere is suppressed and only the Chromospheric edge is seen.

I’ve been successfully using Registax5 and 6 for many years without any significant problems. which camera were you using to generate the AVI/ SER file? what was the size of the video file? I’m sure we can find a solution to your problem.

Yeah, just drop the drive belt for major movements.... the 10:1 connection gives the fine focus control you really need for precise imaging focus.

Rusted, Why belt drive the 1:1 knob and not the 10:1 knob? The 10:1 gives ever better focus control. I have this set up on all my scopes.....and no issues with the handcontrollers. My SM60/ED80 sits on an HEQ5 outside, extended cables for the Synscan and focus motor then allow me to image in the cool and dark office.

I think the issue is that it's a fixed 60mm aperture Ha solar scope. The "Quark" module is built in and not removable (to allow it to be used in other larger telescopes)

Louise, Basically yes. The mica etalon design in the "Quark" module is supposed to give a much narrower bandwidth than a conventional single stack etalon.

I’ve already measured up the “box” ...... when I go the TV Genesis goes with me! over the years I’ve build and used scopes up the 29” Dobbie. the 10” f5 dobbie represented to me the sweet spot, and the C11 the “work” machine for the spectroscopy but the Genesis was always around for the fun times.

Neil, I have the ASI 174MM, but only use it for solar imaging. Used at zero gain ( 189 gain under FireCapture) it works well with the SM60/ED80 combo as well as the 102/1100 PST mod.

You can superimpose your solved image in Cartes du Ceil and then click on any/ all star images to get the detail.

The tilt tuned etalons can also handle Doppler shift, no problems. I’ve used various solar scopes, PST, SM40, SM60, many modded PST single and double stack all tilt tuned with very good results. My latest favorite is a SM60 external etalon mounted on an ED80 with a PST “internal “ etalon as a double stack. All ITF filters suffer from failure, both Lunt and Coronado, thankfully they can easily (nowadays) be replaced.

I have a fully modded (both internal filters removed) Canon 1000D and found I needed to fit a clear clip in filter to achieve focus with the camera lenses. Obviously OK with the telescope.

Hmmmm. sounds like all the HEQ5 I’ve seen, certainly not the best of design solutions.

Yes, using EQMOD, ASCOM drivers and a EQDir cable will allow you to control the HEQ5 Pro using a planetarium program like Cartes du Ceil.

Hmmmm...... I think all the users of EQMod work through their planetarium software, not just the EQMod setup screen. Are you sure the motors you have on the EQ5 are in fact compatible with Synscan and EQMod? (Sounds from your last message that the handset works OK?)