nephilim

Finally moved into the new place. The back garden has wide, far reaching views of the North/ West Skies, with absolutely no light pollution. A good patio for setting up the gear & a little office for electricity & a cuppa.

Spotted M31 last night with just the naked eye, havnt managed that for a while. I think I might be very happy here 🙂

1 hour ago, Seelive said:

My Canon battery usually lasts about 2 hours so I use 2, and by the time the second is flat, the first has had time to recharge so I can generally go on for as long as I want using just the 2.

Most of the battery drain occurs when using liveview so I try to keep that to a minimum (mainly just for focusing). And I would guess that the battery drain is higher when processing and storing the images rather than during the exposures, so lots of short exposures may drain the battery quicker than fewer long exposures? The temperature also makes quite a significant difference on battery life. On a cold winters evening I may only get 1 1/2 hrs whereas on a warm summer evening can get 2 1/2 hrs.

Thanks for the reply Seelive,

I had a feeling it'd only be for a few hours, Im going for the powerbank option as that'll last me the full session.

I'm hopefully looking at long exposures (180"-300") rather than many short ones but that will more than likely also be a big drain. Plus changing the battery has the potential to affect the framing & focus so i'd rather not have that added worry 🙂
 

54 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Indeed so.  I don't tend to use DSLRs for much other than star trails and very wide field images these days, but I have a mains PSU feeding a dummy battery for my 450D.  It's just a world less harassment if you have a suitable supply available.

James

Thanks for the reply James. 

Ive decided to go with the dummy battery & LiFePO4 option rather than just relying on the DSLR's own battery. I'll be powering the DSLR via a dummy battery & a connection to the 4 port dew controller as i'll only be using 2 dew straps. I spoke to a staff member from FLO who assured me the powerbank i'll be using will easily see me through an evenings imaging.
Although I will have use of the mains supply at home, I'll be doing a fair bit of imaging away from mains power as well. Im in the process of moving house ( I actually move in tomorrow so I should really be getting on with that but yet again SGL has drawn me in 😁) which pretty much sits on the borders of the North Peninnes AONB, Yorkshire Dales NP & Lake District NP & will now have very quick access to a large  number of dark sky sites & i'll be wanting to try out as many as I can 🙂

1 hour ago, rl said:

Nothing worse than being out on that perfect moonless night and having the battery fail on you....especially when the weather forecast for the next week is all cloud and rain. And when the rain stops, the moon is back up......

20 quid is the cost of a spare battery, but frankly I 'd take the camera batteries out of the equation altogether and run everything off one massive battery charged up before you go out. Mains is a better option, safety precautions observed. Changing a camera battery risks disturbing the focus and the pointing. Batteries often have less capacity in cold weather, which might well catch you out. 

Money spent ensuring you make the most of the limited AP opportunities in this country is usually a good investment. 

Just my 2p worth from painful experience.

Thanks for the reply.

That makes total sense. I'll be going with the dummy battery option.

I'll be running my whole setup from a Celestron LiFePO4 powerbank although the laptop will have its own, smaller powerbank.

I Msg'd FLO a while back regarding the Powerbanks longevity & a staff member uses a very similar setup to the one I'll be using & gets a whole night out if it. The camera, mount etc will be running off the LiFePO4. As you say, our weather is very much more miss than hit & any wasted time will be similar to wasted money 😁

Hi,
I'll shortly be buying a dew controller & i've seen this one which supports a DSLR power supply  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/lynx-astro-4-port-dew-controller-with-dslr-power-supply.html  . My question is will it be worth the extra £20 over the same controllor without the DSLR option?

I'll only be using 2 dew heater straps but further down the line I will be buying a dedicated camera as the power supply can be plugged into a spare port. My question is, how long does a standard DSLR battery last? I know theres no precise answer so i'm after an approximate really. Realistically a maximum AP session will last 4-5hrs (taking long exposures so obviously it will drain the battery faster). Would a standard battery last round about that length or should I just buy it anyway as £20 isnt an issue if it means piece of mind that the camera wont die nearing the end of a run. Actually make that £55 as i'll also need a dummy battery & cable 🙄

TIA

Steve

5 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

William optics seems to think so

However, their rationale that it will help with narrowband and make spikes stronger / more contrasty is wrong. Strength of spikes depends solely on length of diffraction edge - in this case, density of the grooves.

 

I'm buying the Zenithstar 81 in a few weeks and the Optolong L-extreme narrowband filter. It'll be interesting to see how well the combination works as the L-Extreme has a very narrow band pass of 7nm.

4 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I was just explaining why most of things are black - that is just a "convention" because there is a need to suppress stray light which lowers contrast if not suppressed. In the case of B mask - difference is not noticeable in most cases as most people use relatively strong star to focus on and yes, B mask is removed later when imaging.

Or in my case a few years ago, not removed therefore ruining over an hour of precious imaging time under extremely rare clear uk skies 😒

Laptop arrived today, considering its a refurbished model it's in like new condition. i5, 8GB Ram, NVMe SSD, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB-C. All for £263 after promotion discount, very happy with that 😁 

Laptop exclusively for running my up & coming AP setup. HP Probook 620 i5. I bought this refurbished & it hasn't a mark on it. I used their upgrade option so 8GB RAM, 250GB NVMe SSD, 2x USB 3.0 1x USB-C. Post processing will be done on my desktop pc so this is solely for the imaging process & Mount/ camera etc control.

Bought from Stone Refurb, I wrote a review in the Supplier section as they've been great to do business with, even honouring a promotion that I didn't cotton on to until I'd bought it after I emailed them about it. No arguments & the 13% discount (£39) was put straight into my account so full cost was £263 which I'm very happy with 😁

7 minutes ago, John said:

Mars almost behind our house now so I've moved on to some binary stars. Alpha Piscium is a lovely one - mags 4 and 5 and 1.8 arc seconds separation.

Coldest night of the Autumn so far I think. I don't think there will be a frost but it might get close.

Just waiting for the moon to rise above the conifer

It got down to minus 1 on the way back to the Lakes from the Yorkshire Dales this evening so those frosty nights are definitely on the way 🥶

After posing a question on here last week for recommended specs for a laptop that would be suitable for controlling my AP setup, a couple of members suggested I go for a refurbished one which I hadn't thought of. This saved me a couple of hundred ££ straight away so well done SGL. Ive only just got back to the forum after a long break & already i'm benefitting from the been a member 😃

After a bit of research I came across the above online store (Stone Refurb) & after reading consistently good feedback from past customers, a good range of reasonably priced laptops & the choice of upgrading certain parts (HDD to SSD, 4GB RAM to 8GB etc)
After choosing the one I thought would suit my needs best https://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-ProBook-640-G2-Notebook-Review.171216.0.html I went to 'checkout' & bought it. THEN to my horror 🤣 I spotted too late a 'Halloween' discount promo that they were doing on all purchases, 13% off & as the laptop with upgrades was £302, this would have taken it down to around £264, a saving of £38, so not just pennies.

I decided to email them (This was a Sunday evening so I wouldnt here back until the next day at the earliest, if at all or so I thought) explaining what had happened but added that I assumed the discount would be taken automatically 🤫.  If I was to get a reply, I expected it to be along the lines of, it cant be altered after the transaction etc. At around 9:30am today saw an email from a nice person called  Alex who informed me that that wasnt a problem & they had refunded it as soon as they received my email.

So with my faith in human nature restored & feeling a little less cynical about online shopping for second hand goods, I highly recommend this place for refurbished IT equipment. The proof will obviously be in the end result when I receive the laptop, ive gone for 48hr delivery with DHL so it should be here by Wed at the very latest & i'll post the results in the Astro lounge once ive checked it over.

Steve

14 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

Bob's Knobs from Auntie @FLO and a Telrad Finder from 365Astronomy.

Thanks for posting this, I've been looking for another Telrad & 'everywhere' was sold out but I totally forgot about 365.

I sold mine a few years ago having lost my astro motivation but I've now found it again😁  After owning one I can never go back to an alternative as the Telrad imo is the best thing for the job even though it seems the most simple idea.

On 21/09/2020 at 21:22, Space Oddities said:

Minos, that's simply fantastic! Superb image, and great work! I spent a few minutes contemplating the details you captured, and like you I was surprised at these dark areas. Fascinating!

Thats an absolutely amazing image 🙂

3 hours ago, BrendanC said:

Top tip: you can replace the optical drive in that machine with a HDD (or even another SSD) in a caddy. Works very well and replaces something pretty much redundant nowadays with something useful ie more storage on board, particularly useful if taking large video captures for planetary imaging. 

That's a really good idea thanks.

So, I bought this refurbished laptop. Win 10 64bit. i5 8GB RAM, 250GB SSD, 2x USB 3.0 one of which is for charging & 1 x USB-C all for £263. That should be good enough for everything i'll need it for hopefully. https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-probook-640-g2-14-core-i5-6200u-8-gb-ram-256-gb-ssd/

2 hours ago, gilesco said:

Yes, I guess extending the usage time is the best I can hope for.

I can power the Pi off my powertank, will go with that unless I see issues.

This is the sort of thing I'm thinking of.

3 hours ago, Shimrod said:

I use one of  these for my laptop charging - although it is no longer available, there are plenty of other powerbanks around for a similar price (£30) that can do the same thing. The USB-C port puts out enough power to charge up my laptop and extends the usage time. It' small and light so even having a couple to hand isn't an issue.   

Yes, that's what I'm thinking, there are quite a few available that'll easily last me a good session.

On 29/10/2020 at 17:19, DaveL59 said:

a 17AH lead battery will underperform a comparable LiPo or LiFePo  and you'll see a significant volt drop once you hit 50% remaining charge or even earlier. Also never run it flat nor forget to charge it back up after a session or you'll soon have a dud battery. As a comparison it's reported that a UPS which uses dual 17AH lead will perform the same with a 10AH LiFePo battery in terms of runtime.

Sadly the LiFePo batteries do cost a lot more but are significantly lighter  and won't suffer if not recharged right away. 

Thanks for replying.

I'm going for the LiFePO4 13.2 Ah as all opinions point to it been a good supply. I'm getting the Lynx Astro 4 port dew controller with DSLR power supply Aswell. I Msg'd FLO & they said once I've upgraded from DSLR to a dedicated cam the Lynx will also charge that plus the mount can connect to the Lynx aswell as the dew straps. It'll make cable management far easier.

For the laptop I'll use a separate powerbank with a USB-C connection. This power setup should keep me running easily for at least 6hrs.

5 hours ago, chaotician said:

Woohoo!

It arrived, after a little bit of fiddling in the Ubuntu WiFi settings I was able to get a rock solid connection to the mount, and with some extra fiddling around in the terminal I was able to expose the web interface for the PMC-Eight's onboard WiFi Module, hopefully this'll mean I can put the thing into Client Mode and have it run as a device on my network... 

Thanks for exposing me to this mount @Lockie

Nice one, our owner numbers are growing 😁

Second time around buying this. 2nd most important purchase after the mount 😁

9 minutes ago, nephilim said:

Welcome to the forum, if money is no object then theres no reason why you shouldnt just buy one of these https://www.firstlightoptics.com/planewave-instruments-telescopes/planewave-cdk-17-optical-tube-assembly.html

You'll also need the mount https://www.firstlightoptics.com/planewave-mounts/planewave-l-350-direct-drive-mount.html In all seriousness, it all depends on whether its visual or imaging your wanting to do or both?

Welcome to the forum, if money is no object then theres no reason why you shouldnt just buy one of these https://www.firstlightoptics.com/planewave-instruments-telescopes/planewave-cdk-17-optical-tube-assembly.html

1 hour ago, Erling G-P said:

Do keep in mind that a cooled camera may have a rather high power drain.  I got a cooled DSLR from Primalucelab, bought 2nd hand and came without power supply.  I was rather shocked by the specs stating it needed a 12V 5A supply, and set out to test it.  Found a draw of 3.5A.  I have the previous SW 17Ah power tank, using it at the time to power my HEQ5 mount.  Was worried I would drain it in not much more than 4 hours if I added the camera to it.  Did a test run hooking both up, but the power LED on the mount soon started flashing, indicating too low voltage.  In other words, the power tank couldn't handle both mount & camera.  Since I've so far been imaging from my garden exclusively, I've now switched to mains adaptors instead, and run a long extension & cable drum to my equipment - to which is now added a stand-alone guider, requiring power too.  Think I would need quite a beefy battery to power everything - or several power tanks, and even with one dedicated to the camera alone, it would only be good for a relatively short session.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to go for the LiFePO4 rather than the lead battery. I sent FLO a DM & they said it would be fine powering my set up but like you've mentioned, the other one would be pushing it.

45 minutes ago, Sp@ce_d said:

yeah LiFePO4's the one..  l got a couple of Tracer Batteries from FLO years ago and they are still going strong. My 24Ah - 288Wh one is amazing.. goes all night!.. unlike me these days.. 🤣  and still shows hardly any drain.. in fact I never used it from Jan 2018 until July this year when I went out with the portable rig to get some comet shots.. still showed full charge.. and just checked it now as not used since.. all lights are up.. storage life is amazing. My lead acid batteries died in less than a year & that's before I had an obsy!

Definitely sounds like the right choice. Cheers mate.

Thanks for everyone's advice. I think i'll take the hit & buy the LiFePO4 as it sounds more reliable & much more convenient for a portable setup. I'd rather buy the best I can afford than buy twice.

Steve