bomberbaz

On 24/09/2022 at 13:13, Mr Spock said:

This is like the one I have:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Svbony-Collimator-Telescope-Reflector-Collimation/dp/B013SMDQSY?ref_=ast_sto_dp

Works just fine. I collimate my 12" StellaLyra before each session. It's spot on with a star test.

I should add a lot of people recommend a Cheshire. I have the premium one and it's hard to use. You can't really see anything in the dark and it's awkward to adjust the collimation bolts. With a laser you can view it from the bottom of the telescope tube where the collimation bolts are - especially useful with larger scopes - I just don't have five foot arms 

 

Seems to be a lot of rather disparaging reviews on there Michael, although it is apparently collimatable. 

Some interesting opinions on here, nothing wrong with not having the eyepiece bug, certainly helps your wallet.

When I first started my glasses wearing kind of dictated what I used to buy as I too have astigmatism, but I pay little notice to it these days as I use contact lens which all but eradicate it.  I don't even bother with contacts when looking through my refractors as the exit pupil is so small for most eyepieces that the astigmatism is not really a noticeable problem. I believe it's called learning to live with your disabilities.

Personally, some of my most recent eyepiece purchases have been impulse buys rather than I really need them buys. (Baader and Nagler zooms to name two) 

However, I have had the Nikons in my signature for five + years and I have no intention/wish/need to sell them. The TS and APM 24 are similarly long term and no plan to move on.

I like the extra wide views of the first three and the flat field the 24mm APM gives.  I also like to know I am holding a thing of beauty when I pick it up, a piece of fine engineering with years of design experience in its making, something that I know holds its value very well and will serve me well for the rest of my observing days.

All the others in my sig are more recent but when purchasing I used my experience of what I already have to pick most of them. And I have confidence that I will have no need to replace any of them even if "eyepiece provider" makes a new, super-duper range of glass.

Hmm, am I actually saying I no longer have the bug 🤣

Steve

1 hour ago, Mick H said:

Or a zoom lens EP:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ovl-eyepieces/hyperflex-9-27mm-zoom.html

You could always sell it on when you find out which mm is best suited for you.

 

This is a very good option and one to consider.

51 minutes ago, lvan said:

Nice scope! If i were you, i'd check out the Astro Essentials range on FLO and get the 32mm and 20mm super plossls as well as the barlow. 

This would give sharp views with good eye relief and useful magnifications of: 64x 81x 102x 127x 163x and 203x

The cost would be around £80 including shipping.

However there is a very lot to be said for this option and generally has a wider range within the three eyepiece and barlow selection. (checked cost and it's 74 quid posted to most of the uk, some parts of Scotland cost more)

Viewing wise I would not expect there to be very much between them in terms of quality oh and by the way, they are referred to as eyepieces and not lens. 

A concenter is a great tool.  I also have the Ocal electronic collimator.

Ocal Electronic Collimator | First Light Optics     

TS Concenter 1.25" Adjustment Eyepiece for Newtonian Telescopes | First Light Optics

I recently sold my hotech laser as it was deemed surplus to requirements. 

The Ocal is used when I am at home, gets it spot on, and I mean spot on.  The concenter out in the field when the scope is fully set up although it rarely needs more than a minor tweak.

Problem being both the above need light but given my experience with my scope, I am happy to keep what I have.

If I could only have one of anything, I think a concenter offers the best value / guaranteed accuracy.

13 minutes ago, Don Pensack said:

Now, if you have a really good 2X Barlow, you can cut the number of eyepieces and use the Barlow, though I rarely see that.

Barlows are often added to already considerable collections, LOL.

I often say to people all you really need is a good main single eyepiece as a finder/wide view piece and a good zoom with a quality barlow, and it's exactly what I have, along with a load of others I want. 😂 (See note 2 below)

3 hours ago, bomberbaz said:

NW-many

NW + the number of eyepieces I want 🤣

8 minutes ago, dnl said:

N-1 

N = number of eyepieces I need

 

 

 

NW-many

NW + the number of eyepieces I want 🤣

Is this the first time you have come across this issue, or has it been a slow reduction in quality? Either way check for cleanliness of equipment before you put it out.

Try pointing it from inside out to a far off terrestrial object to test for image clarity 

When you put it out, check for any dew on the corrector plate whilst using it. Is it possible it could have dewed up during last use, this can cause a softness in objects without being immediately apparent to the user!

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

Photos or it didn’t happen

🤣

1 hour ago, badhex said:

+1

I have seen them, they are everywhere. It's a bit like an astronomer's playground 😅

32 minutes ago, bomberbaz said:

Glad you posted this as I didn't actually know just how much glass I have. But I cannot be bothered moving any on at this moment in time as they all fulfil a need. (In my mind at least)

TS Optics 28mm UWA

ES 26mm 62 degree

APM 24mm UFF x 3 (two are for the bins)

Nikon Nav HW 17/14mm   (counting this and the one below as two ep’s as they come with a EIS to alter it's focal length)

Nikon Nav HW 12.5/10mm

TV Delos 8mm

Pentax XW 7mm

TV Nagler 3-6mm zoom

OVL 9-27mm zoom

OVL 7.2-21.5mm zoom

Baader 8-24 zoom mk III

Celestron 8-24mm zoom

SW 25mm plossl

Svbony 15mm 66 degree

WO SWAN 9mm

Vixen 25mm plossl x 2

Svbony 6mm 68 degree UW

BST 5mm

APM illuminated reticle 20mm 70 degree FOV

Astro Essentials 32mm Plossl x 2

APM 18mm UFF x2

APM 10mm UFF x2

BST 8mm x2

Also a BST 2x barlow, Meade  2x short barlow, ES 2x tele extender and a generic 1.6 barlow nosepiece.

I make that 36 individual pieces of glass and I still keep looking, really must stop. 😁

The top part of the list down to the Pentax XW 7 are primarily used with the DOB, the rest below are used with the fracs except for the pairs which are for the giant bins.

Although not asked my most used eyepiece is currently probably the Nikon Nav 17 in 17mm mode.

Just looked at @Andy ES signature ref EP's and he reminded me I have the celestron 40mm plossl and a 26mm plossl design with in built barlow/66 degree ep. 

That's me up to 38 but if I look around long enough I should manage to hit 40 🤣

Glad you posted this as I didn't actually know just how much glass I have. But I cannot be bothered moving any on at this moment in time as they all fulfil a need. (In my mind at least)

TS Optics 28mm UWA

ES 26mm 62 degree

APM 24mm UFF x 3 (two are for the bins)

Nikon Nav HW 17/14mm   (counting this and the one below as two ep’s as they come with a EIS to alter it's focal length)

Nikon Nav HW 12.5/10mm

TV Delos 8mm

Pentax XW 7mm

TV Nagler 3-6mm zoom

OVL 9-27mm zoom

OVL 7.2-21.5mm zoom

Baader 8-24 zoom mk III

Celestron 8-24mm zoom

SW 25mm plossl

Svbony 15mm 66 degree

WO SWAN 9mm

Vixen 25mm plossl x 2

Svbony 6mm 68 degree UW

BST 5mm

APM illuminated reticle 20mm 70 degree FOV

Astro Essentials 32mm Plossl x 2

APM 18mm UFF x2

APM 10mm UFF x2

BST 8mm x2

Also a BST 2x barlow, Meade  2x short barlow, ES 2x tele extender and a generic 1.6 barlow nosepiece.

I make that 36 individual pieces of glass and I still keep looking, really must stop. 😁

The top part of the list down to the Pentax XW 7 are primarily used with the DOB, the rest below are used with the fracs except for the pairs which are for the giant bins.

Although not asked my most used eyepiece is currently probably the Nikon Nav 17 in 17mm mode.

On 22/09/2022 at 20:17, Astronix said:

well to begin with the usual beginner issues with polar alignment. From there it has been a long list and a long learning curve. The images I have managed, I probably have not managed to get enough good data because I started at the beginning of summer. So the short nights have not helped with ironing out problems. The 450D that I have is fully modded and I have really struggled to get to grips with it. 

In the time I have spent outside I have probably not got more than 10 hours of exposures, but I do feel that I have learned a lot in that time. I am pretty confident that I can crack it with the gear that I have ordered, fingers crossed.😀

I bought my rig earlier this year and my early results were so so too. However as i got more experience with using the air plus and it's actual settings things improved dramatically.  Also you need time getting used to the settings and is very much mount dependant.

This ZWO video is handy if your struggling ASIAir Plus - Review & Tutorial - YouTube

I don't want to look as though I am teaching you to suck eggs but lacking knowledge of your overall experience with the ASI Airplus below are some tips for you.

When aligning try to get your polar alignment down to less than 00 00.30 (I regular get it to less than 00 00.20) With my rig when I align to less than this I usually gets my dec tracking at around 0.3 average, most of the error comes from RA.

Other mount settings which affect guiding are as follows: 

"guiding rate" 0.9. (default 0.5)

Max dec duration 400ms  (default 2000)

max RA duration 350 ms  (default 2000)

Dec aggression at 60% and RA aggression at 50%. (these are for the fine tuning the guiding)

You will notice above 3 of the settings above are very different to the defaults, this just works with my mount and the F3.75 guide scope. Yours may be different but I doubt they will be the default. 

Also never used a modded camera, I use a dedicated ZWO cooled camera. You have the 533mc which by all accounts is a brilliant camera so I would be using that instead. Far less settings to faff around with by all accounts. I simply do almost everything at unity (medium gain) and zero temperature with exposures dependant on object being imaged.

Hope this helps you a little

steve

Just to throw a little extra onto the thought fire I got the astro essentials version of the zwo mini and wasn't that pleased with it so bought the WO 32mm version. I much prefer it, better build, design and overall a sleeker look.

William Optics 32mm Slide-base Uniguide Scope | First Light Optics

16 minutes ago, Greymouser said:

I agree a headlamp can get in the way sometimes. I tried this from Nite Ize, which holds a torch on the side of the head. They are quite good, but the trick is finding a low lumen torch to go in it. Mine didn't cost that much either, but it was a while ago and I got it from a shop, if I recall correctly.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NITE-IZE-Headband-Standard-Black/dp/B000MF2ZLU/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3O8JR8P8DUHMI&keywords=nite+ize+headband&qid=1663360243&sprefix=nite+ize+headband%2Caps%2C52&sr=8-2

 

Do you know what, I have two red torches that I think will fit that. They are dedicated red, no chance of white light screw ups and have a simple on/off button to the rear of the torch. 

I think you may have hit the nail on the head old bean. 

I have done a little digging around and think I may well have found a solution. It isn't ideal as I described above but I am not sure my ideal exists even.

NEXTORCH ECO STAR HEAD TORCH | AAA Headlamp, White/Red Light, 30 lumen — UKMCPro.co.uk

I will paint over the white lights to prevent them accidentally killing my night vision but at 6 lumen the red is as low as I am likely to get and it looks a good shape to be able to fettle some kind of cover for when not needed.

DIY astronomer here I come 🤗

I realise I am recycling a well discussed topic but in an ever changing world, there are new products coming to the market on a regular basis.

Whilst observing I leave my car hatch opened with my eyepiece cases laid there for easy access. There a handy plastic hook from which I hang one red torch to shine down onto the glass collection, the other red torch is in a jacket pocket which ends up being stuck in my third hand (mouth) whilst I do things at the eyepiece in-between observing. I would prefer something not stuck in either pocket or gob but mounted so I know where it is.

Ideally I would prefer to use some kind of red headset but I observe using a shroud as i find it so comfortable, so inevitably my current forehead mounted headtorch gets in the way, that is why it isn't really getting used. Wondered if anyone has come across a side of head mounted arrangement, something with a simple on/off switch. Mr Stewart is kindly posing with my "near" ideal solution; I say near as a diffuse beam is preferred. (Resistance is futile)

Any suggestions?

Steve

5 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

It is now thought to be space debris (as per BBC News website).

Saw it earlier on the news and I said space junk. Mainly because of the speed at which it was travelling, far too slow to be a meteor.

Well my itch got scratched, now I need to try my best not to develop another one.

I do not need a APM Super Zoom, I do not need a APM Super Zoom, I do not need a APM Super Zoom, I do not need a APM Super Zoom 😈

Forgot about Neowise. Don't know if it counts though!

Despite my protestations that I definately didn’t need any new eyepieces, the EP devil 👿 made me buy it. 

Nothing conclusive this regarding my corrupted data error 107 but highly likely that the onboard ASI memory had gotten corrupted.

When I plugged it directly into the PC it flagged up a possible error and advised run a diagnostic, an error was indeed found and then fixed.  The data on the ASI card was then transferred over and seems to be fine, currently stacking now.

Total data loss probably about 6 hours but at least I know where the issue lay. 

2 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

Sounds brilliant, enjoy your clear skies Steve, not had one down here in September yet. 

I too found the better the PA the main guiding issues are in RA. Plus use 0.9x guiding rate as it seems the most consistent for an az gti mount. 

I mat try your settings for max RA and dec duration as mine are a bit higher at 500 for Dec and RA. 

Good luck tonight. 

Lee 

Bit fed up here Lee, about 4 hours data (cocoon) apparently corrupted but I am unaware as to why. DSS error 107 is all I know. 

I have been using memory sticks for data transfer, I have checked both but nothing conclusive.  I am going to transfer data directly to my pc from the AIR+ next time first and then also transfer to mem stick. I shall then try to stack to dss from both directories to see what transpires but I am actually concerned it might be a AIR+ issue but nothing to ground that concern.

Anyway, grabbing new fresh data right now for the cocoon and also a new object. I will see how that performs.

Keep getting an error and I do not know why. The only variation on the new files over the others are different temperature and date files were taken.

Can anyone help with this please, error message below!

Currently got the rig out getting some final data on the cocoon nebula. I have roughly 4 hours with the dual band filter installed and looking to get 90 minutes without the filter with the hoped for aim of not really adding to the image colours but adding to the dustiness that the nebula has.

I have tinkered with the tracking settings (again). It is still a little up and down but as I type it is settled at an average between 0.7 & 0.8 with occasional peaks hitting 1.1 but lows of as little 0.5.

Also during alignment I got to 00 00.05, this shows in the dec tracking as that aspect runs at  around 0.3 average, most of the error comes from RA.

For the record I now run the mount settings for guiding  at "guiding rate" 0.9. Max dec duration 400ms and max RA duration 250 ms and Dec aggression at 60% and RA aggression at 50%.

2 minutes ago, Simon128D said:

I can vouch for this. Truly are a brilliant scope and worth every penny. 

Which one did you get Simon, and what add ons. 

I may start a fresh thread soon for Taurus users if I can find enough users to warrant it !

2 hours ago, flyingdutch20 said:

@bomberbaz thanks. I'm not concerned about cooling down as I will be keeping it in ambient temperature. However am in doubt whether I should have had the heater for secondary.  Any advise? 

Further to the above, the secondary is quite exposed on this scope, you will likely need something at some point. I didn’t like the idea of using a shroud on such beautiful equipment so the dew tape it was.

I did purchase the base weights but I have some very heavy eyepieces. Without the heavy eyepiece you may be able to do without. There is I think an M8 thread in the centre of the base to screw into. Could be M6. 

With the dsc installed, all you really need is a red dot finder to help aligning. I also recommend a illuminated reticle eyepiece for aligning, I use one and my accuracy is always to within a 1/4 of a degree.

Whilst on aligning, I look for a southerly star as my first one and my second either east or west. This give the dsc the best alignment as you will always not be quite level. 

Back to the rdf, I actually use a laser but it's all the same purpose. Swing the scope round close to where you want to be and with your phone zoomed in, you can get spot on to your intended target. The phone app I use is sky safari 6 plus full version. 

If I can think of anything else I will add to this.