bomberbaz

Here is another test image out of the Evoguide/AZ GTi rig. California nebula.

I am trying out various exposures and gain to see how things are coming out.  Actually very pleased with this given the limited data. Need to work on my stars a little but getting there slowly.

25 x 30 seconds at 270 gain

25 flats, 10 darks and a bunch of bias.

3 minutes ago, LaurenceT said:

Some lovely rigs here.

If I could find a way to attach a long dovetail plate to the underneath of the Astrokraken bracket that would give me more leeway to connect more devices such as Asiair and get better balance.

I reckon one of these would do quite easily having looked at mine. The grooves in the bottom should take the bolts quite well 

StellaLyra 335mm Universal Vixen-Style Dovetail Bar | First Light Optics

My rig as it is. The silver plate was made for me by my stepson and this holds the AIR and cooling battery pack. 

7 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

I'm interested how people using the Evoguide 50ED as the main imaging scope are balancing their rig. Are you balancing using the RA axis or dec axis or both....(you can tell I'm still finding my way around this mount in EQ mode, my nomenclature may be way out!)

I'm pretty certain that @bomberbaz and @TerraC are using this 50ED. The problem for me is that I'm using the Astrokraken bracket system which is great but the dovetail bar is too short for adjustment to get good balance.

I had to play around with mine to get balance also using the astrokrakken system but it was manageable, just.  I have put pictures of my rig below although I have since move the rig to get balance. 

51 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

I thought that would be the case.

I've always wanted and 130pds.  They're pocket rockets!  It'll need to wait for a better mount.

I am selling a 130 PDS if your interested. It was a trade off with swmbo when I got my astro bins 😂

Selling cheap as I just want rid. 

I am new to ths imaging game but thought some bias would help clean up the image!

Hello all.

Does anyone have a workflow for creating a star mask in gimp, and I mean a blow by blow account. I have found a youtube tutorial but don't seem able to follow it. 

It is probably something very simple I am missing but for the life of me I cannot figure.

Thanks in advance for any help

Steve

NB: This is the one I have tried following

ba\rgain here, £140

https://www.astrobuysell.net/uk/propview.php?view=183892

2 hours ago, Adam J said:

ok thats probably going to push me down the Skymax 102 direction then. I keep it n the garage so hope the cool down wont be excessive as its for use with a 4/5yo and they have no patience. 

I own a AZ EQ6 GT also but thats not grab and go no matter what you put on it. 

Adam

if you can push the budget to the 127, go for it. I have had both the 102 & the 127 and their is a notable difference in the two.

4 hours ago, Adam J said:

Just wondering if people have opinions on if this bresser AR102L will work with the AZ GTI?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-102l-1000-refractor-ota.html

I think its quite close to the stated weight limit. I am using a much more stable tripod than the one what is normally shipped with the mount if that makes a difference. 

Adam

Don't bother Adam. I tried putting a similar OTA on mine and even with extension pier it hit the tripod.

However that was in EQ mode, in AZ mode it could manage it but I think the problem you might encounter is vibration will be heavily exaggerated because of length. 

TBF I think the AZ is really only suited to short length OTA such as maks, small newts (IE 100mm) and short tube fracs.

8 hours ago, OK Apricot said:

So the dwindling faith is turning to frustration at this point. Last night conditions were terrible really, so I thought I'd use the time trying to get some good results with the goto.

Everything level, zero'd, fully charged power pack, clutches not tight but snug. Followed all advice from FLO and here. North level alignment, pants. 1 star, pants. Brightest star, terrible. 3 star, nowhere near. Each time it goes from one alignment star to another, its somewhere else completely in the finder. 

What am I doing wrong? 

The only other thing I can think of is that to centre an object, a lot of the time I have to use the down and left slew. With the mount tracking, I can't use earth rotation to let the star drift in a way that I can then "catch up" using ONLY up and right slew. This is probably introducing a degree of error through backlash. Is there a way to stop the mount tracking during alignment? I cannot think of anything else. 

Really not sure where your problems are. Try following this tutorial maybe, I found it perfect and so far using this workflow has been perfect BUT I am using the ASI Air PRO.

If you are using other systems, google and try; "yoursystem  tutorial"

M81/82 plus Garland galaxy with data from tonight and last night. All using the AZ GTi / ASI Air+ and Evoguide.

There is 60x60 seconds using the ASI 183 MC,  half subs at 150 gain and half 180 gain. 

Still getting to grips with processing, I think the data I have is capable of far better results but I need more practice and also more time understanding what I am doing. 

14 minutes ago, AstroNebulee said:

I'd like 2 setups like @LaurenceT. I'm purely imaging but do hanker for the simplicity of visual. 

There is nothing simple about visual my friend trust me. There are so many variations of it, it can be as complicated as imaging, if not more so. 

I have 6 visual scopes, all with different used or attributes, I sometimes wish I had less. 

38 minutes ago, Ed the Fox said:

Just a thought..

What percentage of people here use the mount purely for visual rather than AP?

Mine was bought and used purely for visual several years back but I then started using it for unguided imaging two years ago before finally taking the guided route after discussing the merits of the ASI Air and also looking into people who use that in conjunction with the AZGTi.

I think it was finding a webpage with someone using both along with the evoguide that finally pushed me. I think it is amongst the most compact and versatile imaging rigs going, still waiting for my mounting plate before I give you pictures. 

Steve

Ok had my first outing with the rig last night. Full moon ideal conditions 🤪 of course but to be fair the main purpose of the night was me trying out the new gear, getting used to the Air plus and seeing how it all went.

Pleased to report that I had no real issues at all, the Air behaved impeccably and tracked beautifully.

I am looking forward to adding to my data from last night when I grabbed a bit from M81, the heart nebula (IC1805) and the double cluster (see below).

The double is only ten minutes of data just run as a test. I have only stacked and stretched once to see how my stars are. Tweek needed on my tracking time, think it's too long at 5 seconds. 

M82 and IC1805 need much more data so not putting images up until I have it. However as a teaser to me, M81 also reveals M82 and the garland galaxy with just 20 mins data and the heart was just peeping out with 30 mins (a little more gain needed here maybe).

It's all a learning curve but very happy with what is capable from a 50mm guide scope and the AZ mount. 

Steve

22 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

Mines not an asiair plus, but I mounted mine on the underside of the ota dovetail with an angled camera bracket. 

 

Good idea that fella, has given me an idea to do mine in a similar fashion. I have commissioned my son in law to cut me a plate of alloy at work which should provide a platform to both the AIR PLUS and the battery compartment for my camera  cooling mod.

Those of you using an ASI Air Plus could you please let me know how you are mounting it up against the rig!

I have no way of mounting mine against the OTA as there simply isn't any room, (the evoguide is very small) so was looking for other ideas I could apply to my rig.

cheers all

Steve

Its all here, yippee. Pictures to follow but got a evoguide plus flattener, ASI Air plus, ZWO 183 + basic 30mm guide scope.  Also a bracket (3d printed) to hold the whole lot together.

Still a mess of wires and stuff as not yet finished tinkering but it is so lightweight as you would expect with the AZ GTi.

Like I said, pictures to follow as soon as I can get it finished.

I would get the ED80 if I had the same choice. 

One thing to note, if you get the az gti the extension pillar is a must have. 👍

59 minutes ago, Varavall said:

Hi

From my experience as an IT consultant in a former life, a cheap tester will show continuity but not how the cable would function in real life.  Are you using USB3 and how long are the individual cables and how long is the run to the PC?

 

I have no experience with these kind of things but I read the blurb and it seemed ok. Not sure what it all means though so maybe you can help out here.  See below

Designed to easily test and read the correct cable pin out configuration.
This cable tester can accurately test USB/LAN, RJ45 multi-modular cables.
The LAN/USB cable tester tests RJ11/RJ12 cable please use the appropriate adapors and follow the above procedure, so you can use it very easy and correct.
It can easily clarify cable, continuity, open and short. The remote unit allows you to test cables installed far away with the auto-test mode and with the easy to read 9 LED indicators for testing each pin.

16 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

You'll need new cables at some point, anyway. Personally I have a stock of the things for this reason.  If you swap a suspect cable and it proves to be innocent you can just put the new one back into stock for when one of the old ones does fail - as it will. Remember that this failure will happen on a Friday night with three clear nights on the forecast...

Olly

And as Olly rightly states in his signature, he has too many cables 😂

Something like this might work, not used it myselff but seems ok on the surface. It is prime so if you have it, it is easy to return.

Yihaifu M726AT Cable Tester Multi-Modular Multifunction USB RJ45 Cable Tester LAN RJ-11 Wire LAN Network Ethernet Line Checker : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Thanks Steve, gave your list a whirl in the back garden tonight, due to LP I only really managed the brighter objects but really loving my bigger bins for observing.

Highlights were to me NGC 1502+kembles cascade. Lovely crisp view of the crescent moon with stunning earthshine. The garnett star. 

Hinds was behind the house and cloud was bubbling up  quite thickly to the east which stopped me viewing quite a few of the other things but a successful, albeit brief and very cold night. 

3 hours ago, faulksy said:

That reminds me of the first time I went to my dark sky site. When I got there in the dark on my own I bottled it and came home 🤣

TBH I wasn't really up for it but I thought I might gee up once i got there but alas no, didn't take much to send me home, lol. 😂

On 05/03/2022 at 18:23, faulksy said:

looking good for tonight steve. moon wont be to bad. take any clear skys you can👍

TBH mate when I got there the site was a bog, got out of car and sank in mud.

My mojo crumbled and came home.

I should have gone to my other hard standing site but never really thought about it.

Might do some garden observing tonight, not the best but it is still better than nothing at all.