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Yes, I am quite sure that you can use those as well - how ever, it might require a bit more calibration of the "const float A = 19.0; " You can try changing the number 19 to 18 or 20, or anything else really. To calibrate i used the iOS app "Dark Sky Meter" and took 5 measurements and averaged them out. Then you take a reading with your Arduino SQM and calibrate it so the readings corresponds to the App readings /Daniel

My fault, forgot that... I Have updated the first post with all correct inputs and connections, I have how ever not any wiring diagram, but there is no problem wiring this up, especially if you use a LCD shield instead of a single LCD. /Daniel

Hi! I have made a new verison of the Sky Quality Meter i made several years ago. It is the same components but som new, simpler code. It consists of a; - Arduino UNO - LCD Shield or a singel LCD Display (16x2 char.) - Momentary push button - TSL237 light-to-frequency-sensor - 20 degree lens (cheap plastic ebay LED lens) - Project box - Some jumper cables. The connections is as follows: Pushbutton is connected to GND and input A2 The TSL 237 Needs 3V+, GND and is connected to input 8 The LCD is connected to 5V+ and GND and is connected to input 13, 12, 5, 4, 3, 2 (This will be obvious when you see the LCD display) OR - you can use a LCD Shield which just stacks on top of the arduino. The code is posted below the video The code: #include <FreqMeasure.h> #include <Math.h> #include <LiquidCrystal.h> float Msqm; const float A = 19.0; int buttonSQM = A2; int val = 0; int reading = 0; int percentage = 0; LiquidCrystal lcd (13, 12, 5, 4, 3, 2); void setup() { pinMode(buttonSQM, INPUT_PULLUP); digitalWrite(buttonSQM, HIGH); lcd.begin(16,2); Serial.begin(9600); } double sum=0; int count=0; void loop() { lcd.clear(); lcd.setCursor(0,0); lcd.print("EXO PHOTOGRAPHY"); lcd.setCursor(0,1); lcd.print(" SQM-METER"); //delay (3000); // lcd.clear(); // lcd.setCursor(0,0); // lcd.print("PRESS BUTTON TO"); // lcd.setCursor(0,1); // lcd.print(" TAKE READING "); // delay (3000); if ((Serial.readString() == "MySQM") or (digitalRead(buttonSQM) == LOW)) { reading = 1; FreqMeasure.begin(); while(reading) { if (FreqMeasure.available()) { // average several reading together sum = sum + FreqMeasure.read(); count +=1; lcd.clear(); lcd.setCursor(0,0); lcd.print("Reading"); lcd.setCursor(8,0); lcd.print(percentage); lcd.setCursor(11,0); lcd.print("%"); percentage = count/31.0*100.0; // Serial.print("Counts: "); // Serial.print(count); // Serial.print(" Progress: "); // Serial.print(percentage); // Serial.println("%"); if (count > 30) { double frequency = F_CPU / (sum / count); sum = 0; count = 0; Msqm = A - 2.5*log10(frequency); //Frequency to magnitudes/arcSecond2 formula lcd.clear(); lcd.setCursor(0,0); lcd.println("Mag/As2: "); lcd.setCursor(9,0); lcd.print(Msqm); Serial.print("Mag/As2: "); Serial.println(Msqm); delay(10000); lcd.clear(); reading = 0; FreqMeasure.end(); } } } } } Best regards / Daniel

I might get one of these suits and have one at hand next time i clean my filter, usually once a year after the dark season has ended here in Sweden. I have a guest bathroom which is "empty" so to speak... Great advise! /Daniel

Hi, I just published a video of how I am cleaning my filters - I thought I might do this while my telescope is back at service due to some kind of astigmatism. How do you guys clean your filters? it seems that every dust particle finds it way to the filters just as you are done cleaning them, and to sit in a damp bathroom seems kind of a mess... Anyway, here is the video / Daniel

Thank you very much Doug!

Hi, i have made a video where i show a coople of eyepieces that i use and like, and also show how a barlow works, compared to the "Powermate" from Televue. And how is the FOV affected when changing the magnification with different eyepieces? Feel free to comment and give me feedback - I hope you like the video! /Daniel

Hi, I have just recieved the last item which was on back order for a couple of months from USA. I already had the Infinity Eyepiece but was waiting for the BlackCat. Everything was ordered from FLO and i was very happy with their service. Instead of writing an essay, i made a video of how I use the tools and how they look, but in short - Theese tools are FAR superior to the Howie glatter, even with the Tublug. /Daniel

First of all - Is the laser collimator collimated? Even my hovie glatter laser was off when i first bought it, so it is a good idea to check if it is collimated. you can do that by rotating the laser in the telescope focuser or make a X-shaped cradle to rotate the laser in, then main point is that when you rotate the laser - the laser dot should not be moving around but stay put. I have made a youtube video of how to collimate a collimator explaning how to do that. You can find it here: /Daniel, Exo Photography

I used it on my 10” f3.4 astrograph dew shield and was very happy with the FLO flocking material, it has how ever peeled off in one small area, nothing you can’t glue back though. /Daniel

So, i made a weatherstation based on a project earlier listed on CN forum, I have links to the git and the author in the video description on my youtube channel. it measures among the usual weather data also cloud/sky temp which can be used for cloud detection. https://youtu.be/lUNXSJwviDM

Hi, I recently made a video of how to mount a Sesto Senso focus motor to a Starlight feather touch focuser. I have now also made a video of how to calibrate it and also how to measure the backlash of the rack and pinion gear of the focuser. This method is not limited to a starlight feather touch focuser but could be performed on all kinds of focuser. I hope this video makes it easier for anyone out there having problems with backlash. You can also check out my other videos of the focuser / focus motor here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm50WzpT1YKCwghW13b6k-g?view_as=subscriber

Hi guys, I have made a video of how to mount a Primalucelab Sesto Senso focus motor on a true 3" Feather Touch 3215 focuser. I thought some of you might wonder how to use the extra collar you need to mount the motor on to the bigger versions of the FT focusers, and also how to align the motor shaft. Enjoy

Thanks DirkSteele

I think it becomes easier if you do it a couple of times, but yes, HG is easier to use.

So, I have been testing three different kind of lasers, each one is supposed to be the "best" in each category or what you want to call it, the hotech and HG is almost the same, but whit the difference in how you lock it down. The Catseye is very different in how it works. I made a Youtube video of my thoughts https://youtu.be/ERF33hNVieQ What do you think? which one do you use? Regards, Daniel

Hi, i just wanna mention that i have started a youtube channel a couple of months ago. My main focus is to explain how all gear works, collimation, all kind of software that I use etc. Feel free to take a look and i am more than eager to listen to what i can do better to improve my videos, and also tips on what to cover in the upcoming videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm50WzpT1YKCwghW13b6k-g?view_as=subscriber /Daniel

Hi, i just wanna share a in depth review that i made on how the Primalucelab Sesto Senso works, and how i actually runs an autofocus routine with it. you can watch the whole review on my youtube channel here:

Ok, so you don't insert the laser with the lock collar fully backed off, but tightened just so you can insert it in the focuser?

Yea, that might solve the issue. Just to clarify - when you are mentioning the "grooves" - are you talking about the grooves on the laser that the rubber rings are sitting in or the grooves in the focuser for the brass ring that tightens the eyepiece?

Hmm, ok, well that means either that i am doing something wrong or that something in the laser/focuser is affecting the tightening procedure. My procedure is like this - i am first using it in a starlight feathertouch focuser with the clamping thumb screws backed off quite a bit, I put in the Hotech laser fully released in the locking collar, pushing down the laser very firmly towards the focuser and start locking the ring. How ever, i have been thinking of very carefully appy som oil on the rubber rings so that they have the ability to "move" in to right position, could it be that they are to "grippy" on the inside of the draw tube?

Hi, I am trying to collimate my astrpgraph, a TS N-AG10 with a Hotech 2" self centering laser and I am having some questions of the clamping procedure. Each time i am trying to tighten the collar so that the laser would tighten up in the focuser, the laser dot is quite far off the earlier spot the laser hit. I have sience bought a Howie Glatter 2" laser, when i adjust the secondary so that the laser dot hit exactly in the center of the primary dot and change laser to the hotech, the laser dot is about 4-5mm off, if I release the Hotech laser and re-tighten it, the dot will hit somewhere else. I can not just trust the hotech laser - has anyone else experienced the same thing? *Both of the lasers is collimated itself at 5 meters distance with the dots not moving at all. /Daniel

Hi Martin. I think we are on the same track trying to evaluate ccd inspector.. Trying to fine tune my new N-AG10 The spacing of my system was only shown on "real" images, not ccd inspector... maybe on the fwhm values as they are a value on how good focus you have. The focus itself is represented of the background color in the "curvature" in ccd inspector. Black is best, whit is worst. I measured my spacing with a skjutmått. (caliper?) The tilt is just as it sounds, the camera ship in relation to the image field. in my case, the focuser (the starlight feathertouch focuser base has tilt adjustment screws, so it makes it quite easy for me) the curvature is a effect of how good the corrector is doing it´s job, i don't think you could do anything about that other than to get secondary mirror centered correct, and the focuser tilt as good as you can. /Daniel

Thanks for all input guys I had a session in my obsy starting over from scratch. 1. measuring the spider vanes, got the secondary holder centered to 1-2/10th of a millimeter. 2. Insert cheshire and got the rotation of the secondary correct, however, i recognized that the focuser was not centered to the secondary (or so i thought) - it turned out that the secondary was not glued to the holder as precise it could be, it was off by a couple of millimeters. I hope that this not will cause any issues (70mm minor axis) 3. changed the cheshire to the hotech laser collimator and checked everything and indeed the error between the cheshire and laser was much lesser than before. 4. with the laser turned on, i corrected the tilt of the focuser so that the laser beam hit the center mark of my primary. 5. adjust primary to hit the center mark of the laser collimator. 6. repeat cheshire procedure, even more fine tuning of the secondary (because of my adjusted focuser) 7. insert laser collimator and yet again adjust tilt on the focuser tuning in the laser dot to the primary center mark. 8. adjust primary mirror again (we are now in the region of just tenths of millimeters... 9. Put back camera, adjust focus and got it down to 3" fwhm with alot of humid in the air and a primary mirror not even close to ambient temp (looks promising) 10. Clouds rolled in. 11. put a "snus" under my lip and wait out the clouds. 12. found a gap in the clouds, shot apr. 20 images and measured them with ccd... aprox. 2% tilt, just a couple on arc seconds collimation off. Conclusion - as a newbe on newtonians (have been photographing with APOs for almost ten years) i might have found a workflow that actually gets me somewhere. And this was done with a diy cheshire (drilled a hole in a 1,25" cap) I have now ordered a concenter eyepiece.

I have collimated both with the laser and cheshire several times, and each time, after checking with the cheshire, i get rotation error och the secondary (confirmed that it is rotation) I have now laser cut metal shims to be able to rotate the secondary. (it is the three-legged version from telescope service) The laser collimator is collimated.