daz

Thanks all - Imaging through both at the same time is perhaps a longer term plan - it was around the convenience of having the choice of scope and having them already mounted.....

So, my Esprit 100 sits very nicely on my AZ-EQ6 and I am toying with the plan of dual-mounting with my ED72 - it will make it easier switching the camera between them, certainly.

Assuming I get solid mountings for the dual bars, and a good balance - is there anything else I should worry about?

Cheers!

That's nice Geof!

Fast service, turned around my bino's in just a couple of days - at a very reasonable cost too!

http://binocular-repair.co.uk/

13 hours ago, FLO said:

 

We have also built a new separate website that, like Ian King Imaging, will focus exclusively on astro-imaging.

 

I can feel my credit card trembling already....!!!

Wishing FLO every success in the next chapter of her story!! 

So, the run of clear nights has not been the success I was hoping it would be.... The system halted at around 12:30/12:40 every time - failing to plate solve seemed to be the main cause of the issue - but I couldn't work out why.

[System comprises MaximDL for guiding, acquisition controlled by CCD Commander which also monitors the weather conditions with my AAG. Taking a break from SGP as CCD Commander has (at this moment) slightly better handling of weather conditions that SGP - I suspect that will change in future, but anyway....]

So, Sunday night, I stayed up and baby-sat the rig - I was doing some playing with other stuff, so not a wasted evening at all - got to look through my new ES68 EPs in my ED72 - which was very nice!!

Anyway, we get to the appointed time when the failure occurs, and I can hear repeated "Slewing to target" alerts from EQMOD as it struggles to get in the right position and plate-solve. I dash in the observatory and realisation dawns on me!!

I was test-imaging M81/M82 and had completely forgotten that as they drop down to the bottom of the orbit around Polaris, they are obscured by some tall-ish trees a short-distance away from us... Of course, they have grown a bit over the year, making the problem even worse!!

No wonder I couldn't get a plate-solve from it!! So, made a cup of tea, did a bit more observing through the 72 for an hour or so, until we had cleared the trees and off we went again!!

What a dunce I am!

It's very straight forward - Ill do you some screen shots!

Alan

In the ASCOM profile editor, you can rename the Camera 1 and Camera 2 to something more meaningful!

Once you know which is which of course!

Just found this thread! Bookmarked for downloading and playing with!

I've got Good(ish) to Good on Friday night, Good(ish) on Saturday but potential to go Good, Cracking on Sunday, Good early hours of Monday but if it goes Good before midnight, it could upgrade to Cracking!

Will indeed be interesting to see if that's what happens!!!

On 20/08/2019 at 22:36, carastro said:

and Lyra?

Oh yes - she'll be there

I came across this on FaceAche and wondered if anyone had tried it? http://www.clickdesignsoft.co.uk/autoscript/

For the sake a few quid I might well give it a go and compare...

On 18/08/2019 at 19:13, wimvb said:

Have you optimized the settings in General Preferences (under Edit menu)? Here you can set the number of processers that PI uses, and the swap directories.

Not sure if you missed this from @wimvb - I couldn't see a reply but apologies if you did.

There are recommendations for setting up a dedicated SSD as a PI swap drive, and then configuring multiple entries in the I/O preferences to use that SSD as the swap space. Could be a cheap way to test before spending too much money on new hardware...

Hi all

I think's it's time to start the Who's going, where I am and what I'm doing thread!!

So....

Daz and Mrs Daz, 21st to 29th, Red 351

Going to go slightly mad this time and attempt 3 different things:

1. ED72 + AtikOne + StarAdventurer on M45

2. ASI120MC + All Sky lens

3. DSLR - star trails

i confidently predict the weather will play ball and I will be successful.... 

Say Hi if you are passing, there will be tea/coffee/beer depending on weather and time of day!!

Wow! That is just amazing!!!!!!

That's nice!

Would be interested in the workflow....

With Kelling not too far away, and now having a wide-enough lens, this is something I want to try!!

In the back garden with some black dinner plates!! We weren't into astronomy at that time, so it was only a casual look....

I think that might have been the start of the slippery slope

Multi-tasking..... shopping, installing TheSkyX in the observatory (remotely of course) and working!

Welcome Tassos!

Can you post some pictures of where you have got to? Close ups of the focuser will be useful as well as general shots of the telescope set up.

16 hours ago, Mick W said:

Takes 2 minutes to open and impossible to close without restarting.

EQMOD is not a client program - it's a driver so it behaves differently. You can't 'close' it like you would a normal program. The driver monitors the number of connections to devices and when that count reaches 0, the driver unloads itself from memory...

As Peter said, it needs a mount - you can use the Simulator's that ship with ASCOM to get used to it and get it configured - otherwise, it is hunting through the COM ports to find one.

The Toolbox should be under: Start -> Programs -> EQMOD (Although this might be EQASCOM now).

Pm waiting for you sir!

I am rubbish at meteors! Guarantee they will be in the opposite direction, or some huge ones while I am fiddling with the gear!!

Still, will no doubt try again on Saturday if the forecast is not lying!!

13 hours ago, Ruud said:

Please tell me: how do I get an email address like that? Or do I have one already? 

As Vlaiv says, it's Admin only  - at least for the immediate future....

Thank you all for your input and recommendations - and I thought imaging was confusing!!

So, I have plumped for the 28mm and 16mm ES68's for now. You have all given me food for thought as and when I expand and acquire the dob. I think in the coming season I will make a nuisance of myself at the SPs and start taking more of an interest in the eyepieces being used!

I'll report back on how I get on with them, but really, thanks everyone!

Very nice Gav!

That galaxy in the M12 picture pops out when you do the clicky-biggerise bit, and I like the details in M71 - the stream of stars at the 7 o'clock are nice, and there is a cool little arc of stars at about 2 o'clock on the main cluster!

And yes, I can see the Angel Fish