tooth_dr

It's very much a learning process with this scope. I'm getting to grips with focusing, and then lost 4 hours of subs to what I think was probably dew - there is a lighter ring around the bright star in the middle of the field, present in the 15th sub onwards, and then fading from the 70th sub onwards. So this is the stack of the least affected subs of VDB152, also known as CED201. I'm looking forward to what I can do when I get it working correctly. Clear skies Adam.

Astronomiser? http://www.astronomiser.co.uk/

Thanks Tony! I had a good clear night last night. Still getting to grips with focusing, APT didn’t achieve the best focus point despite running the routine. I’m going to try SGPro tonight to see if it fairs better if it’s clear.

I changed the 9 pin cable going to the focuser and there is activity from it! I only ran it briefly through the MHP interface but it’s moving 👍🏻🙈 It’s looking clear tonight so I’ll try APT. Any suggestions on settings or just use the default ones?

So just to update this thread, I did purchase a new scope to replace the dual rig. I bought a Takahashi Epsilon 180ed, which has a pretty much identical focal length, 500mm versus 510mm for reduced ED80, and at F2.8 is twice as fast as F6.3. It came with a motorfocuser so I killed two birds with one stone. Thanks for the advice, and I hope this works out in reality! Cheers Adam.

Cheers Adam. It could well be that I just cannot see the movements. I'm going to try this again tonight and see if I can get it sorted.

Thanks Ade, I double checked the clutch, and it was tight, and I cant move the manual knob when it's tightened.

Because I dont have the Moonlite Controller V2, I dont think I can test it with the Moonlite interface.

Yes its the one with the clutch. TBH I know very little about it, it came with the Epsilon scope.

Thanks. Both the hub and focuser/stepper motor were purchased used so not 100% sure are working.

Can I ask anyone currently using a Moonlite (or similiar) focuser - how far would I expect the focuser to move with 25 steps for example? I'm using the top link below, which includes the ascom driver. It is connecting ok using the MHP focuser via the ascom dropdown in APT. It doesnt hang and the little counter moves as I click to move the focuser but I cant see the focuser moving. Any ideas?

Yes imaging at F2! With 8” apeture 🤘🤘

Nicely framed. I really like this a lot.

Bumping this up. Spent some time last night and the focuser doesn’t seem to respond but it is coming up as connected in APT. Any help appreciated. I’m connecting via a Hitec Astro MHP, using the mount hub focuser Ascom software.

More comparisons! Single 300s subs from 1) ED80 40d 2) ED80 KAF8300 3) 180ED KAF180.

Even with the dual rig I have, it's still 2.5 x faster

I found the luminance I took last year, around 8 hours, with the ED80 and same CCD sensor, compared with same exposure time for the 180ED, all in 300s subs.

Wow. Feels like you are actually there

Very nice! Great for just 2 hours of data, sometimes people put 4x that in to an image.

I know this question isnt addressed to me, but yes I can move my scope literally anywhere, unlock the clutches, and it wont move from that position.

Since I moved to a dual rig, I now have my scopes balanced in 3 axis. This means that it balanced no matter where it's pointing. I think this is how we imagers do it anyway?

Thanks Johannes. I hope I can get the focuser working properly.

Thanks Sean. The 10” Quattro is a nice scope too. I bought a Nikon D800E earlier this year and have a Tak-to-Nikon adapter so I’m just debating what direction to go.

Thanks Jeremy. I'm not much of a writer! It was probably the calmest crossing i've been on both in and out. Thanks Dave. It a bit of an investment, but for an imager its a dream.

I got the ferry and drove through Scotland and into England with one of my kids last week to collect this scope. It was a great road trip with my middle daughter, where we covered around 400 miles. I had to make a modification to my EQ6 - fitting a Losmandy head. I made and added rings for a finderguider, and added a plate to attach the hub to the OTA. I got it set up rather rushed on Sunday morning with the intention of using it that evening. The clouds stayed away and although the guiding was poor in DEC (due to I assume poor balance - I need to rotate the tube a bit I think), I got a load of subs. All the subs were 300s, which looking at it may be too long for this scope as all the star are completely overexposed!! I plan to have the camera positioned 180 degrees to where it is now, but this will require modifying the Losmandy plate. It's forecasting rain this week, so an ideal opportunity to fine tune these things, and tidy up the wiring. The MHP worked flawlessly, and it is pretty cool being able to remotely switch 12v on and off eg the fan. I couldnt get to grips with the Moonlite focuser and high-res stepper motor. So I focused by hand. With a critical focus zone of 10 microns this was a challenge. TBH I didnt spend that long, and I use the diffraction spikes as a guide. It's not completely in focus so I'll need to address the focuser, and get it set up properly. I ran the autofocus routine in APT, but it didnt work as expected. I'll need to check that the focuser is actually connected properly and working. Here are the details: Scope - Takahashi Epsilon 180ed, FL=500mm F2.8 Camera - QHY9 mono (KAF-8300) Mount - Belt modded EQ6 Pro Guider - SW Finderscope and ASI 120MM Filters - Baader Luminance 2" Exposure - 83 x 300s Software - APT / APP / PS Thanks for looking, any advice welcome. Adam.