baggywrinkle

Thanks..

I decided to start using the Evolution wifi connection via Skyportal to control the mount when I am doing solar viewing.

The hand book states you should see a wifi link showing 'SkyQlink xxx' on the mobile you are using to connect, however mine shows 'Celestron  G8 ' and refuses to connect. Anyone else seen this?

I have the Skyportal software on my samsunsung phone and it is the updated version.

Affinity tsacking does not allow kappa clipping to get rid of walking trails

I use Affinity on my PC and when I load any RAW files from my Canon cameras it strips off the file extension .cr2 or .cr3. This means that Deep Sky Stacker does not see them as RAW files and will not load them. I have looked at the help folder in Affinity and it does not help. 

Any ideas folks?

I have copies of various charts from  Triatlas, however I have had real problems trying to find the Suffix cklassifications used, for exampe U as in U913 in Andromeda. This does not relate to the Upsala cataloguge which uses UGC. Any ideas folks? Some also have no suffix letter.

I have been trying to download the Asiair software to my Samsung tablet and SM-T560.When I connect to the apps sites it says that my device is not compatible. My Samsung mobile is !

Is this down to storage on the tablrt? It is 2.5 years old  and has 8 GB memory of which 5 is free at present. The  firmware is the Kit kat 4.4.4

On 12/01/2021 at 12:56, petevasey said:

Hi, Derek, and thanks for the awning tips.

As you may have found out, when the big awning is erected on the Basecamp, the overall length of the outfit is 9 metres.  So it will not fit on some camp sites which have a length limit.  No problem of course, we just won't take the awning to such sites.  As you say the van is remarkably spacious, and we got used to a fairly limited living space with our motorhomes.

But because of our steep ramp and the need to raise the jockey wheel as high as possible and tip the van to clear the ramp, it can't be towed into or out of our driveway.  So we had a motor mover fitted, and all was well when I got it home from the dealers, although despite careful measurements prior to ordering the van, it was nevertheless pretty tight - definitely a heart in  mouth situation!

Yes, it is easy to tow (Skoda Yeti 4x4 diesel), although of course one has to change gear down more frequently on slight gradients.  And being a fairly slim van, although I fitted wing mirror extensions to comply with the law, I found that most of the time I could manage fine with the car mirrors.  Looking forward to using it 'in anger' as and when.  In the meantime it's plugged into the mains, with the heating on low to keep the frost out and a dehumidifier to keep it dry.  Can do no more.

Cheers,

Peter.

Totally agree, the as supplied Vango awning is super, but also superheavy. 29Kgs which is a lot o handle if you are on your own. So I went and bought the Westfiled awing Westfield Lynx 200 Swift Basecamp Caravan Awning - New 2021 Stock | eBay

11Kgs and adds about 2.5 m to the back of the Basecamp. Easy to put up too. I used mine up at Kelling last October, well pleased.

I concur on the Hyperion Zoom. Excellent and give decent perfomance but sometime a soft at 8mm, a lot of that due to seeing.

With regards dewshield look at W&W Astro. UK based,excellent value and Barbara can combine a dew heater within the shield. I now buy all my dew shoedl from W&W.

Gets a good review (and being a cynic A&N are selling it, so a poor review would not work well) ..but that tripod is awful...

I am increasingly using this. Excellent packaghe which you own not lease. Dave Eagel's tiome is a good pocket guide. I have also kept the  nine part guide that Nik Szymanek did in Astronomy Now.

Just cancelled my booking with an apology to Lesley for doing so.

Stay safe everyone.

I bought a copy last week and was nastily surprised at the rise in price...will not be buying again.

Defo a Nigel...

I'm keeping my booking open. I agree with all of the above. If you cancel late then you should expect to pay.

Both Prima and WO are trusted brands. I have a Prima 65mm APO and  WO GT81. Both are excellent for wider field work, DSO etc. I would not say they would be great planetary or Lunar 'scopes. I also have an Altair 72mm Starwave.

The optics on the Prima and WO are better and that is reflected in the price...excuse the pun.

Just made my October 2021 booking and managed to get a better pitch with more open views. I was too close to trees this year and it was my first visit.

My next trip will be in March to Dumfries and Galloway..

Still going..even thought the current 7 day forecast is not the best.

I've not been before, so a question. Do we set up our equipment by our pitches? or is there a specific pitch area?

Have you emailed Altair , they're normally very helpful 

Quite please with this shot, Mons Olympus is just visible in the northern regions.

12" SCT + Altair GP 385C + 2.5x Barlow, 3000 frames best 25% stacked.

Sadly the clouds came back.

Used the 12" Meade Altair GP 385C + 2x balrow

Used the 12" Meade + an Altair 290M for the detailed shots and the side mounted Primaluce 65mm APO + Altair 183C Hypercam for the whole shot.

I need to get some consistency for the very detailed shots where I have cut the cameras ROI. 

Used the 12" Meade + an Altair 290M for the detailed shots and the side mounted Primaluce 65mm APO + Altair 183C Hypercam for the whole shot.

Was really pleased to capture the craterlets at the bottom of Plato. Good seeing.

Over the last 4-5 years I have bought all my dew heaters from W&W Astro https://dewheater.com/

They ae UK based in Thetford and Barbara has always responded very quickly and even made me custom ones.

I have the Skywatcher tripod. Excellent and light weight but still stiff enough not to wobble.

An excellent eye piece. I use mine a lot and it has never disssapointed.