rockinrome

Hi @Clarkey I did not go into this blind and was fully aware what I needed to do when I bought it. The included coma corrector was also a big plus. As Cuiv points out in his many posts - the scope goes from budget to a real performer with not that much more spend. We all know this hobby is a money pit anyway! Regards

Seen as I asked the question and you were kind enough to answer, I thought I'd update with my findings. Thank you all for your input - recently @alacant - with regard to the upgrades - yes Cuiv gave me the bug and I upgraded the focuser, spider and mirror mask a while back. I did find this very useful post on Cloudy nights (which was exactly what I was trying to describe, i.e. the elongated secondary) - https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/635284-collimation-of-a-fast-newtonian/page-2 Also my issue kinda looks like it's been sorted after using a simple collimation cap. I will also do a finer collimation on a star - Lukomatico has a good tutorial on this also - Kind regards, clear skies (yeh right!)

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

Right. Thanks @Oddsocks, much appreciated. I forgot about those "pixel" artifacts too - that explains a whole lot. OK, so two fold I see - some camera maintenance and a tweaked alignment. Just another quick question also - when I use the cheshire collimator (laser collimator shows as collimated) I see the secondary a slightly elongated. Should I see this as circular? I didn't know whether this is a "feature" of this type of scope. I think I may need to collimate on a star eh? Thank you

Thanks @Vroobel @Clarkey Indeed re. dust moats. There is no way there is THAT much dust on any mirror/camera sensor in the image train. I will deffo check my collimation though as you suggest - it does look more of an alignment issue rather than tilt, i.e. the image could do with simply moving up and right a little. Thanks again

Hello all I'm having some (recent) difficulty with my flat frames and wondered if anyone can help? I haved just moved to the 150P Quattro with a 533C ProTec camera (cooled to -10c). The image here is my stretched flat to highlight my 2 questions: (1) Does this look like a "normal" flat frame to you all (2) Does the position of the light cone suggest I need to tilt-adjust my camera, focuser, etc. As always, thanks for any advice.

Thanks for the comments - I have bought the "other" circuler ring from the supplier. Matthew

Thanks Pipnina - looks like the only way?! I will try teleskop service too, thanks (I have messaged the focuser seller to try and get the other plate too...). All th best.

I was actually looking for a focuser upgrade for my Quattro when I happend upon Cuiv's YouTube video (below) about the same. I found it on AliExpress from a Dutch distributor and after some time and a most annoying customs charge it has arrived. However, there is a slight issue. The fact that there seems to be different focusers factory supplied was something I knew about BUT slipped my mind when I ordered. As you can see from the picture below the adapter ring for the new focuser does not match the housing (notch) on the scope. I can of course get an angle grinder to it ;), but I fear this is not the best approach. Short of doing dome slight cuttting, does anyone have any ideas or has seen this issue before? Thanks in advance. :) Matthew

Hi Pier Looks like a problem (bug?) in the ASCOM driver software and not NINA itself. Have you the latest ASCOM platform and drivers for your equipment. If i'm reading it correctly the error works from bottom to top.... meaning the error appears from ASCOM.iOptron2017.Telescope BUT fails further down with the move in NINA. Regards

Hi Albir For what it's worth I use the white t-shirt method over the objective. I've used NINA and APT with their Flat Wizard in the past with good results in the range of 0.001s - 1s exposure.

Hi JB I agree with Kon re. binning, but I would ONLY be referring to colour CMOS here. There is just no point. I know you need to get to the pixel scale required though and it is a pain!

Thanks for the info Ady - all the info helps. Matthew

Thanks for the insight Varavall. These are the little things that trip us all up! Matthew

Thanks again all that have replied here. This forum is ace and you guys always come up with the goods and give plenty of food for thought. All the best Matthew

Thanks Budgie1 - just the kind of "automation" I was after. Kind regards Matthew

Thank you. I currently use NINA. Thanks again Matthew

My entry here is taken over Aldeburgh beach in Suffolk with a lovely Belt of Venus. Thank you. Matthew.

I may have the answer but looks like it will involve the hand controller. Not really a problem though at this stage. The attachment is from the SynScan guide and says you can call any position (I assume moved by the hand controller or software controlling the mount) the home position and then recall that the next time you power on. So - with gudie in mind I would do: (1) First time move scope under control to my park position (2) Function > Park to... Current Pos (3) Then next session use Start from Park "Yes" (4) Second and further times, Function > Park Position (park to last park position) Thanks again all for your help/comments. Matthew

Thanks for the reply vlaiv. So, yeh, I get what's said here - the power-cycling bit is key to me here. Matthew

Thanks for the confirmation - that's what I've read and make sense. Matthew

Thanks for the quick reply Steve. With respect though - I am not mixing anything up (may have not explained properly of course?), I was very careful to say Home and Park as I know these are interchangeable sometimes. I guess the escence of what I am saying is that I would like to simply return to where I left off or at least back to Home when I switch on again without any start alignment etc. BUT I do need to move the scope to a suitable "parking" place before I close the obs. You said "A lot of astro software will let you save a start position, that is effectively your home position now. You would not need to go to the old weights down/scope north home position." - I *think* this what I am after - a software solution (or handset at a push!) Best regards Matthew

Hello all I know there have been some threads on this, but not one *I think* has answered this question.... Let's assume that we have a perfectly polar aligned system and we all know that Home position is when scope is pointing at the NCP and that's all good. (There are loads of articles about how to achieve this - all good, sorted.) BUT..... Is there a way to have an automated park position at the end of a session - like counter-weights left, scope to the right. Then when we come to another session, do an "un-park" and it moves to the home position, ready for use? So when we switch on in this case the mount knows it's parked and not at home position as this would be incorrect to start from. I know that you can specify "Home at current position". Is this the answer?, i.e. move scope with handset to best position for me and then use that as the "park". What I am trying to achieve here is a non-manual (which is error prone) solution. Thanks for reading. Matthew

Taken looking over Brackenfield, Derbyshire. Canon EOS 5D Mk2. ISO640 f/7.1 8sec 135mm. 2 panes stitched and processed in Affinity Photo.

Thanks Olly, sound advice. That certainly gives me food for thought before I start spending (or not).