m.tweedy

I had the Geoptik ones as well. They are Chrome plated. I also used Autosol to clean them. It removed the rust but could not remove the pitting. The NEQ6 they were on has a new home now so i cannot say how they are now.

22 hours ago, Alien 13 said:

Think its by request only...a timed link.

Alan

In that case could i request a link please. My Society 3rd Sunday talk clashed with this one.

OH NO. It clashes with our Society 3rd Sunday talk. Will this one be recorded and put on FB? Thank you. 

It was good to see it operational. I found a fold down table was easier for me. Takes up no space when not in use. However whichever way you go there will always be "improvements" to be made. A run of colour changing and dimmable LEDs were one of the first things i put in. Also if running cable why not put an ethernet cable as well along with a couple of draw strings in a conduit as there will always be something to be added later.

I have the exact same one and Yep. It goes out a loooooong way before you reach focus. However it is quite easy as the camera does not rotate as unlike most systems its the front that you unscrew.

Looking good

This article is a few years old but still as valid today as the day it was written

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/thermally-optimise-your-telescope/

The only issue I have with ASTAP and SGP is that i wish i had downloaded it earlier. Just make sure you point SGP to the correct directory.

As these scopes are rarely for sale I thought I would bring it to peoples attention as it’s beyond my budget.

I thought @ollypenrice “may” have been tempted.

3 sounds much better than 2.😈

I notice there is a TEC 140 for sale and thought @ollypenrice should know about it. I am not sure if I can say which FB selling page its on. NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. Seller lives in Spain. The seller was just doing a talk the other week. David Wills from Pixel Skies

I my Bortle8 narrowband is pretty much all I can do. Further down the road I may get one of the new zero amp glow CMOS and l-extreme filter. 

@vlaiv As I said I respect your input greatly and knew it was best to take darks (and flats and bias) but was happy with the results at my current experience level. When i get the new scope i fully intend to take a full library of them all. So David if you can take them then do so. I do think the 460 is a very good camera. Curious question-why did you move from the CMOS to the smaller sensor ATIK

23 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Thats some contrasting opinions there @m.tweedy& @vlaiv

Regarding dithering, I should be more clear. When I say recentring I mean settling. Also, my mount can overshoot due to backlash so the settle time can be quite a bit. Up to 60s some times. If I'm doing 60s subs (CMOS) and dither after every 3 frames that's 15 minutes per hour. I would say that's significantly eating into image time. I suppose I could simply try without to start with.

I would ALWAYS listen to vlaiv as i respect his input and experience. Mine is just a case of what i tried and works for me. Maybe further down the line I may understand and then adopt other iterations. 

Have you tried the PHD2 wizard that measures backlash and sets appropriate values to compensate. My CEM120 has a lot of backlash in Dec (again i may adjust the mesh someday if the stars stop being round). I could (and have) had 10 minute subs-however the core of the Tulip and Fishhead were getting blown out so reduced them to 5 minutes.

CCD imaging is not quite the same as CMOS. I have never had a CMOS camera and am pleased i do not have things to fiddle with such as offset and gain otherwise i would not get any imaging done.

My filters are 1.25 and i dont have any vignetting. If i did i would just crop it anyway. I dont even bother with a field flatner or reducer. As you may have guessed i am not a pixel peeper. I want to get better at what i am doing and when i finally get round to picking up my MN190 (i currently use a GT81) i may then set up a flats library and (god forbid) clean my sensor and filters (which have not been touched in over 4 years)

I just emailed dew control and he made me bespoke length cables with right angle connectors.

https://www.dewcontrol.com/Power_Cables__-__All_Types/p3099125_13437763.aspx

As an Atik 460EX user i will try to answer what i can.

Dithering. I dither between frames. The 460 does not need a darks library (according to Atik) so i have not bothered. I dont understand where you think it eats into a lot of imaging time (i have not noticed it). The 460 is a CCD not CMOS and i find it needs a reasonable sub length (i tend to use 5 minutes-depending on how bright the target is). PHD uses the same star and  and knows it is a dither so it does not re centre every time AFAIK.

Bias. I have never bothered in the past but recently made a library which took next to no time.

Darks never bothered see above

flats again never bothered however i have noticed a couple of dust bunnies recently so will do some eventually. Your assumption about the ADU and histogram are right. 

Software. I use SGP which works for me. Others use APT and more recently the free NINA. I could not get away with the Atik supplied software. It all comes down to personal preference. SGP also has a wizard (the others probably do also) for setting up a library of flats ETC.

Cooling I use -10 as my standard setting however i am not sure if it needs to go that low. Again it works for me so i leave it alone.

Like everything these work for me in my Bortle 8 location. Once something is working i tend to leave it alone.

Here are a few low resolution images that are currently work in progress but show you the quality of the 460

I am just up the road from you and it will be marginal if its any better than Bortle 8. Well done on a great image

13 hours ago, peter shah said:

lovely detail....

Wow thank you. That is an honour coming from you.

10 x 5 Minutes Ha. 10 x 5 minutes O111. William Optics GT81 no field flattener or reducer. Atik 460 mono. CEM120. No flats, darks or bias. Bortle 8 skies. Its a start. I need lots more data when its clear. lightly processed by my colleague David Shaw. Hopefully star colours will improve with more data.

ASTAP is a free stacking programme. It can be used for much more than Platesolving

https://www.hnsky.org/astap.htm

 My first serious attempt in a couple of years. Atik 460M. 10 x 5 minute Ha 6Nm, 9 x O111 5 Nm with WO GT81 no reducer (don't have one) on a CEM120 guided with PHD2. No Flats or dark's or bias. Kindly processed for me by David Shaw from our Society.

There are lots of things that are wrong in the image some of which will (in time) be corrected by lots more subs and Flats. However I feel that from Bortle 8 skies and a 98% moon I am quite satisfied.

It is a start.

I bought cables with the Anderson connectors already attached as I tried and failed to do it myself. You are not the only one to forget the covers. 

When I broke my back and had it bolted back together and I was very limited in my mobility it helped with my sanity just to sit out (in my Bortle 8 skies) and look at the stars with Mk1 eyeballs. My telescopes were at that time just useless pieces of metal and glass. I guess I am trying to say enjoy the hobby for what it is. "Gear" no matter what its quality are just aids which should enhance the enjoyment.

Something that has not yet been mentioned is see if there is a local Astronomical Society. Like minded people sharing the same hobby is something that adds a great amount to my  enjoyment. Even on a cloudy/rainy night (we get a lot of them in North East England) just chatting and sharing ideas and experiences makes it worthwhile (Covid is however playing havoc with that).

You have vast areas of dark skies that can be shared with others. What I know of any astronomer i have come across is they are friendly, do not ridicule and are willing to share (experiences/equipment (possibly not at the moment). Maybe join an online forum or online astronomical club.

Learn to live with what you have and improve slowly over time (both equipment and knowledge). Set your expectations at a realistic level.

Before long you will no longer be a newby and will be sharing your knowledge with those who are new to the hobby with a similar set up to you.

Then you will think YES I am glad i stuck with it.

20 hours ago, michael8554 said:

 

PHD2 likes a Dark Library for the Lodestar.

Michael

Yes that is something i will do once i get the gear (just need to travel about 200 miles to collect the scope over the next week).

Thanks for your help.