wxsatuser
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Posts posted by wxsatuser
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6 hours ago, Rustang said:
I've seen a few small flashes before but tonight I just saw a really bright flash high up towards the North, I'm pretty sure I saw a much smaller one just below it a few seconds later. It was as if someone flicked on and off a torch really quickly. Anyone else seen any random flashes in the nights sky before!?
And no it's not a plane! 😊
Almost every imaging session.
Single bright flashes or the on and off of a tumbling sat.-
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9 hours ago, Jonny_H said:
Hi all,
Sorry to resurrect this post but for those who have replaced bearings in their HEQ5 Pro - is there any reason why you chose the rubber sealed bearings as opposed to the metal sealed lubricated-for-life ones that SKF also do?
I am curious! 🙂
Rubber seals will keep dust out where as the metal ones can still let it in.
I don't see why you cannot use metal as the mount bearings are fully enclosed.
When you think about it the taper rollers are not sealed anyway so the the plain ball bearings
should be ok with either shields. -
The fastest satellites one might see would be those with an elliptical orbit.
A Molniya orbit would typically bring a speed of 10km/sec at perigee where as your average LEO is in the 6.5>8km/sec bracket.
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5 hours ago, wulfrun said:
As per above, they seem hard to avoid. I've seen them more times than not and also had them streak across the eyepiece view. Somewhat distracting for visual but a pain in the metaphorical neck for imagers I'd guess.
Not really, get enough subs and the correct stacking method and these magically disappear.
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If you did darks it could be dark frames at higher temperature than the lights.
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Good quality SD cards always worked ok for me.
Hot or freezing I don't remember having any trouble with them. -
I never ever plate solved but always found the target.
About four synchs with CdC and EQMOD is all that's needed, may be the odd nudge with the game controller
to be spot on but not often.Guiding was crap with PHD but I then found the Lacerta guider, perfect guiding from then on.
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8 minutes ago, NenoVento said:
Hi @wxsatuser, these power sources that you are using are rated 13.8 VDC, if I am not mistaken. Isn't it dangerous to use your astrogear above 12 VDC or is there something I am missing here (that you can regulate these power sources down to 12 VDC)?.
Best regards,
NV
The second link down the psu is adjustable from 9 to 15volts
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21 minutes ago, NenoVento said:
Thanks a million to you all for your inputs! (special kudos go to @Carbon Brush for such a detailed explanation). I've been looking for a water-tight electric board since I made my little observatory, but they don't seem appropriate for heat dissipation (from the power source and the mini-computer) and it makes no sense to install one and then have it open when observing, I think. If I see clouds rolling in, I'll simply close the lid of the obsy.
I also have been looking into the DC power distribution box idea and, to be honest, having just two cables (power and data) to the mount does make a lot of sense. As far as I can see, their wiring should be something like this:
I'm not so sure about the DC fuses, though. Is there a rule of thumb to establish what kind of fuses I should use?. Right now I'm looking at the automotive ones, with 3A-20A and 32 VDC.
Regards,
NV
Yes you can use car fuses, they come in standard or fast blow.
Also you can get ready made DC power blocks like in the link below
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1 minute ago, NenoVento said:
Hi @wxsatuser, these power sources that you are using are rated 13.8 VDC, if I am not mistaken. Isn't it dangerous to use your astrogear above 12 VDC or is there something I am missing here (that you can regulate these power sources down to 12 VDC)?.
Best regards,
NV
No most electronics will go to 15 or 16Volts
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Just buy a decent supply like this one, you get 20amps with peak of 30Amps, more than enough for most.
https://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/product/nevada-psw-30h/
or this one, I use these to power my hamradio gear.
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4 hours ago, Space turnip said:
the weird black diagonal patch in the stacked picture is annoying.
If you are not already, try using mosaic in the result section of stacking parameters.
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Think you will find the array is RGBG.
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2 hours ago, The Lazy Astronomer said:
Can't pretend l know what's happened, but I'm going to throw some questions at you anyway 😁
How many stars did DSS find when you registered the frames? And how many frames did it report it included in the final stack? Do you know the bayer pattern of your camera and did DSS have the right one? (I think RGGB is pretty typical)
I believe the pattern is RGBG and this camera has pixel shift, don't know if this has an effect in stacking.
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it's not a satellite.
imo the scope moved at the very beginning of that sub,
the bright star was registered then the scope moved for some reason, wobbled may be.
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I would think it is not the sensor if it varies in location.
may be someone has seen this before
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how does it look on the whole frame?
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10 minutes ago, Newforestgimp said:
You’d be right, it’s wide field DSO that interest me the most atm and more forgiving for my noob skills but it does tend to send me down the path of most expense 🙈
Ideally a modded DSLR to not have the extra cost as you say of getting it modded. The cheapest option would be to send my 1300D away to be modded but before that I wanted to check on others experience of FF vs APS-C. I have an old 30D aps-c and it’s just way better screwed together than the 1300D, maybe a 60D/70D would be the sweet spot for DSLR.
An APS-C sensor with something like the Samyang 135mm will show most nebulae and their surroundings.
Modding is not necessary if you get the right dslr, Canon 7DMK2 shows Ha quite well and if you want full
frame the 6D is good at Ha, you can use the 6D with the Samyang lens as well.-
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The data I manged to get was manageable, not as much as some but was enough for me.
I also have a vast array of data I had from DSW, most have not been processed.
Trouble is I got tired of processing, not that I was much good at it but it took to much time.Now I have gone off on another hobby but I'm still interested but only when I feel like it.
Neowise was rather refreshing and did'nt take hours, which was nice.
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6 hours ago, banjaxed said:
As we all know prices are governed by supply and demand, so if demand falls due to excessive price increases then prices should start to reduce, (hopefully).
Exactly, if no one likes the price do not pay it.
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I think it's like this, fits cameras with 12.5mm back focus.
You could ask FLO for certain. -
1 hour ago, pete_l said:
The last "toy" I got was a large refractor. It came in a shipping carton with dimensions 1.3m x 0.35 x 0.30 metres. That is a cubic capacity of 0.1365m³
A 40 foot container will hold about 55m³ of stuff, or about 400 boxes the same size as what I was sent. So the cost of the space in a container for my refractor will have risen from £2000 / 400 = £5, to £16,000 / 400 = £40. An increase of £35.
I just checked what I paid in December. Since then the price has risen by €45, so an amount that is commensurate with Tim's experience.
If other retail prices go up by significantly more than that amount, there must be something else going on than just container costs. Something UK specific?
The price of bunker oil has gone up around $200/mt in that time, from around $300 to $500/mt.
Some of the cost must have come from the IMO 2020 low sulphur directive which just before the pandemic
VLSFO was up near 600 to 700/mt. It did sink down quite low last year but has now risen.If shipping lines wanted to carry on using normal bunker oil, which is cheaper, they have to fit scrubbers, more expense.
Some of the extra cost you are paying is to clean up the environment, no doubt, a small price to pay 🤔
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That is up to date.
Any extraneous conductive parts in an out building, the same as in your house need bonding.
2.5mm cable has not got a big enough earth conductor for bonding.
2.5mm is fine as long as there are no extraneous conductive parts.You can use a three core L-N-Earth or a two core and use the armour as earth as long as no extraneous parts.
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On 07/01/2021 at 21:15, malc-c said:
Hi Paul,
My advice would be to have a couple of electricians give you a quote (when covid restrictions permit) for running any main power to the observatory. There are certain standards that may need to be followed and the cable may need terminating on its own RCD/ESD at the consumer unit. Whilst most DIY's would probably use the armoured cable like an external extension cable and lay it on top of the ground it might not be acceptable in the eyes of your household insurance company. The Armoured cable will need terminating in a suitable IP66 rated box at either end, and then you can run whatever spurs / ring you want. Unless you are running a few 3kw heaters, normal 2.5mm cross section armoured should be fine. Again, they would be best place to confirm what you can and cannot do legally / or safely.
You can get external CAT6 cable for network, which can be run above ground. If you intend to bury it then again, seek advice as there might well be certain requirements such as laying plastic tape identifying what cables are below. It's not really for you, more for the next person who owns the house and may have builders in... the last thing they want it to come across a cable that they have no idea what it is.
It's also worth checking out your local planning regulations are. There are certain regulations regarding the maximum height of an outbuilding within XX meters of a boundary fence etc. It's quite possible that the observatory doesn't comply or your location isn't applicable, and I'm sure Pulsar will advise you if any of their products require planning permission for a given location.
The bit in green is fine as long as there are no extraneous conductive parts in the obsy.
If you have a metal pier it will normally be in the ground or connected to it, so will be
an extraneous conductive part and will need bonding.For bonding the cable will need to be at the very minimum 6mm on TN-S and 10mm on TN-C-S.
Bright red artefacts
in Getting Started With Imaging
Posted
You should be able to fix this by doing a manual sensor clean once outside and the camera has reached ambient.
The sensor clean updates the bad pixel map and should get rid of the hot. dead and stuck pixels.