jetstream

No idea Alan, they are 800 miles away atm and I need to find some more things out. I wonder what requirements are needed to run the programs? The nice thing is there is room to grow in many aspects of this project, but I do want early success.

Many many thanks and now its time for me to learn.

Perfect and thanks Alan, you obviously have this stuff figured out- very nice image of the slide in the other thread. Much to read and learn now, great info on Nikons site.

Me neither lol! I'm trying to figure out a nice USB microscope set up for the 10 yr old grand daughter, who has an interest in science, geology etc and I want to fan the flames with easy,early success and with a touch of "tech". Thanks much for the info- I was actually wondering about the advertised 5mp and it seemed low on pixels to me, but I know zero about this stuff. Ok, some info says the final "magnification" is dependent on the screen size? how so? she has a small tablet- can this limit the resolution depending on its own screen pixels? I have piles of questions actually, including how to automatically stack the images taken at different focus points to produce a razor sharp image across a 3d object... one manufacturer provides a on click stacking function at a deadly expensive price though. And...lol! and I wonder if the "f ratio" or f stop as in photography plays a role with these cameras in regard to a large portion of the target in "focus". I would imagine but dont know that the f ratio or stop is fixed in these? Thanks Vlaiv

Many thanks Michael.

I'm hoping to get more response here than in the microscopy section, mods please feel free to move if needed. Looking at some USB microscope cameras some have 5MP sensors another 1.3 MP (but more expensive) and I'm wondering about the relationship between the camera sensor pixel count vs actual resolution as seen on a screen? Does the screen itself play a role? The 5MP is listed at 1600x1200 pixel array and the 1.3MP at 1280x1024 "resolution". Any help or direction is greatly appreciated, Gerry Could a mod please make the title sensor not sesnor

The ES 28mm 68 might be a good addition to your line up.

Depends on the targets- the mentioned 28mm would be vg for emission nebula with a filter and your 11mm-12mm good for galaxies and planetary nebs , the latter with and without a filter (OIII,UHC).

The 18mm orthos have about 14mm of eyerelief. I have 2 Tak 18mm orthos that I use with the Denk Binotrons- they are very good. However I find myself reaching for the 25mm and 32mm TV plossls more often than not for the binos/powerswitch. The 32 TV plossl needs the eyeguards IMO.

Good solution Mark. I took a bit different approach that seems to be working well for my shipping container. We painted it a gloss white that I'm told is 90%+ reflective (any gloss white is apparently). So far the 24" mirror is within 4 deg f or less of outside and with a temp gradient across its surface of 34.3 deg F on the edges to 35 deg F in the center, +/- .1 deg F. When testing the gradient the mirror was within 2 deg F of outside the other day. It might track better in the cold than the heat. Without the white paint the temps with the stock brown were 140F on the surface when 85F outside. With the white paint the surface was ambient + a couple of degrees. My brother in laws seacan has massive condensation problems, and has installed large vents and fans. Vents can pull in humidity...his sits on wet ground, partially in the shade. I put the seacan on a crushed rock pad, graded so water flows though it and it also sits on treated 6x6's. The stock sea vents are used. Zero dew so far Mark. Sorry to ramble but I'm always interested in passive climate control for scope buildings. Eagerly waiting scope reports and very nice cell btw!

One thing- the process can be iterative - sometimes back to the sec after tweaking the primary etc.

Your 12" f4 is going to need some precise collimation, at least my f4 scope does. I use a sight tube to center the sec under the focuser and then use an accurate laser to line it up on the primary center marker. Then a cheshire to line up the primary or Glatters TuBlug/laser.

If it looks like this its good.

Whats it look like to seems massively off? The easiest,accurate way to collimate is with a cheshire/sight tube combo tool IMHO. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/astro-essentials-cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html

What is happening exactly?

Bortle 4- I just cant get on with the bortle scale, SQM or NELM is what I relate to but so is the appearance of the Milky Way, so we'll use that. Can you see the spur that goes into Cepheus from that location, just above Cass? Overall I feel that a tight OIII that catches both lines and gives high transmission (high 90%'s) works better in most situations, in particular from rural but not truly dark skies. Your 30mm-32mm is a nice spot for the low end of eye illumination and you can benefit from more ie a higher fl eyepiece, a 38mm-42mm would be good and work very well with the tight OIII. Can you easily see Pickerings Wisp in your scope/UHC/32mm?

Dominic, which fl eyepiece are you using on the Veil with the VG SW 100mm? filter? one more how dark is the sky do you figure? I ask because there are "tricks" to get better views of things like this.

Wanting to show a fantastic view of something is a nice idea, sometimes this desire can put extra pressure on, but really we (well me) are only observing for ourselves and if someone else likes it great. A neighbors grown children from far away expressed honest desire to see my equipment and outdoor obs, which I showed them. Next year they are invited to come over to look up and they are excited! In truth the only jaw dropped on the ground I care about is mine lol! if someone elses does bonus!

IMHO most people could care less about astronomy and we should adjust our expectations accordingly, unfortunately. I also could care less what people think about astronomy! I just love to observe. @domstar no need for negative feelings and congrats for getting out observing!

My VX10 has a pretty good focuser but fell apart when obs on the ice. I found the parts, loctited them and alls well. The 200mm f3.8's focuser is a complete piece of junk and is barely working now, its a new design with a unique 1.25" adapter.

My 200mm f3.8's primary didn't fit their own cell 😃 so they siliconed it 🤣 causing massive astigmatism My VX10 is good.

This is what I meant 😃

Honesty

Sounds interesting, I might try one. With the Teletube the end can be extended and the focuser racked so it gives a "circle" edge the same as the sec circle picture sight. This will show the position under the focuser very accurately as well. How do you find the accuracy of sec alignment to the primary and vice versa using this tool?

How does the Concentre work?