Oddsocks

Good to hear that it's solved, fingers crossed, and one to remember for the future, it's bound to surface again somewhere else! Best wishes to you and the family also David. William.

That can be explained and might be a clue, if a shared DLL used by PixInsight was the cause of the crash, Windows will have attempted itself to restart PixInsight and loaded a default version of the same DLL from it’s backup folder which doesn’t have the same bug. Was your Windows OS bundled with the new computer or a stand-alone OS installed separately? If you haven’t yet tried, run the Windows built-in test and repair tool DISM to check and repair the Windows Image, and the system file checker tool SFC /Scannow to check and repair any Windows system file errors. Both of these tools are run from an elevated command prompt window. If you don’t know how to use DISM or SFC /Scannow on Win 10 this web page describes the process, the only DISM commands needed normally are Check Health and Restore Health, the other DISM options are more complex and require a physical ISO image of Windows and are only rarely used by the end-user. SFC /Scannow is always run after DISM, not before. https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image Dism and SFC /Scannow are both still relevant to Windows 11 again, DISM should be run first because SFC references files that DISM monitors and repairs, many web pages still seem to tell you to use these two tools in the wrong order. https://www.easeus.com/partition-master/run-sfc-and-dism-in-windows-11.html HTH. William.

That was one of the options I remembered, there were another two commands, C:\Program Files\PixInsight\bin\PixInsight.exe --opengl=software forces the graphics card to use opengl version supplied with PixInsight itself and C:\Program Files\PixInsight\bin\PixInsight.exe --opengl=ES forces the card to use Windows default opengl, ~ES is the default opengl when starting PI normally. One thing you could try as a test that might take the graphics side out of the equation would be to install MS Remote Desktop on the new computer and unplug the monitor then remote in from the old computer, or a laptop, and run PI headless, if it still freezes then it can’t be the local graphics acceleration environment because that is not used when remoting in via MS R.D. If this is a dedicated image processing machine do you really need to run only Windows on the new computer? If not how about putting a Linux partition on just for PI since that always is their reference OS? Other than the above does anything show up in the Windows event logs? You can filter the logs in the event viewer for errors and warnings and there are separate logs for the hardware and software environments, which helps pin down where to look. Clear the logs first then run PI until it freezes/crashes, note the time and go back to the logs to see if you can find matching timed events, any logged error codes can then be searched on the Microsoft support website for help. William.

Common PI - Hardware clashes appear to be graphics cards and monitor resolution settings. Visit the Nvidia website and find the latest driver for the card, don’t rely on Windows to find it for you, Microsoft are always at least a year behind the manufacturers drivers. If that doesn’t help and you can reach the PI prefs have a play with the UI scaling factors, some combinations of particular screen resolution settings and monitors have been reported to freeze PI, there is a way also to start PI from the command line that disables graphics acceleration altogether and that has been a work-around in the past. Can’t remember where I read that, think it was in the help section on the main PI website, not the forum, if I can find it again I’ll come back here and post a link, or repeat the method to do that. Not aware of anything else ATM.

I meant to post a comment last week but got caught up with other things and could not get back here until today. When I looked at your opening posts and screen grabs they reminded me of images taken through a RC OTA with a mono cam that had no IR blocking filter. The "donut" overcorrected image after flats were applied were typical of that system as off-axis IR found its way to the sensor by glinting off the RC focus extension tubes, which were only anodised black and therefore highly reflective in the IR band. Unless the IR content of the flats source matches the night sky then calibration with the flat will over or under correct when a IR blocking filter is missing. I had a look at what I could find regarding the Risingcam IMX571 camera window specification and could find nothing about whether it was IR blocking in the colour version or not. If the camera is not natively IR blocking and you don't have a IR blocking filter added as a supplementary filter then it might be worth trying a cheap IR/UV blocking filter in front of the camera window, if nothing else just to dismiss that as a possible cause?

Hi Matija. It was very sad to hear that András Dán had passed away suddenly in April this year after his move to Italy, he was very helpful to me when I had one of his G41 mounts with a Pulsar 1 and later a Pulsar 2 controller. He was not very old. As far as I know his business is closed and even though parts of the old Gemini Telescope Design website are still functioning the links to the manuals are broken. I sold my G41/Pulsar2 more than ten years ago and I can't remember very much about how to use it but I did find a web copy of the English manual for the G53/Pulsar 2 here: https://teleskop-austria.at/information/pdf/G53_Manual_Pulsar2_english-2013.pdf Although the G53 is slightly different to your G42 the Pulsar 2 controller operation is mostly identical. In the manual you will find detailed help with the gear reduction settings which must be set according to the gear train installed on your mount and how to measure and set PEC. Here also is a copy of the G42 mount manual where you will find the gear train ratio settings, unfortunately only a German language version but you can still find the necessary information: https://teleskop-austria.at/support/instruction_manuals/manuals/de/G42-Handbuch-deutsch.pdf Also good to know that the mount is so easy to adjust and service that even if the Pulsar2 controller fails in the future that there are several other makes of stepper motor telescope controller that can connect to the G41/42/43 and keep it going for years to come. When I had my G41 I used PEMPRO software to create a PEC curve for the Pulsar2 but you only need to be accurately polar aligned and guiding on a star and the Pulsar2 itself can capture and calculate the PEC correction, the instructions for that are in the manual. I hope the manuals I linked to answers your questions. William.

Hi Peter. As you probably know, TeamViewer doesn’t officially support connections to Windows Xp systems via their servers so it’s an aberration that you’ve managed to get that side working at all. For your “new” Windows 7 laptop the problem might be that TeamViewer’s server requires transport protocol TLS1.2 to be enabled but in Windows 7 only the older transport protocol TLS1.0 is enabled by default, to enable TLS1.2 on Windows 7 you must have the Microsoft update “Service Pack 1 for Windows 7” installed, then run a small patch file and finally make a manual addition/change in Windows registry. The Microsoft document linked below describes the steps required, unfortunately the language is aimed at system level administrators and not end users but the key parts are the instruction that the Microsoft update “Service Pack 1 for Windows 7” must be installed, so you need to check that your refurbished Windows 7 laptop has been updated to that level, then at the bottom of the document under the “Easy Fix” paragraph, in the first line of that paragraph there is an embedded link to a executable file that when run should add the necessary protocol entries for you and enable TLS1.2. Finally, at the very end of the document under the “Enable TLS 1.1 and 1.2 on Windows 7 at the SChannel component level” heading there are described two Windows Registry DWORD entries that you must make manually if they are missing, or configure accordingly if they are present. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/update-to-enable-tls-1-1-and-tls-1-2-as-default-secure-protocols-in-winhttp-in-windows-c4bd73d2-31d7-761e-0178-11268bb10392#bkmk_easy Sorry that the above does not quite chime with your “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” philosophy 🤨 but these kinds of annoyances are to be expected when running unsupported OS’s. Hope the above fixes the issue for you! William.

That's a standard camera-tripod bolt thread size so you might find one in the accessories section of a local camera shop but otherwise it's not something you'd find in hardware store. Amazon or Ebay have loads, usually available in small quantities, but if you are after an unusual bolt length, material or head style you would need to go to a specialist fixings supplier like Westfield Fasteners, but like most specialist fixings suppliers they do have a minimum order qty and it's a more expensive option if you only need one. https://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/UNC.html HTH

Your image field with the smaller APS-C sensor is probably lying entirely inside the brighter circle, so you would not necessarily be aware of the issue. The diameter of the brighter circle is a function of distance between the filter, the Riccardi flattener and the sensor, which are all variables between one user and another and of course you are using well regarded Chroma filters, which along with Astrodon filters have top-grade anti-reflection coatings. It's an interesting subject though and has been rumbling along for many years now. Will.

Hi Thierry.. The problem you describe is a known issue with the Riccardi Flattener, if you Google "Reflections with Riccardi Flattener" you will find many similar reports. I understand that the problem is due to the curved concave shape of the rear element of the Riccardi, which reflects back to the sensor the rejected light from the skyward facing side of the filter. The further the filter is from the Riccardi flattener the smaller the diameter and brighter that inner circle becomes. You have proved that is the case with your luminance filter image, which naturally has a low back reflection and passes nearly all the light to the sensor, the RGB and narrow band filters will all have a higher level of rejected back reflection which is then returned again from the concave rear element of the Riccardi to the sensor, forming a smaller bright circle in the image. You have also shown that placing the filter directly adjacent to the Riccardi results is no bright circular artefacts, which tends to support the theory. The level of brightening will be influenced by the quality of the anti-reflection coatings of the filters, the distance the filters are from the flattener and the quality of the anti-reflection coatings on the rear element of the Riccardi. To prove if the theory that the design of the Riccardi flattener is the underlying cause you can either take some flat images thorough an empty filter slot in the wheel, which should show either no circle, a much smaller circle, or a back reflection of the camera sensor, or, take the Riccardi flattener off the telescope and shoot some flats without the flattener, which should show no circular brightening with any of the filters. I have no experience of Antila filters or how effective their anti-reflection coatings are but the quality of the filter coatings will be playing a part in this image quality problem. HTH Will.

Tim, When you rebuild, to protect the boards against dampness cover the humidity sensor, pressure sensor, temperature sensor, lux sensor and thermopile sensor with “Frog Tape Yellow” painters masking tape for delicate surfaces, cut to fit over just the sensitive areas of those components on the boards, leave a small tab pointing upwards from each piece of masking tape, then after connecting the wiring but before mounting in the enclosure spray two or three thin coats of “Plasti-Dip” aerosol liquid rubber over both sides of the boards, the wiring and connectors. Provided the Plasti-Dip coats are thin then the coating won’t migrate along the pins and sockets of the connectors but will form a seal around the joints. Applied thinly and once dry, Plasti-Dip in plain white or black colours has a very high electrical resistance and very low capacitive value and should not have any significant impact on the performance of the boards. Heat dissipation will not be a problem provided the coating is not too thickly applied. For the white coloured Plasti-Dip the final coating thickness will just be sufficient when the white writing on the PCB’s can still be just about discerned through the coating, a single spray coat should have a mat appearance as it is applied, if it begins to look glossy and wet then the spray is being applied too thickly. After the Plasti-Dip is dry peel off the masking tape from the sensors by grabbing the tab with tweezers, the masking tape will easily tear away from the Plasti-Dip coating leaving the boards sealed and just the active sensors exposed. Then mount the boards and wiring in the enclosure. An alternative to Plasti-Dip is a regular conformal coating such as Ambersil Transparent Acrylic Resin in aerosol spray. Acrylic conformal coatings are good for PCB protection, with higher electrical resistance, lower capacitance and better adhesion than Plasti-Dip but dry hard and rigid and so can not be used over plugs and sockets where they will act like glue and permanently bond them together, or used on wiring where it is brittle and liable to flake off as the wires are flexed during assembly. For this type of project and the working environment Plasti-Dip would be the better option. The next area to look at is reducing the volume of the enclosure. The Dostmann enclosure has too great a volume and surface area for this type of project and provides an ample supply of fresh damp air to condense on the inside of the cover. To reduce the formation of condensation on the cover apply a ~5mm layer of closed-cell neoprene rubber sheet to the inside of the cover, either self-stick or plain sheet glued in place, with minimal sized holes cut in the sheet for the thermopile and the lux sensor openings. Cork or polystyrene sheet could be used as an alternative to neoprene, so long as it bonds well to the domed cover. The neoprene sheet will insulate the cover and greatly reduce condensation forming on the inside of the lid. Reduce the air flow around the inside of the cover section of the Dostmann enclosure as much as possible so that the cover section with the thermopile and lux sensors are minimally ventilated, consider placing a bulkhead of thin sheet material between the cover section and the body section with just a half dozen 6mm diameter holes around the periphery of the sheet material for ventilation. Glue a fine mesh of nylon or similar over the bulkhead vent holes if you want to keep bugs from setting up home around the warmth of the boards. The bulkhead material could be rigid or flexible, as long as it is taught and can’t flex with air movements and come into contact with the boards The heat from the PCB’s alone will provide some anti-condensation protection for the boards mounted in the cover section provided that the airflow around the cover is minimised and the inside of the skyward facing cover is insulated. Optionally, If the enclosure is subject to extreme conditions consider adding a “rope” resistor chain around the inside of the cover lid to add some background heating, around 5W will be ample if the cover lid is insulated but you would need to regulate or switch it off during the day to avoid overheating. The humidity/temperature/pressure sensor board can be placed down in the body of the Dostmann enclosure, away from the cover section, and in good airflow where condensation should not easily form. Hope that the above gives you a few ideas. Will.

Adrian. It slipped my mind yesterday, getting old… There is a ClickLock option that would work for you but you would need deep pockets! Baader manufacture several 2” diagonals that include an integrated ClickLock on the eyepiece side so you should have no problems reaching focus with those, only issue really is the price, ~£234 in the UK for the base 1/10 wave dielectric version, ~£412-£434 for the higher spec models with BBHS coatings (with choice of either mirror or prism), and ~£576 for the top-end 2” Amici-Prism with BBHS coatings. FLO carry the 2” 1/10 wave dielectric diagonal with ClickLock as stock normally but the BBHS models are ordered on demand AFAIK. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/page/2 Christmas / Birthday present wish-list item perhaps? Sorry I missed those as an option yesterday…. William.

Adrian. The Feather Touch focuser you have is the 2" diameter draw-tube version (according to the part # that you quote) but the Baader ClickLock you linked to at FLO is for the Feather Touch focusers with a 2-1/2" diameter draw-tube, hence the m63a thread size in the Baader specification (63mm diameter metric thread adaptor for a 2-1/2 inch imperial diameter draw-tube). For Feather Touch focusers with 2" imperial diameter draw-tubes AFAIK there is only one version of Baader ClickLock that fits but it adds another 47mm to the focal length and with most refractors you won't be able to reach focus with one since the entire length of an existing 2" eyepiece nosepiece (plus diagonal if applicable) is supported outside the barrel of the focuser, pushing the eyepiece focal point further back. These are really designed for use with SCT's, Maksutov's and Richey-Chretien's, etc, that have a large back-focus available. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-2-inch-click-lock-cl-extension-47mm.html The entire ClickLock range is shown on this Baader webpage, click on the chart diagram top-right to see which focusers and telescopes are supported and the back-focus added when you use them: https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-2"-clicklock-eyepiece-clamps.html The threading inside the Feather Touch focuser draw tube that you can see is not a mechanical thread, it is micro-baffling, although it might have been created by turning in a threading tap. You cannot turn the draw tube around in the Feather Touch shell to expose that side of the barrel due to the location of the end-of-travel stops etc. If still in doubt and you are set on acquiring a Click-Lock to use with your 2" Feather Touch then give FLO a call, or email, and give them the details of your existing TAK, the Feather Touch model you have and the focal length of any diagonal that you might be using and they should be able to tell you whether the Baader-2956247 ClickLock that I linked to above at FLO will reach focus. HTH. William.

MaxIm DL > open Camera Control Window >click Setup tab > click Options button > select appropriate modifier buttons in the Orientation field where you will find options for "No Rotation", "Rotate 90 deg CW", "Rotate 90 deg CCW", Flip Horizontally, and Flip Vertically. These selections are applied to the image at download time automatically and are saved as part of the current active profile.

Do you have Photoshop Sara? It’s fairly simple to create .gifs in PS and I have made a few NEO and Lunar gifs over the years in PS 5 & 6. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-create-animated-gif-quick-tip-ht Never tried in PixInsight and there doesn’t seem to be a tutorial on their resources pages but I’ll have a look later this morning when we get back home after swimming.... William.

Unfortunately you can’t tell when buying power supplies from non-electrical specialists such as astronomy retailers etc. The Nevada unit is a mass market general purpose power supply used primarily to power devices in the home or workshop that would otherwise be used in a car or truck, such as a CB radio or portable short wave receiver, coolbox, air jack or tyre inflator etc. I’m always going to be biased after a working life in medical engineering where we have some of the toughest regulations regarding power supplies, particularly in operating theatre environments where as little as 6 microamps of leakage via an intravenous catheter will stop a beating heart. Of course, the power supplies we used in that environment, roughly equivalent in output to the Nevada, cost in the region of €2,000 each and though they still fail occasionally they never fail in a way that is dangerous to the equipment they are powering or the patient. It’s really a question of risk and how much you may be prepared to lose in the event of a failure. I’m currently running three QSI cameras and at nearly £5,000 each plus nearly as much again for the Atlas digital focusers, I would not risk powering them with the Nevada, or an equivalent. I don’t even use the switch mode power supplies that were provided by the manufacturer but I bought ITE & Medical grade rated, 12V 12.5A switch mode PSU’s from Farnell Element14 that cost close to £80 each and for me that was the minimum level of risk I was prepared to take. With a full specification and data sheet provided plus all the relevant UK and EU safety markings I am as sure as I can be that the power supplies I am using offer the best chance of avoiding catastrophic failure and effectively the end of astronomy for me as now I am retired I could not afford to replace any of my cameras or other equipment should the worst happen. When you look at the Nevada unit, for example, you have to ask where is the specification sheet for it and what UK/EU standard markings does it carry? As you say, without opening it up yourself how do you know how well it is built? and the answer is that you can’t and therefore you have to look at where you are buying from, the data sheets provided and the national-international markings it carries. For something that is really quite critical, even though rather boring, I would only be looking at specialist suppliers with full accountability, such as RS or Farnell Element 14 and I would expect to see a full data sheet/product specification. If your observatory is going to be housing something in the region of ~£10,000 - £15,000 worth of equipment all linked to a single £40 power supply, well, do you really feel that is worth the risk or maybe spend up-to four times that for something that is fully compliant with current standards and the higher level of protection that is implied by those standards? As they say, “You pays your money and you takes your chances” (sic).

I remember that Alan. I think part of the composition was CC14, Carbon Tetrachloride, and the propellent was Freon, both banned substances now. If you used the spray for too long the can froze to your fingers. I don't think I would try to repair James's PSU myself, too many bad joints, bad practice and failure points. Not worth the risk, and expense of a mains leakage to the output side destroying everything downstream. At the very least there should be big varistors and/or crowbar diodes on the output but I see none in the pictures. William.

I don't even think it was the apprentice Gina, probably one of the warehouse operatives filling in while the apprentice was on day-release.

It's perplexing how often I see this recommended across the web and even written in published manuals. On the REME sponsored courses I did in Germany back in the late 70's early 80's we were told never to use any type of contact cleaner or solvent on skeleton carbon presets as it softens the carbon bonding agent on the track and within a very short while the preset would fail completely. The general recommendation was to replace a defective preset if possible but if desperate we were instructed to gently lift the wiper from the track and slide a piece of typewriter paper under the wiper, release the wiper back on to the paper and wiggle the preset back and forth a few times to clean the wiper contact, then slide the paper away. We were told that contact cleaner is only for metals, never for carbon or carbon composites, at least, that was the instruction then and I've not seen any changes to the construction of skeleton presets that would suggest it is now acceptable to squirt solvents on to them.

The banding was apparent in mine at an ambient of around +5c and a sensor temperature of -15c. If it is there you will see the banding most clearly in calibrated darks so make a master bias as you have done, you won't easily see the banding in the bias, and use that to calibrate a master dark of at least 50 frames. The banding will then show clearly, if it exists, with your camera. ( my master dark image in the forum post showing the banding was 100 frames @ 300 seconds )

If that is correct Ade it might indicate that keeping the diagonal in the Lunt case as being a possible issue as many foam rubbers outgas Sulphur naturally as they age and Sulphur reacts readily with Silver.

I had the same issue Dave, my filter became completely obscured in a matter of months. I did wonder if the problem was from something in the case outgassing, possibly vapour from the glues used in the case construction or foam lining, possibly even the paint on the OTA. Bresser sent me a replacement filter very quickly, arriving just two days after requesting it, and I now keep the diagonal in a sealed food container with desiccant bags, completely away from the Lunt case and scope. William.

Don't worry Gav, PM sent to Jonk with link to Dropbox files. William Jon. Have sent you a Dropbox link via PM William.

Depends on the design of the regulator James, some older design use series following power transistors and feedback resistors to effect regulation and these 'leak' a very small forward current continually, this will show as a high voltage, above the stated regulation voltage, when no load is applied, your multimeter will have too high an impedance to pull the leakage voltage down but connect a load and the voltage should drop down to the stated level. Try connecting a small, unimportant, device to the output to load the regulator while monitoring with the multimeter. Just a simple 1W resistor of around 220 ohm should load it enough to pull the voltage down for testing. William.

As an additional point that has not yet been discussed...... I too have an HEQ5 PRO, used now just for daytime solar but originally was my mobile setup. The description of mount continuing to move / creep for a few seconds after the drive button is released is one that I experienced with my mount after the first few months of use and was just due to backlash in the worms, more in Dec than in Ra, but present in both, and was completely cured by carrying out the worm mesh adjustment as described in the manual at that time. I remember that this “creep” after the drive button is released was most noticeable with a three star alignment as the mount balance point tended to swing for the final star of the three star alignment and the mount would continue to move on under gravity and mass momentum for a short distance after the drive button was released. From your description of the problem so far it seems you are most likely seeing the normal “running in” of a new mount with softening and redistribution of the worm gear grease and bedding together of the various components, plus the general movement and disturbance to the drives caused by normal setup and tear down for each session. Before sending the mount back I would at least take the motor covers off, check and adjust if necessary the transfer gear mesh tolerances and adjust the worm-gear mesh pressure, this after all, is something that is a normal part of the standard HEQ5 PRO routine maintenance protocol, and used to be documented in the manual, at least the worm-gear adjustment was. The drive motors on the HEQ5 PRO are stepper motors so they can not “creep” with a direct “leakage” voltage applied, they can only rotate when “pulsed” and if one of the buttons were sticking, or the electronics failed and constantly sending drive signals, you would continue to hear the pulses after the drive button was released. If you are seeing continual un-commanded creeping, so that the object will slowly drift out of the frame and never stop and you are sure that polar alignment is good then the last thing to check, or perhaps the first thing to check is, does the mount “creep” with the ST4 guide cable disconnected? It is not unusual for the rather fragile ST4 cables to go faulty, or for a guide camera to fail in such a way that it is continually, or intermittently, sending guide corrections to the mount when not commanded to do so, if you are using “on-camera” relays and the mount’s ST4 port for guiding (rather than EQMOD/pulse guiding) then disconnect the ST4 cable at the mount and check to see if the mount continues to “creep” during star alignment and after slewing, if not then check the ST4 cable for damage and the guide camera for malfunction. HTH. William.