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Droogie 2001

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Everything posted by Droogie 2001

  1. Some years ago I went to the Science museum in London. On display was a mask of sorts which has been painted in the darkest black paint ever created. What was incredible was when you looked face on you could not see any detail or geometry, just a black void. I believe this was Vantablack which was both very expensive and not available to the public. I wondered at the time if it would be a great way to use it to flock / paint inside an OTA to reduce light. Well there is a new black paint, version 4 to be more accurate called Black 4.0 which seems to outperform Vantablack. It’s not cheap but is at least viable price, 150ml for £44.99. I am in no way associated with the product and I’ll let people look for the link the themselves, as above it’s called “Black 4.0” and sold by culture hustle. The inside of my built in retractable dew shield could be an option and maybe scope manufacturers may start painting this inside their OTA in the future. Has anyone tried this or thinking of this as an option?
  2. Just finished the second episode which was also very enjoyable. I too liked the section on Dara's personal astronomy passion and equipment (plus the money pit / hole quote which I think many of us on SGL can relate to 😀). It certainly added to the programs authenticity. Good on Channel 5 to bring us an Astronomy / Science series.
  3. Just finished watching the first episode and have to say I quite enjoyed it. Yes its fairly light weight and I was familiar with a lot of the topics. Particularly enjoyed the way the moon has been observed over the millennia. Good to see Dara presenting an Astronomy related topic again, I miss Stargazing live when he was presenting it alongside Brian Cox. He does not get too much into the technical aspects as say Brian would have, which is a good thing nor does he crack jokes all of the time. Will watch the second episode.
  4. I see that Nik Szymanek has released a follow up magazine Shooting Stars 2. Shooting Stars – 2nd Edition – Astronomy Now Shop I purchased the original one many years ago and even have a signed edition! I have no doubt it will be great but just wondered what sort of content is in there. I use PixInsight so would be looking at tutorials around this mainly. Has anyone purchased a copy as I don't think it is being sold in shops for a quick flick through... Thanks
  5. I agree HOO on the Elephant Trunk can be tricky to get a pleasing colour. I recently spent more time on getting the colour blend to my satisfaction than the actual post processing!
  6. Hi, I have shared in a similar experience to you, in that I originally purchased a Celestron 8SE when I first became interested in Astronomy. However as I quickly became keen on Astrophotography I purchased a WO Star71 which made life a lot simpler, nice round stars with 25mins subs. Moving back to the 8SE has been a challenge but if you accept that its not got a flat field and the focuser is not especially good then I think it can be worth while. Is this an inherent property of the SCT, especially that its not an EDGE? - Yes I get egg shaped stars on the corners which relates to coma. Cropping is basically the best way of dealing with that although its a shame to lose some resolution and image detail from doing this. Within the centre you should get relatively round stars. I have taken 20mins subs with the 8SE and could have gone longer. My main issue is that the OAG stars are quite distorted but PHD seems to cope with this. Your guiding RMS looks good but don't be too taken with low RMS meaning good guiding. I have had RMS of 1.0 and have managed to get round stars within the centre of the image. Have a look at my FlickR channel and you can see some of the results (Link within my signature) . They are not very special but I am fairly happy with them. I do however find galaxies a lot tougher than nebula! Good Luck.
  7. Nit picking but the Guardian reviewer can't even get the number of episodes right. Do they not realise that maybe the audience hasn't watched all of Brains previous shows.
  8. Just watched the first episode on iPlayer and have to say I enjoyed it. Agree that there was not very much new content that hadn't already covered in his previous Wonders series, but that was 11 years ago. Have to say I did not see any reused footage. Really not sure what people want from this series. Do they want deep astrophysics discussion, is so then that's more of a one off Horizon episode. The 5 mins at the end which is a common BBC trait where they show actual scientists involved in some of the covered content is always interesting. As other people have pointed out its better than most of the garbage on TV these days.
  9. Thanks JimJam. You are right I don't think I am missing any functionality, other than software stability and maybe improved focusing algorithm's. I have a good old CCD which is still serving me well so I think you maybe right about the CMOS focused. I'll stick with version 2 for the moment. Still trying to get outside to setup my new Pegasus FocusCube, its either cloudy or too windy!
  10. Thanks. I agree there is a lot of nebulosity what with the columns of twisted knots of hydrogen gas. I will be definitely targeting OIII later this year.
  11. Having not posted an image in a while and after finding some subs from last year I thought I would have some fun with creating a starless image of the core of the Heart nebula, Merlotte 15. I have been a bit lazy with cleaning all of the stars but not too bad if you don’t zoom too much… This is heavily cropped despite being imaged from the longer focal length of the Celestron C8 OTA: Celestron C8 Mount: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro Camera: Moravian G2-8300 – Mono Filters: Chroma Ha 3nm 5x1200s exposures of Ha (100 mins) at -25c Total: 100mins Only 5 subs so not as much data as I would have liked. I had planned to add OIII but a combination of poor weather and location put an end to that. The full image with stars is posted on my Flickr account (link in signature)
  12. Thanks. I have not tried NINA yet. I guess I am being lazy as I want to get up to speed with my new focuser rather than having to learn a new application as well. Interesting about yearly plan I did not realise you can forego the upgrades. Maybe once I have tested my focuser (weather permitting) I will have a look a NINA.
  13. Hi, I have been using SGP v2 for years and it has served me well with very few issues other than the occasional drop out or annoying window behaviour. As I am about to receive a new Pegasus auto focuser I thought I would take a look at the latest version of SGP. So v3 seems to still be the current versions although I see that a v4 is in Beta. What I found slightly disappointing is that as well as a one off payment of $149 they have the dreaded yearly subscription fee model of $59 thereafter. As my new focuser is fully supported on v2 so this is a bit of an ask. Looking through the features list I don't see much that v2 cant do, is it mainly for new users with later CMOS camera support? Is there anything fundamental in the way focusing works in SGP v3 (or the v4) that makes it an essential upgrade? Thanks
  14. Well I finally caved in and purchased the Pegasus power box Ultimate v2. It’s certainly not cheap especially when adding on the dedicated PSU and other shorter cables. To be honest I could not find a better alternative that would meet my requirements. All other options were compromises which defeated the point of the whole endeavour. Hopefully this will help my setup times and get me imaging more often. It also offers the option for other ideas. A USB compute stick could be an interesting project. Thanks for everyone’s advice.
  15. Thanks guys. Saved me some time and hassle. It did feel the further I looked into the details the more I suspected it was not going to be suitable., particularly without a compatible CCD camera.
  16. As I have to setup my kit each time I go out and image I am looking at helping speed up the tiresome process. I currently have a USB hub which helps reduce some of the cabling but I would like to consolidate the power as well. For this I have been looking at the Pegasus Powerbox 'Advanced' model. One of the issues is that all of my device are USB2 and the Pegasus only supports x3 USB2 devices with the last one only working with USB3 devices. This would mean either having to plug the forth device directly into my laptop or adding an additional USB hub which seems to contradict the reason for buying the device. The 'Ultimate' version is double the cost at an eye watering £540 which for an extra USB port is not really an option. I then noticed the ASIAIR and began looking intothis It has x4 12v power outputs and x2 USB3 and x2 USB2 ports, do anyone know if the USB3 ports allow USB2 devices to be connected? Secondly I do not own a ZWO camera and therefore I wonder if there is any point looking at this as a alternative? It would suggest because of this I would still need my laptop which is fine by me but would it actually work? As the device does not have a USB B output it seems the only outputs are Wi-fi or Ethernet. How or will this work with my Windows 10 operating system. Does the Wi-fi or ethernet send new COM ports to Windows? I am not concerned about having to use a laptop though of course controlling this from a tablet would be nice in the future. For the moment its about helping me reduce my setup times. Lastly the maximum power output of the ASIAIR is reports as 6A whereas the Pegasus is 10A (maybe 12A?). I do not know my exact draw but would imagine it maybe close to 5-6A, (Mount, CCD, Dew Heater.) Thanks.
  17. Thanks. It is odd that the first port is USB3 only when the others are both USB2/3. Historically astronomy equipment is always behind on the technical front, lets be honest we have only just seen serial ports finally being replaced with USB ports. My setup requires me to move everything each time so although not a major problem with plugging mount to my laptop it starts to lose its appeal. The Pegasus ultimate is over double the price which makes the alternative hard to swallow. I have a USB hub and all of PSU's velcro'd to the mount's legs which helps speed setup a little but cabling is a pain as much of it needs disconnecting each time. Need to give it more thought as the idea is to try and reduce setup time but not sure I am going to see much benefit from this.
  18. Thanks for the confirmation. Whilst discussing the Pegasus unit I looked at both the advanced and ultimate versions. I only have USB2 devices and I need x4 USB ports. The product specification states that only three of the USB3 ports can be used with USB2 devices, thats an issue for me. I would be connecting a pole master, skywatcher eq6r pro, Moravian CCD and a guide camera. I guess I am stuck as none of these are USB3 meaning 1 port short. The ultimate specs states x4 USB3 fully compatible with USB2 and x2 USB2 ports so no issues there. as the price difference is considerable has anyone used x4 usb devices on the advanced unit? I struggle to see why the pole master wouldn’t work but appreciate if one of the ports has no ability to use USB2 then I guess that leaves the ultimate device as the only option?..
  19. I have been watching this thread with interest as I have been considering whether to purchase a Pegasus "Ultimate Powerbox v2" unit. I am tired of wiring up power every time I set up not to mention the risk of cable snags. I am really just weighing up whether the unit will actually bring me the full benefits as I already have my USB connections managed with a separate hub. It would be nice to have on a single unit but if it still means unplugging lots of cables then no point. That aside I read from the Skywatcher EQ6R Pro Manual that the power requirements are DC11- 16V 4A? I am only power from the mains so do not have any concerns on having enough power. Presumably the mount actually draws 13.8v and not 16v?
  20. Sorry I don’t have any details in the gearing. Would interested to hear how you get on
  21. Thanks Micky. That’s very useful information. Will arrange a session exclusively for guiding despite the draw of doing imaging instead!
  22. Thank you Scott. I will certainly look at basing my PHD settings on your suggestions. Certainly sounds like significant differences, gives me hope on improving my guiding. Just need some clear skies...
  23. Hi Scott., I managed to get out last night and test the mount. Other than a few niggles such as new SGP profiles needing filter wheels re-adding (my fault) then things pretty well. Following my usual routine I Polar Aligned though the Elevation bolts namely the spring loaded one is interesting. When I wanted to come further down in degrees I loosened it off but found I needed to manually move the mount forward to actually bring the elevation down if that makes sense. I should re-read the manual as I didn't spend a lot of time on this, anyway I got good PA. After focusing I used the handset and typed in dates and time (having to keep remember putting handset into EQ Direct mode!) Elevation was already there just entered through Polar Alignment section. Said No to align. Plate Solved at Polaris area. Then opened SGP and used a Slew now to get to rough area. Then used Center Now. First plate solve was out as normal, Second attempt was spot on, I think it was a single pixel out! Normally on AVX I had a max of 28 pixels so that was encouraging. BTW I am using Plate Solve 2 (no Internet access) and I have ANSVR setup with local copy as you describe. I find Plate Solve 2 always works. Began PHD and configured guiding. Despite changing the PHD profile to the new mount some of the settings were clearly not correct compared to the old AVX. Namely calibration steps. After I received "Star not move enough" I checked the Brain icon and noted this was recommending a way high value than previously, 6100 whereas it would have been around 700. Re-ran and this time it worked. Guiding started off woeful. Kept changing settings and by the end of the night I was around 0.90RMS. However much of the evening was way, way above this. My payload is only 16 pounds. The values I ended up with were as below. I suspect I will need to fine tune these but if you have any suggestions on value then that would be much appreciated. Not had to play around with PHD2 values for a while and I now remember how challenging it can be to get the best results. All in all a good night. Everything worked but needs fine tuning.
  24. Hi Scott, Thanks for your post. that's given me great reassurance. Last night I ran some tests to simulate my current routine and the mount appeared to behave exactly as I wanted it to. Obviously I cannot perform a plate solve inside but it gave confidence that I am on the right path. A couple of questions though. I will be buying the EQ Direct cable soon but even with the handset /cable how do you tell the mount the date and time? I guess this is what I have entered into EQ Mod already? The handset knows my latitude /longitude is that also passed to the mount itself? Secondly the handset keeps asking me about Polar co-ordinates which I have just entered through, is that okay as I will be Polar aligning with my Polemaster? Lastly the manual keeps referring to Alignment points. But I see no alignment points in the Alignment Point List Editor window. Is this simply because I have not added any and I wont need to add any as I will be using Plate Solving? That RMS figure sounds great. My current setup is way below half the weight of yours so hopefully I will be able to achieve the same sort of values. Hopefully will post results when I get some clear skies. Thanks
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