Alien 13

Thanks, got it on record just in case I miss it live.

Alan

I know Helen is right I have seen quite a few "people" out of the corner of my eye when there shield drops that are obviously disguised non mammalian beings.

Alan

I have never regretted upgrading as such but do regret not buying good/top end kit in the first place as it would have saved me lots of money over time.

Alan

I am left wondering if any of the pro observatories would even be able to study Betelgeuse if it went super nova as the intensity through a large scope would melt the sensors etc.

Alan

This scope reminds me of the days when mobile phones first put a camera in them, it was seen as a gimmick but today the latest models can produce broadcast quality video and very good still images so I see a bright future for this tech.

Alan

I would go for a 600D, 60D or a 6D in order of price, as to modification for increased Ha DONT unless you will never use it tor anything other for AP with a reflector.

Alan

Do we know what causes these dimming events, is it due to a large number of sunspots/change in size of the star or something else?

Alan

I am wondering if fitting  a 20A diode in series with each of the batteries would work, there will be some voltage drop but it should still be enough to charge them while keeping them partially isolated.

Alan

Audio design is difficult at the best of times and totally different to any other form of electronics because of the minute signals in use, filters are very hard to get right and over zealous use of them can kill the sound completely.

I have used specially selected versions of chips like the LM317 in the past with very good results even in Moving Coil phono stages although still preferred ECC81 valves  even for that application.

Alan

We are all aliens anyway, the solar system is full of organic compounds and current theory's suggest we were seeded during the asteroid bombardment.

I think tardigrades and spiders are definitely later extra terrestrial additions though

Alan

I am a fan of the green livery so am very happy to see they have green lenses too...

Alan

I have grown up kids so all my unwanted stuff like scopes or DSLRs goes for free to good homes, my view is that any kit that is not used regularly is costing you money in storage space/upkeep (lean 5S, 7 Sigma etc) so you should realy pay someone to take it away whatever its perceived value.

Alan

41 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

All i can add to this technical conversation is, Mak's kick butt no? when seeing is good of course.

Totally agree, what I have noticed about Maks is their solid build quality and pin sharp optics. I smile everytime I take mine out of its bag.

Alan

Those usb adapters to run a Canon do need the 2.1A  outputs of a power bank or wall plug as your camera will draw about 800 mA @ 8V and a bit more at startup.

My own USB supply uses two of the 2.1A power outputs from a battery bank together to drive the camera as it has a consumption of about 1.2A 

Alan

16 minutes ago, kirkster501 said:

Hi guys, thanks, yeah I am using camera standalone and also have done multiple factory resets..... 

I have the camera on M mode, BULB, F2.0, ISO 800 with lens on Manual.  Liveview set to enabled.  So all set correctly as far as I can tell.  Definitely used to work with Liveview.  Will try some way out things like the lens etc to see if thats causing it.

May check into the firmware as well.

I need to get this going because want to get into whole constellation photography as well.

Hi, does the LCD display shut down as well during this "timeout" or is it just when its in liveview mode? as there are settings in the menu somewhere to keep the camera and LCD alive. The live view also has a setting for metering timer if my memory is correct which could also have an impact.. The other possibility is low voltage from the adapter, have you tried running off batteries?

Alan

Been banging on about these things for years and years and years and years and years and years , best thing since sliced bread and you dont even need to mount one just hold it close enough to the right position.

Alan

I wonder what an Alien race would think of us when we have hundreds of different kettles/toasters/cars etc when a single item would do the job at a fraction of the price and with a massive saving in recourse..

Alan 

8 minutes ago, fozzybear said:

you can't beat cine 8mm or super 8 for nostalgia with the patina  shame as have reels from my youth yet no means to view nowadays just keep for prosperity for the young one's to figure out.....

I had a super 8 projector and a copy of the original Star Wars movie and used a house across the street that had white walls to screen it once.

Alan

5 minutes ago, fozzybear said:

Betamax was before vhs but never kicked off and vhs won anyone remember video disks?

There have been a few battles like this, odd thing is that Betamax was by far the better system in my view.

Alan

9 hours ago, lux eterna said:

I like that kind of approach - you will always be a winner Just have to remember it.

Ragnar

I have looked around and my design is far far better than any Canon offerings and not found any third party ones that are as good either, if only I was younger I would manufacture them and be a millionaire 

Alan 

If it goes bang what would be the best way to view it as it could be many times brighter than a full moon? 

Alan

I did invent a better cabled shutter release for my Canon camera only to discover there are designs using similar principles but mine is the best....

Alan

16 minutes ago, tomato said:

Yes, iPlayer seems to have got more officious and slower in equal measure in recent years, oddly it always seems to run quicker and more reliably on hand held devices rather than the telly, maybe I need a new ‘smart” TV?

Just buy a dongle, problem solved.

Alan

I have similar issues with my Canon camera that also has a suggested ISO setting of 200 for AP due to its ISO invariance, I do suggest that you stick to a range of ISO between 200-400 and basically ignore what the histogram is telling you. The camera wont catch any more photons from stars by increasing the ISO anyway....

Alan

1 minute ago, Space Hopper said:

Successful test !!

I love watching that thing land !   Never ceases to amaze me 😀

I agree, in some ways the landings are more exciting than the launch now.

Alan