Alien 13

30 minutes ago, knobby said:

Took advantage of the clear ish spell tonight to try the 'non wedge' polar alignment.

I'm now a member of the star adventurer mini imaging club.

I used f8 at 400 ISO to see how long I could go without trailing.

Managed 300 seconds @ 24 mm

 

Impressive for such a small mount, I quite fancy a mini..

Alan

14 minutes ago, Piero said:

A couple of postmen also paid me a visit today!

- clicklock visual back

- new eyepiece bag

 

 

I am very interested in the bag, what model is it?

Alan 

3 hours ago, stash_old said:

IMHO and experience, not true in that 95% of mounts that can be IP/UDP wired controlled can be controlled via WiFi - e.g. Old SW AZ Goto mounts can easily be controlled via WiFi.  E.G using Sky Watcher Wifi Adapter(£70) or build yours own.  but there are caveats !

You can then use Planetarium software to point the device/Dslr (although horizon limitation problems come into play)

 if you are into Python programming you can supply AZ/Alt or RA/Dec positions(depends on the mount type) via Ascom (assuming your Mount can be controlled by Ascom) mount driver to point your mount

You can even convert a lot of none WiFi Dslr's to Wifi devices using an RPI Zero W , VirtualHere and either Windows ,Linux or OSX PC's/Tablets - but yes the download to he PC is slower but acceptable. Then use something like APT/ByEos to control the DSLR - so about £70 including APT/RPI Zero/VirtualHere 

So there are ways and not at a great expense - especially if you already have some older kit - else buy the AZ-GTI which is a nicely priced item ( I dont work for Sky Watcher , FLO etc ) that could be "adapted" for normal photography - but watch he horizon limits.

So not as bad as you "one finger" in IMO

Now if it could follow a laser pointer that would be cool!!!!

Thanks, I was thinking more off the shelf and app controlled, the only one I know about is the Cam Ranger at about £500 although there might be some pro devices about costing four figures.

Alan

21 minutes ago, Barry said:

Does this mount also do basic panning between user added positions for terrestrial photography and time lapse, in a similar way to the SW Merlin Multi Function Mount?

I too am interested in its use for normal photography, the number of DSLR mounts that can be WiFi controlled can be counted on one finger...

Alan

I am watching and have been for over a day now, not holding my breath though...

Alan

Still sitting there, its not as if this is rocket science it should be as mundane as starting a car...

Alan

Shame they cant use military rockets, instant launch every time you want one..

Alan

Its like watching paint dry to be honest, how hard can it be after nearly 70 years of practice...

Alan

It could also be filter tilt or they not being suitable at f/2, easy to check by removing one..

Alan

5 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

Is this true? So if the polarfinder app has Polaris at the very bottom, I need to put Polaris at the very top of the circle in the polar scope?

No, the apps like polar finder give you a real view i.e. they correct the orientation.

Alan

2 minutes ago, Shelster1973 said:

Slight hijack, but will hopefullyhelp others..... does anyone have any diy solutions to being able to view the polarscope without contortions?

Am finding it a reet pain to do the kneeling/squating thing

Great pic too wsg. I plan on hitting this target when I get the opportunity

Get one of these, just hold against the polarscope...

Its a RA camera viewfinder, you could make a DIY fitting for it if you wanted but I dont bother.

Alan

9 minutes ago, kendg said:

I wonder if there is a USB powered red LED light.

That might do the trick. I'll have to check into it.

There are lots of them 

You would need a 1 way to 2 way splitter or a battery bank with two outputs (most of the higher power ones do)

Alan

Some power banks will shut down if there is not enough standing current, the ones I have (pound/discount shop) work fine with my EQ3-2 but I expect the intelligent ones might be the problem. There is a fix if you are electronically minded either by adding a small constant load or switching one in every few seconds, this blog provides some details https://www.dorkbotpdx.org/blog/paul/battery_pack_load

Alan

P.S. I have to say that the power to weight ratio of these devices means I use them for most everything now, even powering my Canon DSLR and emergency lights, oh and any projects I have on the go.

The wedge needs to be screwed directly to the tripod i.e. remove the pan/tilt head..

Alan

The "unusual telescopes" looks good, like the way they keep their hats on 

Alan

7 minutes ago, HN50 said:

Another slightly underwhelming update approaching, but I am feeling a bit chuffed.    I have been learning how to program an Arduino ('Exploring Arduino' by Jeremy Blum) and have been able to;

1) Detect a varying voltage (used a spare potentiometer)

2) Get time from a real time clock

3) Log results from #1 and #2 to an SD card every minute

4) Use a transistor as a switch to turn on an LED

My thinking is that if I can master all the above I have the basic ingredients for my logging module.  Today I have been trying to get #4 modified to turn a radio on and off; the bit in the red box below is the transistor switch (2N3904 transistor).  I gather these can take a maximum of 200mA - the radio seems to draw 150mA so I think it might be okay. 

Anyway, I got the radio hooked up to spectrum lab and several weeks of work/frowning gave me this;

The radio comes on at ~57.75 seconds, is on for a second, then goes off.    Hahahahaha!

A little underwhelming, but baby-steps and all that.

Next I will try tinkering with the radio output so that it goes into the Arduino and gets logged, though at the moment I am trying to get the new version radio laid out and the narrow band filter working.

Dave

 

Impressive, you will learn lots from this project..

Alan

I use one of these for my scope https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/skywatcher-2-inch-t-adapter.html but if your focusser draw tube is threaded then simple T tubes will work https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/t2-extension-tube-set.html the diagonal takes up about 2 inches of back focus.

Alan

Great project, well done..

Alan

1 minute ago, Shelster1973 said:

Aperture mask is a good idea. Am guessing does not cause any vignette issues?

It can do if you go to extremes but normally you step down to something like f/4 which often seems like the "sweet spot", a step down filter ring is often an easy solution, this is an example  https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/281824071625?chn=ps&dispItem=1&adgroupid=49523053841&rlsatarget=pla-352776031395&abcId=1128956&adtype=pla&merchantid=113698737&poi=&googleloc=1006867&device=c&campaignid=857339205&crdt=0

You would need to calculate the size required for your lens filter thread and required f/stop.

Alan

Star adventurer challenge, any subject and any scope/camera/lens combo that will fit.

Alan

I cant understand why anyone is crouching down looking through any polarscope, there have been lots of threads mentioning the use of a camera right angled viewfinder  its such a simple solution.

Alan

9 hours ago, PeterCPC said:

Thanks Alan. I have read that there can be banding issues with the 750d - do you know about this?

Peter

I dont have this issue with my 80D which has a similar sensor but have no idea about the 750D, I did find this site http://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm which would suggest that the 1200D is actually a very good performer with a lower read noise than a 700D

Alan

10 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

Thanks Alan. What would be the benefits of swapping to a 750d?

Peter

The sensor is different and the processor is Digic 6 vs Digic 4 so noise performance should be better, you also have more features and wi fi connectivity which I find very useful if I want to shoot and view from indoors 

Alan

The 600D is undoubtedly a better package than the 1200D but from the responses is not a worthwhile  upgrade, something like the 700 or 750D would be a different thing though.

Alan

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

... and it's all your fault!

I love mine 

Alan