Thalestris24

Oh ok - not just me, then! Do yo remember if you had the lip at the bottom? I don't see any need for it unless the slit is supposed to sit atop it??I'm also trying to file it... Thanks Louise

I've been trying to fit the Ovio slit into the printed holder (17_ovio_holder) but having difficulties... I've printed this thing out several times before and again today. The trouble today is the slit won't fit flat in the holder. It seems to be due to the 'lip' which goes around the bottom of the inner rim. The holder seems to otherwise fit ok. Anyone else had this problem or is it just me? Is it something to do with my Ender 3 pro or the slicing? Any help or suggestions gratefully received! Here's a pic: Louise

Hi Jim I've currently fitted a 121mm fl, 26mm dia doublet from surplus shed for the collimator and a 100mm fl, 31mm dia doublet for the camera lens (think it must have come from my 2" ep but not sure... Still not put the Ovio slit in - will aim to do that tomorrow I don't think I'll worry about IR passing through for now. If there seems to be a problem I have some blackboard black spray paint - might be worth trying, though I don't have any infra red data on it. Oh, I never got my slit holder locking ring to screw in but I can push/click it in, so think that will do . Did you get the 600 lpm grating? You have to be careful with Thorlabs ordering - first time round I inadvertently ordered an IR version - tut! But they kindly sent me a replacement visible light one together with another box of lab snacks! No rush - we can take our time. The stars will still be there Louise

What, under starlight? Louise

Yes, re incandescent lamps, but I think they don't like the mercury in fluorescent lamps, and consumers apparently don't like them anyway. Louise

I'm not sure one can buy cfl bulbs anymore - most places don't seem to stock them anymore (none in Tesco and probably not in Lidl either). Presumably because of the expectation that the EU was going to ban them. I have one in my bedroom and might be able to do some testing in there. I'll sort something out Louise

A little... I've been struggling a bit cos I can't see what I'm doing (cataracts ), changing from one pair of glasses to t'other all the time, and also keep dropping things (unknown reason, but have been losing my grip - literally! ). It hasn't helped that the days have been gloomy, not to mention short, of course. But I've managed to get a few things done today. I glued the camera T2 fitting in place. Still to do the lens T2. Really, I just need to put in the Ovio slit, Thorlabs 600 line grating, and maybe the proper mirrors. I'm not convinced about the mention of pla letting through IR. The case is pretty thick. At the worst case could coat it with something. Yesterday I was doing 30 sec exposures using the Atik and didn't notice any problems. The Atik 383l+ itself is a bit heavy and I currently have everything mounted on a dovetail with an Al bar extension to support the Atik. I'm just reprinting part of a bracket to use to help support the Atik. I'll post a photo when it's all done - well, if it works! Anyway, I'll just have to see how that setup goes. Can always change things if I have to. I wish I had a workshop and bench like Rockmover has in his video! Instead, I have to make do with my dusty sitting room and my lap! Oh well. Cheers Louise

Hiya You're a bit ahead of me. What imaging camera are you using? When you attach your imaging camera, double check that the distance between the plane of the camera lens and the sensor plane of the imaging camera is close (within a couple of mm) to the fl of the camera lens. Louise ps just watched your video above - very good! It's probably better (and easier) to do initial testing without the scope attached. The reason for using a fluorescent bulb is because they emit light at particular wavelengths from blue to green to yellow to red- lookup on google Whereas a halogen bulb emits a continuous spectrum.

What's a fluoro lamp? You mean one of these ? Louise

Indeed! I'm just waiting for some M3 machine screws - I somehow managed to not order enough before, and I need some to be able to fasten the grating holder to the case. Everything is looking good at the moment. The question is: "Will it all work together and well enough to give a decent spectrum?" Time will tell! I have some neon bulbs and was thinking of using one to calibrate with. I've yet to try one out. Also might make some sort of slit illuminator with a led. Louise

After much fiddling and fettling, finally managed to get an image on the Atik 383l+. Not near to getting an actual spectrum yet - well, maybe not that far off... This was done using a 405nm laser pen via a 500mm Mirror lens. Just with my practice slit, and not yet with a proper grating, either. I did a mock-up of one using a mirror with a transmission grating in front . That probable won't work in the way I sort of hoped ha ha. Still, to get any kind of image via the lens, slit, mirrors and internal lenses is encouraging. I was able to shift the position of the image using the micrometer. I also tried adjusting the camera focus using the knurled knob on the focuser mechanism. I'm a terrible judge of focus these days... Anyway, here's one of the images I captured via SharpCap (reduced to 30%): It's very rough and (laser) speckly, and reflects my rather poor quality diy slit. I think my next step will be to install the proper Ovio slit. I also need to glue the pla T-adapters in place in their respective holes. I added a qhy5l-iim guide scope yesterday and that works fine. Oh, I used a 30mm dia lens for the camera and which appears to have a fl of 100mm. Not sure where it came from - have lost track of all the lenses! It's not on the list of lenses I got from Surplus Shed. Maybe it's one of the 6 x 30 finder lenses. I thought they had a fl of 125 mm but perhaps that changes with the way it's being used? Oh well, it seems to do the job. Louise

Not sure if Celestron's analysis is of any help: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/knowledgebase/what-does-the-hand-control-message-no-response-16-and-or-no-response-17-mean Louise

Isn't it more of a phenomenon rather than a problem per se? I gather it's caused by some variation of the Talbot(-Lau) effect? There is lots of physics and maths online that explains it - it's a bit beyond,me but essentially I understand it to be a diffraction effect which results in 3d self-imaging. I suppose the sensor + microlenses behave like a diffraction grating - under certain circumstances. I imagine it depends on various physical spacings, reflecting surfaces and particular light sources, angles, wavelengths etc. (don't ask me!) which nefariously combine to generate the (unwanted) pattern. When I first saw examples it immediately reminded me of some x-ray diffraction patterns. Perhaps it actually occurs quite a lot but doesn't normally get made visible? It's quite fascinating, really. I think if I were younger and brighter I'd probably like to delve deep into it. However, I've never (yet) witnessed it directly. Is there any connection with using an oag setup? https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00998967/document Louise

Thanks for the tip! I think the printer came with a length of stiff 'wire' thingy which I presume is for cleaning the nozzle? Not used it yet. There are also some spare nozzles - maybe I'll need a new one at some point... Cheers Louise

ha ha

So it is! I confess I hadn't looked at the PHD2 log....

Hi It's probably your com port selection. If you have several usb ports, just try each com port number in eqmod. Avoid using a hub. Also, if you're still stuck, try running the Ascom diagnostic. Louise

Well, to date, I've done all my imaging through open windows in my flat. It's not ideal and thermals limit my guiding (imaging term... 😉 ) but I'd have thought observing should be doable also. Louise

Well, rebooted - battery icon came back and usb 3 port working again! Windows 10, eh? Switching off from all things astro and tech now, gonna just sit and watch some tv Louise

What's annoying is that there's no link to the correct url on their main page (that I could see). The broken link was on a piece of paper in the box for the gpcam3 I recently bought. Oh well. I'm not even sure if I really needed it in the end! It's a usb 3 camera so I plugged it in a laptop usb 3 socket. Power light came on but couldn't connect I switched to a usb 2.0 and it worked fine (with the usb 3 cable). I know my usb 3 port works normally so dunno what was going on there. Connecting to the usb 2.0 worked fine with SharpCap. Anyway, gpcam3 178m now installed on a Travelscope 70 ok . The qhy5l-ii mono that was on the scope is destined for the Lowspec Spectrometer guiding unit. Musical chairs for astro cams! Meanwhile, I updated Win 10 on the laptop earlier and the battery icon has disappeared! Tut! I'll have to search for a solution to that next... Louise

Ahh got it! Thanks! Louise

Hi all Have been trying to download Altair camera software/drivers. I'm pointed to cameras.altairastro.com but just get an error at that url. Anyone know if that's because it's 'out of hours' or whether I need to go elsewhere? Thanks Louise

Hi Neil Shame you haven't got Ascom. I found some other complaints about SharpCap not recognizing the asi1600. It relates to v2.9 and 3.0 have you got the latest v3.2.6137? Louise

Hi It says on their support page to 'be sure to select the correct unit before connecting' - could that be an issue? Also says it includes an Ascom driver, so that should allow control from any image acquisition software that supports Ascom focusers. Louise

Wow! Far out, man! (as us old hippies use to say ) Louise ps is that the same image that appears on the Lunt site? https://luntsolarsystems.com/ls50c-etalon-timelapse-please-click-the-gif-file/