Skipper Billy

If you look through the scope without an eyepiece in does it look clear or hazy ?? (looking at the optics rather than through the optics). Do this front to back and back to front.

It should look gin clear.

You shouldnt have any issues with the FTDI cable. The other advantage of the FTDI cable is that it doesnt matter which USB port you plug it into it will sort itself out whereas the older Prolific cables got freaked out if you didnt always use the same USB port.

Might be worth updating to the latest version of PHD2 - one of the improvements is better detection of runaway guiding, excessive backlash and calibration problems etc.

https://openphdguiding.org/downloads/

v2.6.6

24 March 2019

• Lots of improvements to the Guiding Assistant
• Updated camera support: Altair, QHY, SBIG, SSAG (Mac), ZWO ASI
• New ToupTek camera support for Windows
• New MallinCam SkyRaider camera support for Mac
• INDI SBIG AO support
• Better detection of problems like runaway guiding, excessive backlash, and calibration problems
• Improved backlash compensation
• New Meridian flip calibration tool
• New ZFilter guide algorithm
• Guide algorithm None has been removed
• INDI improvements
• Various minor user interface fixes
• Updated Help file
• Updated translations

Bingo - well done !

If you get some screws that fit the long dovetail then you can remove the short one and fit the rings to the new longer dovetail - have the majority of the dovetail towards the back of the scope and you should be able to achieve balance.  In extremis you might have to add a weight at the front. See attached. 

Last night was my first clear(ish) night since astro dark returned and the observatory rig was reassembled a month ago.

Reasonably clear - good enough to get polar aligned a few test subs to check everything still works.

Polar aligned - no problem

Guide scope focus - no problem

Everything else no problem until I tried to slew to a target to calibrate PHD2

Changed USB leads - handset moves the mount - Carte du Ciel didnt want to know.

To cut a long story short - it transpires that the Windows 1903 update decided to change the COM port assigned to the mount from 4 to 3 !!!

Slewed around - platesolved - ran autofocus routine - took a 600s test sub and within 30 seconds PHD2 started flashing to warn of lost star - looked up - completely clouded over.

So if you are having issues since last Weds update it might be worth checking which COM ports are assigned to what!

@vlaiv Thank you 🙂 

I am using a ZWO ASI 290MM (full size) camera on a SW Evostar ED72 as my guide scope.

Would it benefit from an IR Cut filter in front of it ??

It would have to be a T2 size filter as its an all screw together train. (Hard to find!?)

I have never had any trouble balancing my Mk1 Mesu 200 - I get it close by feel then (with power off) use the tip of my little finger to push the mount in both directions - this gives a good 'feel' for when the pressure required to move the mount is the same in both directions (in RA and DEC). My experience is that its not particularly fussy about spot on balance but I always get it as close as I can.

Firstly - two cracking images but with subtle differences.

Personally i would blend the core of the second image with image one and get rid of the slight red cast. Then stand back and be proud!

Well done.

If it makes you feel any better we got something resembling nearly dark back 2 weeks ago (56 North) so I assembled the rig in the obsy and since then we have had wall to wall cloud, biblical rain and 50kt winds !  Total sub count this season = zero! Opportunities to check polar alignment = zero !!

1 hour ago, Mr niall said:

So if I said "Skipper Billy has increased the prices of items in his shop, that's disappointing. To buy the same item will cost me more today than a week ago", and you had indeed increased the prices of items in your shop, then that would somehow qualify as a criticism of you and your shop?

No that wouldn't qualify as a criticism as long as it was factually correct - it would be a statement of fact.

But if you said Skipper Billy has increased the price of XYZ widgets by 15% and intimated that I was about to do the same with ABC widgets and is wasn't true then I am entitled to think that you are having a go and you would be on very thin ice.

I see you have heavily edited your original post.

I have no wish to start an argument so I will not post again in this thread. You are entitled to your opinion - as am I.

On 17/08/2019 at 21:48, Mr niall said:

Looks like FLO have just put a blanket 10-15% increase on pretty much every Skywatcher item in the shop... not sure about other brands.

If someone wrote that about my business I would call it 'having a go' !

I would add 2 thoughts

Firstly - it seems a bit 'rich' to grumble about price increases on a forum that is paid for and sponsored by the company you are grumbling about. By all means have a go at Skywatcher but FLO are not to blame! I own a small retail shop and we are under constant pressure from our wholesalers - usually price rises are just blamed on Brexit without any reasoning at all which forces us to increase our retail price especially as our utility bills, staff wages, insurance etc are constantly on the rise. 

Which brings me to the second point.

Secondly - I am not sure that FLO's price match is a wise move. The race to the bottom is almost impossible to reverse once introduced. I would rather pay a little more for outstanding customer service, a cast iron returns policy and good stock levels - all things you get from FLO.  These things cost money and if margins are ripped to the bone then something has to give.

1 hour ago, Starwiz said:

I can sit outside in a t-shirt and play with the kit, and have a cold beer to keep me chilled.

NOOOOOO !!!!!!  You are just making it worse !!!!!!!!  No winter lined pants, goose down parka, boots, balaclava ???? Where's the fun in that ???  😆

3 hours ago, -Joe_ said:

Long clear nights too - almost seven hours of astro-darkness at this time of year. 😎

Lucky you !!!  Astro darkness returns here in a weeks time and of course coincides with a full moon and lots of cloud !!!!

Better but still some way to go - at least you know you are headed in the right direction - keep going!!!

Collimation is bob on.

Will do it tomorrow when I get home.

On the upside - your collimation is pretty much spot on! 😉

I ran your image through CCD Inspector and the results suggest two issues.

1. Your spacing might be a bit off as the image is not flat.

2. There is a fair amount of tilt / slop

See attached results.

Once you have had a play if you want another image analysing just let me know.

Have you downloaded and installed the Starlight drivers https://www.sxccd.com/drivers-downloads ?

I have used a converted SW finderscope, an ST80, an Evoguide 50 and currently a SW Evostar 72 with various cameras inc Lodestar, Atik GP and currently a ZWO 290MM mono cam.

I have used all the above with short focal length scopes <560mm and to be honest there was nothing to choose between them all. At >1000mm that might be a different story!

The biggest improvement came from making everything screw together and using good quality rings to eliminate flexure.

My current mount would probably guide at <0.5 arc secs total RMS with a toilet roll tube and a webcam. 

The benefits (to me) of my current setup are - its all screwed together, the focuser is lovely to use and stays put, there is no 'droop', the camera is seriously sensitive.  

Would I change it if a nice Borg came up for sale ?? Probably - I like nicely made things!!  Would it work any better - probably not!

These guys are really good https://www.photobox.co.uk/

'Gorilla' brand double sided tape works superbly - it can also be peeled off with a bit of determination.

Less squishy than foam tapes - might be important if you have the finder and scope accurately aligned?

I always take it as a guide - a fully charged 12v battery puts out nearly 14v - never had an issue.

My sensor runs off 13.7v - 14.1v and has done for many years without issue.

I have the same size drive as you and run the cleanup inc remove old system files on a regular basis - never any issues.

You have probably realised that you cant install the latest update '1903' as the drive isnt big enough - 1903 needs 23gb for the OS and 7gb reserved for future updates.