Owmuchonomy

As above and for imaging the planets you also need loads of focal length. For the ASI224 camera you need to be around f/15 so use a barlow or similar to get close to that. Preferably, several metres of focal length is the way to go. For example, with my SCT 9.25" I am imaging planets at around 4.5 metres of focal length and f/20.

I suggest you use a mains adaptor or a better power supply and try again AA batteries and tracking mounts don't mix well. I have two AZ-Gti mounts and have used them for 3 years at our outreach events but always on mains power or with my DeWalt drill battery with a USB output unit through a step up module to 12 V 800mA. They are great mounts and will run several nights on one drill battery.

The only paint to use is called Resincoat. As mentioned above it's a two coat epoxy system.

You could do worse than watch the You Tube videos on planetary imaging by Chris Go. An f/ of 4x to 5x of your pixel size is the sweet spot for my ASI224 and ASI290. If I can't get back focus I just add in a diagonal. Happy imaging!

As above, however, the rings are 'closing'. This means that as seen from our vantage point the rings will appear more edge on. This is particularly so next year. After that things will gradually improve again so that the rings can be seen in all their splendour.

That's why we love camping in France. When we ask 'where do you want us to pitch' they just shrug and then bring you fresh bakery items in the morning. Perfect.

'militant rules' 😆, love it. In club reviews I choose the word 'Draconian' instead.

If you've got a cordless drill you can get an adaptor from Fleabay to run it from that. I run my AZ-Gti mount all night from my De Walt drill battery.

It's all about good ventilation, but unless you really have to keep them outside I wouldn't recommend it. My mount was permanently set up in a purpose built roll off obsy with excellent ventilation and sprayed with ACF (aircraft preservation material). Even so, the fasteners show some signs of corrosion. The UK climate is just too damp and variable in temperature.

Pretty good for that scope. Just imagine what you could do with some serious focal length. 🤔 👌

The video appears to have been taken down. For my iPhone I just triple click the side button and it goes into red mode. The Synscan App also does it automatically.

Old school way is to say 5 x the pixel size to match the f/. So for my ASI224 that's 5 x 3.75 or about f/19. Or for my ASI290 5 x 2.9 or close to f/15. As mentioned above, your f/15 would be fine with a small pixel camera without any barlow.

Very good start with an OSC camera. For the future, a mono camera is even more ideal.

As above, download the Synscan Pro App, not the Synscan version.

Here's a couple of shots from the 10th of June. I captured quite a lot of information on this day because the seeing was unusually good for my location. All captures are using my Lunt 80 PT and a ZWO ASI174MM camera plus 2.5x barlow. My favourite shot is posted below in standard and inverted form. All stacks are through AS!2 and tweaked in ImPPG.

You need two things, good airflow and some quality thermal insulation. Build those into your plans and you'll be fine. We have both those in our 6.4 metre dome and there is never an issue with humidity. We have various electronic devices stored in there without issue.

I don't know if it has been improved in recent times but the only drawback with my Lunt 50 was the terrible helical focuser. I quickly saved up for a Lunt 60 and thus a much improved R&P unit.

I'm afraid with that sort of budget you will end up buying a load of frustration. The best suggestion above, with which I concur, is to visit a local club or organisation to let your son enjoy the views through their scopes.

Since updating recently to the latest version of the Synscan Pro App it has started an annoying freezing behaviour. The mount continues to track but the screen and controls are frozen requiring a close and re-open of the App to undo thereby losing any alignment. My friend and colleague has exactly the same issue. We are running on iPhone IOS 16.3.1. Has anybody else come across this and/or seen a remedy? Many thanks, Chris.

No, its still there under 'Advanced' settings.

Welcome! I completed a great course on-line run by DUKE University. Helped me a lot with outreach. I also nearly relocated from the UK to R-D for work but family got the better of me.

It can be very rewarding. We are already booked up into November with lots of schools, scouting organisation groups and STEM groups. Most of the youngsters are excellent but a small handful not so. We have some sweet moments such as one of the brownies looking at Saturn through the MAK 150 and saying 'WOW, it's a planet with ears!' Little did she realise the significance of what she had said (Galileo 1610). We haven't tried the projection idea, that's a possibility. We do have a Moon crater formation demo though. The functioning planetarium has helped enormously. If just a few of them go away to reap the benefits of future scientific discoveries then I'm more than happy.

What do you mean by 'best'? Go and look through some at an event first and see what works for you.

Not my usual weapon of choice for planetary imaging but the ED150 was set up in tandem with the ED80 for our visitors. Before they arrived I tried the ASI224MC and a 2x powermate. Captured with OAcapture.

I wouldn't recommend trying to judge the status of your collimation using a planetary camera and your laptop image. When I take images of Jupiter it often looks just as bad as you say on screen but the scope is well collimated. Check it before your imaging session in the usual fashion with a short focal length eyepiece and a defocussed view of a bright star or one of Jupiter's Moons.