Dinglem

@Peart according to ZWO it's not neccessary to warm the camera after use.

I was pleased to get the new ASIAIR plus only to be disappointed to discover that the power outlets though adjustable, it was the amps that were adjustable and not the voltage, as I was hoping to power my DSLR with a dummy battery. I therefore reverted to using normal batteries but soon realised that they only lasted about an hour each taking 300s subs, this was not going to work as I'd hoped once setup I could leave it to do it's thing without my intervention. So I decided a DIY solution was required, I purchased some Buck converters, small project boxes and some 5.5 x 2.1mm plugs, I got several of each as a mate has just got a new EQ8R mount and it has 12v outlets that he can use to power his DSLR too. I soldered some leads onto the boards, connected the input end to my Nevada PSU and my multi-meter to the output and adjusted the potentiometer until I had 8.4v, very easy to do. I tested it on the mount before putting the board in the project box, only to discover it was not quite deep enough for it to click together, so out came the black electrical tape. I then tested it on my setup and it works perfectly, powering up the camera straight away.

Can you claim putting them on and taking them off as a workout? 🤣

@smr have you tried Astap https://sourceforge.net/projects/astap-program/ it seems to work well for me and it's very quick.

@lukebl very nice images, i was up early this morning going off to work and saw the moon and thought it would make a good picture with the earthshine 👍

Very nice, how much data did you capture for this image?

I saw a 300P-DS at the weekend and it's huge compared to my 200P.

@tooth_dr how about the Sky-Watcher AZ EQ5-GT, it would easily carry a 200p and can be used for both visual and AP.

I agree with @Craney looks like an insulator to me

@alan4908 To be honest I have never heard or seen this object before, so I had to look on the internet as my first impression was you'd layered a blue circle over a starfield. I'm now extremely impressed with your capture and determined to improve my knowledge and skills to achieve something half as good as this.

That is 4 months well spent, such a good image, I would be doing cartwheels if I produced anything like that.

Very nice indeed 👍

I've had this lens a while but not had much time lately to do any astrophotography. Last night we went babysitting to my sons out in the country, the forcast was pretty good, so I took my Star Adventurer, astromodded 450D with no filter and the Samyang 135, I could have framed it better but I did notice I'd polar alligned on the wrong star after about 10 exposures. I managed to only get 35 60s lights, 4 darks, 30 flats and 30 flat-darks, I've just done a very quick process, it obviously needs more data and more time processing but it has potential.

Well it's obviously fake @Adam J as the whole sky isn't covered in clouds ☁️

@ampleamp That is stunning I would be very pleased if I got anything half as good as that.

Yes in the worm gears.

It maybe binding, when you installed the Rowan belt mod you would have adjusted the backlash, you could run the mount for several minutes with no load and listen to the motors, if they change pitch there's likely to be binding in the gears.

@StuartTif once you've set your coordinates and click get forcast it will show your local forcast, then click on the set as default button. Then the next time you load the site it will show Exeter but if you press the home button it will take you to your location.

@smashing is that why it's been raining at Trent Bridge 🌧️ Nice camera I have one too but not had much time to try it out though.

Or you could use one of these to make changing filters easier https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo-filter-drawer-for-canon-eos-lenses.html

@nightfisher sorry I read the title and thought this should be in the for sale/swap section 🤣

@StuartTit always closes down for me when I either tell the software using it to disconnect or when I close all Apps using it. So you probably still have an app running it in the background.

@astro mick only just seen this, what mount and software are you using? Also have you tried asking on the https://groups.io/g/EQMOD/ forum as they are very helpful.

Doesn't the ASIair do all that so you only need a leisure battery and a power cord to connect them up, it'll be a lot cheaper.

I started with one of these https://www.firstlightoptics.com/computerised-goto-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-eq5-pro-synscan-goto.html it was good and it will have enough capacity for your scope/camera. I've not tried the EQM35 but it has good reviews and can be broken down as a travel setup.