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Lee_P

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Everything posted by Lee_P

  1. M45 would be good, but my neighbour's hours has other ideas... I don't have an LEnhance or LPro, so can't compare. Not sure about the Veil, as that's a prime narrowband target. Optolong are pitching the L-Quad as broadband.
  2. Ok, first test is complete. LDN 1251 (Rotten Fish Nebula), Askar 130PHQ telescope, 2600MC camera, Bortle 8. 10 hours with no filter, 10 hours with L-Quad. These images have had the same basic processing steps, just so I could stretch them for comparison. If anyone's interested, you can download the fresh integrations here. No filter: L-Quad: No filter / L-Quad To my eye, the L-Quad data is a bit better, but it's not a dramatic difference. However, this is the first broadband light pollution filter I've ever tried where I've come away thinking it was worthwhile using. When the weather permits I'm going to repeat this experiment with the Iris Nebula. (Unless anyone can suggest a better target!) And hey, I've actually collected a grand total of 24 hours on the Rotten Fish, so I'll mix up all my L-Quad and no filter data to make one image to rule them all.
  3. Oh yes, I remember well the fear of meridian flips. The ASIAIR is pretty good with those though. Maybe sit and watch a few to help with your confidence. Bird poo, I know that fear too! Never happened to me, despite my telescope being a big target, and plenty of seagulls and pigeons overhead. But hey, we've got refractors, it wouldn't be too hard to clean bird poo off!
  4. Ah, gotcha. You've got the beginnings of a really stunning image there. I think the trick is to have long integration times, and the secret to that is controlling everything remotely so your rig collects data while you sleep!
  5. This is great, good job! Are you able to control everything remotely, to avoid ending sessions because it's too cold for you?
  6. Thanks for everyone's input here. I think I'll stick with deep sky, and maybe play about with lunar every once in a while. Meanwhile, the replacement ASIAIR will go back to FLO -- I really do love their no quibble returns policy!
  7. I'm not bothered by satellites or planes. They get removed very effectively during integration. Wind and clouds on the other hand..!
  8. Yes, but it didn't make any difference. The only thing I found that mattered was the total integration time. I settled on 120s a sweet-spot for me of not stressing my mount too much; and not producing so many files that my PC would melt during processing. Very almost everything here is made from 120s subs. Come to think of it, I've now got a better mount, and I'm producing longer integration times than ever, so maybe I should revisit this and consider longer individual subframes just to lessen the pressure on my PC harddrive and processor!
  9. Always gain 100 and 120-second subframes, regardless of filter or target.
  10. Test complete. With the EAF plugged directly into the ASIAIR, eventually the camera failed but the EAF was ok. I think it's all pointing to the camera's main USB B connection.
  11. That's what I'm doing right now, thank to @david_taurus83. Seems obvious, but I must admit I didn't think of it!
  12. Bit of a long story here, but the short of it is that I'm a DSO imager that uses an Askar 130PHQ (focal length 1000mm) and ZWO 2600MC Pro camera. I'm currently having tech issues and as part of troubleshooting swapped out my original ASIAIR Plus for a new-style one (256G). That didn't fix it, but before I send it back to FLO I got to thinking about planetary imaging. This is something I've only very tentatively dabbled in, but I have some knowledge of the basics. The newer ASIAIR I currently have installed is supposed to be better for planetary work -- "Imaging efficiency at short exposures improves by 26%. FPS on video mode improves by 30%." So what I'm wondering is, if I wanted to delve into planetary, what extra kit would I need? * A new camera I guess, but what would the options be? * 1000mm isn't so long; anything that can be done about that? * Any filters or gadgets to open the door to solar work? (My 'scope is a Petzval-like design, which may be restrictive here). * Anything else? If it looks to be too expensive or difficult to try planetary then I'll just send the ASIAIR 256G back to FLO. Thanks for any advice!
  13. Yep, already tried different cables, inc, USB 2.
  14. Thanks. I'm switched to Lindy Cromo USB cables from FLO as part of the troubleshooting. Camera is USB3, EAF is USB2. I don't think it's that though; those class of cables worked for years, and the issue isn't timed to when an autofocus routine is in operation. It's a pickle!
  15. There's a bit of info here. I use a similar technique to the video posted above, but my own recipe! I'll make a processing video sometime. But it's basically about splitting the Ha/OIII and SII/OIII data into their constituent RGB channels, then giving them a stir and making S H O images which you then apply false colour to. It's a dark art!
  16. Ok, so here's an update and all the things I've tried to stop the camera and EAF dropping out. * New USB cables * New power cables * Wiggling all cables * Different ports on the ASIAIR * Different ports on my cigarette splitter * Removing dew heaters from the rig * An electrician friend used a multimeter to test my Nevada regulated power supply, cigarette splitter, and all cables. Clean bill of health. * Entirely new ASIAIR and power cables! Yet the problem persists. Options remaining: * Dodgy EAF. But would that cause the camera to conk out? * Dodgy regulated power supply or splitter. Possible but the electrician friend doesn't think so; and surely an issue there would affect more than just the camera and EAF. Still, possible. * Dodgy camera. I think dodgy camera because last night I was testing and the camera / EAF dropped out, again. I could reconnect the EAF, but the ASIAIR wouldn't display the camera in its list. Like it didn't exist. I did a full power cycle but still the same. I removed the USB B cable from the camera, and hey presto, it sparked back into life. For a while at least. It disconnected a while later, but again I could get it back by removing and reinserting the camera's USB B cable; this time at the ASIAIR end. So I think this points to it being an issue with my camera. Which I guess would necessitate being sent to ZWO for repairs. Thoughts welcome!
  17. Good tips! Here's another: 12. You can create custom targets and framing, then add them to a Plan mode. This means you can image the same bespoke area night after night. Instructions here.
  18. Ha, the annoying thing is that the Soul Nebula pic was one of my very first experiments with the SII/OIII filters, and for the life of me I can't recreate the processing steps to get those exact colours! Maybe I'll have to dedicate a day to trying sometime. It's like modern-day alchemy...
  19. This is a good question. For optimal results it's probably best to alter your times and ratios based on which specific target you're imaging -- but speaking personally, I like to keep things simple and just try to get a little more SII/OIII, given how weak the SII often is. That also helps boost the OIII. Here are some examples: Cygnus Wall – Optolong L-Ultimate (Ha / OIII): 540 x 120 seconds (18 hours) – Askar Colour Magic D2 (SII / OIII) : 570 x 120 seconds (19 hours) – No filter (RGB): 90 x 120 seconds (3 hours) Butterfly Nebula – Optolong L-Ultimate (Ha / OIII): 450 x 120 seconds (15 hours) – Askar Colour Magic D2 (SII / OIII) : 600 x 120 seconds (20 hours) – No filter (for RGB stars): 15 x 120 seconds (30 mins) Soul Nebula – Optolong L-Ultimate (Ha / OIII): 300 x 120 seconds (10 hours) – Askar Colour Magic D2 (SII / OIII) : 420 x 120 seconds (14 hours) – No filter (for RGB stars): 90 x 120 seconds (3 hours)
  20. Here's a PDF with more info about this filter: L-QEF New Product Info 20231009.pdf
  21. If it fixes the problem then great. If not then I'll return it 👍
  22. Yep, everything passes the cable wiggle test. Except for the main ASIAIR power cable, but if that moves (unlikely in action because I have it tied down) it knocks the whole system out, not just the camera. An electrician friend visited today and tested everything with his multimeter. All fine. Even opened up the ASIAIR and re-soldered the USB ports. No joy. I've ordered a new ASIAIR from FLO. I'll swap that in and see what happens. Either it'll solve the issue or narrow down the suspect components. Gah, sometimes I realise how mad we are to have this as a hobby 😅
  23. Definitely not dew heaters. I removed them from the equation entirely but the fault remains.
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