Jonk

I don't think I captured any meteors that night but having looked again, I did seem to capture something odd. What do you make of this? Watch the head area of Leo. allsky-20210210-strange blob.mp4

No, whilst under test it just sits looking out of a window 24/7- but when the weather is clear, I take it outside on a tripod and put it in the garden somewhere. The rpi runs from a POE hat, so it's 1 POE network cable back to the house and that's all it needs. Long term, it'll go up on the roof or something. As you can see by the timelapse, I have a couple of neighbours with nasty floodlights that are enough to be very annoying. If you put any 180 degree lens looking through a window, it will certainly show the window frame and you'll lose the whole point of 180 degree wide view. Of course, for testing you could try, but the stars will also be out of focus and possibly distorted. Ultimatley it has to be outside, fairly high up to maximise the sky view and with as little between the lens and the sky - for example, some acrylic domes cause really bad scatter, whereas quality glass domes aren't as bad. I have a Vicon CCTV dome which looks promising, but not yet built - all part of a very slow project!

Yep - 1.4mm f1.8 on a ZWO 178MC. I'm using an Rpi 4 with an allsky software package and the camera and lens combo are just on a tripod for now, with a dew heater round the lens. I take it outside if it's worth trying, so that#s only been 3 times this year so far! I'm currently drawing an enclosure to 3D print, and will have a bit of cooling and a dew heater. The plan is to get it high up in a permanent position.

....and a timelapse of the same night... Still deciding how to best use this setup in a permanent way. allsky-20210210.mp4

The widest of widefield. Just because...! This was from the 10th of February 2021, and consisted of about 8 hours of 30 second subs. There are some gaps due to clouds passing which ruined the look, so I took them out. I'm hoping to get an all nighter with perfect conditions, but that isn't likely any time soon!

Ok, firstly you should update the Sitechexe software from this link http://siderealtechnology.com/SiTechSetup095G.exe Then once installed, overwrite the sitechexe.exe file with that from this link http://siderealtechnology.com/SiTechExe095H.zip These are the latest as of today. They are not listed on the main website, as they are classed as beta and rely on user's testing and feedback. The sitech website is not maintained very well, and you'll find more information on the groups.io Sitech forum. They will list any updates to the software, and it'll be up to you to decide whether to use it or not. Make sure you backup your controller configuration (config.car I think) as this will have all the settings unique to your mount, as Lucas sets all this up before he despatches the mount. Another thing you can do if you want, is upgrade the controller firmware...but only if you feel you want to / need to. http://siderealtechnology.com/V39.BIN http://siderealtechnology.com/V97.BIN That aside, if you have a tripod or pier that is set up as a standard GEM, i.e. you must do meridian flips, or you can crash into the tripod or pier, then GEM is the right choice. If you have a bent knee pier, and you cannot crash into anything, then either option will work, but the EQ option removes meridian limits as a flip is not required. Regarding a sky map, if you have the ability to platesolve and are guiding, then a skymap is not necessary and probably a waste of time. I believe @Skipper Billy went though this exercise if I remember corrently?

Ok, I would just ask, what happens if you don't dither vs you do? Is there a noticeable difference in the stacked result? Are you imaging OSC? For such short exposures, maybe just leave as is - dither the main camera every 3 or 4 subs,. but lose maybe 1 sub on the other camera - that's 7 out of 8 good subs every half an hour? Might be better than changing the entire software control of the imaging which may present other unknown issues and more hair pulling. Or, do that, but install NINA on a laptop / second PC. so you can experiment safely. I've not tried to control the Mesu via NINA, so cannot comment on that.

I don't know, I don't use one. But the same target on multiple nights will still introduce natural dither?

Do you feel you need to dither? If you're doing long exposures, say 20 / 30 minutes, then it's unlikely you'll get all your data in 1 night, even with 2 scopes. If you decrease your plate solve accuracy slightly, you won't end up pixel perfect on the next platesolve the next night, which will naturally introduce dither night by night. Each camera will be different so assuming the same filter on 2 scopes, same FOV and image scale etc, dithering probably won't be required. I suppose you could try each and every scenario to see what works. I tried NINA but it won't work with my focusers (or didn't at the time). Voyager is another option, but that's a different subject all together.

I read the Sitech group forum a fair bit and from what I can tell, it’s mostly mount tracking limits and meridian flips that are catching people out. Sitech is Dan Gray, so as you can imagine, it’s not always easy to convince 1 person to change his product. Sitech is different to Eqmod which I assume most people will be familiar with, but it’s ok once you get used to it. But, if it ain’t broke...

I thought I had the same 'issue', as does my friend from up the road. I liaised with Lucas Mesu by email with a video clip, and ended up sending him the DEC to check, thinking I had done something to it (too far out of balance perhaps?). He checked it over, without charge and confirmed that it was within the limits he uses when he sets it up. My RA also spins freely, as do they all - the RA and DEC axis cannot be made the same, else they would perform the same way. Don't forget, the RA is what tracks, the DEC does not (unless you want to set it up as an Alt-Az, but why?!). On return the DEC still felt stiff, and not 'free' but he insisted it was normal. You need to be within 10Nm of torque to be in balance. Now I don't know who has a torque meter, but if your scope setup does not freely move in any direction in DEC, and you 'think' it's in balance, then it probably is. I mention all directions, not just one way then the other (90 degrees). Try putting your complete scope assembly on its dovetail or plate on a steel rod, or broom handle, on a flat surface. Find the balance point and mark it or remember it. Then rotate the assemlbly 90 degrees and do the same test. You should be able to find the centre of balance. Check 45 degrees too and really zero in. If the centre of balance isn't within the centre line of the dovetail bar in all directions, then you need to move back / forth / left / right or add weights so it is. This way, you can be very confident that the balance will be good when you fit to the clamp (as long as you fit it so the centre of balance is in the centre of the clamp (i.e the 80mm hole). Once the DEC assembly is balanced, refit, move so the scope is horizontal, or straight up then adjust the counterweights. All being well, you should be able to move the scope is all directions, and always be within the balance required. This is normal, don't worry - the tolerances will be tight, but nothing's perfect, that's impossible. It is very critical, but you can balance using the method above without being on the mount.

Yes, when you install and run Sitech.exe you'll see scrolling messages showing its status. If it can't detect the controller it will say 'bad comms' or similar, and 'faking servos', in other words, simulating actual servo motors connected. Have a play, get used to it and follow the various instructions about the setup, one of which I put on another thread (copied here to help, it's meant for actual mount setup, but ignore the part about aiming due E or W, just imagine that you have done this): For those struggling, there is an easy way to offset init / sync. It does not matter where in the world you are, or what time of day it is, or even if you have the mount connected (faking servos mode, i.e simulation) 1. Make sure your latitude and longitude settings are correct in Sitech.exe 2. Manually move your mount so it is pointing due E or W, by turning DEC only. 3. In Sitech.exe, open skyview. 4. Click on a star on skyview nearest due E or W (depending which way you pointed your scope. This message will pop up - click Sync - the offset init screen will pop up next, and will auto close / auto sync within 15 seconds if nothing is touched. Press on the 'offset simple init automatic in x.xx' to stop the automatic countdown and syncing before you've had time to check things. 5. Check GEM scope is looking East or West and choose the correct setting (mine are greyed out as it's set to EQ, not GEM as I have a non flip pier). 6. Click 'OK'. This will sync your scope's current pointing position to this star, which may not be totally accurate, but it's a very good starting point. 7. Using the handcontroller or slew arrows in Sitech.exe, slew to your chosen park position. 9. Click 'setprk'. This will set the park position to wherever you are now pointing. 10. Click Park (you can move the mount around first if you like, but if you don't then Park after a SetPrk before you power down, it won't remember the setting. 11. After syncing, setting a park postion, parking then powering down, everything should be fine when you power up and UnPrk - this should start the mount tracking and horizon limits and meridian settings will now be correct. And you don't need stars to do this! On next power up, slew to your target, platesolve, sync the mount to the platesolve and it will be more accurate. The park position may change slightly mechanically due to the more accurate sync, but this is easy to reset. With the encoders, there are 2 types - motor encoders that the Mesu mk2 does have and mount encoders, which are an option. You must turn the encoder settings to ignore if you don't have mount encoders. I'm fairly sure this page is nothing to do with the motor encoders. Hope this helps - you can play with all this in simulation, i.e. don't connect the mount.

More and more people it seems are buying Mesu mounts, based on the excellent results and reports from longer term users. This is great! The more the merrier. There are lots of questions, hints, tips and general discussion about the Mesu mounts. I thought it would be a good idea to collate all of this valuable information into 1 thread to make it easier for current owners and potential purchasers to look for help and discuss their setups. 1 thing to understand is that the Mesu mount uses the Sitech controller (v1 or v2) and software (Sitech.exe) from Sidereal Technology. Some issues and discussions can centre around the controller and software, whereas the other discussions centre around the mount's mechanics. I've learnt that a Sitech software issue isn't likely to be a Mesu mechanical issue and vice versa. WIth this in mind, it's important to set up the mount mechanically first (balance, pier, cabling etc.) before attempting to problem solve if any Sitech issues come up. The mount is a friction drive (not direct drive as it has been described as before) therefore does not work in the same way as worm drives. It must be near perfect in both DEC and RA balance. Balancing DEC in all possible positions is important before RA is balanced. It also has no natural rest position, i.e. not like a regular GEQ mount that you can point towards the NCP and it just 'looks right'. No, the Mesu can point anywhere in both axis and it will essentially look the same (without any scopes mounted). Initialisation is key to using this mount, it does not know where it is pointing when first used, but once set up correctly, it should remember where it is each and every time. The Sitech driver is good in the sense you can use it on a pc in simulation, without actually connecting the controller. This way, you can setup, sync, goto, slew and essentially try and 'break' it without actually affecting your setup. This is also a very good way to learn your way around the software without wasting time under clear skies, and getting cold at the same time. There are plenty of owners with vast amount of experince, so ask and you will find there's lots of help available. Of course nothing's perfect and there have been issues with both Sitech and Mesu products, but on the whole, I've not seen 1 person sell or otherwise move their mount on due to it 'not performing to expectations'.

Good luck!

Cold here too, but not as bad!

I'm not familiar with this camera, but on Canons I have owned (and still do) video recording is not possible via a shutter release cable, but taking a photo whilst in video mode is (hence why yours focuses on half a press maybe)? A quick look online and you can get a wireless (bluetooth) remote, or maybe an app on your phone will do the same thing? (initiate video recording I mean). Do you have to set it to video capture via a toggle on the rear (some Canons had a button to swap between still and video I believe).

Looks like it has worked! The Hope Probe is in orbit around Mars. Only the 5th country in the world to achieve this.

It's not actually very exciting to watch, sorry!...but they have some impressive looking offices and equipment. The insertion burn is about 25 minutes, and they'll receive the signal after 11 minutes following successful completion. Hats off to them.

The Amal Probe has arrived and is about to be placed into orbit.... Live stream here Edit: Alternative stream here

Sounds like it is a very similar thing, yes. You can but try!

The Pig Snout galaxy?

I have an old but brilliant Fujinon 25mm f0.85 CCTV lens, and with a 3D printed adaptor, managed to fit to a ZWO ASI290MM. The combination is 23.5"pp, 12.6 deg x 7.15 deg FOV according to the platesolved image. It was placed on a tripod, set to decent focus and using live stacking in Sharpcap was very pleased to see the results. I had to stop down to f2.8 to reduce coma and as you can see in this screenshot, a 5 minute livestack shows the flame nebula. Conditions were terrible, poor transparency but I couldn't resist the experiment. I was very impressed! Budget? Camera and tripod which I already own, and the lens was about to be binned so I saved it. Sorry this diverts from your post Vlaiv, but it's another example of EEVA on a budget (but not as low as yours probably).

Extreme gravitational lensing. Or imaged using an Alt-Az by mistake without a rotator.

A thought - when SGP for example uses ASTAP to platesolve, can the SQM value get passed to the software to be recorded in the FITS header of the next few subs? Or, pass it to the weather panel to be displayed in place of a hardware measurement every image or something? The software could start the next exposure, and then plate solve the previous image / update, or will that not work for a 30 minute sub? Also is it a luminance image that's required, does it not work for broadband or narrowband subs, in which case I'll shut up!

Are you guiding or planning to guide? Do you have backlash in your RA? You may find a perfectly balanced mount is 'floating' between the gear teeth. Try and offset the balance to the E so the weight pulls the gears together and hopefully reduces the bouncing / floating.