Vox45

Aww thanks for the pictures, I was wondering in term of size what it would look like.

I've added a focuser to the MAK and it does make a difference in usability to my taste at least  

"Cooldown is so much better as well as lack of dewing" is the selling argument

Like they say, going from Windows to Linux is just discovering a new set of problems. I've had my share of problems with Windows, ASCOM and EQMOD, now I have different issues with INDI and Linux; it's not perfect and some will run into "unsolvable" issues with drivers and will have to stop the adventure right there. I was fortunate enough to not run into issues severe enough to make me want to quit.

The reason I prefer INDI and EKOS is that I get fast support and reactions from the community. I was bothered by a small detail in the DSLR section and I reported it on the forum, it was fixed the same day. I was also able to participate in a brainstorming session on how to improve the interface and one of my idea was implemented. I like the open source approach to software development. 

There is another reason that makes me hang on to INDI/EKOS/RPI4 is that it is all the tools are nicely integrated into one interface and you can update the whole setup with just one command.

I was tired of having to update every pieces of software on my Windows machine: Stellarium, Windows update, ASCOM, EQMOD, Astrotortilla, sharpcap, hardware drivers, PHD2 and a load of small softwares that I had to chase down on websites to see if everything was up to date.

Now I have 2 16GB microSD cards, one that contains a stable image of my whole setup and the other I update regularly. Once in a while I just backup the update and tested image to my other card as a backup that I bring in the field just in case something goes wrong with the card in the PI. Simple and very secure. 

So there you go, those are not "technical" arguments ( there are some but I do not want to start a windows/linux war  ) but I do feel that I got more pros than cons since moving to INDI/EKOS and I do not see any particular pros of going back to Windows.

I am not denying that there are crashes and issues with INDI/EKOS but saying that all is rosy with ASCOM/EQMOD/WINDOWS is not fair. It's just that when windows hangs or crash we accept it as being "windows" but we do not show the same amount of patience with things that we are less familiar with

Sorry for the long rant ! *running for the door*

4 hours ago, johninderby said:

I always liked my old Skymax 180 and thought it was an excellent lunar scope. Then I uograded to the 8” Classical Cassegrain which outperforms it on the moon. Sharper more contrasty images and will take higher magnification plus no cooldown or dewing problem. Just a great lunar scope and not much bigger and heavier than the 180. 👍🏻

Now if they would bring oit a 12” Classical Cassegrain. 🤔😁😁😁

After I was given a Mak180 to test for a couple of month, I was going to "upgrade" my Mak150 (which I love by the way) to the 180 but then I came across some reviews on the classical casgrain that made me doubt. Reading your take on it, I wonder how the classical cassgrain perform on planet as well ? I like to have specialised scopes and I was going for the MAK as a planet and moon killer ... now I am not sure. 

I belt modded my previous mount (Sirius = HEQ5) because I found the noise when slewing very annoying ... Of course, my main reason was to improve on backlash but it was a nice side effect

32 minutes ago, Nikodemuzz said:

Thanks for testing it out on your computer! It is good to know that the slowness is not related to the software itself. On the other hand, I don't have the faintest clue about how to track down and fix the problem. Must be something about the settings in Pixinsight, because other software seem to handle similar tasks with less difficulty.

The CFA pattern is pretty wild, isn't it? 😃 Certainly not normal to someone who is used to looking at the traditional Bayer array, but there is nothing wrong with it. It's just the way the pixels are in the X-Trans array.

 

I did not know about the pattern in X-Trans array  thanks for the info.

"The Fujifilm X-Trans is a CMOS sensor developed by Fujifilm and used in its Fujifilm X-series cameras. Unlike most CMOS sensors featuring a conventional Bayer filter array, X-Trans sensors have a unique 6 by 6 pattern of photosites"

I would suggest that you try your luck on the PI forum, they might be able to help you pinpoint the issue.

Cheers!

It took 20 seconds on my machine from opening to complete debayer (20,247s to be exact)

That single frame is looking good by the way

================================================

Reading 1 image(s):
C:/Users/ydelisle/Downloads/DSCF2061.RAF
Reading metadata: done

Camera ........... Fujifilm X-T3
Timestamp ........ 2020-02-25T21:07:54Z
Exposure ......... 60s
ISO speed ........ 5000
Focal length ..... 21 mm
Aperture ......... f/1 = 21 mm
CFA pattern ...... X-Trans GGRGGBGGBGGRBRGRBGGGBGGRGGRGGBRBGBRG
Raw dimensions ... w=6384 h=4182
Image geometry ... x=0 y=6 w=6251 h=4174
Image rotation ... 90 deg

Raw decoding parameters:
Output mode ............... demosaic
Interpolation ............. X-Trans
Wavelet noise threshold ... 0
White balancing ........... camera
Black point correction .... enabled
Highlights clipping ....... enabled
Auto rotate ............... enabled
Output image .............. w=4174 h=6251 n=3 RGB

Reading RAW data: done
Scaling colors: done
Pre-interpolating: done
Converting to RGB: done

Debayer: Processing view: DSCF2061
CFA pattern (detected): GGRGGBGGBGGRBRGRBGGGBGGRGGRGGBRBGBRG
X-Trans demosaicing: done

Noise evaluation: done
Gaussian noise estimates:
s0 = 1.583e-03, n0 = 0.2847 (MRS)
s1 = 1.536e-03, n1 = 0.4716 (MRS)
s2 = 1.571e-03, n2 = 0.2527 (MRS)
20.247 s

I am a bit puzzled by the CFA pattern (detected): GGRGGBGGBGGRBRGRBGGGBGGRGGRGGBRBGBRG

That is quite a pattern !  not sure if this is normal

Hello,

It is not my experience. I do all the processing (post and pre) in PI and debayering never took more than a couple of seconds per subframe. Can you tell us more about the computer you are using ? or provide the subframe to debayer so I can test how long it takes on my computer ?

It's been 24 hrs now, I am surprised that nobody has (so far) pushed the conspiracy theory that NASA killed the man because he was going to expose them...

Still, it is tragic and I tend to lean in favor of what JamesF is suggesting.

3 hours ago, JamesF said:

Of course one possible explanation is that he didn't really believe the Earth is flat at all.He just wanted to build a steam-powered rocket all of his own and thought of a sneaky way to get (a specific group of) other people to fund it.

I think you will find what you want in this thread. Kevin wrote a driver for a Waveshare HAT and motor for INDI

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/688855-building-myself-a-stellarmate-gadget-any-advice/?fbclid=IwAR1JzM0L1agNdF7NavsCPY7hG-9U2tT49pR9FTNRurAi1cQX_Ja7JDrWYlM

The driver is here

https://github.com/k-ross/indi-wmh-focuser

"INDI focus driver for Waveshare Motor HAT stepper motor controller board. This allows controlling a stepper motor directly from a Raspberry Pi, with no external controller necessary. Additionally, the HAT can power the Raspberry Pi, so only a single 12V power connection will be needed, instead of a 12V and a 5V connection."

47 minutes ago, Gina said:

A4988 drivers only want step and direction whereas the ULN2003 driver needs the phases of the motor driven separately.

I bought a Waveshare HAT for the RPI4 and it has built in DRV8825 Motor controller it seems that the DRV8825 is equivalent to the A4988 with minor differences, so it should work.

http://qqtrading.com.my/blog/key-differences-between-the-drv8825-and-a4988

3 minutes ago, Gina said:

Focussing doesn't need much power if you use the 10:1 reduction drive on a telescope focuser.  The gearbox on the 28BYJ-48 holds focus even with a heavy camera hanging off the focuser.

Note that my mod converts a 5v stepper into a 12v one though you could use the 12v version unmodified with the driver often supplied with it (the sketch is a bit more complicated though).

Sorry I don't understand what you mean by : "the sketch is a bit more complicated" ?

1 hour ago, Gina said:

I use 28BYJ-48 gearbox stepper motors for all my focusers (lenses and telescopes) modified to run off A4988 driver modules as per my blog

as soon as I read your comment I looked through my "bazarbox" and lo and behold I have one of these gathering dust. I was quite stunned by the size difference but when I tried to rotate the shaft on that little guy, I had to exert a LOT of pressure just to move it a little  I did not know that those small motors were gearbox stepper motors!

5 hours ago, brown_rb said:

This is not correct. I must take issue with this. A NEMA motor, operated at full steps, CANNOT hold a position at a full step even without power. ONLY if it is a geared motor like a PG27. If it is a standard NEMA non geared motor, then it has insufficient holding torque for most "imaging" trains especially when pointing towards zenith [which must be the true test of holding power]

regards

Robert

Interesting, I was planning to go with a planetary gearbox as there are many other pros to them and you just gave me more reasons to.

Now I may be overthinking this and maybe there is some overkill in getting this kind of motor but for the price, I'd rather futur proof my motor if I ever have to attach heavier equipment to my focuser

3 hours ago, JamesF said:

Faster OTAs such as short focal length refractors often are have a smaller CFZ don't they?  An alternative to buying a motor with a gearbox if you already have a non-gearbox motor might be to use a drive belt and pulley to get a reduction, depending on how much reduction you need.

James

Yes I am planning on changing my focuser to a Baader steeltrack with a built in pulley between the 2 knobs (coarse and fine) I find this very elegant, placing the motor underneath the focuser instead of sticking out on the side.

Short focal lenght haver smaller CFZ ? I thought it was the opposite ... 

Here is the formula for the CFZ from the arduino document: [CFZ in microns = focal_ratio * focal_ratio * 2.2]

So in my case that would be :

CFZ = (((600*.85)/80) * ((600*.85)/80))*2.2 = 89.41 microns

Now let's change the focal lenght to 1000

CFZ = (((1000*.85)/80) * ((1000*.85)/80))*2.2 = 248.35 microns

By George ! you are right

But let's put real number from a real optical formula like a newton 200/1000

CFZ = (((1000/200)*((1000/200))*2.2)) = 55 microns

So the diameter also plays a role not only the focal lenght, but really the focal ratio.

23 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

 EDIT:  I also use motors with gear-boxes as these not only give finer control, they also hold position without having power applied, which, over time can heat the motor....

I own a NEMA 17 motor (17HD34008-22B) I did not know about this gearbox advantage, this model does not seem to have a gearbox.

I will be using an RPI4 with a Waveshare Stepper Motor HAT. This is neat as I only have to provide 12V to the HAT for the motor and it also provide the 5V to the RPI, so only one power source for both. Someone wrote an INDI driver for this and what the driver does is stop on a full step.

"only stop on full steps, it only uses microstepping to make things smoother and quieter. A stepper motor can't hold position at one of the microsteps without power applied, and even then, it's just an approximation. It can hold position at a full step even without power, which is what I do, I kill power to the motor when it isn't actively being driven."

So that would mean that using a motor without a gearbox makes you lose 32 microsteps, maybe this is ok on a short focal refractor that has a larger Critical focus zone (CFZ) ... I need to dig deeper into this, I might have to buy a gearbox motor then...

This is the thread on CN

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/688855-building-myself-a-stellarmate-gadget-any-advice/

I noticed that a lot of the captions are "formated" the same way and look very professional (text placement, font, border).

Is there a prefered software to add captions ?

I can imagine plugging my DSLR to 3.5V AC !!

Fortunatly, this is one of the main reason I have a power distribution box is that everything remains plugged in inside the box  so I never mix up USB 2 and 3 ports or plug into the wrong voltage (12v mount and DSLR 9v) there will be only one plug outside the box and it will be the one for the flat panel  

That is also the reason I want to change the connector as it is not surface mountable and hard to clip/unclip with frozen fingers ! so tiny ... 

I've started  building my new box with a RPI4 4GB inside and a stepper motor using a Stepper motor HAT. I started today a cardboard mockup and I will design everything in Fusion360 so I can 3D print it. As you can see, I have a LOT of time on my hands  

Here is an exclusive look at the mockup  (only half the box)

And it will be mounted as such  (minus the guide scope on the top)

1 minute ago, JamesF said:

There are 12mm versions (GX12) and 16mm (GX16) so if you're thinking about using them, do make sure you get the size you want   I think the 12mm versions should be ample for most astronomy applications.

However, if you just want something you can plug and unplug quickly for a few minutes use then I'd look for something similar to what you posted, just making sure it wouldn't fit anything you already have.  I accept that it may be a bit retentive, but the number of times over the years that I've seen postings from people who clearly never thought they'd get 12V and 6V supplies mixed up despite having the same plug leads me to believe it's a practice that's best avoided.

James

Haaaa now I get it  ! mixing up plug ! yes I understand what you mean ... good point  

Thanks for the advice James!

12 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Given the different supplies involved, I would shy away from anything that's the same as power connectors you already have.  So for instance if you're using 5.5mm x 2.1mm plugs for 12V DC for mounts/cameras/whatever, I'd not also use those for 3.5V AC.

I do not understand this paragraph though, something must be lost in translation   The power for the inverter comes from a 12V DC USB powered hub, so the USB port is outputing 5V DC, then the inverter goes to 3.5v AC... as far as I understand so why would this have an effect on the rest of my devices 12V DC devices ?

Thanks

6 minutes ago, Stargazer33 said:

I used these on my power distribution box. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1Pair-Aviation-Plug-Socket-Male-Female-Wire-Panel-Metal-Connector-16mm-4Pin-GX16/401854099832

yes they look very nice indeed  but I am quite lazy so I want a connector that I can plug/unlug without having to screw them on. I just need to plug my flat panel for a couple of minutes and unplug and pack everything so these might be a bit of an overkill. They do look nice for the mount though  

So I bought an Electro luminescent panel a while back and it came with 2 littles connectors (marked in red in the picture below, I cannot figure out what they are... I think they are JST connectors...)

I've decided to build version 3 of my power distribution box and would like to have the inverter inside the box and the connector surface mounted outside.

The inverter convert from 5v DC (USB) to some 3.5v AC ... Would any connector do ? Does the fact that the inverter converts to AC is an issue, I see connectors marked as "DC" like these one but why would it not work with AC ?

Sorry if this is a dumb question!

1 minute ago, tooth_dr said:

The law of averages - I've had two and both were able to carry everything thrown at them.  Although if the posters ED80 cant hold a Canon 1000d, then there is something very wrong with it.

The focuser does not slip under the weight per se, it just does not always move the draw tube "in", in a reliable manner.

There is a fair amount of slippage when pointing to or near the Zenith and I am not always aware that the focuser is in fact not moving at all when I issue a move "in" order to the electric focuser (moving "out" is fine). I did follow the turorials out there to make it "better"  to no avail...

12 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Here you go. Couple of pics from the manual.

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/downloads/dl/file/id/175/product/2858/instruction_manual_for_all_baader_diamond_steeltrack_bds.pdf

 

That was my last worry about making the jump to another focuser ! Now I see that I can get a much better focuser and not lose the shoe for my guide scope ...

I already own a Baader click lock as well as a baader Zoom and a Baader Canon T-Ring T- 2 / M48 (part : 10708) so far I've been impressed with the quality of the brand so I have no worries that this will be a good upgrade to my scope  

Thank you !

9 hours ago, JamesF said:

One of the particularly nice features of the Steeltrak if you're intending to motorise it is the built-in gear ring on the focuser spindle.

James

Yes James that is a very good point ! I did not notice that at first, thank you for pointing that out. One less part to worry about