BrendanC

I've tried numerous different ways of getting my secondary sorted, without much success.

So, I decided to invest in a Concenter. Hopefully it's going to help me get the bally thing central, and aligned, and aligned to the primary, once and for all. That plus my Cheshire and hopefully I will be collimated. End of.

This is more a statement than anything. I just want someone to tell me I've done the right thing because I always feel guilty buying more kit.

I've been obsessing a bit lately with moon phases, rise times, set times etc, because it has such a huge impact on astrophotography.

Given that the sky gets lighter at least an hour or so before sunrise, and similarly darker after sunset, I'd imagine something similar happens with moonrise and set, albeit a lot less pronounced.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/astronomy-questions-answers/how-does-the-moons-phase-affect-the-skyglow-of-any-given-location-and-how-many-days-before-or-after-a-new-moon-is-a-dark-site-not-compromised/ - short but technical and states that up to 50% moon won't have much effect if it's on the other side of the sky.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/511680-how-soon-before-the-moon-rises-does-the-sky-brighten/ - more anecdotal, but implies that there will be an effect up to 90 minutes before the moon rises.

Any opinions/informed guesses/facts?

Thanks, Brendan

5 hours ago, Ade Turner said:

I’m sure I’ll get everything sorted eventually, but these early days feel more like I’m on a learning cliff rather than a curve. And here’s me thinking retirement was going to be less complex than work! 😂

It's an extraordinarily steep learning curve.

There is another way to connect your scope to your laptop: by using the handset as a relay, and using a different sort of cable. So, keep trying with your current setup because it's really the best ie the simplest, and very common, so that means a lot of people will have similar setups and can help. But there's a plan B if this doesn't work.

@Starflyer I'm very interested in this bit: SharpCap using the built in collimation circles. 

Where is this in Sharpcap? 

It's a really stunning achievement and they'll be going back out for more after dropping the rocks off! 

Yep, that's a very good point. I should have thought of that! I think that, as it's been a while since I looked through the scope or used the finder, I'd probably lost sight of the fact that, well, you can lose sight of things on an EQ mount!

Thanks for the sanity check.

The other night, my EQMOD ini file corrupted, and I had to go through several steps to get it all working again. The Comms stats test was really useful - I just went through COM1, COM2, COM3 etc until one responded, and then I was back up and running. So, it really is worth trying before reinstalling everything. Good luck. I feel your pain. I've had a lot of problems connecting my current and previous mounts so I've been there!

Hi all,

Tonight I had the pleasure of imaging The Pleiades, M45, then realising I could see it with the naked eye, then getting out my 15x70 astronomy binos and seeing it through them too.

I got my binocular tripod out but then suddenly thought: is there any way to attach them to the NEQ6? For a much more solid mount, that happens to be pointing in the right direction already!

I already have my 130PDS on the mount, plus a guidescope attached to the finder shoe, but looked online for any means adding the binos and couldn't find anything.

The binos use this sort of adapter:

So, is this really such an unusual thing to want to do? I'd imagine some sort of dual 'thing' to fit into the finder shoe, with the guide scope on one side and the binos on the other, would do the trick. Or, perhaps a means of doing a double-decker arrangement with the binos on top of the 130PDS would work better, to aid stability of the guidescope in the finder shoe, while keeping the binos more upright. 

I've certainly got plenty of weight capacity to spare on the NEQ6 mount so that wouldn't be a concern.

It's not something I have to do, or need to do. I just want to do it! Would be nice for the occasions in which I can view what I'm imaging, for example clusters. The binos could also double as a finder scope if/when I need one.

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Brendan

Don't worry about the unexpected error message. I think the light vortex guide even mentions that.

You're doing the right thing by running the Comms statistics test. Have you been through all the other ports on that test to see if any respond? 

Totally endorse the light vortex guide. I'd even recommend installing stellarium scope, as it suggests, because I find it useful when aligning. I was getting nowhere with my NEQ6 and I still remember, after going through that guide, taking a deep breath, connecting... and finally hearing the sweet sound of the mount responding. 

Clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds. And the moon. 

Thanks all.

Lots of thinking to do.

Interesting, thanks for this. Should fix the pacman stars, but I wonder if it will also fix my spikes? I checked my vanes, they might have been slightly out, so now I need to collimate yet again. If that doesn't work then this could be an interesting way forward. Cheers! 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I guess collimation is equalled only by calibration to set people off!

I already have a Cheshire and a collimation cap. What I'm thinking is that a good, collimatable laser would be more useful in the field (literally) - as in, as a last check in the dark before a session, pop it in, check everything central, off you go. I don't quite see how this could be done with a cap or Cheshire?

Anyway, I'll have a ponder.

I know this is an old thread but I may have a similar issue:

So, shout out to @Spaced Out if you're still around - did you ever resolve this, and if so, how?

Right - I just read this missive: 

It's a three-pager, a tale of woe. I feel very sorry for @Spaced Out. And there is absolutely no way I'm going down that route!

So, I've tightened the vanes a little (which, naturally, means I have to check collimation yet again). I might do some investigative work such as retrieving a very old shot of the Pleiades I did over a year ago, to see if I had the issue then, and trying the camera without the coma corrector (and trying my guide camera on it too), to see if, having moved the focuser out of the optical field, that makes a difference. But I am not going to strip the thing down or chop bits off or move mirrors up for the want of absolutely perfect horizontal diffraction spikes. That way madness lies.

I'll also get in touch with @Spaced Out and see if he (or she) ever resolved this.

Btw, if it does turn out to be the focuser, I will not be impressed with Sky-Watcher. I actually know that the focuser draw tube does in fact impinge on the view, because, well, I can see it! Also I have the classic 'bitten' stars when I examine the subs. I just figured that, as it didn't really seem to affect the final image too badly, it was ok. If I have to live with slightly wonky spikes, then so be it. But really, for a company to produce a scope supposedly especially for astrophotography, and then for the tube not to offer enough backfocus with its own coma corrector, is pretty poor...

Very good. Thank you! Time to check that too then... 

Just one more to add to this thread - as you can see, things are much better now (just a quick 30-minute of the Pleiades, not enough to pick up the lovely crinkly nebulosity but that was all the clouds would allow!)

So, much sharper, better diffraction spikes, but there is still a bit of divergence in the horizontal spikes which I can't see in the vertical.

I've played around with focus and it's not to do with that.

I did the unfocused star collimation test and it looked great, nice concentric circles.

So, is this still collimation, or tilt?

Got it, thanks! I was looking for mention of the .ini file, could only find .exe files on the dialogue box.

Then of course I had to re-establish which port to connect to.

Then I had to reconfigure EQMOD for PHD2.

Then I had to re-set my location in EQMOD.

Then the camera went on the blink(!??!?!?).

I think - fingers crossed - it's sorted now.

Nothing like reconfiguring an astrophotography rig in freezing temperatures at night in your garden, eh...?

HELP!!! I'm having this error right now, and I cannot find on the Toolbox where to delete the ini file!

Can anyone help pleeeeeeease?

Hmmm. Maybe I'll ask the missus for the Hotech for Christmas... 

Thanks everyone! 

Thank you! Maybe it's the same situation then - collimation screws there, but covered.

Seems a reasonable price too.

Hi,

I used to have a laser collimator for my 130PDS but discovered it wasn't centred. Then I realised it also wasn't collimatable, ie it didn't have the three screws for adjusting it. So, I chucked it. It was a cheap thing from eBay.

I've decided I'd still quite like a laser collimator however, so I can quickly check things are ok before a session - one that does have the collimation screws so that I can make sure it's ok.

I totally understand the problems with laser collimation regarding focuser slop etc, but I figure that, if I can get close with the laser, it's better than nothing and certainly quicker and easier than checking a Cheshire or cap in the dark.

Problem is, I've looked for quite a while and can't seem to find one! There's the SVBONY one, but apparently the screws are somewhat hidden under the rubber casing which has to be prized off, which I don't much like the sound of (I had exactly the same issue with my astro binoculars). There may be a search term I'm missing here, but try as I might, I can't reliably find a collimatable collimator.

So, any recommendations? I'd rather not go toward the high-end route ie no Howie Glatters and such like. Ideally less than 50 quid if possible.

Thanks, Brendan

Just to add: if you can cast your mobile device's screen to your TV, for example via Chromecast, then that could also work, BUT you won't get the option to superimpose Mire de Collimation on top of the image, which is kind of the point. Still, you'd benefit from it being a lot easier than peering into the eyepiece while making adjustments.

Hey, I just realised - you don't have to use TeamViewer at all if you can cast your mobile device's screen to your TV, for example if you have Chromecast. Just thought I'd mention that.