PatG

Many thanks for the advice 👍

yes correct - basically want to connect a 1 1/4" nosepiece of a astronomy camera to either micro 4/3 lens or 4/3 lenses.

Thanks for your feedback and advice James. I will do some reading up and take a look at the video. The improvement of the images of 1 Cam following stacking is clearly evident. Will definitely be giving this a go and will post some results in due course. Good to know I can give it a try with the imaging source camera too. Thanks for the tips.. Pat

Hi Everyone Not sure if this is the right forum but does anyone know if you can get an adapter / advise on the best way to connect an astronomy camera 1 1/4" nosepiece to four thirds and micro four thirds lenses?

great progress and an interesting cluster of galaxies. what equipment are you using ? Regards Pat

Albireo circa 2013, captured with a Meade Lx90 200mm and a Mallincam Extreme I think

Thanks for the feedback people. Yes I was reading a specification for a ZWO ASI 183 camera which is relatively high resolution with pixel size of circa 2.4µm states .... Fast FPS can be used in solar and lunar imaging, as well as for live viewing/EAA.The high speed readout may also be used for real-time focusing, true lucky imaging of double stars and other small objects, planetary imaging of the major planets in the solar system, and much more I was looking at this camera potentially for some EAA, combined with a smallish refractor but reading the above, I guess the combination of small pixel size / high resolution combined with a high FPS lends itself to a similar approach to planetary imaging, i.e. taking short videos and then selecting the best subs to stack to take advantage of changes in seeing / atmospheric conditions. Interesting technique and in context of double stars & resolving close doubles an interesting prospect with a camera with a relatively small pixel size perhaps? Great image of the trapezium doubles Geoff, thanks for posting! Pat

Hi All Recently been getting into some casual observing of double stars, as these make good targets under light polluted skies and I’m thinking about having a go at some lucky imaging. Anyone practicing this technique? What sort of kit is best suited / are you using? Great to get some suggestions and some example images. Pat

Thanks for the advice chaps. I had not given much thought to the camera pixel size / telescope combo. Presumably smaller telescope requires a camera with a smaller pixel size - What is the optimum arc seconds per pixel ? Be interested in seeing some examples of results with the ASI 290 / 183 cameras. I will do some research.

Thanks Tony - What a great thread !

Hi Everyone I'm thinking about repurposing an old Meade LX90 Alt-Az fork go to mount and installing a WO 72mm refractor on it in conjunction with a lodestar x2 mono for some EAA. I'm contemplating if this can be set up without a tripod (i.e the fork mount fixed to a concrete base) as a sort of micro observatory, within a small lift of enclosure and controlled via laptop from indoors. I have done some EAA previously but with the de-forked 200mm SCT on an EQ mount and wanted to find a way of having a quick / semi permanent EAA exclusive set up. Curious to understand how well Alt Az works for EAA, what length exposures can be achieved? and also if anyone else is using such a small refractor for EAA and what sort of results are you getting? Be interested to hear some feedback & peoples thoughts on this idea. Pat

I am also deliberating over portable power supply arrangement. Is a battery like the 12V 12Ah LiFePO4 as link below suitable for running a mount and USB devices / lap top etc? RoyPow 12V 12Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery, 3500~8000 Cycles Rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery for Kid Scooters, Fios,Power Wheels, Solar System, UPS RV/Camper, Fish Finder : Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

Thoughts of dew control situation followed recent sessions with a 200mm SCT, during brief session on Friday night the corrector plate, eyepiece and finder had all dewed up within a couple of hours or so. Tempted to invest in a proper dew control set up but as often alternating between couple of scopes the thought of a small hair drier cross my mind.

Thanks for the advice all. Need to consider the power supply situation… more adapters!

What are people using for dew control. Is a 12v hair drier suitable for use, or is this something to be wary of?

Hi Folks I have an unused Meade LX90 fork mount that is just gathering dust following deforking of the OTA some years ago. I am contemplating repurposing this fork mount for use with a small dedicated refractor / EAA set up. Has anyone done anything similar? I would be interested to hear from you! Pat

Thanks Peter, I shall give it a try!

I have an APM 60mm 90° Finderscope Kit and wanted to understand if this can be used with a guide camera for guiding with PHD2? Is the fact that it has an integral 90 deg prism going to cause any problems / functionality issues? Any advice much appreciated. Pat

Hi Bill Thank you for the advice. I think I now have the Lodestar II camera set up and working with Starlight Live software having hopefully ironed out some frustrating driver issues. I will be primarily using this with a Meade ACF 200mm SCT on an equatorial mount. I have a variable focal reducer (MFR5 from Mallincam) that fits on the front of the Lodestar enables 0.8-0.3FR, from memory I think I had it set up at 0.5 FR. I'm a bit rusty but looking forward to testing it out. I will have a read up about Jocular, thanks for the tip. Regards Pat

Hi Martin, Thanks for responding. I will certainly give Starlight Live a try. Its always interesting to find out what others are currently using. Pat

Hi Laurence Old laptop is running on Windows 7. PatG

Hi All Having not been practicing astronomy for a couple of years, and in process of setting up a new windows 10 laptop with some software for astronomy and VA/astrophotography, I am looking for advice and recommendations for some simple to use image acquisition software for VA. I will be primarily using lodestar X2 mono camera for deep sky VA as well as an Imaging Source DBK41AU02.AS for planetary imaging. Any advice / recommendations would be greatly appreciated. PatG

I am wondering if this is a USB compatibility issue. My laptop has USB3/3.1 ports? Any advice greatly appreciated. PatG

Hi Peter Thanks for the advice, when I do that it says that the best driver is already installed.

I have recently purchased a new laptop operating windows 10 and I am in the process of setting it up for use for both video astronomy and astrophotography. I have downloaded the software and drivers etc I have been attempting to connect a Lodestar X2 for use with lodestar live / starlight live and when connecting to the camera, it momentarily works then ceases. I have also tried to set up a QHY polemaster and am having a similar issue. I have downloaded the software and drivers etc for use with the cameras and I have tried both on previous laptop and both cameras work OK so it is not the USB lead or the cameras. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. PatG