AbsolutelyN

new moon = cloud and rain also seems to be a general rule the weather sticks to. Pier progress is looking great though.

I'd also suggest taking a pic of a brick wall - keep it parallel to avoid any distortion. I bought one of these a few years ago and the test revealed one side of the frame completely out of focus, even when stopped well down. They can be great lenses but you need to be sure to get a good copy as I don't think they are the most consistent regarding quality control of the optical alignment.

NGC7000 was one of the first deep sky objects I ever captured as a teen from my heavily light polluted back garden on good old hypered scotch chrome 400 with its extended red sensitivity. Back then I could have never imagined being able to take an image such as this. With the North American Nebular now rising low in the east I had to have a quick go and when the first HA sub appeared on screen all I could see was a huge dragon head. 3.5 hours - Esprit 100 https://www.astrobin.com/404588/

You need to remove the both parts of the focus knob on the micro adjustment side with an allan key, it then slides onto the main shaft. Not an Esprit 100 but these photos basically show the concept of installtation - https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/592490-mini-review-sesto-senso-robotic-focusing-motor-installation/

Sorry - I did indeed do DBE so quite likely the issue as I must admit I find controlling DBE rather baffling at present. All part of the learning curve - I would likely never have even spotted them if you'd not pointed it out so thanks. Need to spend more time understanding the DBE controls better.

Brilliant thanks - I didn't even see those and don't know what they are. I have to push the brightness up to even see what you mean, perhaps just my screen. I tried 0 gain on this one purely as an experiment (wanted to maximise dynamic range) and I have no calibration files at all for this gain. So that could be the source of the problem. Also first attempt using drizzle ... or perhaps as you say DBE done badly (I could not even see the stripes when processing) so lots of variables on this image as still learning.

Brilliant, thanks Adam, much appreciated.

Just a quick and probably really basic query regarding the desiccant in the zwo 1600pro - how do you know when to change it? I had my rig running last night and it fogged over about 1am. Something went wrong with SGP and it continued running the camera until 5:30am at -20c rather than warming it up and ending. I'm guessing running the camera in thick fog is not ideal.

We had a couple of hours clear sky last night so had a go at M13. The sky fogged over about 1am limiting the exposure time to 2.8 hours. This is 13x 2min each for RGB and 45 2 mins on luminence - 1600pro and Esprit 100. https://www.astrobin.com/403453/?nc=user

That's exactly what I wanted to know ... sorry if I wasn't clear enough. Yes ZWO filter wheel - probably not worth going from 1.25 to unmounted 31mm. Many thanks

Hi. Does anyone know if 31mm filters compared to 1.25" would help with vignetting with a zwo1600pro? I'm curious if it would make much difference or not. I know its fixable with flats but I'm interested it it woud make much difference as I get quite a bit of vignetting with my 1.25 LRGB filters. I'm not certain if it's the filters or the scope (esprit 100). Many thanks for any thoughts.

I balanced mine up last night with the rings all the way down at the focusser end. When I covered it this morning the rings were about 1cm further up the tube so suspect there is still some slight slippage, will also keep an eye on it.

Will do, I have it setup already as seems to be giving potential for reasonable clear periods tonight. So far it's holding it in place really well but I guess it could start slipping again over time.

Yes thanks for the suggestion, however I'd already replaced both so just cutting that bit off was no longer an option. I didn't notice the length difference until I had removed old felt and put the first new one on.

If the overhang is the issue then it may have been easier to just remove that bit as I found removing the felts hard and have very slightly marked the rings because of it. I have used the scope after changes though and it does appear to grip the tube very firmly now.

I've just put the new felt on the rings and it does appear to have fixed it - though I need to check mounting the scope on the mount to know for certain. Not at all easy to remove the felt though. The new felt is shorter in length, so there is now no felt where the rings meet when closed. I suspect this allows the rings to close just very slightly tighter? I'm not convinced the felt is thicker but maybe I just can't perceive the difference.

Yes ... mine arrived today too. 4 strips of felt - no instructions. I've just emailed them asking how to add them. The felt looks the same as what's on the rings already to me. Last night I just wrapped a lens cloth between tube and rings and it gripped the tube just fine.

Do you know if this will fit the Esprit 100? Thanks

Thanks. I'll test with the new spacing and see if there is an improvement. The 11mm has been moved from camera to after the filter wheel so should be 56mm in total. I assume the filter glass adds 1mm? On the rings OVL said: We can provide some thicker replacement felt for the tube rings which will solve the issue with the rings A quick google seems to suggest people are getting replacement rings rather than just some felt. Has anyone had this issue resolved and if so how?

My scope is the one with the green plate, the first of the two images you posted. Thanks for info on spacing, on brief look it seemed ok but I did not look into it too far. I'm a total pixel peeper for daytime photography/lenses so will be aiming to get it bang on eventually. What's the distance within the 1600 itself (from filter mounted direct to camera to sensor)? Just fiddling with the various adaptor I have I came up with this which is 47.5mm but not sure on the filter to sensor distance.

I'm curious on the spacing. I have just acquired very similar setup - esprit 100 + zwo 1600mm (pro version). I tested it last night and stars looked reasonably ok to me but I'm very new to this. Opinions if it's good/bad spacing much appreciated. I think I can see some elongation in corners. The setup is flattener, zwo 16.5mm spacer, zwo 21mm spacer, mini filter wheel, camera. Quick exposure attached. After contacting Skywatcher they can apparently provide thicker felt for the rings. I have exact same issue - the tube just slides through the rings no matter how tight. The washers are in correct place. Not impressed with that at all as rings are basically not ft for purpose as supplied.

Hi. Could I ask a query about point 3 please? How do you actually do the test to check the spacing is correct that you show in the two images under point three? Many thanks

Hi I'm currently looking to get back into astrophotography after a long gap. I have a Vixen GP-DX mount which I bought back in 1998. It has dual motors but at least one motor does not function at all and I've not much confidence in the controller either. I'd like to use a Vixen ED80SF refractor and possibly a VC200L if I can restore it. I'm wondering what the options are regarding this mount - can it be upgraded or should I just replace it? Options seem to be: 1. Buy the DD3 controller and new motors. 2. I've heard of Vixen mounts being upgraded with EQ5 Synscan or other systems but don't really understand how. 3. Simply replace it with something like the celestron avx mounting Is it worth sticking with this mount and if so which is the best way forward? I'd like as many options as possible open - such as ability to use a guidescope and ideally control via PC etc. How does the Vixen GP-DX hold up against more modern mountings of the same price bracket? Also is there any general maintenance on this mounting that should be done after years of no-use? The tripod is also in need or replacement, are there any current tripods compatible with the mounting? Any thoughts or advice much appreciated, Tristan