SonnyE

No need to change at all.

I would be delighted to enter, now that I have a decent camera.

Just for the fun of it! I have no aspirations of winning anything. Less disappoints that way.

Thank You!

59 minutes ago, Ant said:

It's over the winter - Jan / Feb / Mar, I think. 

I'll check.

Ant

Thank You! 

I would like very much to participate in the OSC DSO Challenge, for the fun of it.

Could you please post a period for it so I don't miss it? Or a schedule?

In the meantime, I'll be sharpening my talons... 

6 hours ago, steviebee said:

I have tried this several times now on my PC and Laptop. All without success. Looks like I am going to have to pay to have windows 7 installed. Not happy as I have just had windows 10 installed ( not by choice) on

them both!

Might be your best route to have a Pro take a look. Finding the compatibility mode that works for you can sometimes be daunting.

At the same time, a good computer guy can enlighten you to what step it is that has been tripping you up.

Ultimately, if you really want to, Windows 10 can be reverted to the previous operating system, like Windows 7, or 8 variety.

But  something that drastic is a last step. Just learning how to get around the compatibility mode should get you going. Also, I find browsing You Tube for instructional video's has really helped me with different stumbling blocks in this Astro bog. PHD2, or other programs or methods.

I have a couple of programs I had to install in an earlier compatibility mode. But it is very frustrating until you find the way. Hang in there. 

I have a low end cooled CCD color camera. I long for a Mono camera because I think it would be nice to be able to choose each color, no color, or distinct filtering like HA without the matrix.

But my draw for the color camera originally was ease of imaging. Much like what I was use to with my DSLR with it's matrix R-G-G-B.

However, having a mono camera, and a filter wheel or even individually applied color filters, imparts maintenance of the filters. I'd still like to be able for the ability to choose.

My next camera (if such a blessed day ever arrives) will be a Mono and electronic filter wheel. As a package. Thus I could control the filtering remotely, as I do my other functions at the moment.

I may be wrong, but I think I could reduce my exposure times since all pixels would be being bathed with one of the colors, intensifying the effect for stacking... thus shorter exposure times. (Possibly?)

Anyway, my dream camera would be mono with an EFW.

Too soon oldt, too late schmart.

6 minutes ago, TareqPhoto said:

Thank you very much!

I downloaded that 2 videos and more while ago but didn't watch any yet, was busy in many other things, so i will have a time to watch those to learn more, so far i managed to connect the camera and the mount each individually to the computer, and ports are fine, so all i need to do is to watch the videos and know the basics and more settings.

I am planning to get things slow, some already started regardless they bought items after me, i bought my mount on April 2 months ago, and my camera i bought it almost 2 weeks ago, so now i am learning and reading and asking more and more to get ready on time, it is very very hot in my country these months so  am not in rush to go out yet, i have to learn about how to balance my mount and then how to autoguide then i am ready to go out, and while i am still reading and learning i am planning to buy a Polemaster because i really not planning to do polar alignment by one of those old fashioned methods even, some told me to do those to learn and i will get quicker on it by the time, but even if i will be quicker later i won't be as quick as using the tools for PA, and i won't be as much accurate too, so i don't want to waste time aligning my mount always before i use it when i move the mount, i can't leave my mount outside at all, never, so it will be moved in and out all the time which means i will be doing PA always.

That's fine, just take your time. I did a lot of learning with my telescope and mount aimed out a (closed) window, focused on a neighbors chimney cap a ways off. It was all cloudy, but I played anyway.

Just take your time and you'll get there.

ST-4 is, I believe, the actual connector used commonly from the guide cameras, and the mounts ST-4 port. More here. More commonly used in telephone connections and computer modem connection, but adapted by the Telescope industry, or ASCOM.

Now I have a great video set for you to take a look at about PHD and how to get it set up and going.

PHD (Literally, Push Here Dummy) was too difficult for this dummy to get working. Until I found these:

PHD Basics 1

PHD Basics 2

You're getting there, but it takes a lot of patience, and some twiddling. When you do get PHD2 operating, do your adjustments in smaller increments.  Experiment with the settings to find the best settings for your equipment. Review the videos as needed, take it slowly.

I managed to get mine to where I haven't changed any settings in a very long time. Because it works, and works great. Just take it slow, and enjoy learning.

If you do have to resort to a drill, And I mean as a very last resort, find some left hand drill bits.

Often using a left-thanded drill set, the drilling will free the threads and the damaged screw will back out.

You do realize you have doomed yourself to a year or two of bloody awful skies.

Always follows new equipment....

On 5/17/2017 at 10:36, Gerry Casa Christiana said:

Just to say to all that last night I auto guided for the first time. I do have to be honest though and say it took me 3 hours to work with PHD2 and then the line graph jumped over all the place. Not sure if it was right but I managed 4 subs of 420 seconds of the Markarian Chain and the stars seem perfect. Hopefully it's right. The only problem I have now is meteorites! Anyway I hope that guiding is not always going to be long winded. Thanks for all the help. If you know of the settings for PHD2  let me know. 

 

Gerry 

It does get faster as you become more confident in your mount. You are learning each time. Tiny steps, small adjustments as you go along.

I'm usually up and running in 30 minutes or less. That is with a 2 Star alignment + 4 more calibration stars. 6 Stars has worked very well for me all along. (Celestron AVX mount) I go the extra mile for the assurance I've done as much as I can to eliminate human error.

The graph in PHD2 can be "adjusted" with the x, y, and Settings. One of the first things I look at in a PHD post is what somebody has those settings at. With an x = 400, and a y = 16, anybody can get a 'flat line'. But it's BS.

The bitty-bobbity, boo, is reference. A steadier more bulls-eye in the target window tells me more.

But even with jittery indications, great images can be gathered. The proof in the pudding is how long an image can be gotten with fairly round stars.

Just be patient, and do the best that you can do. Sometimes I have spent my entire time working at the alignment. Doing over and over, learning.

If I can do it, anybody can. (19 ea - 600 second images. Comet Johnson C/2015 V2)

Beautiful Image Carol!

I can only hope to achieve such results. But I keep working at it.

9 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Bobro's earlier post explaining the relationship between pixel scale at the imager and pixel scale at the guider will answer your question. Focal length is just a shorthand way of discussing the matter.

What I don't think has come up is the matter of flexure, particularly when imaging with reflectors. It is very hard indeed to remove all possibility of primary mirror movement in a reflector because if the mirror is held too tightly it will experience distortion. If the mirror moves slightly, so does the image. A separate guide scope cannot 'know' this so cannot correct for it. However, an Off Axis Guider uses the same light cone as the imager for guiding, so mirror movement (known as mirror flop, though this is an exaggeration!) will be seen and corrected by the guider. Under no circumstances would I guide a catadioptric with a guide scope. I've always used an OAG for this. The small mirror of the 150PDS might let you get away with it but, in principle, reflectors are best guided via OAG. You need to be sure that you have enough backfocus for an OAG, though. It pushes the camera further down the light cone.

Olly

PS You don't need to calculate pixel scale yourself. Here's the easy way to find it! http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fovcalc.php

Thanks Olly.

The inherent curiosities with reflectors as a whole was what turned me away from them originally.

And in looking towards a telescope as an actual lens for imaging is how I landed in a Refractor as my choice.

Put simply, I suppose I'm Galilean. Less to go wrong = more to enjoy.

17 hours ago, Gerry Casa Christiana said:

It's useful for those who want to do Astrophotography  and especially long exposures as usually the mounts themselves do track but depending on the mounts accuracy you might get 2 minute exposures like on mine. With the autoguider you add it so the accuracy of the mount can be kept perfectly centred on your star. So it makes small adjustments for you. 

The 1:3 focal length is no longer necessary as computers have come a long way and that is now out of date. 

So a small scope with a mono webcam is sufficient. Very basically speaking! 

Kind regards

 

Gerry

Hi Gerry,

Yep, exactly why going in I planned an auto guide into my equipment. To give the mount an eye on the sky, if you will.

At first I tried to do it 'my way' using an off axis guider. That, of course, doesn't work with a small refractor. I finally learned the hard way OAG's are for SCT's. So I relented and got the 50mm and used my already owned guide scope camera.

Eureka! That worked!

Later, I encountered this 1:3 focal length palaver.

But it makes no sense, do to the one star guiding these guide scopes actually do.

Musing here.... Bare with me....

What is a guide scopes function? To find and lock onto a single star, correct? And to draw the guiding from that single star. Right?

So what does using a larger (and more expensive) telescope for guiding actually gain? More stars?

Trying to figure why a guide scope needs to be ~1/3 the main telescopes FL.

That said, my 50 mm is admittedly large for guiding considering my main is an 80 mm, but it works fab.

My Star Tech powered USB hub smoked itself a couple of weeks ago. It just died and got stinky. Never a good sign.
So I went back to my old port powered PITA hub. And the camera drop outs it brings.
It was covered by their 2 year warranty.
And they sent me a brand new one. Got it today. I thought they would simply refurbish mine.
Back in business!

Stellar service by Star Tech.com Pro's.

Amid the whining of bad service experiences, it's nice to sing praises of truly fine Companies. Star Tech.com

7 minutes ago, tekkydave said:

When I built the first version it had 8 steps. Later I changed the code to allow values from 1 upwards. The default value is 8 for backward compatibility but you can change it to any value that suits your hardware.

I'm not sure, but I think I'm using the default value. What I can say is it works great for my focuser. I can "tweak" my focus by single steps when I'm close to nervana, and get right at my best shot.

One question Dave: Does the temperature probe do any focusing compensation? Or is it just for temperature indication?

3 hours ago, dyfiastro said:

Thanks this is something I was not sure about.
The motor is labels the same as the one in the link and as per the parts list but I have a feeling there is a variation here somewhere.
I went ahead and changed the ascom motor steps from 8 down to 4 and I can confirm that it now take just over 3000 to reach full throw.

I intend getting the 12v version of this motor as the 5v does not seem to have enough torque and struggles, I will see how it compares once it comes.
 

The motors are the same, just the rated supply voltage changes. I got some 12 volt units to put in place of the 5 volt, and I found there is a noticeable torque increase.

I'm driving my Crayford focuser on the 11:1 shaft. And it works very well so far. (Although I'm using a refractor, so my focuser has considerably more travel than a reflector) My "Sweet Spot" on my focuser is around the 400mm area (out of 740mm). I ran my focuser from 0 (fully in), out to the end of the scale. It amounts to 23,400 or so steps. My sweet spot is ~12,500. (Or close to the focusers mid-point.)

Some points to note here are:

1. When changing over to a 12 V source, the 12 V goes to the +/- of the motor drive board. (ULN2003)

2. Eliminate the 9 V input to the Nano, and let your USB power the Nano.

By doing this, you have only the USB, the 4 leads 7,8,9,10 from the Nano to the ULN2003, the 12 V in to the ULN 2003, and the 5 lead motor harness. The biggest advantage is using the already present USB 5 V for the Nano, and same 12 V already present on the mount for running the mount, CCD cooling, or powered USB hub. And it eliminates any motor load on the USB side of things.

The DS18B20 temperature probe will be powered by same USB voltage present in the Nano board.

Lastly, the nano clones I am using don't have the pins soldered in. So what I've done is to solder in only the four wires jumping to the ULN2003. (7,8,9,10 to N1,N2,N3,N4) That makes the Nano a lot easier to place in a project enclosure with everything else.

3 hours ago, Davey-T said:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=dc-dc+step+down+5a&_sop=15&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC1.A0&_nkw=dc-dc+step+down+5a&_sacat=0

Funny thing when I browse these the price is in dollars but when I post a link and click on it the price is in GBP

Dave

Hi Dave,

I was being lazy. I found them here on Ebay.

I'm a sucker for the "5 for $ price". I figure if I'm getting one, a handful is better. In case I get a bad one.

One reason (Probably the biggest reason) I got what I did was the cord to plug in to my Stick computer. But I think I would have preferred TekkyDave's solution.

6 minutes ago, tekkydave said:

I use these buck converters. They are very cheap and compact and also generate no waste heat.

Just supply 12v to the input pins and adjust the output to whatever you need for the nano. You can feed the full 12v to the motor driver.

" No sellers are currently delivering this item to the United States. "

25 minutes ago, frugal said:

Hmmm. I was hoping to go down the Bluetooth route in order to save on precious USB ports, and only have the focuser connected to the 12V input supply. I shall have to consult with Herself as the resident Electrical Engineer to figure out how to wire a voltage regulator in safely

If you were to go the route I did with my Intel Stick Computer it has Bluetooth 4.0, and dual band WiFi built into it. I did have to add an external antenna to get all smiles at the inside desktop for a click and POP operation.

I use a powered USB hub on the mount that connects to my Stick computer. 7 USB ports, 3000 Ma. I use 4 ports.

If you have a dual band router (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), chances are you won't need the antenna.

I have an older 2.4 GHz router. Most of my stuff, and particularly my Astro stuff is USB2, so it isn't worthy of a new router. But the antenna sure did the trick.

1 minute ago, frugal said:

A question from the hardware ignorant: Given that the Nano spec say that pin 30 can take 6-20V, and the ULN2003 wil take upto 12V. If I use a 12V stepper motor as Pauls72 did; is there any reason why I can not run this off of a 12V DC power supply rather than a 9V battery?

That is what I am doing. The motor input connectors for the ULN2003 motor board are connected to my 12 volt battery supply.

The Nano is USB powered. The + and - of the ULN2003 are connected to my 12 volt DC circuit. And I bought 12 volt 28BJY-48 motors for my focuser, and my filter wheel (In progress).

When I tried applying 12 V to pin 29 & 30 (of the UNO), I found the voltage divider built into my Arduino boards got uncomfortably warm. So I went the route of USB power for the Nano, and letting the ULN2003 board feed the motor the 12 volt.

I use a very scientific method to determine if the changes have been of benefit. I pinch the output shaft and try to stop it. Yep, it takes more effort to stop the 12 volt motor than the 5 volt. So I consider the 12 volt to be better and to give me a bit more torque.

What I find pleasing is the small cost for these. I ordered a 5 pack of motors and ULN2003 motor boards for about double the price for a single motor and drive board.

Good to hear this Benno.

So often we consumers feel like we are stuck in a crap shoot, and some win, some lose.

We... the ultimate test bed, the reasons and drive behind an endless stream of 'Updates'...

Cheers! And do enjoy! Oh, and Happy Birthday as well !

It's alive! ALIVE!

First off, I'm certainly not a Programmer kind of guy. Like I told Dave, I'm an Analog guy in a Digital world.

But I'm persistent. And with help from Dave pointing me to things I missed, he got me going. And I've begun to understand the magic of Arduino.

So much so, I have my next quest ahead. (Yes, I am a glutton for punishment) I'm going to automate my 9 position manual filter wheel with a stepper motor.

I love the challenges added when you can undertake some (or a lot) of "DIY" astronomy. And the help of Friends all around this big World we are sitting on.

Still have a few bits coming, hook up wires today, and two project boxes maybe next week.

But... IT'S ALIVE! Thank You Dave!

Edit in:

And complete, Finished and working. Great job Dave!

OK, so the connector cables arrived today, as expected. But there was another bag in the mailbox...

The cases! So I went to work and finished my build.

It takes 12, 200 steps to get to where my telescope normally focuses (Around 400 mm of draw-tube extended.) I'd go out back to really put it through it's paces, but I'm too pooped to pop.

Well, Happy New Year!

I'm onto this like a rat on cheese. I've downloaded the AAF2 to both Windows 10 operating PC's and both are checking out fine. Can't wait for the parts to arrive Monday.

Now, if the shipper at Amazon.com would just get off their duff and get my parts on the way. 3 days since placing my order and still waiting shipment.

Supposedly due Monday. But you can't ship Monday for a Monday delivery.

Meanwhile, I've been reading this immense thread trying to follow the developments. And have the DS18B20 waterproof probe on the way as well, via Ebay.

Thank You, Tekkydave for your development and continued support toward this electronic focuser!

My direction is a direct drive to my 11:1 Crayford focuser stem. My focusing is very touchy and so I'm hoping the direct connection works out, without wanting to gear it down more.

Edit in: I found and bought the waterproof temperature probe on Ebay. I was pleasantly surprised that my item was shipped within the hour of buying it. I'm really rethinking my buying options concerning Amazon.com. As in, Forget you Amazon. (My items from Amazon still aren't shipped yet.)

46 minutes ago, michaelmorris said:

Thanks for the link. I wish you well with your project.

And you with yours, Michael.

My parts are scheduled for next Monday. I hate the waiting... Sigh!