GuLinux

These compute sticks are really handy. I bought a couple of these, and measuring power usage with camera and filter wheel attached I barely got to 1 amp.

I had  a test indoors, with the camera continuously shooting, and changing filter every now and then. The power bank lasted for nearly 48 hours.

Of course battery performance outdoors (in cold weather) might suffer quite a bit, but it's still gonna last a while, I'd think

19 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

I couldn't shift it on my own, took two hands to hang on to it, found it easier to do while attached to the tripod.

Dave

Demo, I think I got the strap wrench in Tool Station.

WOW! ?

I'm a bit skeptical though. It might be something that happens only on my setup, but I need to be very careful and delicate with tightening the RA lock, otherwise I risk messing with the polar alignment.

I think that wrench might take it a step further..

Interesting thread. Sorry if I go slighly off topic, but do you know from where I could draw a 5v power line from the SA circuit? directly from the regulator perhaps?

I'd like to to a minor modding, adding an embedded polarscope illuminator instead of using the external one.

11 hours ago, Ken Mitchell said:

First night out with guidesetup on the SA was a succes. 

41x 5min with TS72 f6 iso 800 with Nikon d610

TS50mm guidescope with zwo asi120mc-s



Really stunning, congrats

I really have to get myself up to work, I need to catch up with these results ?

On 29/10/2018 at 08:06, Leon-Fleet said:

Slightly different question, but still SA related.

Now I have got my SASA and dslr for imaging which is great. am also using my konusmotor 500  scope for visual only which I’m really enjoying. Next step is to combine it all and try to image with the scope, dslr and SA tracking. 

I was wondering am I able to put the konus on the sky adventurer? I think the max limit for the mount is around 5kg. Any known issues?

I would like to know if any of you have telescopes scopes on your star adventure or just use it with a dslr and guide scopes?

Thanks

Hi,

I couldn't find specific information about that scope OTA weight, but my guts say it's probably too heavy.

Additionally, although these newtonians are excellent first scopes, they're not very useful as astrophotography scopes: there's probably too much coma, and I doubt you'll be able to get focus with a DSLR, as the focus excursion is typically very short.

Furthermore, a focal length of 500mm starts to be way too much for a star adventurer, particularly if not autoguided. And of course, adding an autoguider will add even more weight.

52 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

There are a lot of Pentax Super Takumar lenses that are excellent for astro use, they have an M42 thread ( slightly different to a "standard M42 thread ) the 135mm 1.8 is good also the 200mm.

Dave

Just be aware of what version you get: the "Super Takumar SMC"  (super multi coated) is probably ok, and I've seen gorgeous pictures done with it, but I got the older version instead (I think it's called only "Super Takumar", non SMC) and I got massive chromatic aberration and stars bigs as baloons.

8 minutes ago, MattJenko said:

Mine handles more than 8kg. SA, dovetail, counterbalance and the rig above is more than 8kg and it is solid in all manner of heights and configurations. Not sure about actual max though.

Slightly off topic, I'd really like to understand how reliable is the load capacity rating on tripods.

Sometimes they just feel like they put random-ish numbers on them, sturdy tripods rated at 5/10KG, and much cheaper and lightweight tripods rated at 15.

Mine (neweer carbon fiber) is rated 15KG, and although it's quite stable, I don't think that number can be taken too seriously.

Wow, that's really amazing!

Usually bad polar alignment.. happens to me all the time.

Often after you polar align, everything you touch, from pointing the telescope to even tightening all the equatorial wedge screws can lead to a shift from the polar axis.

You just have to learn being very, very delicate (and I'm still learning ?)

31 minutes ago, kendg said:

I found that there are 2 screws that hold the wedge to the mounting plate that can come a bit lose. When I tightened them up everything seems fairly stable.

Quoting that.

I did the same, and it really improved the wedge stability a lot (though it's still certainly not the very best it could have been)

Sorry, it might be a silly question, but why do you need the thermistor? I can't see any usage in the code, except for just showing the temperature

1 minute ago, Davey-T said:

Put it where shown by the app.

Dave

I wasn't clear, sorry I was just asking @alcol620 what he does, as that might explain his tracking issues, I wasn't asking for suggestions ?

Sorry if I might ask the obvious, but do you align by putting Polaris on the center of the polarscope reticule, or do you use a polar finder app to get the actual position of Polaris?

There's almost a whole degree difference between Polaris and the actual pole, depending on the target declination that might account to a lot!

Yup, it's indeed a very nice scope.

I'm still on my way doing  a few little mods to improve usage even further.

I added a plate for the Rigel QuickFinder replacing the original finderscope, plus an additional finderscope base for a generic one.

I also added ball castors to make transportation easier, not so sure about them though, they're very noisy.. We'll see.

Here's a timelapse of the scope assembly:

Maybe the problem is me then, I might have set my spacer too short.

I'll check home and see what distance I'm currently using, however I don't think I saw anything wrong around the edges of my frames

1 minute ago, RayD said:

I don't think this changes it.  The focal length is the point from the lens cell that the light converges and effectively comes to focus (in simplified terms) so this doesn't change with an extension as it will still be 360mm ( or maybe 330mm in your case) until you add the FR then this then changes to 260mm.

As always, I could be wrong and this is only my understanding in my tiny brain.

Absolutely right, it doesn't ?

That's only a tube, with no optical elements whatsoever, so the focal length is still 330mm

5 minutes ago, RayD said:

I just looked on the TS site and it does refer to this being dependant on the focal length of the telescope, and then gives the relative figures, so I think it is the native FL of the telescope (360mm in your case) which determines the spacing.

Indeed. But the 60/360 scope is the newer model. Mine (and I assume, his as well) are 60/330. He mentioned he gets a focal length of 260, which is 330 * 0.79, so I think he has the older model too.

And with FL < 350 the distance should indeed be 70mm.

But possibly there's been some miscalculation in the length of the spacer, so maybe trying a shorter distance might help indeed.

Mmh, no idea honestly..

I can't see anything wrong, and btw I have the same configuration (I use a shorter spacer, but only because the filter wheel takes another 20mm).

6 minutes ago, alcol620 said:

Hi GuLinux

Thanks for your help. Extended the tube length today, improved balance as you suggested. Checked the polar scope calibration, not far out, but I had a fiddle and improved it slightly. Can't get it any better than the end result.

Set up in the garden an hour ago and ran into an unforeseen problem. The additional tube length had changed the focus point and I can't wind the focuser in enough of achieve focus!! What a hobby this is!!!!

Obviously out set ups are similar, but I don't have the filter wheel as I have the ASI1600MC. I have the TSRED279 reducer/flattener in the chain and a Moonlite focuser. Spacers bring everything to 70mm from the sensor to the reducer/flattener.

Not sure I have any option but to remove the scope tube extender?

Any comments? Thanks

Mmh, that is weird... in my setup, having the filter wheel, I should get more further away from the focus than you do.. And yet I can focus with the tube extension without problem.

I have the same reducer as well, so that shouldn't be the issue.

Only one thing pops to my mind: you mentioned a "Moonlite focuser"? Meaning, you have the refractor focuser PLUS an extra focuser?

If that's the case, no wonder you can't focus.. I would get rid of that, the TS60 native focuser is already pretty good

There's an extra white ring in the scope package, you should unscrew the focuser, and add the ring to the tube. It's an extension.

I'm using the same plate as well, but I moved the attach point so it's closer to the focuser (and with said extension you also get some extra room).

I have to keep the focuser on the top side (reversed) in order to get the balance point as close to the focuser as possible:

You have almost exactly my setup ? same scope, same mount, same camera.. only difference is I have the ASI 1600MM (MONO/non cool), with a filter wheel

First, have you checked that the polarscope is correctly calibrated? You can check the Star Adventurer manual for details, or this website: http://www.myastroscience.com/polarscopecalibration

Most importantly though polar alignment can be ruined by even the smallest touches. What I did to improve overall stability was to lubricate with grease the equatorial wedge (I dismantled it to be able to access the internals), tighten the two small screws that limit the azimuth movement (the allen ones), and tighten the other screws (altitude and azimuth lock) as much as possible when polar alignment is finished.

I also try to never tighten too much the RA lock until I finished literaly *everything* and I'm ready to image. Continuously screwing/unscrewing that lock eventually causes to loose polar alignment.

Also, very important (but you're probably already doing it) you should polar align with the telescope already on the star adventurer with the L bracket, and use the illuminator with the adapter.

Balancing is hard, and that setup is already pushing the mount to the limit. I plan to add an additional counterweight to help this, but anyway by pushing the counterweight to the end of the shaft, and lowering the L bracket, I can get everything quite balanced, even with some little slack.

Declination balancing is easier if you add the extra tube section to the scope, this way more weight can go to the lens part.

When I do polar alignment properly, I can go up to ~2 minutes. Not a lot, but with these cameras you'd better stack loads of frames, rather than try to increase exposure time.

6 minutes ago, wimvb said:

In linux, at least you choose one and stick with it.

Precisely.

I'm a software developer, and on my personal laptop I barely used 3 different distros in more than 10 years (except for virtual machines quick tests, and things like that).

These days ubuntu is pretty much the standard, usability is pretty good, and anyway Windows usability is highly overrated (you know how to use it because you've actually learned to use it, a total beginner wouldn't really see a big difference).

Of course, if we're talking about raspberry pi and similar boards, things can get a bit more complicated. But keep in mind that they're called *developer* boards for a reason.

All things considered, I'd say they're extremely easy to use even for non devs.

As for limitations, storage was never an issue for me. I use 64GB micro sd cards, and I usually end up filling 10/20 GB only. And note that I usually go with 90 or 60 (sometimes even less) seconds of exposure, which means loads and loads of files for a single session.

You can always buy an extra SD card (128, 256, whatever you want) and add it with a sd/usb adapter, or even a full feature hard drive if you like.

The only big limitation I found at the moment with the raspberry pi is USB(2) download speed. Not an issue with DSLR I guess, but quite important with a CMOS camera, as it really slows sequences a lot, and it usually generates some amp glow.

I just bought a Rock64 board instead (USB3), will see how it goes when it'll arrive.

1 hour ago, Thalestris24 said:

It worked ok  The idea was for it to be easily portable for little, weak me! I was going to have a 12v battery-powered dslr, the RPI3 and the mount, also battery powered. I'm sure it would have been fine. I even bought a bike trailer to put it all in. I was going to put everything in the trailer and hopefully be able to take the kit downstairs. But I found the trailer on it's own was too heavy for me to get up and down the stairs - so end of another bright idea  As I say, I might revisit it if the mood takes me.

Louise

That's more or less what I do, only I don't use a 12V battery, but a 5V power bank for smartphones.

I bough the biggest I could find (20A), still weights less than half a kilogram, and can power a Rpi3 + an ASI camera for a couple of nights! Don't know about a DSLR as well, but I bet that *at most* it will go down to 1 night only.

And as always, a reminder of my own sequencing project, particularly designed against small lightweight setups (like a star adventurer + a raspberry pi): 

It's quite easy to install now, since there's already a Raspberry Pi image ready to download

Sorry for the delay. I really haven't used it much, mainly because of the weather..

I just took it to a 5 days trip to the Alps. Quite a dark place, although the weather wasn't that great there as well.

The mirror is pretty good, particularly for being a simple GSO optics. I was able to spot Stephan Quintet, although I didn't resolve all the components. Brighter objects are very enjoyable, and the scope does feel quite "bright". I was used to a C8 for visual observing, so you can probably guess it's a nice upgrade for me.

I haven't tested much the primary mirror fan, just one time I think, since I never really had temperature problems on the primary mirror, which I guess it is a plus.

The movement is actually very smooth, and the bunjee cords system is an excellent solution to counterweight bigger eyepieces.

Another plus is the assembly, it's really quick once you get used to it.

A couple of minuses:

 - After some time, the closing locks are getting more and more slack. I'm getting a bit worried they might open when transporting it, so I'd better hurry doing some maintenance  soon.

 - Collimation is really a mess. I really can't see why they insisted on 2 screws only instead of 3 for both primary and secondary mirrors. Adding a third screw on the secondary was very easy (I took one from the included small shroud, which I replaced with a full sized shroud from the beginning anyway). I'm going to add a third screw to the primary as well, as soon as I find one of the correct length.