Yawning Angel

Glorious! Well done

34 minutes ago, pi_co100 said:

 I suspect it is the camera that it is really good for this kind of images

Shush! Don’t tell everyone! 🤫

As my best result so far with this setup, I think it really helped to carefully refocus between filters

All the positive feedback is greatly appreciated!

Thank you for the kind comments!

My moon app suggests this is 99.2% illuminated, day 1 of the full moon - so 'mostly illuminated' 

Some evenings it's hard not to feel like the weather is specifically being mean to you. The glorious clear sky to the west gave way to a bank of cloud in the east, hiding the moon on it's very edge when I set up. Ah, but that westerly wind will clear it up nicely, thought the poor, naive astro-imager! Nope, I watched for about an hour as cloud formed, just as it hit the moon. 

The battle of wills ended as the sky got bored of tormenting me, and graciously allowed 1000 frames each for RGB with little room to spare. Remarkably, the frame quality after a rinse through PIPP allowed for 20% stacks in AS!3

PixInsight handled aligned the 3 resulting frames, RGB combine and sharpening. PS then for Camera Raw Filter gently teased out a little colour and there you have it

 Skywatcher ED80 (@510mm) / iOptron CEM60 / ZWO asi1600mm-pro / Baader RGB filters.

I went with one of these, and changed my plugs to 4mm banana (I swapped the fuses to more sensible capacities)

Hobbyking Powerstrip

1 hour ago, Buzzard75 said:

sort of default mode

I'd imagine so, yes

I had a chat with them today, and it looks like they are still on track for the end of the month launch. It fits my requirements perfectly, so I'll be grabbing on as soon as Altair get some stock

I'd say if your DC focuser is supported, then the UPBv2 would make sense, as then everything bar the mount would just plug into the one box?

If not, then the Advance does seem more cost effective (I'm waiting on the Pocket Powerbox Advance!)

I'd connect the miniPC to it too, you might even find you can configure it to boot when the power comes on?

27 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

+1 for Startech

+2

This:

Contained this:

and this:

Welcome Malko!

Have a look at this thread, before parting with any cash - it may well save you a fortune and some disappointment : 

In keeping with Valentine's day, at least in colour. Something to keep me busy while the storm rages on

3 minutes ago, Astrokev said:

get a PSU and keep this in the warm room and run 13.8V to the pier from there

That's the route I took. 

I wanted to only 'ever' buy the one, so it was a bit of future proofing. Plus, the screw down terminals are to the rear rather than up front

6-8A : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/nevada-ps-08-6a-8a-regulated-linear-power-supply.html

or the one I went for

25 - 30A : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/nevada-psw-30-25-30a-switch-mode-power-supply.html

I dimmed one further with Neutral Density film, which is inexpensive from you favourite online auction site

For power, I use 4mm banana connectors via this:

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-powerstrip-fuse-protected-power-distribution-board.html?___store=en_us
 

And feed that from a 12v Nevada PSU in the warm room

19 hours ago, Astrokev said:

I could probably benefit from getting some anti-dew bands

These are pretty good and not horribly expensive, and remotely controllable: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dew-prevention/lynx-astro-2-port-dew-controller.html

I went with the 7 port USB 3, 12v powered StarTech : https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SCE4E0I/ - It's aluminium bodied and well made. You might need to cover the tell-tail LEDs, depending on how annoying you find them

I then replaced the mains power brick with a feed from a 12v PDU, the same as powers the rest of my kit

4 hours ago, souls33k3r said:

Hope this helps. 

Thank you! It didn't feel fantastic when I fitted them together, so I nipped it down with the cross head. I'll dig a couple of hex bolts out and nail it down

In my defence, it was already cloudy....

Sorting the cable runs out will keep me quiet for a while 🙂

Very nice! I had a crack at this a couple of seasons back, and this reminds me I need to revisit it

The principle is that you keep the optical surface just above the dew point temperature, so it doesn't fog. The air volume inside the tube isn't heated, and so is close to ambient temperature, reducing air currents in the tube

I'm not a reflector user, but you'll likely want to heat the secondary, the finder and maybe the eye piece

I think the usual solution is dew heater bands on the appropriate optics, but the obs itself at ambient temperature

Everything ends up soaked at the end of a session, so a dehumidifier (or very good ventilation) reduces the risk of mould and rust when you close up

Hello,

I've had a Celestron AVX for about 6 years now, and it's served / serving me quite well, but it is clearly a limiting factor in my AP, so I'm looking to switch up to a more capable and reliable mount for my observatory. The AVX is not hopeless, but is the world of backlash and quite inconsistent in performance - plus, a bit noisy in a residential setting (I've had to limit the slew speed to keep it to a polite level)

At the moment I mount a Skywatcher ED80 + camera, EFW and associated kit, but may one need to take more load or longer focal lengths in the future.

The shortlist is currently between a Skywatcher EQ6-R pro and the iOptron CEM60 (nonEC), both fall inside the budget of 'sub £2000' and seem perfectly capable. I'd prefer new from a retailer, rather than pre-owned for the peace of mind

Whatever I go for, it'll be pier mounted, PC controlled from off the mount and parked horizontally. I run SGP or Sharpcap depending on target and CPWI for pointing / sky-model. "Celestron"PWI would have to go, likely replaced by Stellarium? So, I'm looking for thoughts and experiences, help and advice as I want the mount to feel like a significant upgrade, and be reasonable future proof

Help! I have analysis paralysis!