BGazing

No filters, just trying to figure it out in continuum first. C8, ASI 678, Evolution mount, difficult targets...and poor seeing.

Dunno why that does not work, let me check Edit: uploaded photos. For some reason flickr links did not work...

Life caught up and I could not process these on time, so here they are, the two days combined and you can see how some of them progressed in 24 hrs. Feb 17 photos were at critical sampling (although the seeing was not good at all), so I minimized the windows and upped the framerates. I'd say it worked satisfactorily. Processing was minimal.

That would be fantastic...DSC is the best for a full cold night somewhere in the middle of nowhere :). I ran through several iOS devices, those on 12 and 13 would not connect to the mount, those on 14, 15 and 16 did...not an issue for me, but interesting. Must have been those new updates for legacy devices (one was my Ipad mini 2.

figured out thanks to Derek...AZ has its own GPS module, it is the mount that has to be out to acquire GPS signal...so it is not getting it through the phone/tablet... time is acquired quickly through the gps module because you need only one satellite, vs 4 for location lock.

One more thing -what's with the power jack? AzGti, Evolution, Celestron batteries all use 2.0 center positive jack, this one uses 2.5mm. Just not sure if there was a particular reason to go with this, gotta make sure not to lose the little L-thing in the dark. As you can see, cloudy weather makes me grumpy.

Well, the missing bit is...everything but the mount head :). I am still waiting for the dovetail clamps, counterweight rod and weights and the handle. Ability to change the initial position will probably be nice - my balcony does not face south, but is rather at 170 degrees, makes orientation a bit more precise. Will experiment today with GPS acquisition. update: still orange...

I bought 80 SS with a possible DS upgrade in the future. Only now have I bought the mound which would at some point be able to deal with the DS imbalance. Also, DS means you need another custom case, etc. I am sure DS is better, but I gotta pace my spendings. Would love a front DS option, but I guess Lunt is doing this to a price point. Had enough expenses with my Lunt, had to repair focuser (damaged in transport) and postage for swapping my ghosting BF1800 almost cost like a new one. But Lunt is my most enjoyable purchase, still...

Well, it is here...and the @FLO sticker on the box brought the clouds, predictably. To be precise, a part of it was actually delivered. Bizarrely, DHL delivered only one of the two packages and left the other in the sorting center...will be delivered on Monday, apparently busy for holidays here. Literally the stupidest excuse I have ever heard, I have 'partial delivery' now on my tracking duly recorded. Mount is massive and looks beautifully done. As I got only slomos and friction thingies with it, I used the time to play with controls. It is really quiet. Took some time to figure out that one has to tighten those friction knobs a bit before the motors start 'biting'. Rowan web page for AZ is really poorly done, displays in a clumsy way on my S22. Joystick is super slow even on the higest setting. Finding alignment stars on my phone requires eyesight of a commando sniper. Switching to SS Pro both on phone and on iOS, I was surprised to see that using those direction buttons did not allow for continuous slew. I remember having that option with Evolution, this is again very very slow even on the highest rate and, frankly, clunky. SW did awesome job with their Synscan for phones, I am not in the business but it is really hard to make an app that does the biz very simply and intuitively. GPS signal never turned green on the Rowan page, stayed orange, I have no idea why. edit: realized why, mount has to be outside for some time, has its own GPS module. All in all, I'll probably be one of the early hand controller adopters.

Yes, I get the point, never did WL photography so have no idea how exposure translates...

Is photographic version really necessary for photography...seeing that h-alpha works fine in photography and is not nearly as bright?

It is my single stack Lunt 80, thank you!

Low, just over the roofs so the seeing was good visually only up to about 35x. Dropped down barlow to f/9 for this one.

One more...two limb proms, rather large...

Updated...finally properly heated my blocking filter and here are the results, even at low altitude (18 degrees in the afternoon). Nine active regions going on... Could have probably dropped magnification down, but now it is too late.

My new blocking filter finally came back from Lunt (cost me arm and a leg in shipping to and from the USA), so I braved the cold to test it today. Looks good on full disk so far, as I did not have to massively pull the black point in order to cull one side, but I reserve my judgment. It was fairly cold, sub zero, I heated BF with a dew strip but probably did not manage to pull another full disk shot after the surge prominence as the features went bland (I suspect, because of the BF cooldown). It was good while it lasted. I first saw it visually, it was incredibly quick and by the time I put camera in it started to dissipate, all in all say 5-7 minutes before the quietness of that full disk and the other two shots. My processing is incredibly rusty, had to re-watch Marty's tutorials and feel as if I have never processed a h-alpha photo. So this was a very quick job...super busy at the moment.

Thank you. I understand that one star/object alignment is possible with the Rowan app with it just being level. By the way, where is Rowan app in Playstore? How do you actually get it?

I knew I read it somewhere...but i forgot - can you do a one object quick alignment in Sky Safari, like on a planet or on Sol? Does it require AZ 100 te pointed South and level? Not sure why that would be the case as SW AzGti can do a quick align without being pointed south...

Exactly my situation, no Sun until March as it is obstructed by a taller building opposite. Come second half of May, I also get a very late Sun appearance on the east (it is already quite high) as the street is not exactly E-W oriented. So I have two good 'windows' at the Sun in the city.

Thank you very much, Stu. Yes, the primary idea was perhaps pairing WL and H-alpha, and, ocassionally, C8 (or friend's C11) and a frac. I guess every different combination of telescopes needs further adjusting? Is that why you opted for ADM, easier to deal with than Rowan's adjustment saddle?

As I have ordered the dual saddle version and am waiting for it...is adjustment plate a must?

Ordered it, finally, motors and dual saddle. Hope it will be good enough and rock solid for solar/planetary AP, too.

First post updated now to include 01 Jan 2023 image.

Very nice. I'd say tone down the blues just a tiny bit...perhaps.

Dyadic is much stronger, difference between the levels is, I believe, in geometric progression. I have finally found explanation in Villadrich's Planetary astronomy...