Waldemar

This file may be of interest to you, Dave: SuperfastPA.pdf I have quite a library of ASA files, so if you are looking for some information, chances are that I've got it.

That is bad... I hope there's no damage

Congratulations! I am glad they solved your problem Now enjoy that incredible piece of technique.

Probably 3V Litium batteries CR 123

I am very glad everything worked out well for you and my worries were unfounded. Congrats!

The problem maybe cone error. (or maybe flexure) I used three OTA rings on my TEC to prevent flexure. The real problem is that you can't acces your scope being in a remote position... Not being able to fine tune things yourself and being at the merci of somebody elses technical skills and knowhow can be very frustrating. Running SMTP may give you some more insight. B.t.w., thank you for your kind words Dave, but I am not a specialist either.

As far as I know the largest and most up to date star catalogue is the UCAC4 (about 12 Gb) If you can't get it downloaded (you will need a really fast connection), I can send you a copy by mail from the original NASA release, which they sent me in 2014. (2 discs)

Sorry, if I sounded a bit harsh, did not mean to. I love those old SCT's and to me it sounded as if you took a huge risc. The way you wrote about it made me think you did this just for doing it, not because it was really neccessary... To me that is not a smart thing to do. Normally mirrors don't sparkle, they just reflect. If they sparkle that means the reflecting light is scattered by scratches. I hope that is not the case with yours. You do not need emery paper to ruin a mirror. Those old SCT's did not have a protecting layer, yet and are ruined by just softly whiping them with a cotton ball. The only way to clean them the right way is to dismantle the mirror, so it can be flushed with distilled water. But you will know soon enough I guess...

I assume you put the corrector plate back in exactly the same position, for that is very critical for good performance. You say: 'the mirror did not look dirty' so why taking the risk of cleaning it?? Cleaning the mirror of an SCT while still in the tube is not a good idea either... Waiting for dark nights is not needed, Jupiter is very prominent in the night sky and a great target for an SCT. I hope the sparkling is not caused by little scratches you made when cleaning... Did you use the opportunity to flock the tube as well? Good luck to you

The best way to get it under control is to avoid rat cages... Yours has quite long threaded ends in the picture. Making them shorter and filling the threads up with nuts will make a huge difference Another real important issue is radial balancing, so not just RA and DEC, but also radial. If radial balance is not ok, it will be impossible to get a good overall balance in every position, and the mount will use more power and may stop That is so critical that a focus motor on one side of the scope which is not compensated by a counterweight on the other side, will cause problems... I can't either, but I would not anyway, I am kind of a perfectionist, so I want to be able to improve constantly.... for me that is a big part of the hobby and sometimes quite a frustration 🤬... 😂

Hi Datalord, good to hear you are pleased with your ASA. Yes, it is a beautiful monster and it performs incredibly. The fast and silent slews are dangerous, though. Be careful! The software is a bit tricky but not that bad and it is kind of a nice challenge to get it all right. It works very well with SGP if Sequence is a bit hard to start with. The forum is not dead at all, it is just quiet in summer time. I haven't seen you there, yet, did you subscribe allready? The pier does not have to be at 'dead level', about right is good enough. As long as you got enough room to polar align, I see you have a "rat cage' construction to mount the ASA on. You may find the ASA does not like that. It may start making vibration noises, If so, realise that the rat cage is the cause. That kind of construction tends to amplify vibrations on its resonance frequency and the mount reacts on that. The resonance frequency depends on the lengths of the used threaded ends and the mass of the load. Just so you know that may be the cause if the mount makes weird sounds and is not responding well on the PID settings. If you really need the rat cage construction, keep the threaded ends as short and thick as possible, that will make a difference. Have loads of fun with that great piece of equipment!! edit: I just realised the mount is in a remote hosting facility... do they host more ASA's there?

This is what SX says about the Oculus camera: Oculus is the latest introduction to the innovative portfolio of Starlight Xpress products. The Oculus uses a SuperHAD CCD from Sony which has all of the wonderful benefits of an interline Sony CCD, such as incredibly low thermal noise and very fast electronic shutter (no need for mechanical shutters). With exceedingly low noise electronics and a fast f/2 180 degree fisheye lens, capturing the night sky is an absolute dream. So you are right to expect something totally different from what you are showing... (nice picture, though) I think this is just a software setting that is off. SX should be able to give you the right answer...

The only way to get this sorted is by trial and error. Too many factors are involved for a manufacturor to give you the exact distance. You need to be able to take steps of max 0,1 mm to find the ideal distance. An adjustable extension like this: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-t2-extension-12-16mm.html or the Baader Varilock (2 lengths available) are the easiest way to do this.

I am not familiar with your mount, but if the IC is in a socket, you can replace it and have a spare board at hand... If you do so, ground yourself while replacing it, because static electricity is a real killer for integrated circuits.

If the damage is done to an IC, you will not see any burns or scars... and very little is needed to kill them. anyway, I am glad you are in bussiness again!

When you took the front lens apart, like you wrote in your first mail, did you maybe put the inner double convex lens in in the wrong way? That could explain the long backfocus...

bad RS232-USB converter maybe? In my experience FTDI always works...

Could you make a picture of the damage?

Not losing it, James, just a keen eye!

Could use a clearglass filter... : https://www.gerdneumann.net/english/filter/astronomik-filters/photographische-filter-astronomilk-photographic-filters/astronomik-mc-clear-filter.html?___store=deutsch

Why don't you just try what you like best?

Light, powerfull and does not need maintenance (Not lead/acid but LiFePO4). : https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-17-Hour-Capacity-PowerTank-18768/dp/B07D97CMG3

People (especialy vendors) who tell you things like that are just plain liers or they have no idea what they are talking about. It is physically impossible to see colours in the dark, because your are eyes are not capable of doing that, point. Some people think they see colours, but that is a trick of their brain... more like wishfull thinking. The only way to see the colours of DSO objects is to image them, which is quite a challenge with your set up... not impossible, but quite a challenge... The best advice I could give you is to buy the book: 'Making every photon count' by Steve Richards. It will help you to understand 'what, when and why', and will make your journey into imaging a LOT easier (and cheaper...).

There are several places available to use the spacers for aligning the fw... before the ff, which is the right place or between the ff and the camera/filterwheel, which of course is the wrong place. I assumed the OP is aware of that. A lot of options are available to rotate the camera without changing the ff distance. This: http://astrograph.net/Baader-T2-Quick-Change-Ring-/-Rotator-Kit is a great, but expensive solution

The distance between fc or ff and the sensor is very critical, the position of the fw with regards to the radial balance is critical as well. Those two things are not interdependant. Very well possible to get the exact fc/ff distance and still get the fw in the right (balanced) position. Totally depends on where you put the spacers, or the rotation ring for that matter.