Andyb90

1 hour ago, LightBucket said:

Hi,

I run Linux Ubuntu alongside my win 10 on a dual boot laptop, it works great, i then have an  rpi strapped to my mount with the brilliant Stellarmate OS installed, Stellarmate is an OS already set up with all the software you will need including Kstars and Ekos and full INdI, (produced by the guy who created Ekos) it costs $49, but worth it as all the work is already done for you, especially if you are new to Linux.

I then connect to that rpi from my Linux part of my laptop using the built in Stellarmate wireless hotspot, or you can use a direct network cable, then run Kstars and ekos from the laptop and the rpi is just the sever where all the devices are connected, it runs fantastically, and I would never go back to windows for astro use...

You can run the Kstars direct from the rpi but maybe be a tad slow, hence running the rpi as a server instead...

It really is easy to set up, I had never even seen Linux before and still found it quite easy, if you don’t want to pay out for Stellarmate then you just have to set up all the software yourself and install in an SD card.

Also Stellarmate is available as a full OS including the rpi and all I staled, for $149 but I think that is a bit much, when you can buy just the OS and an rpi for around £80...

Yoj can also get Kstars and ekos for windows and not bother with Linux at all, and use the rpi as the INdI server, that works well too...choices choices....

https://www.stellarmate.com/products/stellarmate-os.html

Hope that helps..

I'm just installing Ubuntu alongside windows on the laptop at the moment.

Is it possible to run the KStars client and INDI server together on the laptop? Then remote onto it to monitor KStars. That's what I do with Windows. I don't mind having the laptop outside sat next to my rig.

Andy.

Hi everyone,

I'd like to try KSTARS with INDI, but I'm not sure where to start. Looking at the system requirements on the INDI website it says "It is highly recommended to run INDI in an embedded Linux computer". Can anyone explain what that means? Is it a specific type of hardware?

I have a Windows 8 laptop so was hoping maybe I could install Linux on it or would that not work? Do I need to get an "embedded single board computer"?

Andy.

Re-felted the rings and fitted the spacers. Dew shield is well clear of Losmandy plate and there is plenty of room for dew heater bands. The setup feels nice and solid.

Looking good now just as bonfire night is approaching!

Andy.

9 hours ago, RayD said:

And the glue on the felt is rubbish so after a while you'll find the glue fails and the OTA starts sliding out of the rings.....felt and all!

Good to know. I've stripped the original felt off and will re-felt the rings. Just wondering what would be the best glue to use.

Andy.

3 hours ago, warwa said:

Hi.

Have you been able to test the 102mm rings yet.    I'm thinking about doing this with my esprit 80.

I got the rings the other day. They are slightly too big out of the box so I got a piece of felt, cut some strips to size and put them in the rings. Now they fit fine and OTA doesn't budge.

The other thing is that the Esprit dew shield is slightly wider than the rings. So I've ordered some Primalucelab spacers for mounting them on my Losmandy plate and also for mounting stuff on top of the rings.

Andy.

3 hours ago, RayD said:

Good job.  Glad it went without a hitch.

If those rings are tight then they do look a tiny bit small if you look where the OTA meets the felt liner at the bottom and top, it doesn't look snug and appears to be a small gap?  Try the 102mm as they may be better.

As noted by John he used 101mm so you may need these, but can't do any harm to try the others first.

Thanks, I'm relieved it worked ok. The felt on the Primalucelab rings is quite thick, which is working against me with the 100mm ones. I'm hoping it will work in my favour with the 102 rings.

3 hours ago, Jkulin said:

Yep mine were a perfect fit, someone was selling a set of Williams ones on here, just remember to check whether the hole spacing is metric or imperial, the Williams was metric so I needed a metric spaced Losmandy bar.

On the top I had a SW Guide Mount setup, but took it off as I had planned to use my Moravian OAG on all three setups, but may revert back and just use the OAG on the RC.

I cannot for the life of me see why SW made such a poor setup, after all its fitted with a really good R&P focuser, quality optics but crap attachment to your mount.?

It's frustrating as I did have the 101mm rings, but sold them before I decided to get the Esprit 80. ? I see WO have discontinued them and before that had them on clearance for $29 !

I really should have done this in the Summer, but it's a lesson learnt for me.

Andy.

I got the ratchet set today and loosened the nuts easily, but couldn't get them off the bolts. At this point I was getting a bit worried ! Then realised I could peel off the rubber on the bottom of the mounting foot. This revealed a base plate with 4 small screws. I removed them and the base plate. This allowed me to get an Allen key wrench into the hex screw head of the bolt. At the same time I had the ratchet on the nut in the ota. Then I just unscrewed the bolts. The freed nut stayed inside the ratchet socket so did'nt fall into the OTA. Phew ? I was able to do this without catching the inner rim inside the OTA too  ?.

Now I've put the tube rings on the OTA. The only thing is they seem a bit small. Below is a picture. I'm not sure if it matters that the rings don't close fully. They're Primalucelab 100mm rings. I've just realised Primalucelab also do 102mm rings and have managed to order a pair to compare.

If the 102mm rings are too big should these rings be okay? I guess anything mounted on top of the rings will be at a bit of an angle, but does that really matter?

Andy.

47 minutes ago, RayD said:

A few people have done this mod, Andy, and I did it on my old ES80.  A simple piece of black electrical insulating tape does the trick perfectly.

I think @Jkulin did this mod on his, so he may be able to share how he went about it.

7 minutes ago, Jkulin said:

Thanks Ray, Yes I removed my foot and used two willaims 101mm (i think) clamps to replace it on my Esprit 80 then used a Losmandy bar to mount my OTA, far better than to the original clamp.

I just carefully unscrewed the rear and removed the nuts and bolts, then covered with tape so that it could be reversed.

Thanks both for the info. I'll use some tape then. @Jkulin were the nuts easy enough to loosen?

Andy.

30 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Well that’s not the best design I have ever seen for fastening a scope foot mount... good luck

what do you do about the holes once removed, as stray light would enter...??

I agree not what I was hoping to find. I'm also a little worried about the circular rim between the outer screw and inner screw. I don't want to strike it with the ratchet and cause any damage as I guess that could affect star shape. I may put some foam around the rim to protect it. I'll see how easily the outer screw comes loose first. It's gonna be a bit nerve wracking.

I was thinking either the holes will be covered by tube rings or if that doesn't work maybe some kind of rubber bung trimmed to size.

Andy.

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Any small socket set like this will do. Of course you can pick up cheap sets off Amazon or eBay for a few quid as well if you don’t think you’ll be using it much. 

https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/socket-sets/halfords-advanced-36-piece-socket-set-1-4

Or the cheapie stuff that won’t last but is cheap.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-36109-Socket-Set-Pieces/dp/B000WDTI1C/ref=sr_1_4?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1539893610&sr=1-4&keywords=Socket+set&refinements=p_36%3A118658031

Thanks for the suggestion have ordered a socket set similar to the Halfords one. So hopefully will be relatively straight forward to get the nuts off.

Andy.

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to remove the mounting foot from my Esprit 80. It is held in place with 2 screws secured by 2 nuts inside the OTA. I'd really appreciate some advice on how best to remove the nuts so I can get the foot off the scope. Is there a specific tool that would help me access the screws easily. Maybe some kind of right angled spanner that would fit over the nuts. Here's a picture, as you can see it is going to be tricky with just a normal spanner.

Andy.

3 hours ago, RayD said:

If you are referring to the Photoline 2" one (4 element) it is a corrector as well as reducer.

Yes that's the one, thanks for confirming it corrects too.

Andy

3 hours ago, Jkulin said:

Indeed the faster a scope the more susceptible it is to the temperature.

Only this week my mate Peter Shah sent me a curse as whilst he was chatting to me his F3.8 Newt had changed focus because the temp had changed marginally and he never checked his focus when he normally would.

I set SGP to refocus every 1 degree of temperature change and it is really is surprising how much difference it makes.

When you are ready the Lakeside worked out the best option for quality and price wise for autofocus and when you have used auto you will never go back to manual, it is just so accurate.

When I get a new setup or change a piece of kit and have to manually focus I use a Bahtinov Mask to get it as good as I can, then let autofocus take over, amazing difference.

Thanks for the information. I think I'm going to stick at f5 for now. As if I end up spending more time manually re-focusing that will probably negate (at least part of) the benefit of reduced f ratio. I think I'll re-visit using the reducer when I have auto focus setup with the scope.

Andy.

13 hours ago, Jkulin said:

Is the reducer a flattener as well, as although I did use my 80 without a flattener whilst i was waiting for it to arrive, it was much better with one.

I found F5 fast enough and didn't want the aggro of continually altering my focus.

I couldn't see on the TS website whether it's a flattener as well. I've emailed them to check.

So the faster the setup generally the more difficult it is to achieve and maintain accurate focus manually. Is that correct? I haven't got auto focusing setup at the moment. I use the star HFR readings in SGPro for focusing manually.

Andy.

Hi everyone,

I'm tempted to try the TS Optics 0.79x reducer with my Esprit 80 as it would give f4. Has anyone tried the reducer with this scope? If so it would be good to know about your experiences. 

I'd also be interested to know if anyone has used another reducer with the Esprit 80 and what the results have been like.

Andy.

How is the helical focuser on the scope?

Andy.

I think you're both right the prism must not be far enough into the light path. I thought I'd got the positioning spot on, but it maybe the locking screw wasn't quite tight enough. Will do as suggested and try sorting it out in daylight. I think the star profile is definitely not right. I don't think FWHM should be negative.

Andy.

Hi Everyone,

I'm using a ZWO OAG with my QHY5III174M guide camera. I can see stars in PHD2 when the exposures are looped, but their shape seems odd.

Here's a screenshot from PHD2:

It looks a bit like only half the star is showing. The stars are definitely out of focus. I did try to adjust focus but could only move the guide head so far before it butted up against the filter wheel. I can never seem to get the top of the OAG aligned with the top of my filter wheel with my threaded connection.

Any advice on what could be causing the star shapes would be gratefully recieved. 

Andy.

4 minutes ago, daz said:

Hi Andy

I don't have the Feathertouch on mine, but I have an Atik One + OAG + Atik GP on my 100 with the r+p and it's absolutely fine. I use the StarSharp motor focuser on mine.

Doesn't really answer your question, but I can't imaging the weight difference between my rig and your ZWO would be that different...

Yes I find it odd as my asi1600 is about 400g, EFW is also about 400g, OAG around 700g and say 1kg for flattener. So total of 2.5kg and round up to 3kg to be on the safe side. Not particularly heavy.

I have a Lakeside motor focuser unit connected and can see the drawtube sticking when the focuser moves out.

FLO have sent me a video showing how to adjust the tension on the pads that support the drawtube. I've done that and hope to test auto focusing again next clear night.

Andy.

9 minutes ago, Doc said:

Just out of curiosity Andy what do you find wrong with the original one fitted to your Esprit? I'm only asking as I have the 120 ED Esprit and would like to know how they compare.

Until recently the focuser has been fine. Then I changed my filter wheel from SX USB wheel to a ZWO wheel and added a ZWO OAG. Since then when the drawtube is racked out its sticking in places, which is throwing out my auto focusing. I've spent some time adjusting the focuser with the hope of resolving the issue, but want to explore the feathertouch as an alternative option.

Andy.

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has fitted a feathertouch R & P focuser to an Esprit 100 scope.

I think this is the one that is compatible 'FeatherTouch 3" R&P Focuser FTF3015BA'. From what I can see an adapter would be needed to attach the focuser to the OTA and an end cap that is compatible with the flattener.

Would be interested to hear anyone's experience if they have this focuser fitted to the Esprit 100.

Andy.

Unfortunately I can't do tonight as I'm on babysitting duty.

Andy.

4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Is anyone up for tonight? Forecast looks like it could go either way but improving after midnight, better in Staffs than Shropshire at the moment...

I can do tonight. I think it's worth a gamble on Shropshire. Can PM a possible location

Andy.

Just did another check for same location in Shropshire. It's a little bit more of a gamble but is nice and dark.

Andy

Yep, sounds good to me.

Andy.