alacant

Hi What do the logs say? At that image scale you're likely going to need the larger maps. Before you download, other stuff to try: - make sure 'Use scale' is unchecked (it's under 'Options') - up the settle time - ensure focus is better than perfect - make certain the mount is tracking - bin 1 - a rich star field high in the sky - unity gain (I think on a 678 it's 100) - a shorter exposure - a longer exposure If still no go, download If it still doesn't work, go with ASTAP. Cheers and HTH

Hi Keep the ISO at 800. 600d, so take no dark frames of any sort. Simply calibrate the light and flat frames by subtracting the offset. The easiest way to do that is by using Siril, the added advantage of which is that it will also take care of any banding. Cheers and HTH

Hi Maybe there is confusion between 'park' and 'home'? AFAIK, there are an infinite number of possible park positions but the home position is unique to your site. It sounds as if the motor is turning, but the worm is not meshing with the crown. I couldn't find any detail on worm adjustment as I don't think anyone has had a 350 to bits yet so maybe best to ask SW about the noise. If you are now beginning sessions with 'autohome' and have set park relative to that, ignore what follows... The only way our EQ8-r (same board, same encoders, same firmware) knows where it is, is by first registering the position of the axis encoders. This is most easily done by issuing the 'autohome' command. Under INDI eqmod, we can perform this without having to resort to the handbox. Under eqascom, you must first issue autohome from the hand controller. To have predictable parking and slewing, everything must be measured relative to the autohome position. Just in case, remove any plate solving coordinates you may have stored before you begin. Once you have the home position set correctly, simply slew to where you want to park and save that position via eqascom. Apart from that, am out of ideas but HTH anyway

Hi No need to clean as no matter how hard you try, you'll never get rid of all the dust in the optical train. Unless the sensor is damaged, flat frames will correct the dark areas and tidy your image in other ways. We don't know what DSLR you used so can only guess, but the blue banding could be a defective row of pixels on the sensor, you've left the memory card in the camera, electrical interference, a faulty cable, introduced by old camera firmware... In any case, it's easily removed in processing. Cheers and HTH

For taking video of a planet, it would be nice. Otherwise 5 minute frames of a galaxy present no problem over usb2. Dunno. Still thinking...

OK and thanks for the reply. I'm being particularly thick today so I can't find one. It appears simple enough now I know what I'm looking for, but seems impossible to find. A 3m active usb3 cable with these plugs at either end. I've tried in English and Spanish... nada. Any ideas? TIA

Hi everyone. I've a mount hub to computer connection with a usb3 female on the mount. i want to connect this to a computer around 3m away. A 3m usb3 cable doesn't work. A 0.5m usb3 cable connected to a 3m usb2 cable works. Apart from moving the computer closer to the mount -which puts it out of reach of the guy's vnc over wifi- what options do I have for usb3 between mount and computer? Cheers

No. On a 600d, they are best avoided. The bias must still however be removed, otherwise the flat frames will not calibrate correctly. Please see my previous post regarding offset and use of Siril.

~16 should do it. Yes, but only if you change NOTHING in the optical train. This includes stuff which is difficult to control such as dust settling on the camera sensor... They only take a few minutes to do so you may as well take them each time anyway to save having to deal with surprises further down the process. HTH

Hundreds of 'em. Try a search on 'siril astro' Yes. A drawing tablet or a uniform cloudy sky is fine. Set your camera on Av and adjust the t-shirt/paper until you have an exposure of around 2s. HTH

Any colour is fine. Or card or paper...

The Digic firmware introduces noise/artefacts which make processing -especially background- difficult. Link to that, the impossibility of producing temperature matched dark-light frames and, well... Just don't. We speak from bitter experience! Siril download: https://siril.org/download/ Especially this: https://siril.org/tutorials/tuto-manual/ Hope That Helps Cheers and HTH

ISO 800. Expose for as long as you can before overexposing or stars become distorted. Whichever comes first. 600d, so no dark frames of any type. Instead, calibrate simply by subtracting the offset (2048) from the flat and light frames. Siril makes this part easy. 90% moon, but way over to the east. Take any clear sky you have;) Cheers and HTH.

How about m44? One of the last clusters for a while.

Hi I don't think eqmod under ascom has autohome, so use the handbox to home it before connecting. Cheers and HTH.

Here is the -hopefully provisional- solution... Yes, I've touched the water supply elsewhere in the property, y nada. No LOL please!

Good only if you're using a camera designed for astro-photography, flat frames are however recommended obligatory either way; they'll correct the dark spots and vignetting. Cheers

¡Que lástima! Es que en móviles en este foro, no se ve dónde se vive la gente. On this forum on 'phones, you can't see where folk live.

Hi Just in case anyone else is adjusting, I wonder if that should perhaps read, '... which you can't get to w/ the motor attached'? Oh dear. really? You mentioned a broken bolt (?). Maybe some parts are on order? Dunno. The backlash adjustment only takes around 20 minutes or so. If you don't want/have the time/etc to adjust/fix yourself, this guy es perfectionista. Cheers

Hi everyone I wonder if this example (from the latest batch of eq8-r version 3) holds the record for out-of-the-box backlash? One is out of the box, the other after adjustment. I'll let the graphics speak for themselves!

Hi If it's working for you, stay with it. The Digic circuitry introduces artefacts which makes it more difficult to process, especially the background. Link that with the impossibility of producing temperature matched darks to introduce yet more noise and well... If all that's needed is to lose the offset, then yeah... I'm all for keeping it simple. Cheers and HTH.

Ah, OK. That may explain why when looking at star fields in particular, the Bessel makes the others -apart from perhaps the yellow 8- seem dull by comparison. Also, based purely on words overheard at the eyepìece, the susceptibility to being sensitive to purple fringing seems to be age dependent. Older observers may well benefit financially, filter-wise! Cheers

Hi We hardly ever look through telescopes but reserve that right once a year or so to point our violet fringe special -an ES ar152 f5- toward Sagittarius. We find that if you use a series of filters, one after another, you'll notice any colour they impart. Stick to one (a #8 is good) and after a while, you don't notice. The purest stars we've seen is with a Bessel V. Cheers and HTH

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Any type of dark frame on an eos is bad news. I'd be delighted to help you out with more contributions if necessary.