alacant

Hi Excellent shot. It's slightly tilted, but nothing bad. Usually simply reseating the camera/ff/focuser assembly is all that's required. Processing: perhaps go with a less-is-more approach? Especially with the background. There's loadsa detail emerging and the stars are wonderful. Cheers and HTH

Hi I think you're trying to pre-process frames of different sizes. AFAIK, the aligning/coalescing/distorting/rotating has to be done in the registration step. In Siril: Pre-process each night separately then make a new sequence of all the pre-processed files. NOW you can register. HTH

JTOL and I'm hoping that YMMV... Have you checked to see if the focuser is capable of holding the camera/cc/fw assembly at the required distance? Even with a quality 2-1/2" r&p, we gave up with a similar specified ES. Here we are at 80mm with a DSLR at the focal plane:

We can't advise because we don't know the diameter of your spacers. m48 gives you the option of clamping anywhere along the length. Unfortunately, zwo supply only m42. The main problem with the gso is retaining stability and balance with the focal plane so far from the tube.

Hi Yes. Indeed... Nothing. Fortunately, it would never be deployed in such configuration. The GSO has m48 threads, so as long as you have allowed for any adapter 48 to 42, the 75mm would be a good place to begin the positioning trials. IIRC, over aps-c, you'll probably find the best correction is however nearer 80mm; there is usually a 5mm m48 to m42 adapter supplied already fitted. Cheers and HTH

Hi Not at all. The stacking app will rotate (and scale if necessary) so as to match the stars in each frame. HTH

Congratulations. Apart from a few gusts of wind/cat interference/adjusting the mount, the PE has all but gone and the field of view is super flat with perfectly controlled stars wherever you look. I'd recommend leaving it as it is. Make any minor adjustments on the night via the GA only. You can now follow the golden rule to which few adhere: look at the images, not the graphs! Cheers

It moves the focus position away from the tube. The disadvantage is that it puts the focal plane so far from the tube as to be on the limit of what the focuser can manage, inducing tilt as the tube tracks the sky. We would recommend a first generation GPU cc at bf-52mm, if only to retain sensible focus position, native focal length and field of view. Cheers and HTH

No spacers needed. The required distance is correctly set simply by using the adapter which was linked in the earlier discussion:

Hi. eq6r, so... eqascom Set the mount guide speed to 0.9x sidereal for both RA and DEC, then recalibrate. phd2 Set ppec to 480s. If still subject to PE, post the guide log.. Guide DEC using Resist Switch. Run the GA for at least 2 minutes. Take ALL the recommendations apart from backlash settings. hardware Move the FF a mm or so from the sensor. If matters worsen, return to the original spacing. Tilt: remove the camera and FF assembly then loosen and wiggle the interface between the two before re-tightening and replacing. Reseating will usually help with the tilt before resorting to more drastic measures. geografía Fuerteventura? amazon.es will deliver anywhere in Canarias but you'll save quite a bit by using AliExpress via Correos. Leave a note to the seller to use an EU warehouse. Cheers and HTH

The spacing is CRITICAL. The coma corrector has a m48 thread. So... Lose the Barlow and the t2 adapters. To set the correct spacing, all you need is the Nikon version of one of these. Keep it simple! https://www.amazon.es/Vbestlife-Adaptador-Aluminio-Adaptarse-M48-EOS/dp/B07PP26BGD/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?adgrpid=123572583348&hvadid=486013403758&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=20267&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2999691609468659050&hvtargid=kwd-343260146324&hydadcr=13173_1805824&keywords=canon%2Bm48&qid=1698314569&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1 Cheers and HTH

Hi Any progress on this? You don't need clear skies to check focus. Point at e.g. a distant tree with the camera set to live view. The quattro will reach focus easily, even with a dSLR, always supposing you have the shoulder of the cc 55mm from the sensor. A m48 to Eos adapter, 11mm thick, is all you need. No other adapter or extension is required. Cheers

Hi Do you have any need for switch servers? Maybe to remotely close your observatory/custom board/power box/WHY? If not, just remove them. Cheers

Hi Are you sure you have the time and location set correctly? I think SC may take some values from the operating system; the calibration took place more than 8 hours from the meridian at DEC 50º. Cheers

I doubt it's anything to do with mass, but perhaps you could: - check balance in both axes - use EQMOD instead of synscan Those are guesses. Maybe post photos of the setup and the PHD2 log(s)? That would give us a much better chance of being able to advise. Cheers

Hi Here's one we did by trial and error using an adapter similar to that specified by @michael8554. Since the Takumar 300 doesn't focus by moving internal elements relative to eachother, the spacing isn't critical. So long as you're within about 10mm, you can focus by simply twisting the lens barrel outward to reach infinity. I think the 183 has 17mm bf and the Takumar 45mm, so the adapter + a 20mm ring should get you there. Note that at infinity, the old Takumars focus only blue and green, leaving stars with a red halo. Use live stream to get you there, then back away until the red halo just disappears. Cheers and HTH

Hi. Nothing special. Just a minimalist StarTools process, with the emphasis on minimal. It could be that the image looks unusual these days: none of the stars have been manipulated/removed/separated/layered/WHY and the image is free of ai. Cheers

Hi, yes. As you describe. If flat fields are correcting ok, then you may as well leave it. Only adjust if star shapes are being affected. If you have a collimated laser, it may be easier to use that in the focuser to align, but hey, either method takes only a few minutes.

Hi everyone A pristine 72ed landed on the bench and looked in perfect repair, Three issues; focuser, astigmatism, tilt We removed the 4 rubber -mainly split, hardened and distorted- 'o' rings- from the focuser, loosened the lens collar of the objective cell, rattled it about a bit and then tightened until the rattle of the lenses just disappeared. That was two out of three major issues fixed. The tilt was a little more difficult and without a reliable laser, resorted to taking flat frames whilst wiggling the shiny collar. It worked quite well. From tilt city: ... to something which is reasonable; Waiting for m45 to reach imageable altitude, someone suggested we tested on this. Oh, and I finally realised the official intended purpose of the mysterious black cup which is supplied with all SkyWatcher telescopes and which is normally used to take tots of coñac on cold nights whilst imaging. Thanks for looking and do post your low end sw refractor experiences. apilado siril 1.3.0a, procesado st 1.9.558, ~90m

Hi everyone Never had much luck with skywatcher refractors but this 72ed, after a little persuasion, seemed tolerable, especially with the 4 element ff. Instead of the expected fat blue blobs, reasonable stars emerged. Does anyone else use a 72? How do you find it? Wishing you clear skies and thanks for looking. siril 1.3.0a st 1.9.558 ~6h

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHc94mf Or any combination of m42x0.75 tubes to get you to 80. Cheers and HTH

Hi Here's an st80 at focus with a guide camera. It needs 80mm of extension for a straight connection. HTH

+1 We were relieved when the trial period ended!

Hi everyone One of the few occasions - two per month if we're lucky- where the atmosphere allows guiding good enough for a 1000mm fl telescope. I'm coming to the conclusion that any longer and you may as well just use something shorter; if you want closer, just enlarge it. Not many globular clusters recently (not many nights good enough!) so in an attempt to redress the balance... Thanks for looking. Maybe tell us what focal length limit you consider doable using low end equipment at your site. gso203, siril 1.3.0a, st 1.9.558b, ~2h

Hi Maybe there is something wrong with the camera bias. Using the method I outlined, there is no banding, but there is streaking (you didn't dither) and a light leak which renders the frame difficult to process, even after a heavy crop. My advice would be to reset the camera to factory values or get it serviced, eliminate the light leak, dither and shoot again. But this time loads more frames.. Anyway, here are the steps I took applying the banding routine to the sequence. I did not use your bias or dark frames.