adyj1

It's great to hear how you've been able to keep your daughter interested - there's a lot of good advice there. And this is exactly how I got into astrophotography 😁

'absolute bargain doesn't do it justice! Lots of colours to choose from. Just ordered a couple of rolls (including white, of course 😉) Here's an Amazon Link directly to the offer - I don't expect the 40% voucher will be there for long. Ady

I will be doing something similar to what Malc has suggested, but using an XL4005 buck converter so that I have screw terminals instead of having to do any soldering. It'll need a bit more tinkering to get it in a small box with a DC 5.5/2.1 connector, but at least its cheap 😉 NB - I won't be using DC 5.5/2.1 connectors for anything other than 12v (I see that some dummy plugs have 5.5/2.1 connectors, but are only for 8v). I don't trust my astrodark self to no plug the wrong thing in 😉 Ady

No longer relevant... Thanks

I'm as anally retentive as the next pedant, but if you're selling to the masses it is probably better to use an inaccurate term that everyone understands and helps sell your product than it is to be accurate and confuse people....

If you've done software development, you'll know that it isn't always as easy as it looks. And to be fair to the devs - remember this is free software - how much time do you think it would be worth working on a 'niche' feature like this, compared to the time they should be taking to work on new features that everyone is clamouring for... ? They've come a long way in a short time, and this thread stands testament to how well they've done. I'm still not using it, though 😉

I found this video really useful; Although he is using the panorama for Ekos, everything he does to create the 360 panorama is a generic process and he explains the different software you can use.

May as well also add Ekos to the list for its cross-platform capabilities (Linux/Windows/OSX) . I too was an APT user as a beginner, and very happy with it, but when I wanted a cheap, light grab-and-go setup decided on a Raspberry Pi 4 and Astroberry (which includes Kstars/Ekos) and am very happy. I've decided to run it on the pier PC too.

Thanks Brendan - I say it is worth what you can sell it for, so get it on the for Sale forum and see what happens 🙂

It looks like an ADM saddle clone. A new puck costs £29 from FLO - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-replacement-saddles/adm-replacement-puck.html Your puck is for pre-Sept 2008 mounts, so I expect that more people have the newer mounts and therefore you'd probably have a bigger market for the saddle if you split them (as long as someone did buy the puck on its own). Personally, I have the older mount so would be interested in you selling them as a pair 😉 Ady

Don't forget polar alignment - I used to pay for sharpcap Pro for the PA but Ekos is free and better automated (it rotates the mount for you) 👍

Out of interest, @George Gearlesswould you mind posting a single exposure with no processing? I'm interested to see a comparison between that and the stacked image, (given how blurred the stacked result is...) and might give me something to look out for in case this happens to some of my images in the future... Thanks

Don't worry, It is one of the hardest things to get right when you're starting out. Take things at your own pace and keep asking questions - even if you think they are daft... The easiest way to learn is have an experienced astronomer looking over your shoulder telling you where you are going wrong - the hardest way is to have to use forums to try to explain something that doesn't work, you don't understand, and seems very complicated 😆. Once you get it cracked, the universe awaits 😉

Well done - secret NINA stash found! Every day is a learning day 😄

Paul, I hope this isn't feeling like we're ganging up on you, but we can't think of anywhere that NINA *could* store a whole session of capture files that would get automatically deleted. We really are hoping that your error wasn't you losing the files, it is just that you don't know where the 'secret NINA stash' is on your disk...

That clip does seem to illustrate the point well. What length of time does the clip cover? (At first I thought you must have mounted it on a horse 🤣 )

Vlaiv, the points you have made make sense and I can't argue with the numbers (and as usual I've learned something from your posts) . The irony is that the 'P' in CEM25P is supposed to mean 'guaranteed low periodic error of ~+/- 10 Arc seconds or less.' 😆 Ady

... that depends how bad your polar alignment is 😉 I completely accept it could be PE, but in my very limited experience PA has normally been the culprit for short(ish) exposure trailing.

Everything Vlaiv (and Olly) says is right, but I have to say that I'd expect to get better than 15-20 second exposures without guiding. As a beginner the step up to guiding can be a bit daunting (and normally results in a hike in complexity), so if you don't have the necessary guiding equipment to hand, I'd concentrate first on your polar alignment.

Ouch. Where is it storing files during the session that mean shutting down loses them? I haven't used NINA but this situation does seem odd...

Thanks Bob!

A couple of minor points; Your first link is to a page in your Amazon order history. You'll be pleased to hear that when someone clicks it takes them to THEIR order history not yours... (unless you and I have remarkably similar buying patterns 😉) Also, that's the link to the old DSD power hub 2 (I guess it is hub 2 V1), which isn't for sale any more (hopefully the website will be updated soon). The current hub 2 v2 is rated at 8A rather than 10A and has a 5.5mm/2.1mm input socket, the same as the output sockets (the old hub 2 V1 had 5.5mm/2.5mm input socket); https://shop.deepskydad.com/product/dc-hub-2/ Ady

Is it hiding behind that pterodactyl? 😂 Awesome shot 👍

Do you have a 12v DC plug-in transformer with a 5.5mm/2.1mm barrel plug (min. 750mA ouptput)? If you were able to temporarily try the mount with a 12v supply - maybe with a mains extension lead from the house - it would be a good way to establish whether power is causing you a problem.

Whilst I've spend many, many times more than I ever expected on astronomy, I do still prefer to look for the cost-effective solution. If buying cheap isn't too expensive, then I'll give it a go - inevitably there's some things that just aren't good enough, but my home-made FTDI cable (spliced with a cable that had the correct end for the AZ-Gti) has been reliable, so hasn't needed the expensive replacement... (so far!)