Gerry Casa Christiana

The way I resolved this issue on my Canon 550d (almost) is by removing the SD card out of the camera. Someone on here Carol if I remember correctly suggested I try. Since then I don’t keep a SD card in. I believe it’s a electronic signal being picked up in the frame. Give it a try Gerry

Hi Alacant Whats the benefit of the guide camera being binned? Thanks Gerry

I think the issue is more the length of your exposures. 20 seconds is not enough to get the detail you need. The background in the first picture is too bright. In photoshop try to get the black levels to around 30 that will help to see more detail in the galaxy. Kind regards Gerry

I'm still on dslr and if price is no option God willing I would probably go mono there is still a temptation there to go one shot though. So even if you don't have a permanent setup you would say it's still faster? So using Ha on red and Oiii on blue and normal green for improving star colour and size? Learning a lot Thanks

Love it when people go against the flow I have to say it's quite convincing just a quick question if I may. With the first picture if you needed to improve on it would you increase time on rgb or spend more time on luminance or h Alpha? Is there a sound ratio to colour and luminance that you follow? Thanks Gerry

Here is how to fit the rail in case you've made a mistake somewhere. It shouldnt slip regardless of how much weight on it. Might be worth checking if you have that problem.

Did you tighten them? If not you must but only to the point where the mount doesn't wobble side to side if you try and shake it while on the tripod. It should be solid.

I can't say if it improved it but I can say it does not slip and polar alignment is fine on my setup as before. It's absolutely rock solid. The modification would in my opinion help to hold things firmer as your not holding the weight of the mount with the end of a bolt but it has a proper support. It's a great mod and I wouldn't be without it. I changed mine as the bolt started to bend and I couldn't turn it by hand anymore. When I dismantled it the bolts had started to damage the mount even though it's not that old. 3 years roughly. Hope that helps. Kind regards

If anything I think the polar alignment stability is about the same. Not sure about when heavily loaded as im using a skywatcher 150pds on mine. The three lateral screws I tightened the so there was no wobble but beyond that I have had no issues.

I'm pretty sure it won't work with a Newtonian Unfortunately you will need one if you want to do imaging.

I don’t think that you can use a SCT coma corrector on a Newtonian I doubt they would be compatible. Someone will give you the technical answer I’m sure. Kind regards Gerry

From my understanding the CLS CCD is ok for galaxies as well as nebulas whereas the UHC is not. I use it for galaxies and although I'm no expert and my colours are not always right I always use the CLS CCD as I have full spectrum like you a modified Canon 550d. I don't think it will affect the galaxy too much it just removes a lot of yellow which can be adjusted afterwards. One of mine from earlier this year with the same filter. Gerry

Then the choice of camera? I was thinking about the 178mc but maybe 178mm would be good. It's to completely change the fov so I can get some smaller galaxies and maybe even some planetary nebulas. I noticed the 183 has the same sensor size of 2.4 does that mean if I crop I get the same image size? What about quality of image?

Well that convinced me I think. So now I just have to save more money for filters and filter wheel. Now you say it I've heard this before and it does make perfect sense. I'll be saving for a mono now if it means saving time. Thanks for taking the time to explain that.

Now it makes sense why it was so good. I would love to do mono but it's a question of time but seems like a lot more time needed? I seem to have a couple of sessions when it's clear maybe 3 hours and then call it session done anyway very nice well done.

That is really nice. So you have the colour version. I've been thinking about this camera too especially for galaxies like the one above.

Wow fascinating. Love to see what kind of results you get. Anyway for another thread.

A spectrograph. It's a area I know nothing about. Could I ask what you use it for? Related to spectral analysis of stars etc? Regards Gerry

So that's where all the confusion is. Types of prism looks like one is reflective another transparent. As you say we live and learn. Wonder what works best in practice. Good to know actually because later if like for me I decide to get a cmos then i might need a different oag. All the best Gerry

Ah yes it is quite different. Looking at the picture looks like a clear prism? No matter as long as it works. With mine which I also bought from there but made for dslr you cannot adjust the mirror like yours but it works fine for me let us know when all is working.

Actually looking a little closer probably both are correct it's just the angle of the prism that threw me. Regardless of the pictures. Thanks google! The idea is light comes down the telescope to both the camera and the guide camera in the same direction one small part gets refectled up by the prism towards the guide camera. That's the principle which is clearer than pictures obviously in this example. Apologies for any confusion. Let us know when it's all working otherwise one of us will pop over to fix the mess I've created

Actually the picture above is incorrect the angle of the prism will be going towards the focuser not the camera Kind regards Gerry

Yes I think it's a bit pricey too but now I've installed it I'm really glad I spent the money. Mine was chewed up like that too so I was glad to avoid any further damage. I wouldn't hesitate to get one if you have problems moving the bolt. Also I still have my original bolt which was bent and I straightened and I reinstalled it. Works great! Gerry

No I managed to fix it into the nut by laying it on its side so the bolt is threaded into the nut but maybe it's not on at all! But its working good but I can always take it off but so far it's solid let me know what you think of the mod. Clear skies Gerry

Yes I think I was lucky with the nut I managed to get the bolt back into it and tightened it up. Yes I'm sure yours will be fine. The best way is to put your gear on it before the final assembly try to move it side to side then adjust until you have no play then put the sides back on. That's what I did. Gerry