Adreneline

Hi Everyone.

I am having problems with my CEM25-EC, in particular it is not tracking in RA correctly.

With the fantastic help of Alex and the team at FLO and feedback from iOptron I have made some headway in trying to figure out what is wrong, summarised in this nine frame (300s subs) video:

If the -EC mount was tracking correctly there would be no drift.

PA was achieved using a PoleMaster and confirmed with an ASIair. For the last four years the mount has worked perfectly unguided with my Samyang 135mm + ASI183MM - this problem has all started in the last six weeks.

What I really need to try is swapping out the handset, the reason being that the RA Guiding setting on my handset seems to randomly change itself from "Filter" to "Allow" with no intervention from me. The view is this is either a problem with the handset of a problem with the Main or RA board - or both! I am reluctant to buy a new handset only to find it does not solve the problem so I was wondering if anyone happens to have an 8408 hand controller they are not using or would not miss for a few days (weeks depending on the weather). I have already replaced the handset battery although the view is that this should not have had any effect on the RA tracking.

I have already thoroughly cleaned and re-greased the mount. Slewing to a target always works perfectly. I have recalibrated the encoder several times - it always completes as expected. I am sure the encoder is working - the problem seems to be the that something in 'the system' keeps changing the handset to "Allow" - i.e. allow the RA axis to be guided and effectively disable the encoder. I have tried to guide using the ASIair PHD and NINA PHD2 but that results in erratic performance of the mount with an RMS in excess of 50" and a graph that looks like the Alps!

All communication with the ASIair (or a PC running NINA) goes to the mount via the handset and its connecting cable. On occasion the RA axis will stop completely or intermittently which just to add to the complexity of the problem.

I am clutching at straws!

If anyone can help with the loan of a hand set I will of course cover the cost of shipping in both directions.

Thanks for reading this.

Adrian

P.S. If the handset is not the problem I appear to be faced with sending it back to China for an out of warranty repair - not an attractive proposition.

Hi @DSOBug. This all looks great to me - largely cos' I own a RedCat 51, ASIair, BlackCat focuser with EAF and a 120MM-mini - the RedCat is great little scope.

I have only one comment to make based purely on my own experience - I found the mini-guide scope a bit of a pain and very difficult to focus, but maybe that was due to my old hands. I would be inclined to pair it with something like one of these https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo-125-helical-focuser.html and maybe consider one of the WO guide scope instead.

AP is a great hobby with so many rabbit holes you can go down - choose wisely! 🥴

Good luck.

Adrian

Very nice indeed Adam.

Great processing and star control.

I also love the colours, especially the subtle blues. It can be so tempting to blow the blues to distraction but you've achieved a really well balanced image.

Excellent job!

Thanks for sharing.

Adrian

1 hour ago, tooth_dr said:

Ha first would be my preference then oiii then Sii.  But either way, Sii last. 

+1 👍

Very cool Pedro - I'm a big fan of dusty brown and blue.

Adrian

Hi Everyone.

If you only like to see star filled images then now is the time to move to the next topic - no stars here! 😆

This is an image purely to explore the extent of nebulosity between Sh2-142 and IC1396. The image is a 3-pane mosaic each pane comprising essentially 12 x 300s of S, H and O. The panes overlap by about 50% so the central region has a coverage equivalent to roughly 24 x 300s of S, H and O.

The mosaic was assembled in APP and post-processed in PI. Taken with a Samyang 135mm at f3.0, a ASI1600MM-Pro and Antlia 3nm NB filers.

Presented at 1:1.

Starless:

Annotated just to identify the Sharpless objects.

Thanks for looking.

Adrian

On 31/08/2023 at 11:29, MartinB said:

Lovely work, delicate subtle processing.  

Thank you Martin.

I prefer subtle to "in your face" 😆. I'm glad you like it.

Adrian

11 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Great framing idea!

Olly

Thank you Olly.

I actually took a third Ha frame centred on IC1396 but so far I've not been able to get the OIII and SII. I feel IC1396 is a bit too close to the edge - but I guess you could say the same for Sh2-142. The mosaic dilemma - where to stop?!

Adrian

2 hours ago, MartinFransson said:

That´s a beautiful pano! I´m hoping to get back into astro photography myself and this is inspiring!

Thank you Martin. When it all goes to plan AP is a great and rewarding hobby and wide field images of large areas of nebulosity are always captivating.

Thanks again.

Adrian

9 hours ago, peter shah said:

seamless...lovely 

Thank you Peter. I know many prefer PI but when it comes to stitching panes together for a mosaic APP makes it so easy and providing you've removed background gradients (also very easy in APP) the seams are invisible.

Thanks again.

Adrian

Finally got a break in the weather sufficient to capture OIII and SII data to go with my existing Ha.

This is a two pane mosaic taken with the Samyang 135mm + ASI1600MM with Antlia 3nm filters.

Pre-processed in APP and post-processed in PI using all the Xterminators. Pure SHO combination with magenta removed and all but 5% of the green cast.

I think a third pane would be helpful to extend the f.o.v. just a little to the right of IC1396 - but maybe the same thing can be said for extending to the left! Where to stop.

Thanks for looking.

Adrian

4 hours ago, Happysolderer said:

I have bought the ZWO bundle from FLO.

I am assuming you mean this.

I used to own the same setup but became frustrated with how difficult it was to obtain focus. The focus ring would need to be a near full extension and every time I would go to lock the focus position with the locking ring the focus would move. Arghh!

I now own the WO equivalent (also a pain to focus) but fitted https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-accessories/zwo-125-helical-focuser.html to assist and for me it works a treat. In fact it works so well I bought two - one for my second WO guide scope.

Adrian

2 hours ago, Phillyo said:

Beautiful image, loving the soft touch and colouring.

Thank you Phil - I am pleased with the way it turned out. Cepheus has a wealth of treasures to image at this time of year - when the clouds clear - and the RedCat and ASI183 provide that bit of extra "reach". I am thinking Sh2-142 will be next on the list.🤞

Cheers.

Adrian

31 minutes ago, Dan_Paris said:

great image Adrian!

Thank you!

51 minutes ago, simmo39 said:

V nice!

Thank you  

Adrian

3 minutes ago, peter shah said:

Nice sympathetic process....really beautiful

Thank you Peter. As per my response to @Peds I prefer a more subdued approach to my images.

I tend to think space is dark, dusty and not very friendly with odd pockets of colour so I like that to come across in my images.

Glad you like it.

Adrian

6 minutes ago, Peds said:

I like the colours Adrian! Can you tell us a little more about the filters used? Is this SHO?

Thank you. Glad you like the colours - I tend to prefer the dark, dusty and slightly menacing look 🤣.

I used the Astronomik 1.25" 6nm SHO filters.

Yes, it is SHO but I remove all traces of magenta and all but 5% of the green cast - personal preference.

Adrian

Two clear nights (!!!) and 7+ hours of data using the RedCat 51 with ASI183MM-Pro; calibrated, register and integrated in APP and processed in PI using the Xterminators plus a bunch of other PI processes.

Annotated:

Thank you for looking.

Adrian

39 minutes ago, peter shah said:

Thats beautiful....

Thank you Peter. A greyscale Ha image has a beauty of its own - which can be easily spoilt by a dose of bad OIII 😆. 

Adrian

WIth the weather we are currently enduring I am happy to settle for a decent amount of Ha data to make a two-pane mosaic; each pane is 12 x 300s taken with a Samyang 135 at f3.0 + ASI1600MM-Pro + 3nm Antlia filter.

Annotated:

Mosaic assembled in APP, processed in PI.

Thank you for looking.

2 hours ago, 900SL said:

I think this is decentering rather than tilt

I am trying to get my head around de-centring. How is it possible for the sensor not to be central with the OTA axis assuming (a) all the connecting adapters are concentric, and (b) the sensor was centred correctly in the camera body at the time of manufacture?

As an aside I have a similar problem with a Samyang 85mm lens but I have no doubt about the cause of the problem - it became detached from a Geoptik EoS mount one night and bounced its way around the stone paved patio  

I wonder if/fear your lens may be out of alignment as is my 85mm lens.

A clear night and an opportunity not to be missed.

I've fitted the ASI1600 back onto the Samyang 135 with my Antlia 3nm filters - lens shut down to f3.0 with a step-down-ring - not sure whether that is totally necessary but f3 is still pretty quick.

Centred on Zeta Cephei:

... 15 x 300s of S, H and O.

Adrian

4 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

I would guess that the displays are wrong,

So would I - everything is working just fine so it is best left alone and not worried about; I am confident I am feeding everything with 12.5 volts irrespective of what to ASIair says.

This thread is actually about helping @Ouroboros with his ASIair Plus problem.

7 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

How do you manage to get a higher output, than the input

No idea - you tell me!

The output from my MeanWell p.s.u. is set at 12.5 volts (more or less confirmed with an inline power analyser which shows 12.43 volts).

All I know is that it works.

Not noticed any stickiness with my power switches - other than when I am having finger trouble.

Here are my power settings:

I tried swapping items around and all Outputs record the voltage; for some reason dew heaters don't record the voltage.

HTH