GTom

I am undecided which mount to use for a transportable c9.25 setup. The gem45 is the top candidate ATM, but considering the AZ-EQ5 and the CEM40 as well.

Have you gathered more AP experience with the mount since?

Your camera is a perfect match to the helical focuser, no need to do anything :). 

I am also considering the biggest prism on the market, available in the TSFLIP "flip mirror" (not a mirror, prism), but afraid that would eat too much backfocus. So far the player one seems to be the best available.

The link: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/881231-any-other-wide-format-large-prism-oag-s-around/

On 22/06/2023 at 19:06, pipnina said:

BT wanted £15'000 to run the fiber cable the next 30 meters down the street to them.

Now THAT IS a problem and curing it it has nothing to do with Musk's megalomaniac plans. Buerocrats, so called IT "experts" (not experts anymore, all work outsourced to India) asking for thousands for pressing 2 buttons on their keyboards just because they got monopoly.

On 16/05/2023 at 12:53, scotty38 said:

Harsh reality but taking pretty pictures versus the proposed benefits is never going to cut any ice with non astronomers never mind governments etc. I mean we can't even agree on things that folk do recognise as affecting the planet/people/universe let alone on things they cannot......

Just looking on the non-astro aspect: I highly doubt that it's more economic to litter the LEO with thousands of satellites, replacing hundred+ each year, than pulling a cheap optical cabel along all ROADS on the planet. Rural US is crying for fast internet (no it doesn't, SOME living there do): their solution is not Musk, all farms have a road...

If someone choose to live on a fully disconnected island then enjoy being disconnected from the noise of the world, no need for screen addiction if you have mother nature around you 7/24, 3D, 8k+resolution or whatever your v1.0 eyes allow. 

People don't have to and must not litter 100% of the planet, if someone can't live without internet (methinks we've done quite well for a couple thousands of years), move closer to broadband. I like chilled beer in the summer heat, yet I definitely do not want a pub in every 500meters in the Sahara. I like good infrastructure, yet I definitely do not want a 6+6 lane highway from my drive straight to Edinburgh. "Business", "profit", some pieces of colored papers do not worth it, period.

Great many thanks for the photos! If you use an 174mm or similar sized guider, can you please share a flat? Had an interesting discussion on OAG vignetting @cloudynights, I wonder what comes up in real life :).

Asked and got a quick response from the Support: the bottom of the helical IS indeed a T2 adapter that can be set via thumbscrews, means that non-mini guidecams have a chance. Genius design 😊!

4 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

There's an ASI294MM in the Offers section in the FLO side for just over £1000, if that's of any use. An older sensor with amp-glow but a larger sensor than the 533.  

At nearly 57°N, I'm not going to see any Astro darkness until about then either.  

One other thought, have you looked at second hand CCD cameras?  

CCD-s are on the table, realistically priced ones are rare though. I am definitely not taking the fight with amp glow.

Honestly haven't researched them thoroughly, I am a little reluctant to adopt new tech. I read loads of troubleshooting on the American forums, in that light I feel it a bit much to pay compared to a well kept used GEM/CEM: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/858363-hem27hem44-owners-club/page-2

Confusing indeed 😁. Worst case I'll bite the bullet and get the ASI 533MM. Not very urgent though we won't have proper nights until late August anyway.

I am assembling a travel astro kit, more or less decided on the OTA, a C9.25, but need a mount. Imaging, including deep sky guided <5min with 0.63x reducer (already got the Starizona one) is also a requirement.

Costs of the three options are similar, only complication is that the Stellardrive mod needs the mount to be shipped to the company. All rated to approx. double the weight of the OTA (40lbs vs 20lbs), imaging gear would be kept <4lbs (2kg).

Anyone using either mounts with a c9.25 or a sizeable scope that represents similar challenge to the mount?

A con for the GEM45 as travel mount that it's latitude adjustment range excludes -14 to +14°, which is borderline for some of my trips. Otherwise that one seems to be the strongest candidate.

ASI "MC" is color, not interested. Svbony "mc" is mono.

Why the short backfocus?

I am planning to use the cam on sct's. The upcoming Starizona Night Owl 0.4x reducer has only 38.5mm available for OAG+filters+camera flange. Sans OAG you're left with ota/guider flexure. Short flange gives you options.

Also, i have a metabones micro 4/3 reducer I'd like to mount on my upcoming camera: veeery finicky at best with the deep flange Touptek design with the risk of being impossible. Meanwhile ASI actually sells a m4/3 adapter for their design, working out of the box

Newtonian + reducer-corrector systems might be needy as well.

Yupp, way too much gamble for way too little discount in my book. Hopefully better deals will follow.

Have been checking from time to time if any budget 533 mono camera is available in the UK, finally today bumped in to the Amazon offer. Kind of, this still seems to be going though an individual import process (no UK stock) and I wonder if a proper 2years warranty is honored at all/if yes, where should a defective unit be sent back e.g. after a year.

The reason I am looking at this version is the extremely short backfocus (6.5mm without the T2 ring). The only cams I found with this were the ZWO units with their £1'100+ price tags. 900 pounds is still far from cheap for a 1" camera though but would be reasonable IF the unit works properly and there is real warranty/service cover.

Still, reluctant to order from overseas if the effective price difference vs local is just 10-20 percentish. A single warranty procedure if available at all(!) would negate that.

The German shop has the mono version as well, I wonder when that one comes to Amazon UK. Found several accounts reporting heavy banding issues, I'd like to buy it from a seller where it's easy to return the camera.

Looked at Altair, they do sell 533mono cameras, but that one has a long flange distance, I am afraid 17.5mm may be problematic in some systems.

Anybody using the Player one OAG Mini? I'd like to use it on a larger SCT+reducer system (c11/14+starizona 0.63x) and to add more to the headache, with a non-mini guidecam (Altair 174m)
Before anybody asking: no, I do not want to trade the non-mini camera, I definitely like that it's USB3.

Is the helical focuser on the OAG easy to remove? A non mini-type guidecam would need a custom sized spacer instead of the stock, long OAG.

Is the M48 opening sufficient for full frame cameras?

Another question: once you got close to the prism, could a reducer lens fitted in front of the guidecam boost the guiding field? Along these lines.

Did some more thinkering on the OAG-topic: indeed, the 14x8 prism sizing is probably the best on the market as it allows the guide sensor (12-8)/2= 2mm deeper in the light beam, hence it can collect better quality light. To achieve this on a conventional square prism oag, one should decenter the guiding camera, which is very finicky and need custom fittings.

Another factor though, OAG size: we (OP and mee too 😃) want to use it with an sct+reducer system: in a large oag the prism-guide cam distance is longer, meaning the OAG should go higher in the imaging train.

On 02/06/2016 at 21:55, seiko said:

Once mounted and balanced the scope and mount work really well. Seeing hasn't been anywhere near good enough yet though.

Are you still using the c14 on the mount? Have you tried guided AP in the meantime?

When searching for seeing stats online, I found that Meteoblue publishes a model based seeing forecast, e.g.: https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/outdoorsports/seeing/ben-nevis_united-kingdom_2641744

Anyone tested if this model is anywhere near to reality?

On 30/05/2023 at 23:16, pmlogg said:

How is the Player One FHD-OAG-MAX?  I was just looking at it plus the M68 adapter

Looks great but you need to add your own rotators I am afraid. Also, unless u plan to use a monster guiding sensor, larger than the IMX174 (11.3mm x 7.1mm), 12mm prism size will do.

I see accomodations can be found up to 1'000m asl, not sure though if it's high enough to get over the clouds. I only drove trough the area twice, but it was raining all over the Island then with snow on the Roque😅

Anybody regular guest on the island, how do the conditions like on the Northern "cloudy" part look like, e.g. Puntagorda, Garafía? Are there much less clear nights than in the South? Do the light pollution from Los LIanos and of course the mountain horizon destroy the view to the South?

I know all the ins and outs of the Canaries and definitely see that Fuerte and Lanza is a no-go if there is any easterly in the wind. Never seen Calima on La Gomera and Palma. Could have been though, as we unfortunately spend less than a month on the islands each year. Very likely the same applies to the Cape Verde's.

Fogo is like a Northern Mauna Kea, seen many photos with tourists above the clouds (=inversion/cleaning layer!). However, getting there is not easy no roads to the rim of the Caldera.

Might be beating a dead horse here, I have no idea what seeing conditions are available in South Africa (twice the distance, but about the same cost to get down there). First class dark sky is available in SA too.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but probably more logical than starting a new one. I was wondering if anyone had the chance to visit Fogo or Santo Antao? Most photos I see on google show haze and clouds, but not many taken 1'000m+ asl. Learnt on the Canaries, that close proximity to the mainland often means Calima = double-triple headache for the astronomer (head, eyes and the fine bits of your telescope mount/photo gear) hence asking about islands further West.

Thank you for your thoughts John. The ultimate goal is a portable big Dob like Mel Bartels. Portability is an absolute must for me, a conventional 1.5" thick ("thin") 24" is already too heavy.

I am thinking on grinding my own lightweight mirror (first f4 16", later f4 24"). The lightest and cheapest option is to get a thin blank and slump it in a decent kiln.

Anyone has longer term experiene with slumped mirrors? Overall doesn't seem to be more work than a normal (not pregenerated) blank.

Do I have to grind the backside as in case of normal flat back mirrors to avoid astigmatism? How do people support a convex back while grinding? Does it make sense to grind a hole in the middle for additional support? I am remotely considering a convertible Newtonian/Cassegrain system anyway...