Icesheet

I was imaging last night and set the cooler on my camera to -10deg as usual. However, towards the end of my session I noticed the camera thermometer was showing -13deg. Sure enough it was colder than -10 last night. 
 

I was planning on shooting darks today but should I shoot them at -10 or at -13? Anyone had this issue before?

1 hour ago, PeterCPC said:

I bought an Esprit 100 from FLO recently and asked the same question - was told that no certificates were issued.

1 hour ago, Dinglem said:

I never got a certificate with my 100ED from @FLO but I'm not bothered it's a great scope. ES Reid is well respected and there is no mention on the website that a certificate will be supplied just that it will be bench tested.

1 hour ago, gilesco said:

Since recently, FLO only offer the Esprit series with the bench test, they don't sell any that have not been benchtested. So your invoice is your certificate.

I think it's fantastic that this service is offered, and it would really give me peace of mind but I must say I'm surprised that there is nothing official supplied with the scope to confirm this. Not that I would expect a detailed optical report but even just a piece of paper with the serial number of the scope saying 'Bench tested by Es Reid' with one of those digitised signatures. I wouldn't think that's too much to ask?

When did you email? I'm absolutely certain you will get a reply and will get the issue resolved one way or another. However, jumping to complaints of poor service and threats to return when you don't get a reply the same day is a bit extreme don't you think?

43 minutes ago, alan potts said:

Both images are very nice in my view, the others playing have improved them but processing is not easy and can often be the make or break of an image. Some I feel over saturate images which you have not done the, I even do it myself, the people that have had a play have improved your data but two images to be proud of.

Alan

Thanks Alan! Yes I’m guilty of it myself and it tends to be you try to push it when you don’t have the data to do it. 
 

Always good to have the input from others. One of the main ways to improve 👍🏻

Ok, without going right back to the start this is my best attempt at it. Not even completely sure what I done! 🙈

Thanks @Adreneline! Now that I look at yours and mine side by side I completely agree. I had probably been looking at it so much I couldn’t tell anymore. Actually I had this previous version that has a more neutral background (although I see there’s still a slight magenta tone) but I couldn’t get the ‘pop’ I wanted from the Galaxy so I must have pushed it too much trying to do that. You’ve got the best of both now. I’ll have a search around to see if I can do similar in PS 👍🏻
 

M31 was one of my first images when I first caught the astrophotography bug and I hadn’t imaged it since. This one was shot with my Esprit 100 and a modded Canon 1000D (guided by an ASI1600 as I’ve been waiting months for my new guide cam!)

20x300’ lights

10 Darks, 30 bias, 30 flat

Stacked in DSS and processed in PS

I have been back and forth with the colour and saturation trying to find a balance between that and the noise. Had to stop somewhere so here it is. As always any constructive comments more than welcome 

At least I can say I have made an improvement from my first effort 😊

I'm looking to add an OSC camera alongside the ASI1600mm I already have. For various reasons, but also because I have the itch for something new again! I would like to use some of the OSC data I collect to compliment Ha or L data from the 1600 as well as imaging with it in it's own right. So what are the key factors I should be looking for to ensure the best pairing possible? Sensor size obviously. How important would pixel size be? For example would the the 4.6um of the ASI294MC pair well with the 3.6um of the ASI1600mm? What else I should be thinking about?

I have about an hour of HA with it on an ASI1600 unguided (no calibration frames here). I know my spacing isn't right and it turns out I had some tracking issues so stars aren't perfect but with that considered I think it shows promise. I have noticed from some of the threads around on it that it does seem to display blue bloat. It's only really noticeable when you pixel peep or on really bright stars. Since for me this is primarily a back up lens and for really widefield it's a trade off I think I'll be happy to live with, and as Adam says it can be further corrected in processing. In any case the versatility and compact nature of it more than makes up for it for me. I've actually been using it mostly as a daytime spotter with a TV Pan 15mm and it's been excellent. Sharp, bright and contrasty. Only real downside is it doesn't handle glare well. I also plan to use it as a guide scope. 

Well, I've made some progress on this and mostly it is good news. I've only had an initial response from iOptron and since I only have about a week left for a return I decided to make use of some cloud free hours and load it up again.

It didn't start out well. iPolar wouldn't connect and neither would the mount via USB. I double checked all drivers and everything was up to date. I was about to pack it in when I tried one more time. This time I held the USB cable firmly in place and it finally connected. I tested this with the mouse pointer problem too and it seems it is directly related to the connection. When I held it in place the mouse moved normally, when I let go the pointer went crazy again.

Anyway, I managed to get polar aligned (turns out it wasn't that good) before Polaris clouded out. I slewed over to a clear part of the sky and put the mount on sidereal. For the first 5-10 secs it made the buzzing noise but then it suddenly stopped. I don't know why but it didn't come back for the rest of the night. I then set up the mount in PHD2, ran a calibration, guide assistant and let it track for about an hour.  The results are attached, which suffice to say I'm very happy with. If the GA is to be believed my PE (~6arcsec P-P) is actually even better than the provided curve measured by encoder (~10arcsec P-P). Could there an error in the PHD2 guiding assistant? 

So there appears to be no mechanical issues and I may even have a better than average sample so now I really don't want to let it go. Having said that I can see myself getting fed up holding the USB in place when I need to polar align or have to do anything on the laptop. It also may rule out a remote session and what if the connection drops out in the middle of an imaging run. Is there any way I can secure the connection myself without having to send it away to get fixed?

PHD2_GuideLog_2020-09-19_222040.txt

3 hours ago, PaulE54 said:

One thought - you do have the scope and counterweights fitted, and the mount in balance in RA and Dec, don't you? A badly unbalanced mount might do that...otherwise, I'd be phoning the dealer. Hope you get it sorted.

Paul

Yes it had this on it (excuse the mess!). Balance was good. At least good enough anyway. Plus when it’s slewing it sounds fine. It only makes  that noise when it’s tracking in sidereal. Actually the sound isn’t something I associate with something mechanical. It’s more like a buzzing with something electrical. 
 

Ive emailed iOptron and informed my dealer so fingers crossed. 

I'm using the 12v DC power supply that was delivered with the mount. Also, I am/ was using the USB B cable that was provided with the mount to connect to my laptop so that's not via the HC but straight from the laptop to a USB port on the mount. I did notice that the connection wasn't very secure right enough. The EQ6-R I had before had a similar USB port so I still had a cable from that. Tried that too. No success. 

I had my CEM40 mount out for the first time this evening and it quickly went downhill. I had downloaded all the drivers, ASCOM platform, iOptron commander etc and when I connected the mount to my laptop I got an error saying no iOptron product recognised. I then got an error message that the USB connection had failed. I had another USB-B cable so I tried that and got the no iOptron product recognised message again. I decided to try my ASIair Pro and this time I was able to connect to the mount but it made a strange noise when tracking. At first I thought this was related to the USB-B connection but the noise is apparent when tracking through the hand controller too. Furthermore, when I connected to iPolar it made my mouse pointer have a life of it's own (see attached videos).

Can anyone suggest what the issue might be here? I'm praying this does not need to be sent back!

As far as I’m aware it’s not been knocked but it must be tilt or something but then I’d expect it to affect more than just position 4. Ah well I guess it will need to come off and I’ll see. Fat fingers here I go 🙈

I just cycled through each filter wheel location from the front. At location four the wheel doesn’t seem to ‘lock’ in place. That is I can easily shift the wheel with my finger. In all other locations it feels ‘locked in in and there is not much give when I try and move with my finger. 
 

Is it safe to remove the internal wheel itself?

Ok thanks for the tip! I removed the extension tube from the front of the filter wheel and it cycled through with no issue. There doesn’t appear to be anything in front of filter 4 so it’s clearly catching on the thread of the extension tube. The strange thing about that is it’s the extension I’ve always used and never had an issue before. So the filter wheel plate must have shifted somehow?

Hi,

I have an issue with my Zwo EFW Mini. There hasn’t been any problems previously. When I send the filter wheel to location 4 it makes a grating/ grinding noise and ends up giving an error warning on the ASIair pro. 
 

I’m not the most handy person so before so open this up has anyone had this issue before and can help me?

Thanks in advance 

Chris

I’m waiting on parts for a new mount so I thought I’d dust off the AZ Gti I have and give it a go for imaging in EQ mode. 
 

Shot the North American and Pelican nebula in HA with an Askar FMA180 and ASI1600mm. 30x120sec unguided (darks but no flats here). It seems that’s the absolute limit for me unguided with this. I fiddled for ages with PA and stars still aren’t as round as I would like (camera spacing is also out a little). I even had to throw a good % of subs away. That being said if I add guiding and with the ASIair pro, I think this has great potential for a travel kit. Happy I dusted it off now!

Is imaging your primary objective? If so spend all you can on the mount now and investigate if you can use your bridge camera for imaging (eg what FL is the lens and can you use bulb mode remotely). Might not be what you want you want to hear since we all love a shiny new scope! However, there’s a good chance it will save you money and a lot of frustration in the long run! 

19 hours ago, Pryce said:

The AZ GTi and 130PDS will put you just around that £400 budget. 

It has GoTo and a wifi connection for control with your smartphone/tablet/pc. I've seen some people say they use it for basic astrophotography but I havent seen any example images though.

 

*Important note.

I don't know if they used it in AltAz mode or if they had a wedge and used it as a EQ mount to image with.

I have recently tested imaging with the AZ Gti in EQ mode (although I would not recommend it with the 130PDS. It’s too heavy and long both physically and in focal length). You will need extra equipment/ software to get polar alignment but it can definitely work with shorter FL lenses and scopes.

If GoTo is a must the iOptron smart EQ could be a consideration and is in your budget (albeit not with a scope) Best bet is a second hand HEQ5/ CEM25p if you can push the budget and are lucky to find one.

Like others have mentioned don’t jump into anything as tempting as it is. Think what you want to achieve and read all you can here. The answer is in here somewhere! Good luck!

That is far too long and as far as I can see you’re an investor in it. Usually that should at least entitle to you to a discount on normal retail price. 
 

Anyway my fingers are crossed that your wait is finally over. 

@Space Hopper you might want to take a look at the CN forum post about it. It suggests a dealer received stock and that 365astronomy has 3 in stock. I checked and right enough that’s what it says! I would be mightily pi**ed off if I paid up front waited two years only to find a dealer selling them to anyone. 
 

Maybe it’s an error on their site. Happened to me when I ordered something from them recently. Worth phoning and asking though. 

I echo the points above. There doesn’t appear to be a legal standing for refusing a refund and withholding your money. My concern might be more along the lines of do they have any money left? Perhaps a bit cynical but these projects don’t have unlimited funds. 
 

Edit to add: Their own websites states returns for a full refund are accepted until 30 days after receipt of product. So sounds like they are just fobbing you off

The short answer is yes there is no reason why you can’t use your cameras and whatever telescope/ lens on your CEM60 as long as you have the correct mounting plate that fits the CEM60. Unless I’m misunderstanding what you are asking?

50 minutes ago, Uranium235 said:

This was taken with the lens wide open. When you have exact focus you will always get diffraction spikes - they are caused by the clips that hold the lens elements in place (its a very common occurance).

The adjustments required however to get to this stage are very...very... fine.  On a centrally focused star there was a little corner distortion (though equal and distribited evenly) - but if you move the star 2/3rds of the way out to the corner, then refocus it flattened the field out.

Not really half the story really though. Ive only gotten to this stage because I swapped out my adaptors twice, then had to install a 50 micron (0.05mm) shim on the camera becuase it had a bit of tilt. Still more adjustments to make though, I had the spacing set to 56.5mm - but I think at least 0.5mm can come off that.

Thanks 👍🏻 Very nice piece of information I didn’t know. My focus must be rubbish then 😆

On 01/09/2020 at 00:28, Tenor Viol said:

I see AN has a review of the 180 - interesting piece of hybrid kit. 

On 01/09/2020 at 00:34, Adam J said:

I have one, its a really nice bit of kit. I am going to review but my camera is currently mounted on the Esprit finishing a project so I only have a quick test image at the moment. But from the test everything is looking good and it has a nice feel to it too. I would hesitate to recommend it until I have a full image for obvious reasons but from my perspective at £350 its was worth a punt and it looks like it will pay off.

Adam

The review in AN was very positive. I also have the FMA180 and am similarly optimistic as Adam at this stage. I’ve only had it out to image briefly but it looks promising and I have high hopes it will perform better than the Samyang 135 (at least the copy I had). I also used it for terrestrial observation and it was really sharp and bright with the Panoptic 15mm eye piece I have. Doesn’t handle glare well though. 
 

I would note the FMA is also half the price of the ACL200 too so I should expect the ACL to perform better overall. Be interesting to see if it does as the FMA is certainly more versatile.