mercandrea

Hi folks, my first time seeing and capturing a noctilucent cloud display, what a spectacular sight! Unfortunately I didn't have my tripod with me but I managed something halfway decent by balancing the DSLR on some rocks.

Image captured from Ballygally, County Antrim, looking out over the Irish Sea towards the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland 00:10:15 13/07/2021. 

Canon 1100d with stock 18-55 mm lens at 27mm, f 4.0, 1.6s, ISO 1600. 

My EQ6-R  has a 10" Quattro sitting on top and does a good job, sub arcsecond guiding for the most part. Notionally I'd say the guiding is a little worse when the wind picks up a bit, as you would expect,  but I have no data to say how much worse.

The quattro is f/4 so shorter than your average 10" newt but still a metre long. How long is the OTA you're considering?

I must admit I hadn't considered moment until now, assuming that the net moment is effectively zero so long as the scope is well balanced. Wouldn't be the first time I'd made an incorrect assumption though!

@kookoo_gr, @discardedastro, thanks for the input RE raspberry pi placement. always good to hear other opinions. I decided to do some baseline temperature readings with the pi in it's current home close to the ground and fairly well shielded from direct sunlight. Average temp ranged between ~ 60 - 70 degrees celsius throughout the course of a day with some spikes when load was applied.

In this case the load was me performing some mount rotations via kstars /ekos/indi to balance the setup with my recently purchased clamp meter. Based on this I'd probably be reluctant to put it on top of the scope while under cover as it is likely to be warmer in direct sunlight. If I get time I'll try to gather some data with the pi on top of the scope to test that theory.

For anyone that is looking a clamp meter, I purchased one for £37 +change and it has done the job for me:

https://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/72-2985/clamp-meter-mini-200a-ac-dc/dp/IN07620?CMP=TREML007-005

I'm running the mount off a 12v battery so just put the clamp meter around one of the terminal wires at the battery end rather than split the cable further up.

9 minutes ago, discardedastro said:

I went the opposite way - given I have a Newt on the top which benefits from some counterweight on the tube, I did a similar thing with wide adhesive velcro strips to attach the USB hub and a small project box with the Raspberry Pi in it directly to the back of the scope opposite the focuser.

Good point about the counterweight @discardedastro I have a 10" Quattro under the cover there so that could be useful to me and I do love it when things can serve dual purpose. Having the pi close to the aperture might not be so bad from a thermal perspective and the heat might keep condensation off the secondary without the need for a dew strip. Food for thought.

Still not sure about that position while it's under cover though, any ideas? Does our setup live permanently outdoors?

1 hour ago, kookoo_gr said:

Wouldn't it be better if you placed the hub,pi, power supply on top of the scope? You will save a lot of space, cables and they will be far better protected form the weather and any accidents with cable snagging when placed at the legs

@kookoo_gr I have thought about placing it all on the scope and have seen it done successfully but I'm not sure myself.  It would definitely sort out any cable management issues but a couple of things have made me hesitate.

1. The pi 4 runs quite hot and I'm worried that it might overheat if sat right under the covers, there's another plastic sheet that goes around the whole OTA, guidescope and DSLR in case the external cover fails, the Pi would definitely get toasty under there🔥
2.  I'm also a little unsure about putting this mini heater directly on the OTA in case it introduces some thermal issues within the scope.

The cable snagging hasn't been that big an inconvenience either so I am wary about exchanging one small set of problem for a bigger set of problems 🤣  I intend to leave the Pi running 24/7 as it will eventually be monitoring temperature and humidity (sensor just arrived this morning!) so I need to think carefully about the heat situation.

The alternatives I'm considering are:

1. Attaching to the tripod legs/accessory tray:  the idea here is to get the pi in contact with some steel to conduct some heat away but somehow still have it enclosed to protect from moisture. I'm thinking along the lines of a modified Tupperware box that has a hole in the bottom for starters to see how things go.
2. Attaching to the mount body and actually making use of the heat to try and keep condensation away from the mount electronics. This is probably where I want the humidity sensor too so would mean nice short cables for it.

Lots of options, interested to hear other peoples thoughts. Wherever I end up putting the Pi I will probably also put the hub.

1 hour ago, Greg Shaw said:

Just finished creating a way of attaching my new USB hud to the mount. Got the idea from Chris Wright's image a few posts back.

Was trying to decide on what the best approach would be to fit the hub to the mount and looked around the forum. I spotted that Chris Wright had used velcro straps on the one of the mount legs, which looked very tidy and also meant no sticky residue from using velcro strips directly on the mount. After some searching I found these on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01C42T75U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had to cut the straps slightly so that there was enough velcro exposed for the hub, but leaving enough for a good fitting.

Some really good and strong velcro from ebay was then attached to the back of the hub. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VELCRO-Brand-Heavy-Duty-Stick-On-ULTRA-MATE-Self-Adhesive-Tape-50mm-Width/282279028203?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=581338557363&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

All fitted and holding well. I used a spare strap to hold the Hub's main USB & power cable to the mount leg to prevent them accidentally being pulled out.

 

I spied this in the earlier post too and am planning something similar.  I'm also taking nervous steps towards having my setup permanently outside though so might try to fashion some sort of housing for my hub and raspberry pi that attaches to the tripod legs or the accessory tray. Currently they live in an old recycling box that sits between the tripod legs, keeps them out of the weather ok but the cables snag occasionally having everything so close to ground. 

5 hours ago, Greg Shaw said:

What a cool idea, I have noticed when I have been balancing my scope it can be bit stiff in certain locations as I rotate the scope around to check balance.

I had a look on Amazon and the meter that Cuiv uses is £35. I also found this one for £22 which is AC/DC and has good reviews. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meterk-Multimeter-Capacitance-Resistance-Temperature/dp/B073Y162BZ/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=clamp+meter&qid=1598252676&sr=8-5#customerReviews

Looks like this will be the next tool to add to the kit

Hi Greg I was looking at the same clampmeter on amazon, just be careful though, the £22 one measures dc voltage but not dc current according to the description so not suitable. Easy to miss.  Hope I got to you before you put your order in!

@Waddensky great write up, that's what it's all about. What a fantastic cure for the stress of lockdown. 

So many brilliant reports and photos here, inspiring stuff! Forecast looking favorable a little north of me tonight so I'm going to head out to darker skies in the car. Route planned to avoid 11th July bonfires here in Northern Ireland and 8 months pregnant missus is onboard so that's the hard parts taken care of 😁Now I just need the clouds to play ball!

Good luck to everyone else trying again tonight!

@tooth_dr Great shot, can really see the length of the tail, spectacular! What time was that at? I wasn't as lucky, caught a couple of fleeting glimpses in binos about 3:20 and again about an hour ago through the smallest of gaps in the clouds. Nothing of note on camera though. 

Hi @cnarayan and welcome! Your set up is almost identical to my own except I have recently purchased the 10" big brother to your 8" quattro so I can probably help you out. 

@KevS and @mikey2000 are right about collimation but once collimated my f4 scope seems to hold collimation fairly well so don't be put off. If you haven't got a cheshire eyepiece I would get one ASAP to make the job a lot easier.  At the very least you should definitely get an ordinary eyepiece in there and check how things look to your eye before attaching the camera but as a long time observational astronomer I'd guess you've probably already done that and that things aren't too bad in that regard. In that case I would resist the urge to fiddle with collimation for now, it is not a complicated procedure but getting it right is a skill and you need to develop an eye for it.

Kstars/Ekos/Indi on the rpi4 will serve you well although as with any software there is a learning curve so persevere! The pi4 is powerful enough to control everything including hosting an astrometry server for fast plate solving which is invaluable but we can worry about that later. To start with  let's get you focused!  

I'm assuming that you've already been able to use ekos to perform a capture with the zwo and this was how you found out you couldn't get focus. If so then I would simply get an eyepiece in the scope, get venus nicely centred and start tracking with the handset. Swap out the eyepiece for the zwo, load up kstars etc and get a live video feed from the camera then turn the focuser back and forward slowly throughout its full travel and you should be able to find focus. Apologies if that sounds patronising,  just pitching it at a nice high level to start with.

There are various ways to get a video feed in ekos, I tend to use the loop function in the guide module (the one with the compass icon) but there is a live view option in the "CCD" capture module too (camera icon). You may need to play with  exposure settings or frame rates in ekos but with something as bright as venus you shouldn't have to fiddle too much to get an image you can work with for focusing. After that you can slew to a nice bright star, fine tune focus and lock the focuser. When you're done make a note of where the focuser tube is in its travel, some people use a marker on the focus tube for future reference.

I've made a fair few assumptions there so if you have any questions or need me to steer you more on the specifics let me know. I'll not get into workflow details as the other guys have given a good overview but happy to help out with tips for your setup if you have more specific questions.

Good luck and clear skies!

Mark

Ps When you eventually switch the zwo to the guide scope there will be more fiddling to do but that's part of the fun!

Just took delivery of my RPi 4 today, I will be reading this thread thoroughly when I get time to start tinkering!

I currently have an original B+ running indi server on raspbian (Stretch) with Kstars/Ekos running on the laptop.

The plan is to ditch the laptop and run everything on the Pi with control over VNC using my phone for a properly portable, low power setup.

Some promising signs here that this is doable.

Has anyone tried containerising Kstars/EKOS/Indi or alternatives using docker?

Hi Everyone, another EQ6-R pro owner here, got to say I love the mount, it's a serious upgrade from the EQ3-2 mount with single axis drive I was using before. I'm using mine with a Skywatcher 150P and a 50mm guide scope.

This is the first chance I've had to play around with guiding, plate solving and a bunch of other cool stuff, it really has opened up a whole new world of stuff to tinker with 😀

I've already picked up a couple of new tips from browsing this thread (thanks for that) and noticed a lot of talk about cable connections to the mount.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned (apologies if I've missed it) is that on newer versions of the mount there is an onboard USB-B connection that can be used to connect the mount directly to the guiding computer.

I got my mount in May/June of this year from FLO so I imagine anyone getting a new one from now on in will have the USB port by default, worth asking about it if you are considering buying.

Basically I was able to get the mount hooked up directly to a laptop/raspberry pi running INDI server and EQMOD using an old usb printer cable I had lying around the house. No lynx astro cable required!

Though I'd mention it as it might save someone a few pennies to put towards some other gear instead 👍

Clear Skies

Mark

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

@tooth_dr I had the new mount out every night last week when it was clear, it's a real step up from my eq3-2! Still figuring things out but loving it so far!

@tooth_dr I do go to the  IAA meetings and judging by your moniker you're the same Adam that I'll have a good oul yarn with in the back row, small world!

Thanks Carole, thanks banjaxed.

Banjaxed is a great word,  one I use frequently. 

Hello all, my name is Mark and I am a Software Engineer from Northern Ireland. I've been getting a lot of useful information from this forum for the last few years so I thought it was about time I introduced myself. It's currently very wet and windy outside so what better time!

I have been interested in astronomy since I was a little lad and had a Tasco refractor when I was younger but didn't have a great experience with it and it sat in a box unused for many years. In 2014 I saw the northern lights for the first time and the spark was reignited! The Tasco has since been replaced with a Skywatcher 150P and now I am well and truly hooked. Just this summer I've invested in an EQ6-R pro mount as I start to get into astrophotography more seriously and I confidently predict it won't be the last substantial purchase I make in pursuit of this fantastic hobby! 😀

I look forward to chatting with the like minded folk of SGL.

Clear Skies

Mark