Vroobel

There is one factor affecting the FPS which isn't related to the camera or the USB speed, assuming that we work with an USB3. I use a quite fast gaming laptop, strong CPU, fast ports etc. I work with a 2um ASI678MC and I was unable to reach maximum of the FPS which I expected. It was because the AVI was recorded on a system SSD drive which is randomly busy due to an OS. Thankfully, I have second slot for the SSD, so all data related to my astrophotography are stored and processed on the second SSD. The FPS increased dramatically, also PixInsight works much faster since then.

I use both ASIAir and a small PC with NINA for 4 different setups. Now every setup has its cables 'permanently' tied with velcro, I only place and connect the computer and a dew heater controller. 3 of 4 my setups have several Vixen bars around to use with a ZWO ASIAir Vixen clamps (FLO). I use them to attach the devices and guiders. I use a lot of velcro for the cables' excess if any is too long and also here the extra Vixen bars are very useful. Always only two cables go down: a 12V power cable and an USB one connected to a mount. Another 12V power cable goes upwards from a PSU to the mount, but it's not related to the setup. I use a kind of extending rod if the setup is 'too short' and there is a risk of snagging. BTW, two Xbox 12V 16A PSUs supply my Celestron CGX and SW EQ5 OnStep GoTo. All 12V joints are made using an aviation GX16 2-pin male/female connectors. I hope it is helpful anyhow.

As you know the NINA, I highly recommend creating an artificial horizon, if you have one place for your setup. There is a dedicated plugin for that. Once you create the horizon with NINA you can use the data with a Certes du Ciel, Stellarium, the great webapp Telescopius and I don't know where else. You don't need a good weather to do that, just no rain at the day is needed. Avoid using a mobile phone method for that, it's not accurate enough. Your horizon will be perfect if you use the plugin with e.g. 5 degrees accuracy. You can use it for starting imaging and stopping it on the exact time when the DSO appears and hides behind the horizon. All information and tutorials are available on YT and other websites/forums.

I've had it for a month now, but it's the most exciting thing out of all the recent ones: the Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art. 🙂

Yes, I did. I had clearer sky after midnight, but high clouds didn't allow me to do it properly. Nothing to show yet, it's very faint.

Airing my Altair 102EDT F/5.6 while waiting for a piece of clear sky. Tonight taget: comet 62P/Tsuchishan as my first comet ever. 🙂

Yeah, I guess that its albedo must be around 1, so there is no choice, it's much brighter than other small observable flying stones...

Hi, It's not entirely a comet, but I got the idea after looking for how to capture comets and after installing an 'Orbitals' Plugin for NINA. Yes, it's the JWST. I couldn’t believe that it’s so easy, after all, it stays 1,235,777 km from the Earth. https://www.astrobin.com/gmh64m/

I nearly forgot what is the 17kg OTA + accessories... Hunting the James Webb Space Telescope last night 😊 https://www.astrobin.com/gmh64m/

The Spaghetti Nebula (SH2-240, Simeis 147) 17-18 January, 26 January, 30 January, 1 March, 3 March, 5-6 March 2024 The Spaghetti Nebula is an extremely difficult DSO even at the first stage of its imaging. It's faint, especially the OIII component. It should be captured under a really dark sky, not in the Bortle 9+ location. I'm going to continue imaging it in the next season when it's reachable. Askar FMA230, Optolong 2" H&O, ASI 2600MM-Pro @ Celestron CGX; 14h 40m of total integration time: 47x300s Ha, 129x300s OIII; Gain 101, Offset 50, -10°C; NINA, PixInsight, Affinity Photo; Liverpool, Bortle 9. AstroBin combined : https://www.astrobin.com/51veym/F/ AstroBin starless : https://www.astrobin.com/51veym/F/#rE

Below is a quick first light of the Sigma 40mm lens and the Canon 6D from the city, centered on Capella (80 x 15s subs, ISO 400, F/1.8, Optolong L-Pro FF clip). It's just a test, the FoV is so big that it quickly covers high trees around. Maybe I should reprocess it... 🤔

We all suffer from bad weather for months. And if the sky is cloudless, there is not enough data collected and the sessions has to be continued indefinitely. What if I could multiply my chances of any success in astrophotography, and also give myself a chance for the acquisition under a darker sky than Bortle 9+? In January, I came up with the idea of buying a Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art lens, as I already have a modified Canon 6D, and in February I already had it in my hands. For some time now, I have been taking shots only in two sensor positions relative to the mount: horizontal and vertical. Taking advantage of the universal solutions of the Arca-Swiss system for photography, I created the basis for a setup based on ASIair Plus. A couple of weeks later I bought an interesting Carl Zeiss Jena DDR 135mm F/3.5 lens from our forum fellow and decided to use it with the ASI 2600MC-Pro camera, for which an appropriate fastening had to be made, also based on the Arca-Swiss L-bracket. Knowing that I would buy additional glass, in January I started adapting the SW EQ5 mount to OnStep GoTo and I made a fairly light and very precise mount as a result, capable of shooting up to 120 seconds without elongating the stars at a focal length of 242mm (SW Evoguide 50ED) without guiding. I'll write about this modification later in this thread, but for now, I want to focus on what's at the top of the rig. The pictures below show two different lens/sensor configurations, and the sensor can work both horizontally or vertically in each configuration. Any change takes literally seconds, everything is based on Arca-Swiss clamps. I should mention that it required well-managed cables fastened to designed and printed frames: data cables on the left-hand side and power cables on the opposite side. Like always, only two cables run down from the setup: a 12V power cable and a USB cable connected to the mount. There is also a third option: a ZWO Canon EF filter drawer, which will be useful when I move from the experimentation phase to regular astrophotography with a faster 105-135mm lens with a Canon EF bayonet. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WTC333V?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (the Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art mount ring) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SQHG23Z?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (the Arca-Swiss L-bracket) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CF8ZYVDV?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (a big Arca-Swiss clamp safely holding the expensive lens with the 6D body and all accessories around, which is over 2.8kg in total) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071FBXHNN?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details (a small Arca-Swiss clamp is screwed to the Svbony guider)

First time two rigs in my garden, both are mine. ☺️

I have the EF bayonet version, but it's the same lens.

Hi, Recently I finish a SW EQ5 OnStep GoTo mod with MKS Gen-L v.2.1 custom 3D printer/CNC board, steppers and belts. It works under control of ASIAir Plus. Earlier I made an Opus Magnum EQ fork mount from scratch based on FYSETC S6 v.2, it works with both Astroberry and ASIAir. Harmonic gearing was used and of course steppers. A few months ago I finished a 1:20 scale 3D printed model of a New Robotic Telescope build by Liverpool John Moore University on La Palma, also steppers and belts, but this time an OnStepX was used. I love the OnStep/OnStepX and the new challenges. 🤩

@a6400, did you mean the Sigma 40mm F/1.4 DG HSM Art? If yes, I designed it and printed a few days ago. It works, tested on Capella. Are you interested? 🙂

It's time to say sorry to my modded Canon 6D. Here is my newest and shortest setup in its beta version: Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art, modded Canon 6D, Optolong L-Pro FF clip (if needed), 30mm guider and ASIair Plus on top of my recently finished SW EQ5 OnStep GoTo mod. It's something for a few hours trip outside the city, quite portable. Like every my scope, also this one will sit on a Losmandy dovetail bar when a proper saddle arrives. I will finish it and make it tidy then. The camera can be positioned horizontally (in the pic) or vertically thanks to an excellent Arca-Swiss L-bracket and two clamps. One smaller clamp is used for attaching the guider on a free side, very clever. Waiting for tests...

'Firts light' and tests of a turned into OnStep GoTo basic SW EQ5 (2GT belts and an older custom 3D printer board). I'm going to describe it wider soon. The GoTo seems more accurate than the one in my Celestron CGX. 😳 Unguided tracking of Betelgeuse, 7.5* over the Equator; respectively 60s, 120s, 180s (ASI2600MC-Pro and SW 250mm Evoguide 50ED with SW FF; 3.2"/pixel). It's made as a mobile mount for my modified Canon 6D and a Sigma 40mm F/1.4 Art which I'm going to buy very soon. 60s subs can be easily taken without the guiding.

Thank you Adam, I'm going to consider this idea.

Yeah, it's exactly the same. I can see a tiny coma on one edge, depending on the camera position. My 7x2" ZWO EFW with filters and the camera weight more than 1kg, and they pull the camera side of the rotator down, but it's still acceptable. I'll wait a bit, it looks like ZWO plans to introduce their own rotator.

It's difficult to rotate the whole scope while a Deep Sky Dad's EAF adapter is used. Rotation by 90* means turning a focusing ring also by 90* in an opposite direction that causes significant change of the focus point. This affects a whole filters offset settings. The FMA230 isn't a typical refractor.

I assume that by asking the questions you have some thoughts. It would be easier to answer them if you could expand these thoughts. 🙂

I'd like to update this thread in case someone has a similar problem. Recently I bought two used M54/M54 manual rotators from @rsarwar. One of them has a male M54 / female M48 reduction ring which is great for me, I had only screwed it in deeper to obtain a proper length. It matches perfectly with the 7x2" ZWO EFW with its M54 thread while the second side can be screwed to the Askar thanks to the reducer. I still think about the 5.5mm rotator, but I'll try to find a similar one with M48 or M54 thread. The extremely low profile would allow me to make an electronic rotator based on that. Thank you, Vlaiv. CS,

I cannot do it, the camera is screwed straight to the EFW, so it's the first part after the camera. I can experiment and screw in an M48/M42 reduction behind the EFW to check the vignetting. I use an Askar FMA230 which is F/4.6.

Thank you Vlaiv, it's indeed very thin. I'd like to use it with an APS-C camera and 20+2 mm EFW, isn't the M42 too small for 39.5 mm from the camera sensor? And isn't 1,350 kg a risky amount? Thanks and CS