Tomatobro

There is a post on this issue on the Sharpcap Forum. The CPU is more than 8 years old and does not support the software. If your CPU does not support SSE4 instructions then flat frame correction will not work What version of Sharpcap are you using as a fix was introduced when using flats. version 3.2.5825 and above

You will need a "solder sucker" to suck the molten solder away from each pin in turn after applying the tip of a soldering iron. A solder sucker has a spring loaded plunger that you press in and when ready press a catch which causes the plunger to retract which sucks the solder up the nozzle. Pressing the plunger back down pushes the solder back out. If the solder on a pin does not come out cleanly then re solder and suck it out again. If you have an old PCB to practice on first it helps to get the hang of it. I will see if a YouTube vid is available and if so put the link here search using a solder pump to desolder

I would power up the mount, then using the handset move the mount in RA and Dec to some position and then hit the park. When its finished parking the counterweight bar should be pointing down and the scope be pointing up. Correct any misalignment by undoing the clutches and positioning the Dec and Ra. axis manually. If the mount gets powered off while unparked it will start from its last position. If you want to be super accurate on the axis positioning you can use a spirit level on the counterweight bar, undo the clutch and rotate the mount till the level on the bar shows its level then use the setting circle to turn it back 90 degrees. Do the same with the scope. You now have an accurate starting point (parked) for the mount. search " How To Set The Equatorial Home Position "on Youtube for more info

Absolutely. Could not agree more

Astrology clubs can be a bit choosy as to who they admit. What sign were you born under?

I would say that the circuit diagram replicates what is found in the ZWO hand controller as suggested by Alan. The EAF is an expensive bit of kit to go experimenting with so would stick with the suggested circuit and only experiment with the resistor value if for some reason its performance is not acceptable.

search on "modding a coronado pst". The page gives links to YouTube vids etc

ZWO are already working on a Mk 2 version. As a manufacturer they have to keep writing on new business to survive. Once the market is saturated the next step is to fulfil the desires for an upgrade to resolve the limitations the current product has. I know of one local S50 owner that is already looking at a Varonis to get a better sensor etc. Sales of the S50 will level off so they need something to move forward.

I can see a competition coming up for the best image taken with a Seestar S50

I found this on the ASIAIR forum When you click on "sync" after a plate solve, you are instructing the telescope mount where it is really pointed at (i.e., the true RA and Declination coordinates), not where the mount thinks the telescope is pointed at before you synced it. If you had previously performed a goto to a star or DSO object in ASIAIR's telescope window, then a "sync and goto" will (1) first do the above, and (2) then move the mount to center that star or DSO object on your sensor. So, before you do a "sync and goto," you *must* have already done a previous goto in the ASIAIR telescope window. Otherwise, it will go to wherever the target was set to when the ASIAIR boots up. If you are using SkySafari, notice that ASIAIR's target object is *not* the same as SkySafari's target object. If you prefer using SkySafari to move the telescope around, what you need to do is (1) perform a goto in SkySafari, (2) switch app to ASIAIR and plate solve, (3) perform a plain Sync (do not use "sync and goto") in ASIAIR, and then (4) switch back to SkySafari and perform a goto in SkySafari to center the object. (You may have to repeat steps 1,2,3,4 once again to get close if you had not previously done a multi-star alignement on the mount; see below). If a star or DSO object is in the ASIAIR catalog, the easiest thing to do is just use the ASIAIR to do everything... select a target object, then click goto, plate solve, and click "sync and goto" in the plate solve window; there is no need to switch apps. There is really no need to use SkySafari anymore, once you have an ASIAIR. If the plate center is already quite close to the target object, the target should then be pretty darn close to the center of the camera sensor after you perform a "sync and goto." You can always do a second plate solve followed by a second "sync and goto," and that should get you really, really close (unless the polar alignment is off by a lot; like many minutes of arc off). You can even do a third pass, but you will find that it is pretty much never needed.

Given that plate solving is used to locate the object I also am confused. According to HPS its something to do with using the phones geo location data to tell the mount where it is but I think it tells the asiair software where the mount is geo wise. Would have been better to use the term sync location rather than the mount?

I agree. I added the comment about the spider mask so that folks could add the spikes using their own Seestar even though their processing skills might not be up to it. Its clear that the Seestar is opening up a whole new generation of astro photographers and as a result the desire to get into post processing.

diffraction spikes can be created by a 3D printed spider mask. Lots available on Ebay

how close was the heater cable to the antenna?

I see that there is a youtube video of someone using a seestar to measure the rotation of an asteroid

Over the years I have fitted 3 to different scopes and they work ok using the direct drive or toothed belts. The internal gearing means that you cannot rotate the output shaft manually. On one installation I took the pcb out of the handset and used one of the two channel remote control relay boards you can find on Ebay and made it into a remote control focuser.

I raised this subject on the Sharpcap forum as a possible feature for the future. Robin was quite interested in the subject and would look into it.

There are reports that a small asteroid was tracked and timed to enter Germany airspace last night. early reports suggest that small fragments have made landfall 50 miles west of Berlin.

In case I get a Seestar at some point I purchased a Doogee T20 from Amazon (the upgraded one about £120). My very old android tablet would not accept the software for download hence the purchase. I have to say that its a most impressive piece of kit. (Should Mrs Tomatobro read this I have the astro essentials levelling plate and a focus mask already from Flo just in case my Capex is approved)

Looks like you can run the software after all.

I have read that some have tried android emulators in windows but have had no success. I don't have a Seestar but have downloaded the software onto a very old android phone and it looks to be ok.

I may have got this wrong in that it looked in the picture as if the white pads were stuck to the underside of the mirror glass and held the mirror in place. If there are radial mirror restraints then the pads just push against the back of the mirror and offer multipoint support. In which case they need to be able to slide and not be stuck to the underside of the mirror.

If you have no luck in sourcing/identifying the original pads then I would suggest 3M VHB tape. There are lots of copies of this material but VHB is the only one I would recommend. I think its available as discs as well. A word of caution in that make sure your positioning is spot on as you (with these size of pads anyway) will not get a second chance

Agree. The problem I find now is that imaging time is so precious that experimentation eats into the session so tend to stick with what has worked before. I wonder what vliav thinks about this

If the range is 16 bit (0 to 65535) and the black level is set to 255 then the available range is 0 to 65280. I use the DSO mode in Sharpcap and set the black level high and APP accepts the data with no issues. I set the black level high because when I started with the camera I had some issues with processing and fixed it with the high black level (brightness in Sharpcap). I think my brother had similar problems and took his advice on the black level setting. Interesting comments though and will experiment further