R26 oldtimer

In that case, I guess I'll have to gather some data first before going for 30day trial in APP...🤔🤑

So I have to manually align the two images in PS? In that case is it better to have a matched FOV or pixel scale to work with?

After alignment, which blending mode do I choose to merge the two photos?

TIA!

I've seen some people here combining data captured on two different cameras and scopes.

Sometimes this is done to speed up image acquisition by two osc or mono cameras or by an osc and a mono for Hargb ( or NB+rgb).

What I would like to know is:

if your aim is to mach the FOV or the pixel scale for the different scope/camera ?

how do you merge the 2 stacked images in Ps (Let's assume 2xosc cameras)?

how do you merge the 2 stacked images in Ps (Let's assume mono+osc cameras for Hargb)?

P.S. I assume you first stack each scope/camera data to end up with 2 stacked TIFFs right?

28 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I deliberately overexposed this pic so you could easily seen the green  finder holder contrasting with the blue focuser (for those of a sensitive colour disposition, do not look at the pic to closely).

That green-blue chromatic aberration, is not at all what I expected from a Takahashi scope....

I like that little camera (as well as the 290mono) because it is cheap and cheerful and also very versatile. They are excellent planetary cameras, very-very good for eaa, you can do some decent galaxy imaging with them, and when you move on to serious imaging, they make great guiding cameras.

I have found that is cheaper (and more stylish) to cover all your different targets, by acquiring more scopes than eyepieces...

Anyway, having four scopes at the moment, if I was forced to choose one, it would be the ED120.

Trying some shots at the eastern veil, despite of almost full moon....

Well the poll was almost unanimous, and who am I to defy the vast majority??

So here it is, a GSO 10", with it's mirrors in very good condition, equiped with DIY GOTO (based on meade ds motor kit + autostar) which cost me a bit less than £150. I had the chance to try the goto and although a bit crude, it managed to bring almost every target within the 30mm eyepiece fov. Also I am more than happy with it's tracking ability, something that held me back all this time from getting a dob.

Thank you all for reassuring me that this would be worthwhile!

23 minutes ago, Mr niall said:

Yes... but a new 12" scope would be at least £800. It's all relative. 

Yes, I totally get your point. Even if it will need a recoat in the near future -god forbids- I will still get a brand new (optically) scope for half the price.

20 minutes ago, John said:

I saw a Skywatcher 12 flextube dob (non-goto) a few days back on e.bay with a "Buy it now" price of £350.00. It looked to be in very nice condition but of course needed collecting.

 

14 minutes ago, Mr niall said:

I saw that one too. I only paid £360 for mine now come to think of it...

Now, now.... You've had your share of local bargains, It's my turn for a local listing that I won't have to pay my kidney for shipping.

57 minutes ago, Mr niall said:

They're not actually that pricey at all (all things considered); again about £160 to £170 for the whole package including stripping for a 12".

That's a tiny bit under the asking price...

Just to make sure we're on the same wavelength, when we say recoating, I assume we're talking about realuminising and new protective coating?

Thanks John. Actually it is a GSO.... Hmm....

Thank you for your replies so far. So, essentially what you say is that any mirror degradation should be visually obvious, or if it looks good then it is good! I'll arrange to go and take a look before committing to buy.

Does shining a strong light down the tube while checking the rear of the mirror for pin holes or light passing, make any sense?

I've been offered a 12 year newt/dob for about 40% of it's current new value. It's a good price and there is no visible degradation on the mirror coating, but I'm afraid that the coating has exhausted most of it's life span, and will need a recoat in the next five years. This eliminates the low price advantage and makes it a no-go.

There seem to be as many skywatcher 3.3v TTL logic mounts as 5v. The fact that there is only one sw wifi unit to suit them all, without voltage adjustment, makes me think that they use a 3.3v board which is 5v tolerant, just as the DT-06 board.

I am using my diy device for the last six months with no more problems than the original sw has, and haven't looked back since.... except for a Rpi for total control of imaging and platesolving which might be my next project.

I would not consider a goto dob for anything smaller than 10" or 12".

There are better and more versatile mounts for scopes smaller than 12" such as the Heq5 or eq6 or the azeq equivalents. The dobsonian mount is a great concept when it comes to keep a large scope steady without having to pay as much as a car for a mount to hold  a 14"-16"-20".

So I would either go for the Skyliner 200P Dobsonian or a 12" manual dob or something like that:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200pds-heq5-pro.html

Sorry it took me so long. It works for real-time. And it is in the submenu maintenance under wpixel mask were you can either do it by manually selecting the pixels or automatically by covering the sensor and taking a "dark". Check the manual on page 25.

VTC-IRA24F_Manual_final-v2.pdf

I've also tried it, in order to tease out more planetary detail. I could see no real benefit, which makes you sceptical about investing in a better or premium diagonal....

2 hours ago, happy-kat said:

I would look for a second hand canon 550d. Why canon and not nikon, because you can use old m42 lenses with an adaptor. Why 550d, because it has vidro crop mode which is better on planets/moon.

I'll second the 550d, for those same reasons plus dso's

There is a submenu "maintenance" where there is an option to make a bad pixel map, but haven't used it this past year. I'll check it this weekend and report back.

7 hours ago, Vondragonnoggin said:

We are all just trying to see more in various ways whether live with NV or near real-time with a camera. I still use my regular eyepieces frequently too.

7 hours ago, Vondragonnoggin said:

that members that just grab on to EAA camera or EAA NV, get pretty excited about seeing things they never thought possible previously without getting huge telescopes or requiring the darkest skies and they want to “shout it from the rooftops” to others or be able to suggest it as an alternative to “get a bigger scope and drive to darker skies” and traditional method astronomy practitioners see it as “bragging”. 

Couldn't have said it better, you 've just nailed it!

I upped my game two weeks ago with 90sec subs. Unfortunately there was strong wind making 2/3 of 180 subs completely useless.

This is what I got from 62x90sec subs of m18-m82. ED80, azeq5 and Canon 600d.

Thinking about how to put a closure to this thread, I 've decided to revisit m17 a year after I 've started this journey last August. Until then I hope I can capture more of those summer nebulae!

And at 8:59, an ad for a mint Takahashi at 10% of the retail price appears....

Good luck with the upgrade SGL!

Excellent!!

19 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

I would encourage you to do flats, dark flats and bias files as well. 

Flats will be my next must-do!