david_taurus83

If its any consolidation, my new AZEQ6 is exactly the same, and that only has needle bearings to spin on the friction surfaces. I had always assumed this was simply the way with SW mounts. No point opening up a new mount yourself if it risks the warranty.

21 minutes ago, rnobleeddy said:

Forgot that - I just chopped the cigarette lighter end off and swapped to the right size connector for the DSD. You can buy them there the wires screw in so no soldering required!

I use plenty of those solderless connectors! I always dab a bit of hot glue on the screws and wire clamps though so no moisture can get in.

Im pretty sure the DC hub input socket is 5.5 x 2.5 while all the outputs are 5.5 x 2.1. Mine is anyway, unless he's changed the design since.

Edit: Just checked the link and it does appear to be a new version with 5.5 x 2.1 input, same as the outputs. Ignore the above!

17 minutes ago, Meteorite Mike said:

I’ve had similar issues with getting any form of reply from Altair Astro and it’s getting frustrating!

I purchased an IOptron Mount back in January (2021) and they sent it out minus the hard case but with an extra counter weight. I eventually got through to Altair and was told it was a common mistake and that they would send the case out when it comes in stock and also arrange for the Counter weight to be returned to Altair. I told them they could have it collected the next day (which it was). Over the months I have Emailed them on numerous occasions with no reply. I’ve phoned them on numerous occasions. Twice they have answered the phone and I’ve been fobbed off with ‘Oh it’s IOptron fault, they can’t source the materials for the hard cases’. I’ve even been down to there shop (when I was in Norfolk) and got no answer there.

I’ve spoken to IOptron who told me they’re was no issue with the materials and they have been shipping cases out worldwide for months.

It seems that Altair are in some cases, terrible at customer and after sale service.

As already mentioned, their very active on FB. If you use it, it might be worth posting up something on the page for all to see..

Well, one things for sure. I'm not 19 anymore! It was easier to dig the hole than mix the concrete! A couple of days and it should be ready to receive the pier and back fill. The ductile iron pipe I'm using for a pier is 1.4m tall. So it will sit 400mm below ground and 1m above. That way, the scope and mount shouldn't be taller than the fence and look too unsightly. 

Thank you Steve! It took me bloody long enough! Thankfully, no stones or roots so fairly easy going!

Got my template all setup now. The hole in the middle is for some 2" ducting so I can feed cables up through the pier. Will be hand mixing the concrete tomorrow. 

Finally stopped procrastinating and made a start on this. We've lived here at the new house only a couple of months but I'm fairly confident I've picked the best spot in the garden. Good view north, though bright as got the city that way, big tree to the east, good view south and the house to the west. Started with cutting a 600mm square out of the fake grass. A while later after much sweating and grunting, we have a 900mm deep hole.

Take a picture of your garden at night and up the exposure or ISO to 'compliment' the amount of light intruding your garden.

2 hours ago, astro mick said:

Hi.

I took this reflection Nebulae a couple of nights ago.It was taken with a ED102 scope and my Canon 450D DSLR.

I took about 5hrs of 180 secs at 800 iso.I was,nt very hopeful for this as its faint and the noise was terrible,but a bit of jiggery pokery in APP and Photo-Shop,and i,m fairly please with the result.

Know its not perfect,but i can live with that.

I took bias and Flats.

Mick.

 

Hi Mick, I don't think the forum displays png files. Needs to be jpeg for display.

Excellent as usual Emil!

If I'm not mistaken it looks like Dec movement based on the left/right motion of the stars in your image. It might be too well balanced and the gears not perfectly meshed so when pointing up its teetering from side to side.

Or it could be the cable!

Could you not slide over the warm room and put a half door on the side to match the warm room door? No obstruction on the scope side then and not taking up any more space.

4 hours ago, vlaiv said:

I'm not buying that

Image shows that you have 0.02px error in RA and 0.01px error in DEC which translates to 0.14" and 0.13" respective errors. I really don't think you have reliable data when you are trying to measure star position to 1/50 - 1/100 of a pixel. As far as I know - centroid algorithms can determine precision down to about 1/16-1/20 of single pixel.

Your guide system is just too coarse to be able to reliably measure guide error in that range (large pixels, small guide scope).

Even so, the grouping is about 0.5 arc second, peak to peak. Can't complain at that.

The only way to take proper darks is with the camera off the imaging train and a metal cap on it. It's the only way to be sure. 

You might not be able to do that if you use flat darks but if they are done at night and you can cover the scope they should be OK for flat calibration. But long exposure darks, definitely camera off.

9 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

You don't own the holiday house down the road who supports Aston villa 

No, not me. Who the hell would want to support them?! 😄

I'm familiar with the area! 🙂

22 hours ago, Dave scutt said:

Just checked weather for tonight, hoping a might get an 1 hour or 2

Your not too far from Bolands bar then?!

Why not just buy a colour planetary camera in the first place? Be much better frame rate and will work no problem with 1.25" focuser.

21 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

It isn’t possible for me to access the screws with a screwdriver, only via an Allen key, so I had to change.  Otherwise I just find them cheap looking 🙈

 

Off topic but I had the same dilemma with my SX filterwheel. Decided to change the screws on the back plate with M2.5 cap head bolts. Much tidier and professional looking. Also much easier to remove.

What controllers came with the mount? You say you tried a 'proper' Synscan controller that works? A Synscan controller should be the standard one to use?

I think the WO acrylic B masks are really good. Never have an issue with them. I only ever eyeball the spikes though. Don't trust any of the software that analyses the spikes. Also, if your locking the focuser after adjusting this can also move it slightly if you over tighten.

The halos are caused by the filter. I've seen lots of images produced by the Lextreme and they all seem to have halos on bright stars. Small though, they don't take away from the image.

There are stories of people bricking their handsets due to getting stuck halfway through a firmware update so if yours doesn't have any issues might be worth leaving it be.

Could buy a Lunt 60 B1200 for around £150 more 🤔 

Image not debayered yet?

Line it with tinfoil.