david_taurus83

Just now, johninderby said:

Big Red is my home built scope using Japanese optics and it beats an fpl53 triplet let alone the Stellamira on planets. However not as portable as the StellaMira which is a great grab’n’go setup.

Hi John, did you write a thread for that DIY scope? Looks lovely and sounds very interesting!

12 hours ago, Sidecontrol said:

I have that tick box checked but I’m finding my mount just stops tracking after around 15mins, it’s really annoying. 
any thoughts?

ive read that it could my my USB port on my laptop turning itself off to save power. But my mount battery died before I could try this out. 

 

I started with an EQ5 Pro and using EQMod via the hand controller. Had the exact same issue. Mount would stop tracking after a few minutes. Unticking the mount limits box fixed it. A strange quirk if working through the hand controller.

Have you tried an imaging software like Sharpcap yet?

Are Daystar aware of the bad press they receive on forums like this?

How far from the sensor are the filters? Are they 1.25 mounted?

Note to self. 'Never buy a Quark'

If the correcting lens is fixed then it makes no matter if you remove a spacer as the focal point won't change. Something doesn't look right though.

Regarding focus, I find that if I leave everything out for an hour or 2 before imaging to cool properly, focus doesn't change at all. I use NINA and have the HFR values embedded into the image name so I can see in numbers if focus shifts.

For flats, I shoot for each session. It only takes for 1 spec of dust to shift to potentially waste your hard won data.

The generic flatteners are good and they do flatten the field but if there is a specific one for a specific scope then it should be optically matched to that scope and give better results.

I had the Astro essentials mini guide scope which is very similar in design. The front barrel was also loose on that before you tightened. A good upgrade is to get the non rotating helical focuser which makes focusing a breeze after you get rough focus with the front barrel. I'd hazard a guess the SVBony helical focusers available on ebay for half the price of the ZWO are identical..

When I suggested using the guidecam, my thinking was this.

Start APT but not PHD at first. Connect to the guide cam in APT. Connect to the mount in APT. Slew to your chosen target. Take a 10 second exposure with guidecam. At 130mm focal length you should pick up a good few stars. In Pointcraft, press Solve. If that fails try Blind. Fingers crossed, it solves the image. Press sync. Repeat until you are on target. Close APT now as you no longer need it. Connect up PHD and start your calibration/guiding. Set your Fuji to start imaging however you plan to do this.

There are a few things to consider before you try this. First, as Steve points out, the guidescope needs to be pointing in practically the same position as main scope. You can do this by aiming at a far off target during the day or at the moon at night. Secondly, you need to make sure you add a profile into APT for the guidecam and guidescope. Also, you need to make sure you have the relevant indexes installed in All Sky Plate Solver for the field of view of the guidecam and guidescope. Out of curiosity, I tried something like this myself. I struggled to get Solve to work but I got Blind to work. Fingers crossed it may help you as well.

3 hours ago, Sidecontrol said:

Hey, yes thanks again for the suggestion, no not yet, as I'm currently figuring out the best way to do your suggestion.  The fuji XT2 has 2 memory card slots, i shoot raw in the primary and jpg in the secondary.  It also has wifi and I believe I can set up file transfer to my laptop using it.  Just not go round to trying this.  Posted here to see if there was any other alternatives while I figure this out.

What program would I use the guide scope / camera in for plate solving? I know there is that option in SharpCap.

Ah I see, I didn't realise it would be so much of a pain then to try and load individual images from camera to PC. In that case, I'd give it a go with APT and your guidescope. What guidescope and camera are you using?

Hi Mark. Have you tried the method I described previously by loading images into APT as opposed to taking them? Or have you tried playesolving with the guidescope/guidecam?

1 hour ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Now don;t get me wrong the plate solving worked great in APT but I don't think you can do the same with the previous image (but forgive me if I am wrong or it has been added)

 

APT can indeed load a previous image and platesolve.

You won't need a filter wheel as it's a colour camera. You could just get a filter drawer instead and swap out light pollution filters, duo-narrowband, Ha, whichever takes your fancy. Filter wheels are mainly used with mono cameras where the need to gather multiple channels is necessary to create a colour image.

The SV305 looks to be about £120/130 after a quick Google. For another 20 or 30 quid you could get the tried and tested ASI120mm.

It would be easier to get an AZGTi and use the SA wedge and counterweight bar with the AZ in EQ mode.

4 minutes ago, Lee_P said:

Oh that's a good idea, could avoid the OP needing to buy new dew heaters 

I've just bought one of those USB bands off Amazon for a mobile setup. I have to say I'm impressed by how warm it gets. I had to buy an Anker power bank to go with it but it beats lugging a 12v leisure battery around just to use my normal dew straps!

I'm assuming your using 5v USB ended dew bands? I'd always recommend dew heaters are powered off their own controller or power supply. A USB power bank might be the best option for you.

Have you got a particular one in mind?

That looks really nice and clean! What's your LP like? My 6D data looks clean to start with but after I run DBE in Pixinsight to remove the light pollution its a noisy mess!

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

I have only ever seen the Crab Nebula once in a 8" reflector I have not had chance to look for it with my 5" Refractor I don't hold out much hope in my light polluted skies but there is always a chance. 

Im pretty sure I snared it with my old 102mm f7 last year. Took me a while but with referring to SkySafari on my phone I'm confident I could make out the faintest of smudges through a 25mm BST eyepiece. From my light soaked back garden as well.

3 hours ago, Sidecontrol said:

just looked it up and it doesn't, sad times, but i did get EQMOD and Sterallium set up so i'll be using that for now. 

Even if APT can't directly control the camera, you can still use it to platesolve and sync the mount. Slew to your desired target and take an image and save it to the pc as a jpeg. In APT Image tab, navigate to the same jpeg and solve it. As long as APT is connected to the mount, it should be able to sync the coords solved from the jpeg. Repeat the process until your actually on target. Using Stellarium or CdC would also help as a visual aid as to where you are pointing after each solve.

What about the Olympus 10x50 DPSI? Currently around £60 at Argos. Decent quality and nice, sharp views.

20 hours ago, Sidecontrol said:

How would i plate solve with say a fuji camera attached to a telescope? would i use my guide cam mini? or is there another way to do it?

Is the Fuji camera supported with APT?