david_taurus83

Forgot to add, the AM5 mount and 2600MC draw about 1.3 amps and 2 dew straps draw about an amp each. So around 15/20 amps per session. The camera cooler was only on around 1% though as only cooling to -5 so in more mild weather it would obviously use more. 

I've had this Halfords leisure battery for nearly three years now, originally used when I had a small portable setup, AZGTi, CEM25P etc. For the last 2 years or so it has been in storage and I'll admit I haven't kept up with maintenance like charging etc. Since getting a full ZWO portable setup before Christmas it has been dragged out of the shed, thrown in a Bison box and whacked on charge. Great! However, on Friday night when I went to pack up at 1am, it was displaying 9v! Luckily I had captured all my intended images so no harm done, put battery back on the smart charger and it was full again for last night's session. It will charge up to around 90% and 13v on the meter and after 5 or 6 hours use it will be around 60% and 12v. Its a 70ah battery. The picture below shows its current state this morning. 

A picture of how you have attached the flattener would help.

I'm new to the whole ASIAir world and I'm pretty sure that's the version on my Mini. I've had no issues really and found it a breeze to use so sorry your having issues. You obviously have more experience with it and will know a lot more than myself. I seen an update announced on their Facebook page last weekend nut there were no end of negative comments so I haven't tried the latest update myself.

I have the Esprit 100 and usually leave the dew controller to manage the power of the dew bands (Pegasus UPB) and never have issues but if it's cold and frosty I always override it and switch them on full power. It's the only way to be sure!

11 minutes ago, rnobleeddy said:

Ah, in that case it looks like a classic case of the spacing being a little out. 

Take a look at this thread - it's usually easiest to get some kind of variable spacer, and on the next imaging session, spend some time at the start systematically finding the best spacing for the flattener.

In terms of processing, I use startools, which has a star repair function that rounds mis-shaped stars. Different tools will have different options, and probably won't please purists, but if it's just stars out there, I'm happy!

 

 - 

When I look back at that thread I remember the many nights i used to stress out about not having perfectly round stars in the corners. Now I'm like, meh! 

I have the Esprit 100 and the matched flattener gives me nice round stars all the way to the corners of my 533MM. Even without the flattener on Peter's scope the corners don't actually look that bad. The flettener would give a huge improvement though.

I've used some form of meter for monitoring power consumption on my kit for years and I've never known it to be drawing more than 3 amps at a time, usually cruises along at around 2amps. That's with large EQ6 mount, camera, dew heater etc. The same also with my AM5. Lithium is better, lighter and holds voltage for longer before it starts to drop but very expensive if your looking for lots of amp hours. Traditional acid battery is obviously cheaper, reliable and lots of amp hours but very heavy and voltage drop can be an issue as it discharges as the mount may start to get upset when down to 11v etc.

It depends on how portable you want it to be? Portable as in go to a dark site for a few hours? Then I'd say lithium battery of some sort. If only bringing kit out of the shed into the garden and you don't have mains supply nearby, then a traditional leisure battery would be better and cheaper as long as the weight isn't an issue. £100 would get you a decent one and a smart charger and would prob last a couple of years at least.

Have you updated to the latest ASIAir version? I seen it announced a few nights ago on Facebook followed by multiple comments saying they had issues. I don't intend to update for a while myself as everything was working fine last time out.

20 minutes ago, alacant said:

Hi

200p so we'd recommend losing the mirror clips altogether. If you must replace them, they should not touch the mirror. If you have silicone, the size of the gap doesn't matter.

Cheers and HTH

I suppose the silicone should hold the mirror relatively securely as long as it doesn't upend itself. I'll probably back the clips off and keep in place above the mirror as a precaution. Thanks.

Sorry to thread hijack but my issue is kind of relevant. I disassembled my 200P mirror cell yesterday (managed to loose hold of the screwdriver somehow on the mirror clips and scratched the primary slightly 🙄😤😭), gave the cork pads a blob of silicone, some new springs etc and reassembled everything. However on reflection, I think I have tightened the clips too tightly. I have read elsewhere that it is common practice to be able to slide a bit of paper between clips and mirror so to avoid pinching. This may be OK for observing but how about if the main goal is imaging? @alacant should I keep the clips in firm contact with the mirror or allow a tiny gap?

On 13/01/2023 at 20:51, George Sinanis said:

Nevertheless, the PE200 is mandatory to mount the AM5 on any other tripod.

Is this the case for an EQ6R/AZEQ6 tripod? I would like to try my AM5 on my AZEQ6 tripod for a spot of observing every now and again but don't fancy paying best part of £200 for an extender.

24 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

What direction does it fly once launched? Is it possible to see this as a dot moving across the sky like a satellite ?

https://virginorbit.com/the-latest/where-can-i-spot-the-launcherone-rocket-on-launch-day/

Fingers crossed for no clouds Adam!

Will you use it in alt/az mode? The EQ6R is a bit cheaper and makes more sense if it's in stock. Only reason I bought my AZEQ6 is because the other wasn't in stock. I'd say they both give reasonable performance.

A 150P on that mount is going to be a struggle. It's like a 200p on an EQ5.

4 hours ago, TerraC said:

Whats the concensus on the secondary encoders? Do people have them switched on or off? 

 

3 hours ago, R26 oldtimer said:

Off when imaging and guiding, on for visual use.

A couple of years ago I had issues when I turned them off. The coords in EQMod would change after switching off and I had pointing  issues. Was OK when I left them on. Was 3 years ago so later firmware updates may have fixed it.

Bin, for guiding sake, and just let BlurXterminator pull out the detail! 😁

2 hours ago, Oxize said:

Hmmm, thats why i never came unguided (when you need this scale) on my objects. I live in The Netherlands, which is 52 latitude. So you telling me i have to set it instead from 52 to 38?

That i never saw this when i was guiding. In the darkness i just was watching Nina, and made the corrections for PA, and started photographing. Never watched the scale after. When i packed up my stuff, i put the wedge straight to 0 degrees so it fits better in my big tripod bag.

The scale isn't inverted. It's because the AZGti mounts into the wedge the opposite side to the Star Adventurer so you invert the latitude. If you were to mount the Star Adventurer into the wedge I bet you would find you need to turn the wedge 180° on the tripod. If you were at latitude 45° it would make no difference!

I would flock the whole tube. Look how bright it is compared to the flocked bit behind the secondary. Also look how the primary has reflected the flash onto those screws. Obviously the flash has magnified the effect but still, a bright star could still provide some rogue photons to bounce around in there.

Sharpcap already has an optimum exposure calculator, if that's the sort of tool your talking about.

1 hour ago, deanchapman2705 said:

I have found the problem!! Turns out, it was to do with the dew heater on the guide scope. It was plugged into the 533 and I think it was drawing too much to power. I had the (to be installed) EAF plugged into the AAP but have just swapped them so the EAF is now powered by the 533 and the dew heater is plugged into the AAP. Everything now connects fine, the 533, EAF, 120mm and mount.

I am powering the mount with the iOptron brick which then passes through to the AAP which then powers the 533 (so all with one power brick) I do also have a Celestron portable power supply (12v 5a) which I can use to power the AAP separately (or even the entire setup like with the power brick) if I need to but it seems to be running fine now.

I can power the entire setup off and on again and unplug and plug the USB cable from the 533 into the AAP and it all works so doesn't seem to be a one-off fix like before with the firmware update which is good  just need to let FLO know now 😂

I don't think the USB ports on the camera are supposed to power dew straps. Mainly for filter wheel and guide camera, and even then they are flaky at best. Personally, I would power dew straps separately of the Air as well.

Sweet!

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/340860-ngc7000-hoo-sho/?do=findComment&comment=3709232

"Done" he says, not quite! Been tidying up the laptops hard drive and while transferring data to an external drive I stumbled across the data for this. Given it was over 3 years ago, I decided to reprocess this and apply some new tricks (Yes, I did use that new tool). I didn't preprocess as I have mislaid the darks for the ASI1600 I had, so started off with the stacks I made at the time. Needless to say, its amazing what time and experience can achieve! I have always said that imaging is 25% capture, 75% processing, and I think this applies well here. I was very happy with the result 3 years ago, I'm more than happy with the reprocess! Also it goes to show that the ASI1600 was and still is a great camera and in competent and experienced hands it can still hold its own among the current range of cameras we have today.

https://astrob.in/33f8ai/B/

2019 version:

Todays version with RGB stars captured at the time but not used in the above:

I have to say, even with the minor reflection, they are very nice images of the Horse and Flame.😀

It's not the cover. It's condensation. Found this out myself. Again, answers above solve it. I use a dew strap wrapped around the dec axis with heated side facing outwards left on 24/7. About 50% is fine.

Whilst stargazing?!