Redscouse

On 22/01/2020 at 23:36, fireballxl5 said:

Order placed 20 mins after notification of pre-order post on SGL, delivery scheduled for 23rd🙂

 

Had some time for a trial fit yesterday evening and seems to be working fine, controlling my 224MC & 071MC cameras and AZ GTi mount 😁

Need to sort a dedicated power line for it and figure out if/how it can power the anti dew strap. As is typical, I'm away on a business trip for the next week so it'll have to wait😕

I used these. I was tempted to cut the RCA connectors off but thought better of it so chopped an old phono lead with female connectors and soldered these on the other end. Works a treat! 

On 23/01/2020 at 22:00, John said:

I keep all my stuff in our dining room.

 

Dining room 🤣🤣🤣 

I think you lost the right to call that a dining room about five telescopes ago!

Hi Carole, 

Thanks for the response. I'll give it a whirl when it arrives and see if it leaves a pattern. If it does I'll try paper/tshirts etc. to see if I can hide it, if all else fails I'll grab one of them drawing boards from the links above. 
As a side note, I did actually build one of my own, (see images below - I never got around to finalising it as I wasn't convinced the leds were bright enough) it kinda works although it ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated (165mm) so hardly portable hence me still looking for one I can cart around with me. 

Pete.

@Jkulin Thanks for the heads-up. 👍
Still getting my head around calibration frames. Darks are pretty easy, just pop the cap on and repeat the imaging schedule. Flats/Bias, I'm just getting used too. Haven't even tried Dark-Flats. (I mean, how on earth do you take a dark light image? 😕 )
The flat panel I ordered is due on Thursday so will test it out. If it shows the beehive pattern I'll be straight onto them links you've kindly provided and ordering some. 

16 hours ago, Jkulin said:

My worry would be that it claims to be a honeycomb design, if so then the image maybe broken up and not a totally flat unbroken white.

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply.
I'd hope to diffuse any oddities using a handkerchief/t-shirt.

Evening all, 

What are your thoughts on using this for flats out in the field?  

Pete. 

4 hours ago, Skyline said:

I am interested in this, just to get rid of the trailing cables, does the capture software work on windows ?

The unit is controlled via an app available from your app store. 

The unit broadcasts its own network which you connect your phone/tablet too however, in the latest update there is a new feature called 'wifi station mode'. Turning this on will allow the AsiAir to connect to your home network via wifi. This means you can be anywhere your home network signal reaches and be in full control of the unit. 

Fantastic little devices! 

Definitely changed the game when it comes to setting up/stripping down every night. I just disconnect the three cables from the mount and lift the scope off with everything still in place. I've just setup, polar aligned and started a plan running in less than twenty minutes! 

4 hours ago, jjosefsen said:

but the focuser is the worst part. Expect to fine-tune this part a bit. I have since upgraded mine to this one:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-focusers/dual-speed-2-crayford-focuser-for-sky-watcher-refractors.html

Yep, me too. About two days after i bought the 'scope I upgraded the focuser. 

Thanks for the reply Grierson. 

I'm currently running the AsiAir from the power supply unit with an 5a extension. (AsiAir powering mount, focuser, EAF) Hitec Astro (4 port) powering 2x heater strips. All drawing less than 2a, peaks just over 2a when slewing. 

I'm on the hunt for phono > 2.1mm adapter/leads but having no luck. 

Hi all, 

Received my AsiAir Pro today. Naturally, I'm over the moon! (no pun intended - or was it...) 

Opening the box, it looks great! Picking it up it feels good and well made. Adding a bracket to slide into the finder shoe on the scope is a nice touch! Well played ZWO!

It comes with a plethora of cables and a 64GB USB stick. However there is no power adaptor/USB.
There is a 2.1mm male>female extension but no cigar/plug/USB. I'll have to dig out the original cable that came with my mount which has long since been put in a box somewhere 'safe'. 

I have two methods of providing power to my equipment, a battery and mains fed power unit. 
This..
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/tracer-12v-8ah-lithium-polymer-battery-pack.html 

and this..
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/power-accessories/nevada-ps-08-6a-8a-regulated-linear-power-supply.html

Would I be correct in assuming either of these will safely power the AsiAir via a (fused) 2.1mm>cigar adaptor lead?
(don't want to turn it into a smoke machine!)

Thanks for reading. 
Pete. 

Edit:
Q2: Does the AsiAir bypass the Synscan controller? 
I normally use an RS32>USB adapter to connect the handset to my laptop and was wondering how I would go about connecting the AsiAir to the mount for guiding. 

If you haven't already, take a look at Stellarium online. https://stellarium-web.org/ 
I'd even go one better and download the desktop software as it's free of charge and a great little tool for planning. 

With the exception of a couple of dips into the second hand market, I've never bought anywhere else. The customer service you provide is fantastic, that's what keeps me loyal. 

Happy New Year to you all at FLO, and, of course, SGL members! 

Thanks SpacedOut. 

Will have a read of that now. 

8 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

and indeed astigmatism will be sign of improper spacing

  I did have a little bit of help using a ZWO electronic focuser and auto focus in APT so I can't take all the credit. 
(I did do the spacing bit though with the help of a pair of calipers) 

8 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

That sub that you did looks nice, and it looks like it is supposed to look. Maybe core of galaxy is a bit burned, but that can be fixed with couple of short exposure subs and a bit of copy/paste.

Thanks vlaiv, very kind of you to say so. I'll stick with the 90s and add lots of subs. 

As a side note; I've seen many of your posts over the last couple of years I've been a member of this site, and if you don't mind my saying, not only are you very knowledgeable on this topic, you also have a way of delivering that information so beginners like myself understand what you are telling us. Thank you for that.  

Pete.

Hi guys and gals,

Is there a way to definitely recognise if i'm too short/long regarding backspacing. 
IE: do the stars elongate horizontal if too close and vertical if too far? (or similar)
Might sound like a silly question but when testing I've no idea which way to go, do I add or reduce. 
I think I've managed to achieve the correct distance now but it was a chore to get there swapping spacers/adaptors etc.

Skywatcher ED80 & matching flattener/reducer. (0.85)
ZWO ASI 178MM & EFW. 

Secondly, I've attached a single 90s sub using L filter (converted to png for this demo).
It looks to me like the whites are about to be overexposed however not much detail elsewhere. 
Is this normal or do you have any suggestions regarding gain/exposure etc. that would help capture more signal without overexposing.  
I've trialled from 60s up to 600s and it seems 180s gives me much better detail, however the whites are bloated.
I've never moved the gain or any other settings in the camera before so not sure if that would help? 

Thanks for reading. 
Pete.

Could all residents of Devon please stop buying astro gear so we can have a little break in the clouds!
Thank you kindly.  

As I see you guys often anyway, mine is marked for collection. I'm soooooo looking forward to that phone call.. (waits, nervously excited..) 

Oops! Posted in wrong thread! 

Hi all, 

Used the ED80 for the first time last night whilst away with a works do. Having been there before, i knew it would be dark, i just hoped the sky would be clear. 

About 1030pm, the clouds cleared for a short time so i quickly setup and pointed at Jupiter. Only having the one 2" eyepiece that came with the scope, had to use my 1.25s. I went through a couple of them and ended up with 6mm and could just about make out the top band of red and three, possibly four of the moons. 

I then turned my attention to Saturn. I was surprised how bright it was. I could clearly see the rings around it, although only as one complete ring. A colleague came over to have a look and hearing his reaction when he saw Saturn reminded me of the first time i saw it. 

After hearing/reading lots of good things about this scope i had high expectations and have to admit, I wasn't disappointed. I still love my reflectors however i would happily recommend this scope to any of my family (which is my benchmark test) 

All in all, top notch piece of kit and I'm looking forward to capturing some lovely images with it. 

Pete. 

Hi all, 👋 

It's been a while since my last post. I'm still at it, quietly.  
Anyway, just wanted to drop by and thank the team at FLO for their recent customer service. 

I stopped by the warehouse out of the blue and purchased a couple of scopes (ED80 & Evoguide) 
Whilst I was there, Steve informed me of the Skywatcher price rise (which I was already aware of) and said I should take a look online to price match which I did.
After sending FLO an email with a couple of links, low and behold, vouchers landed in my inbox! 

Top notch service by the team.  

Pete. 

PS: Steve/FLO: I did go to your site to leave a review, but for love nor money I couldn't figure out how. 

Hi John, 

Been away for a while. (a lot longer than i intended) 
Thanks for the invite, looking forward to catching up with you all. 

Pete. 

19 hours ago, The Admiral said:

Apparently this was a problem with UEFI,

Been using dual boot for years on several systems. Never had any issues turning off/on fast/secure boot. (and the newer versions are UEFI friendly)

18 hours ago, Alien 13 said:

Mint is easy to use and install as a dual boot with windows  but it is no replacement, there is just too much it cant do and most of the big boys (software wise) wont touch it.

Alan

I agree with all of the above. For someone wishing to have a first look I think Mate is one of the friendliest for the user. 
Once they get to know the basics, as you and I both know, there are a plethora of flavours available depending upon what the user wants to achieve. 

21 hours ago, The Admiral said:

I've downloaded the Mint Cinnamon

I probably wouldn't choose Cinnamon for my first attempt.

Try Linux Mint Mate. The GUI is much more user friendly. 

+1 for Mint. 

Very much Windows-ish, without the Windows bit that causes so many headaches!