Synchronicity

Thanks Pete. I have a NEQ6 as well which is outside on a pier and running well except for the latitude adjustment which shifts slightly due to taking the scope etc on and off. Definitely a project for the summer because I don't want it in bits when I could be imaging! Michael

I didn't realise they aren't available. I wonder if I could fabricate one using off the shelf materials? I have an EQ5 that I modified as per the image below so I could do that instead but this is a nicer engineering solution. @Peter-uk do you have any dimensions or drawings for these that you could share? Michael

Always good advice but I think my biggest safety risk would be when trying to convince my wife we needed it 🤣🤣🤣 Michael

It is SH2-101, the Tulip Nebula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh2-101 I was going to link to Astrobin images of it but the site seems to be down just now. I haven't had the chance to try the suggestions here yet. Michael

Looks great! I've been thinking about getting this upgrade but now I want to splash out on a furnace and all the other tools needed to make one 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Michael

I've printed several and they are all fine. Slow print and small layer depth and make sure any rough or loose bits are smoothed down and it's fine. I recently printed this which fits in the polar scope hole on my NEQ6 Pro and supports my power and data hubs. Michael

I'm lucky enough to have an old cloths dryer vent at floor level so the cable goes out there. I only have one Cat6 cable as I have a pier with power. It had data too but the underground cable has failed or I wouldn't need anything I'm thinking of fitting an external data socket on the wall opposite the pier, then I'd only need a 3m cable to plug in directly. Michael

I've not used it in a while but I'm sure on the handset you can select to view the mount voltage. That's worth checking and watching if it drops when the mount is commended to slew. Also try slewing at different speeds - do you hear anything from the mount? There's no point in chasing any other issues until you can get the mount working with the handset. Then I would uninstall everything from the computer, install EQMOD and get that working correctly, then add the next thing and so on. Michael

It's back up now.

https://openphdguiding.org/ Looks like the site is down just now. I was on it last week. Michael

Some days I wish there was a filter to hide such astonishingly good images from me!! I think I'm making progress then see how high some people have climbed the mountain 😉 The colours are incredible, especially on my big monitor! Michael

I'm using Astro Photography Tool - APT for image capture and that seems to store the data in the FITS header. A random image from a couple of nights ago auto populated all the fields in the ImageSolver dialogue box. Maybe they need set in whatever you are using for capture? All the best Michael

If it's a Windows machine try checking Device Manager to see if the Comm port is loaded and what port number has been allocated. I've started using Green Swamp Server and not had any comm port issues since (hope I'm not speaking too soon!) Michael

I'm quite chuffed at how this is shaping up. This was the 'first fit' after reprinting the base. I changed the direction of the slots to allow for tying cables if needed and modified the scope cover fitting to add a bulge and make cut-outs. It now fits securely and there is no danger of it slipping about or falling off, even if it gets a bit of force applied. My first full set-up with everything connected, powered up and tested. All power cables are cut to size but I still need to tidy up the camera USB3 lead. The big ugly lump is my 5m long EQDIR cable. I've bought a D type connector to shorten it but haven't quite plucked up the courage. I know I can make the connector up fine but it's the worry that I decide I need to redesign again, need a longer cable and end up yet another £35 out of pocket! Annoyingly, the hub is so shallow that I can't easily unplug the ethernet cable from it. I ran a cable underground from the pier to my 'office' so this should be a short lead that could be unplugged at the other end but the cable has failed so I need to use a long, robust cable instead. Once I decide the exact design of the top section I'll probably make a stage to lift the hub up and allow easier access. All the best Michael

If APT is crashing it's probably a driver issue - always the first place to start for those sorts of issues. I'd connect the camera, cap on, with a known good lead, directly to the laptop on my table and work at getting a stable connection and live view like that and then do the full setup in case there's issues with cabling, power or whatever. Michael

You could try cutting a piece of weed suppression fabric to fit. If you glued it all round on the pier and the floor that would be impenetrable to spiders but completely flexible. Michael

I'm guessing that's what I have here. This is 3 hours with my ASI 183MC pro cooled to -15C. Stacked with PIs WBPP using mostly default settings though on this run I had Linear Defects Correction enabled. I haven't dithered so far and I've not had this with the other 3 nights of data collected as I 'tune in' my setup. So, can anything be saved from this data? Attached are a screenshot of WBPP output with STF applied, the Blink video and a random raw image. Thanks Michael Blink.avi L_Cygnus_0779_Bin1x1_60s__-15C_G111.fit

Thanks folks The pier was my own design but based on several I found during research. It was built by a local blacksmith. The electronics are currently all in a Rittal steel box - expensive but very robust. This is what I'm currently printing as a tidy up solution. The 5 holes are for parallel connected aviation style plug connectors for the power and the box at the back is my USB to Ethernet hub. All being well this will sit in place of the polar scope cover and I'll just have one power and one data lead coming off the scope. Michael

Does the observatory have a base piece? If it does you might be able to use that as a former, protecting it with plastic sheeting or similar. The other way would be to use ply or whatever to make a circular former but make it undersized. Have stake - piece of rebar or similar - dead centre of the base with a cord the correct radius for the finished base. After the concrete is set enough to hold its shape remove the former and build up the base to the correct size. Make a shaped piece to give the profile you want, fix that to the cord and use that to go round filling and trimming. Remember, if this is for the edge of the obsy to hang over it doesn't have to be perfect as it'll be hidden and any small gaps can be filled with suitable material later. Michael PS. That all made sense to me - I hope I explained it well enough!

I've done a bit of DIY concrete work and if I was doing what you are doing I'd use timbers to make something like this. The key measurement would be the top so that the shed fits over the edges so work that out then work from there. Michael

Have you looked at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects? They have all sorts of citizen science stuff on the go, this is the list filtered for physics. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects?discipline=physics&page=1&status=live Good luck! Michael

Elegant, sophisticated, refined. All words which cannot be applied to this shambles I created tonight! I had everything set up and aligned last week and, though there wasn't much clear sky it all worked like a dream. Last night I'd get at best 5 or six frames shot then APT just kept reporting 'Still waiting image from the camera - 30s'. Much research led me to conclude that the issue was likely to be related to cabling, probably my USB connection to the camera. The image is what happened when I tore my power distribution and USB to Ethernet hub out of their nice, dry, secure box and positioned them close enough that I could use the USB lead supplied with the camera - a new ASI 183MC cooled. The rig is working like a dream just now, no hangups or anything and I'm getting nice images of clouds where ClearOutside told me there'd be stars 😒 All being well I'll make something I can mount using the polarscope cover hole and end up with just a single power and data cable feeding up to it - that might be tidy if not elegant 😉 All the best Michael

Assuming that your base/tripod is level you haven't missed anything - the scale is a rough guide only. I bought the device below for mine as I was planning to take it to darker sites - which never happened - but now you have the angle just note what it says on the scale and use that as a starting point. Of course, if you don't move location just leave it set as is and you'll just be making small adjustments each time you set up. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MAZJSCQ Michael

Following on from this thread I resurrected my design for a 'cap' to use for taking flats and am so far happy with the results. Designed with Freecad and printed on my CR10s Pro, this first version produced very nice flats that worked well for processing the images taken that night. I bought the EL panel mentioned in that thread from https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32981624149.html. It gives a blue light rather than pure white but seems to be ok so far. As the EL panel is sandwiched between the two parts there is light leakage which isn't an issue in the dark but I'll deal with in V2. I'm also looking at how to seal the opening when it's on the scope which would then allow me to use it for dark frames too. If I can do that then I'll be able to put the cap on and automate taking of all calibration frames - eventually. Michael

This reminds me of the guitarist who's biggest worry was that after he died his wife would sell his gear for what he told her he'd paid for it rather than what it cost! 😉🤣