teoria_del_big_bang

13 minutes ago, dazzystar said:

Thanks Steve but I'm still confused. The ST102 has twice the aperture size so logic would say the FOV would be greater but it's half!

Sorry. maybe not explained that well, maybe I should have mentioned first that the focal length of the Startraveler was twice that of the Redcat, as @vlaiv says it is the focal length that determines the zoom, for want of a better word. And the FOV will be a factor of the "Zoom" and the camera chip size.

I just mentioned that the aperture was also twice that of the Redcat to explain why the focal ratio ended up being the same at 4.9.

Steve

Th Focal ratio may be the same but the aperture on the Startravel 102 is 102 mm and on the Redcat is 51 mm (exactly twice that of the Redcat).
Also the Focal Length is also twice as much at 500mm as opposed to 250 on the Redcat, .

The f value is just a focal ratio so the relationship between the focal length and aperture, its the focal length that will determine the FOV.

So the focal ratios of the two scopes is the same.
Startravel 102 = 500 / 102 = 4.9
Redcat = 250 / 51 = 4.9

But, this is  why the FOV of the Startravel 102 is half that of the redcat.

Steve 

7 minutes ago, solarboy said:

We will be there me and the family 

Regards Solarboy 

Is that for the September one, not the one end of this month ?

Steve

Does it matter if it is fanless or not for use outdoors ?

Steve

2 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

Thanks for that…

Don’t seem to have for my ageing older i3….

Have you taken the lid off an looked to see if there are any headers for extra usb2's.
Most NUC's I have looked at seem to have them, they may be different headers and hence why the newer lids are now not compatible but you may be able to get some cables from the header to a couple of usb ports like these below, and then cut some holes in the lid, or have a new lid 3d printed for them.

Steve

49 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

Yes the Beelink one at FLO has the J4125 celeron processor which is excellent,

The problem I have is I have no idea what some of the lesser known processors are like.
Of course I know the Intel I3, (5's etc are good and the Ryzen ones are generally very good but always shy away from Celeron  ones as at one time they were the cheaper slower CPU's.

I know I don't need a gaming machine as such but also don't want one that will struggle.

Steve

1 hour ago, Skipper Billy said:

I fitted a new lid to one of them to give me an extra 2 USB ports (6 in total).

Is that something you can do to them all or just some types ?

Steve

Suggestions for best computer to use on the mount running windows 10.

I know I could get an all singing and dancing one for £700+ that would work fine but don't want to spend any more than necessary.

Thoughts are:

• 12V supply
• Windows 10
• Ideally SSD
• Would like the ability to add 2nd hard drive or SSD (any format of SSD)
• The more USB ports the better
• WiFi
• Ethernet

Whilst not wanting to pay a fortune I don't want to be scrimping so things run very slow, or struggling for lack of RAM. 

Steve

Absolutely stunning 🙂 

Steve

If you do not have a cooled camera you can maintain the same temperature then there is really not much you can do about the temperature variance and I would not think it will make a massive difference.
I do not think anyone would go the the bother of taking separate darks and Bias frames throughout the night as the temperature drops.

Steve

That one is not so easy but can do something similar.
EZDenoise runs TGVDenoise and MLT using masks so you can open the history of the image as described and if you drag both instances of TGVDenoise and MLT over in the correct order it will also drag the masks but if you wanted the masks as well you would have to save instances of those seperately.

Seems like you are taking to PI very well and getting to grips with it a lot easier than many do 🙂 

Steve

Not sure if this works for all Scripts that you cannot normally iconize but one example I have found is DarkStructureEnhance in Utilities.

You cannot drag the corner of this to make a process icon you just have to run it on an image by clicking on OK.
So run it on the image you want to use it on.

Then open up a ProcessContainer from the processes menu and also open up the history for that image.

Then drag the instance of the script from the image history and drop onto the process container.

You can then drag the bottom left corner of that process container onto the desktop to make an icon and rename it as you would normally.

Steve

I think you can use a Process Container to do it bit still not sure, they still may be some processes that this cannot be done with depending on how they are writtern.

@StuartT Do you have some particular scripts in mind that you have not been able to iconise ?

Steve

I think it can be done but not 100% sure but will have a play about or look for a video on it and let you know.

Steve

2 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

I need about 3 clear nights to finish my current target, IC443 Jellyfish Nebula with the Redcat before I take it down. Have about 20 hours Ha, maybe 18 or so with Oiii so really really want to finish Sii before I swap. But its past meridian now at 8pm when dark and I maybe have a 3 or 4 hour window each night? Will give it until the end of the month I think before setting the Esprit up! Be gutted if I can't gather enough Sii data!

Yes this target is becoming almost impossible for me now from my garden anyway and now have some Chroma filters to hopefully get rid of the two dreadful OIII halos so I think for me I will have to wait for next time around.
Steve

3 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Bonus Staurday delivery! Woo! 

Had notification from FLO that delivery was scheduled for Monday. Have waited 4 months so another weekend wouldn't have hurt! But glad it's come today as don't fancy the missus trying to lift it in!

 

Time to update your signature 🙂 
Now just endure the 2 week minimum cloudy skies then enjoy.

Steve

The short answer is No, it does not have to be perfect rotation or framing. The stacking software will still align all the images and stack them properly.

BUT, you need to get both the FOV and the angle as close as possible really to get a good final image, because you will probably have to crop the final image to remove the edges where the two sessions differed in the FOV so the closer you get it the less you need to crop.

Also, to some extent it depends on the object really.
I say depends on object because if the main target is quite small, and you would perhaps do a fair crop anyway to make the image look bigger in the final frame, then it doesn't matter so much, but if the target is something like Andromeda galaxy that usually is actually as big as, or even slightly bigger than the FOV then getting as lose to the original framing and angle is important.

If you have lots of different angles of the same target then this is what you are likely to end up with in the stacked image.

Now whether some processing, such as DBE in Pixinsight, can even out the background sky enough to make it acceptable I am not sure as I always make sure the framing is the same (within reason so I can just crop the very edges).

HTH

Steve

1 minute ago, Adreneline said:

Sorry to jump in but in my experience it is not easy to rotate the focuser without loosening about eight tiny screws - you can see them in the photo below.

The much easier solution is to use a Baader Click-Lock.

This is my arrangement:

I chose not hang the EAF on the focuser spindle - I'd rather use a belt drive. I also find it easier if the EAF is on top as it gives plenty of clearance for the ASIair and TP-Link wifi extender.

HTH

Adrian

 

Oh of course it would, feel a bit silly now, of course that's a far better option.

Steve

18 minutes ago, geeklee said:

You're right on all counts Steve!  I purchased the following which I think is the same as your links above.  I also got the related ClickLock clamp

Many thanks for that.
Sorry for all the questions but is it easy to rotate this focusser (I guess on the dovetail) to get better framing ? sort of like a manual rotator.
I just thought the stock focuser (albeit pretty poor) was easy to do this with the screw lock collar so just wondered if you could do the same by maybe loosening a lock screw on the dovetail, rotating and locking the grub screw again.

Steve

On 10/01/2022 at 08:47, geeklee said:

I'm typically imaging with a smaller sensor Andy so not sure what would optimise an APS-C size version.  On my StellaLyra RC6, I have the Baader Diamond Steeltrack focuser upgrade and have a reducer too (not used this yet)

What focuser and adapter did you fit ?
I was looking at  Baader SteelTrack Diamond RT for Refractors , which doesn't sound right as it is for refractors but looks to me that it is the only one that Baader make an adapter to M90 x 1 for, Baader SteelTrack Diamond RT Adapter (M90x1) for Refractors & GSO RC scopes

I was worried about the long adjustment on this focusser and how much the inner part of the focusser would travel into the scope when fully retracted.
The SCT version sounds a better option but cant find a suitable adapter.

Steve

1 hour ago, alacant said:

With the mpcc III and Baader's t2 adapter, I'm not at all surprised.  

So is my thinking right then that all things being perfect the collimation should not change by introducing a cc or flattener,  that it is the fact the focusser is ending up with tilt that would make it appear to need re-collimating after adding the cc ?
From what I think needs to happen for perfect collimation is that the focusser needs to be central and aligned to the OTA, which in itself is one of the complications to collimating RC scopes as the focusser moves with the primary mirror adjustment so it ends up with a process of back and forth aligning the focusser (with the added tilt mechanism) then adjusting the collimation, which in turn moves the focusser a little, so there is a need to go back and repeat the process after re-aligning the focusser so each attempt gets is closer and closer to perfect alignment needing smaller and smaller adjustments.
Forgive my ignorance as all this is new to me so trying to get my head around it all and I may well just not have grasped this yet.

Steve

56 minutes ago, powerlord said:

 

videos and link to manual on FLO:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/ocal-electronic-collimator.html

"We denfine the distrance from secordary mirror to OCAL as "Eye Point Distance." The OCAL view of
A and B have little difference bewteen red and greed circles."

"Now, we skip notice primary mirror. Adjust B
and C screw of secondary mirror holder to
make the outter shape of secondary mirror fit
to "green circle"."

and so it continues.

however, you can work it out if you've collimated before. If you havn't - fair play to you if you work out what yer supposed to do from the manual!

I was surprised the camera at electric focus - that makes things a lot easier too than manual - get a nice sharp edge where you need it.

Yes this is where I am now, I have collimated a Newt once or so a few years ago, I now in my head the principle of what I am trying to do but as you say the manual makes very little sense to me at all.
when I bought this OCAL I thought it actual did the same job as a Howie Glatter laser which seems to be the choice tool for collimating RC's looking at tutorials, but they are even more expensive (as looks like you need the targets as well and a new switch so you can dim them), so looking at around £500 for one (if you can get hold of one in UK). But I don't think they do.

Steve

10 hours ago, Same old newbie alert said:

I was seriously looking at getting a RC but on my searches I find like the fact that the focuser is attached to the mirror plate, it's only separated  on the 10 inch  and upwards truss designs

This is my first RC and I think most make some sort of separation by adding a tilt plate.
Not a perfect solution I know, as movements of the primary still move the focusser which then has to be re-aligned but it is a way round it.

One question about tilt plates I have is that once some adjustment is made there is a gap between the plates, do you then hove to cover this gap up with tape or something ??

Steve

31 minutes ago, StuartT said:

Honestly, Pixinsight is a real revelation! Now I understand what all the fuss is about!

I love PI as well, I think if you get the way it works as it is very different to most other photo processing software then it is not the massive learning curve some seem to think it is.
Of course there are so many processes and scripts that you are not going to master it all over a weekend but many of them are not required to get good images. 

Steve

Wow, that's a bit different, lovely  colours, still subtle so not in your face but it brings out so much more detail, especially the dark stuff.

Steve