Robfal

Telescope setup. Up until now I have been imaging with an atik 314L + on a skywatcher 200Pds Newtonian (F5 FL 1000mm) with a separate guide scope (Orion E80 F7.5 FL 600mm) in side by side mode. Used to have a very Old Qhy5 so could not use a OAG (have a TS OAG). Now got a much more sensitive Zwo120mm mini guide camera. What set Up would be best 1) stay with same setup 2) Newtonian with OAG. 3) Orion Ed80 with OAG Benefits of single telescope setup is lighter payload and no torsional loading Would I benefit from a focal reducer or coma corrector? If I was to change camera what should I get Thanks in advance for all help Rob

Hope someone can help me with this. Whenever I stack something (tried lots of different images from different sessions) in DSS I get black bands across the final image (possible in line with stars) see below. Any idea why this might be happening? I've also stacked the same images in ASTAP and these lines aren't there. Doesn't matter if I use calibration frames or not, this still appears I've included un-streteched images (TIFFS) and also stretched versions (over stretched!) which show the error better. No post processing is done on any yet As an aside, If not DSS what would you recommend as stacking software (free!) Rob M64_DSS.TIF M64_ASTAP.tif

I had heard that both the altair and QHY cameras could be problematic part of why I started this thread. I used to have a very old QHY 5 guide camera (just replaced it with a zwo 120mm) and had that working with INDI. I'll have to check how I did that, might be the same process for the 183C. My Pi 3b (considering moving to a Pi4 or mini PC) is also running headless. I like the concept of a mini pc mounted on the pier but only if it works effectively If you can get it running ekos has a pretty nice scheduler built in, it deals with focusing, platesolving, guiding and imaging and will shut down everything at the end to. It will even deal with offsets between different filers. I do have a autofocusser..(a home built Rob Brown one) Myfocusserpro2, https://sourceforge.net/projects/arduinoascomfocuserpro2diy/ really cheap to make,uses an arduino for control and has INDI and AScom drivers. Got a batch of 3 PCB' boards made, only populated one. He also had a dew control system and just got the boards for that. Seems very relaible and accurate Rob

Peter, A mighty fine image, particularly with only 2hrs of total. Most of my images has 8-10 300s subs per channel. I might be overdoing it and I'm very much a novice in terms of the processing in PS. I find it very difficult to remove gradients an bring out fine detail without making the image look false, More practice on my part. I had been moving to not upgrading the camera but then that picture makes me question that decisions. The photo's attached are from the Atik and the 200P reflector, Can't remember exactly but would have need considerably more time than yours from the 183 Thanks for the info, I'll check out Flo's website. I do understand that the Atik is fairly well matched with the 200p hence I got that pairing 10 years ago however I;m still undecided which is a better imaging scope the ED80 or the 200P. The 200P has the advantage of having a bigger aperture so can gather more light and is F5 so a faster optics. Never played around with a focal reducer I run Astroberry on an RPI3b in my obs however I did run a network cable in when I put the power in so I'm not reliant on a wifi signal., much too far from the router. I can then connect via VNC which does give me good control and is not too 'laggy'. I also run Kstars, INDI and Ekos all on the RPI. I understand that you can just run the INDI drivers on that and move the bulk of the processing to your PC. Not sure if you can do that with Stellarmate and you would need a reliable connection. If Wifi is a problem then using some Homeplugs may be a way forward. These allow you to transmit the signal over power cables. https://business.currys.co.uk/buy-rent/N179444W?cidp=Froogle&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzZj2BRDVARIsABs3l9Lso7sz119FZiVNDo63HwoQcvJ8spAlTtUpPEznmQ51vkNN835M1aoaAh_XEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds I think the Stellarmate has a network port (underneath its a standard RPI). IT was fairly easy to configure that in Astroberry so I guess would be even easier in Stallermate.. I had heard the the QHY can be problematic with their INDI drivers so it might be that is you have a poor signal.. How do you run your system with SGP, a PC in the Obs? I used to do this but then my son nicked it to use on his graphics tablet. hence the move to the RPI Rob

Adam J Some very interesting reading. the difference between the OSC and the mono one is considerable, this was why I went for the mono Atik many years ago. Looking at the spec the QE of the Atik is much lower ( 60% vs 84% I think?) so the chip is less sensitive. One big concern was the Amp Glow but if 'Prusling' is managing to use a Dark library effectively to remove this then that is not as much a problem as I originally thought. Without doubt the mono has the potential to produce much better images but as a lazy imager the OSC version makes grabbing a quick image easier. ans as such appeal. Still not sure if the 183 (mono or colour) is a sufficient step up from the Atik, which is ultimately what I need to decide; it's difficult to justify spending a lot of money on a camera given the mixed weather and seeing we have in this country. Will I be able to get decent images quicker or better with the 183 (M or C) than with the Atik? Cheers Rob

Prusling Thanks for the information; your setup looks to be very similar to mine. I'm controlling my setup through Astroberry/ekos which is essentially the free version of stellarmate. How do you find it? I was also considering upgrading to that too. Is the QHY working well with stellarmate (INDI)? Part of getting another camera was to get a wide field and 'normal' camera setup. I had thought of putting the Atik on the ED80 (maybe with a reducer) get get a wide field rig and mounting the 183 on the 200 reflector with an OAG for the Zwo120mm mini guider. It also good hear that you always image at the same temp and once you have built a dark library you can just reference rather than continually retake darks. That will save a lot of time and with stackers such as DSS or ASTAP it's not really any extra bother. The appeal of the 183C is lazy imaging. All too often to start a sequence but then the clouds appear and I'm left with missing too many of one of the colours. With the colour I can use any frame I grab; granted the light has been split between the different colours and there is a loss of resultions but the pixel size is very small anyway. Do you think the 183C is easier to use than the Atik? What is the difference in imaging time between the two to collect comparable images detail? Rob

Thanks for the comment. Still undecided on what to do. The Atik has served me well and is, in general pretty reliable I have noticed some banding using Ekos and DSS but that could be due to the software too. In terms of FOV they would both be pretty similar so suited to galaxies and smaller DSO however the pixel count in the QHY is much higher. Using the coloured version (ie RGB Bayer filter) would still give the same resolution as the Atik and the mono version much higher. the QE of the Atik is around 60% (I think) whilst for the 183 around 84% which would possibly make up for the smaller pixel size. For instance I think i could run it in 2x2 bin mode effectively making the pixel size similar to the Atik and benefit from the higher QE and have much shorter frame times. In real terms I don't think I would be doing that though!. What I'm not sure of, is whether that gain would be offset by the need to take darks etc (which I do anyway) due to amp glow. Despite having imaged using a mono and filters I do like the idea of a OSC if you don't have to 'mess' about with the processing later Rob

Having had a few years out of the hobby I now getting back into astrophotography and considering a camera upgrade. My current equipment is Atik 314 L+ Skywatcher 200PDS (FL1000 F5) Guide camera Zwo 120mm mini Orion ED80 refractor Electronic filter wheel (brightstar) Mount SW EQ6 Pro Currently using Astroberry/Kstars/Ekos on a raspberry PI to control it all. I can general get 300-450s frames with the guiding with good round stars I'm looking to upgrade the Atik so was considering a 183 Cmos cooled camera, specifically QHY183 c or mono with TEC cooling so have a few questions I'm hopy people can help me with. Would this be a good upgrade? Should I go with a colour OSC (obviously things have moved on greatly since I last bought a camera) or stick with a mono one and filters? Which would be easier (mono or colour) given our mixed climate? Does the QHY cameras work well with indi (although I could switch back to a windows based system)? Would I need a Focal reducer (given the tiny pixels on the 183 chip)? Which scope should I use to image through? Should I be looking at OAG guiding (have a TS OAG already)? Sorry lots of questions but equipment has moved on so much since I last looked Rob