Xsubmariner

Hi and welcome to SGL. It’s worth raising a post in the beginners section reference your binocular queries.

Hi, Surplus to my needs is my Pyxis 3” camera field rotator, it is in very good, fully working condition. This is a substantial, premium grade rotator with a high resolution of 0.01875 degree per step from the stepper motor. Now priced at £650 inc postage U.K. only. Thanks for looking, Martin

Hi, Surplus to requirement I have my excellent condition Baader Hyperion Zoom MkIII 8=24mm zoom lens for sale. The complete kits plus packaging is present and the optics are unmarked. Looking for £160 plus postage. Thanks for looking.

Hi Matt and welcome to SGL. Great image, looking forward to more in the future.

You would be best to fit the focuser to the coarse focus knob. If you remove the grub screw next to the course knob in your picture, it creates a hole through which you pass to access the grub screw on the course knob ( just loosen it a couple of turns. Then by rotating the course knob you will see a second grub screw through the hole, undo a couple of turns and you will be able to remove the knob.

Hi Jonny & friend, welcome to SGL. AP is a great hobby that can be both frustrating and addictive. Once it takes hold your bank balance will suffer but you will have amazing images to cherish.

You can always use POTH to control the dome from the mount. I am sure that if enough people migrate to NINA, there will be a growing requirement to include dome / ROR management.

SGP is a very usable application that has its strong points and not so great points. But to ask us to pay more than we currently have is a bit rich without some assurance of future benefits within the subscription model future. It seems that we are asked to pay more for what we already have, the roll out of this change has been very poor in selling any benefits, so one can only assume it is more of the same. No you can’t have multi camera working because not enough users want it?

I will not be moving to the subscription model. Gave up MS Office and Photoshop for the same reason. I have been very disappointed with SGP’s response to my and others requests for multi camera . While there has been suggestions of its development for the last 8 years, nothing has happened. I started learning NINA for that very reason. Noticed that an early version of SGP 4.0 was released accidentally recently but there was no indication or mention of multi camera working. The current arrangement of running 2 instances of SGP on one PC is not doing it for me.

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I have enjoyed reading this thread and whilst opinion is decided as to the value for money aspects of this scope, it is clearly a new and exciting development in the evolution of the telescope. It’s easy to criticise its capability against a dedicated imaging setup but that is missing the point. This product with its ability to visualise an enhanced image through the eyepiece bridges the gap between an observers and imagers toolset. I remember paying £5000 for my first plasma TV, if it wasn’t for early adopters in the technology development funding would have dried up and we would all be

Hi Wulfrun, welcome to SGL. Great that you have rekindled you interest, is a Telescope purchase likely or do you plan to stick with binoculars?

I would use a plastic pipe outer sleeve and you might want to consider drilling some holes in the steel inner to screw in some stainless steel screws to lock the concrete (prevent any possibility of outer sleeve rotating).

Hi Pete and welcome to SGL. You have a nice equipment setup on order, have you decided what image processing software to use?

Hi Greg and welcome to SGL. Great start to your new Astro imaging hobby with those pictures. I think the slow supply chain did you a favour, your R variant comes with belt drive and is an excellent mount for anyone starting Astrophotography. This is a very addictive hobby and before you know it you will be contemplating an observatory.

Hi and welcome to SGL, great that your interest has been renewed. While the low probability of clear skies is frustrating, when they do clear it is amazing what modern technology enables you to see. Enjoy.

LifeofBrian - I use “Startech” or “Lindy” USB hubs and active cables with my imaging setups and have no problem with equipment connectivity over 10M. Any USB3.0 port on a PC should be backward compatible to USB2.0 In your post you say AP mount then later state the mounts you are considering, by AP were you implying AstroPhotography Mount. If that is so, may I recommend you look to acquiring an EQ Mount as opposed to AZ Mount.

Hi and welcome to SGL. You will find there is a steep learning curve when starting this hobby but it is well worth the perseverance.

Nice bit of kit you have there. I assume it works with Ascom drivers. I have a used Hitec observatory controller that I need to integrate into my system to ensure the mount is parked to allow the roof to close. Was waiting on a plug-in for SkyX to complete, unclear if plugin will be available now FLO is Hitec, must ask David.

Have you considered a drive system for opening and closing the roof. With my ROR I utilised a sliding gate system. With some straightforward modification of the motor assembly I mounted the motor on the ROR wall top. The metal drive rails were mounted to a mild steel rail which I had attached to the observatory roof. To Gide the toothed rail through the motor drive I used the sliding stop that came with the kit. There are 2 remote controls which also come with the gate system, you can also fit a push button switch. I removed the gate built in stop switch and fitted 2 roller switches that

Great to see your observatory up and sealed. Having just read this thread from the start it is clear you have risen to the many challenges presented during the journey. Your dedication and perseverance is a great example for anyone thinking of building their own observatory. Now looking forward to reading about your automation and commissioning experiences.

Hi and welcome to SGL. Hope you get it sorted.

Hi Spaceboi, given your query covers automation, planetary imagery and equipment compatibility, may I suggest you start a new topic under Beginners: Getting started with imaging. That way your topic will get the appropriate exposure and likely wider support.

It is embedded within the ASIAIR software so comes with the device.

It uses a version of PHD.