Xsubmariner

Very nice Alex, may I ask what process flow you used?

 I would be concerned about any debris that might be scattered over the observatory from the chimney.  I have fitted exhaust pipe tape in the past, which could be wrapped around the chimney without risk of fire.

10 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Come over to the light from the dark,

Clearly “The Force” is strong in you Nigella.

Hi Wim, you have my sympathy.  There I was about to complain the ambient temperature was too high causing all the cloud, then the cold spell arrived and following one night of imaging I am subjected to heavy fog and AP is all but useless, yet again. I question the sanity of U.K. AP imagers, either were half full guys and girls or just fools. Considering the systems cost aggregated to nights of actual use this hobby is more expensive than @#§¥@#%&, enough said.

Nice location you have there. Shame about the tree, their roots are a a real pain to remove. Hopefully you won’t disturb too much of the subsoil around the pier base.

Still clinging onto the Nightshift, but the solar temptations are growing.

On 20/11/2022 at 02:39, reddoss said:

Are there any plans in the pipe line to hold SGL star parties in the future? 

Just asking as they used to be such an important event in my Astronomy year, and miss seeing so many people from all over the UK who used to attend these events in the past decade and a half!

Cheers,

           Justyn

Valid question. A review of this thread suggests not, given there has been over 50 member responses and only 2 administrator inputs (last one in May). I was hoping to attend my first SGL star party, now looks unlikely.

Great start Chris, what mount are you running with? Next an observatory 😈

Martin

I use a TS 130 triplet for imaging and its a very good value for money scope that delivers very good images.

Re Matt-Baker; Yes AB&S seems to be down with the fall-back service in use.

Good to meet most of you yesterday and looking forward to next SWAG. Hope you all managed to stay dry last night, hell of a downpour.

Safe journeys home.

Apologies, my domestic water problem persists and sadly I had to cancel the SWAG weekend. Some parts are on their way so hope to escape tomorrow and meet some of you in person. Maybe third time lucky for the spring SWAG.

Nice kit reddoss, I was hoping to be with you for the weekend, sadly fate has dictated otherwise. I had just set up my mobile system ( hasn’t been used since pre covid) and my wife informs me our domestic water supply (fed from spring in field) has stopped. Unfortunately the simple solutions have been exhausted and it is more likely to be a time consuming problem or a lot of digging with my JCB. Just finished topping up the domestic underground tank using the garden tank and hoses.

If the later at least it’s fun using the JCB. If possible I will get the car out and pop up to say hello.

Tonight looks great so good luck with your imaging.

kind regards,

Martin

I experienced some similar horizontal banding with one of my IMX camera’s and found the flats were at fault. Sometimes with very short exposure  times the banding showed up when viewing the flats stretched. Quickly resolved by retaking the flats with longer exposure after inserting a couple of paper sheets between the flat panel and telescope.

Just booked pitch 4 and look forward to meeting everyone.

Hi Andy,

I had an 071 pro and it is a nice camera. I now have a selection of colour and mono 571 and 455 based cameras are they are great cameras ( from my experience). I would recommend you pushing for a 571 based camera, or consider getting a used one. They have started to turn up on the used forums as some 2600c/268c owners switch to mono. My camera’s are split between ZWO and QHY and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either brand.

I currently use an NEQ6 pro for star parties, it handles well my TS130 photoline supporting fully automated astrophotography equipment. To me, it is still the best value mobile mount for AP. 

Welcome to SGL and the wonderful world of Astronomy. Within the forums you will find a lot of beneficial information to assist the children’s and your learning.

Hi and welcome to the forum. I started AP in 2016 and it has been a wonderful journey of discovery. You are fortunate there is a broad range of telescopes, mounts and software available at this time with options for most budgets. 

I would recommend an NEQ6 size for your first AP mount. The extra load capacity will give greater flexibility for imaging setups, my mobile system EQ6 has ably supported my 130mm Triplet together will guide and imaging cameras and all supporting accessories. 

I built a ROS using a Ketter 6x8 plastic shed and it is working great. Here are a few pictures of the build. The only problem I experienced was a delay with the pier pit when my springer Amber fount somewhere cool to sleep through the afternoon. Good luck with your build.

6 hours ago, mrpizza said:

I use a Moonlite crayford focuser.  I also have the ONAG in the train that adds roughly 90 mm back focus.

Thanks for the information, assuming 55mm for FW and Camera backspace would suggest your backspace from the OTA thread to the sensor is in the region of 200mm. I recently fitted my night crawler to the OTA and can not achieve the recommended 150mm BF, your arrangement has given me hope to get my system dialled in. 

Very nice image Chris, may I ask if it was taken with the f8 or f10 OTA? I have the f8 12” ACF OTA and still struggle to find the back focus sweet spot for my QHY268M. I was advised 150mm from the OTA 3.25. What back focus are you using and do you have a secondary focuser fitted in the setup?

Reading this thread brings back many memories . Great to see the observatory taking shape, I always feel slightly cheated when all the back breaking foundation work is lost beneath the buildings fabric. Your attention to detail is impressive and I am keen to read your approach to services and systems commissioning.

What I find unpalatable is that a manufacturing fault repair should be limited to the first purchaser. If the fault is determined to be the consequence of a manufacturing defect the manufacturer should honour their equipment and repair the defect. Where would we be if all car recalls were limited to the original owner of the car.

Undoubtedly the new equipment price increases will translate into higher used prices, that said there are some good used bargains to be had if you are quick.

I am fortunate to own both an Esprit 80 and WO GTF81 and for me they are both excellent imaging telescopes. Your statement you doubt your ability to gauge a Scopes operational performance suggests you need added assurance with any perspective purchase. There are distributors who will/can provide third party assessments so it might be best to stick with one of them.