Danjc

My SW ED80 has served me well but paired with my ZWO 183mm pro the FOV was sometimes lacking. I wanted a bigger FOV and something faster so had been eyeing up the 76EDPH for a while then FLO had an ex demo come up with a very nice discount. Fortunately Sunday gave me an opportunity to get out for the first time so decided to get some data on the Elephants trunk something I had imaged not to long back with the ED80 so used the same sub lengths and settings so I could compare the 2 scopes. All images are Ha 300s and stacked in APP with just the auto stretch applied and no more processing. 13x300s ED80 13x300s 76EDPH This is about 2.5 hours 76EDPH (forget the exact amount of subs) Dan.

I have been eyeing one of these up for a while and FLO had an ex demo come up. About £200 saved with the FF/FR as they were both reduced a second time 😃

Fair play, I had it in my head it was just get it through the garage type scenario not the krypton factor.

Have you considered using a barrow mix company for the concrete. You only pay for what you use. The mix is made there in a hopper, you pop your wheel barrow under the back fill it up and away you go. The guy who turned up the other day for my footings had his own barrow and helped. I know you still have to move it through the garage but it’s really quick and easy method.

After deciding there was no way I would sleep on Saturday due to the heat I thought why not set up and image something. 13x5 minute subs with a quick stretch in APP & tweak in Affinity.

A tap extractor may work.

I got on fine mate and still think I made the right decision (can’t believe I have had it 2 years) I can’t really think of any cons apart from probably going for something with a bigger sensor and at the time maybe the additional cost of filters and EFW. Pros for me are it gives me good images I’m happy with and isn’t this complicated beast that some may think it is. I can’t compare to a dedicated OSC as I came from a Canon 1100D and didn’t even open the 294.

Cheers, let us know if things do plan on changing so I can get the order in 👍🏻

I reckon you’re spot on there, maybe a slight drop but not back to what it originally was.

@FLO Any idea if SharpStar are likely to follow with price increases as I have been seriously considering buying a 76EDPH. Cheers, Dan.

I am running the original PPB and a powered startech 7 port USB 3 hub. I was in a similar conundrum as you and decided on the cheaper option (At the time) of 2 devices and can say neither has let me down at all. An added bonus is I have 7 USB 3 ports so more than enough while future proofing myself in case of added kit.

A show about the history of the telescope is on now and on +1 at 7 am for anyone that is interested.

😂 I have seen it on the tv a few times, it apparently sits behind clouds !

Good idea and along the same thoughts as myself.

I’m guessing the cladding helps as well. Thanks, I feel more confident going forward with blocks now.

That’s reassuring Peter, are you U.K. based ?

I guess the question is am I kidding myself that a block build wouldn’t cause me any issues as I’m even questioning myself !

I posted a while ago about future plans for an observatory and recently this has become a green light viable project. I currently have an old pre fab 6m x 2.7m garage that was inherited when we bought the house. Being very old and now in desperate need of being replaced but as the title states I would like to build it with concrete blocks incorporating a 2.5m scope room.1.5m warm room and the other 2m for storage/workshop . My reasoning for blocks is longevity, less maintenance and the future ability to convert it back to a traditional garage if circumstances etc change. I have researched this and I’m aware of the thermal retention of the blocks but don’t see this as a big problem in the U.K. I could even clad the sides with shiplap to take and direct heat off the surface of the blocks during the day from the sun to aid them not warming up to much in the first place. there are a couple of well known users on here that have block/brick observatory's that reside in Spain who haven’t reported any issues. Your feedback being positive or negative is more than welcome. cheers, Dan.

New tripod and a crystal ball for predicting clear skies 😁

Sounds pretty much like my garden and sky conditions.

As the title really....I captured 4 hours a couple of weeks ago (bottle 6) 2 hours lum & about 40 minutes each RGB. I wasn’t expecting the dust to exactly leap out but maybe a little more than I got from my processed image. I have read that this target is probably better suited to being captured in darker skies. I realise the more data the better but I’m not sure to keep going with it over a few more nights or to turn my attention to a Galaxy. I didn’t save my processed image so can’t post but can share the stacked LRGB data. ASI183mm pro @ unity gain 120s subs for all. Dan.

This data is from late last year and my original final image was not the best so I have eventually got round to re processing it. I'm still not 100% happy with it but much better than the original. Lum 44 x 120s Red 15 x 120s Green 15 x 120s Blue 14 x 120s

I can’t comment on the ZWO filters but when I started with mono I couldn’t afford everything in one go so just bought my camera and a Baader Ha filter just to get me going. The camera (if ZWO)should come with an adapter to accept a single filter so not essential for an EFW straight away (for me anyway). One thing I will say as it was also mentioned to me was do you plan on going narrowband and broadband ? If so a 7/8 position wheel will be better from the off. I did go 5 position but got a used one for a £100 but will need a larger wheel in the near future. May be worth mentioning your choice of camera as slightly bigger filters work better with certain sensor sizes.....but someone with more knowledge than me will be able to advise better than me on this.

I made the transition from a DSLR to mono last year and was initially apprehensive especially with what a lot say “I can’t be doing with all the faff” but does require an initial outlay of some more £££ It genuinely isn’t a faff and with your filters in an EFW this and your camera just connect to the scope and that’s the difference in setup. Image acquisition is just a case of setting a plan up in your software and away you go pretty much the same as an OSC. Processing is more in-depth but the way I see it is there are so many crappy nights that I can’t get out due to weather that there is plenty of time to learn new/practice processing skills. As @wimvb has said you can shoot all filters in one night so as a rough example LLLRGB and just repeat this over and over again ....no need to capture Lum one night Red another etc. Not the most technical post but these were some of my initial concerns before I made the decision to go mono and I’m more than happy with my choice.

I got the inside Pixinsight book off amazon also for £19. Inside PixInsight (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/3319976885/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ddVtEb16DWF56