quigley

I have two new ZWO cameras, one is a 120mc-s basic solar imager/autoguider. I haven't a clue how to turn it on. I have it plugged into the laptop with the supplied cable. ASI software in the laptop but where's the 'switch'? How do I see an image through the camera on the laptop? I'm lost and the youtube stuff doesn't deal with this at all....thanks anyone!

I see images of flat frames that are a slight magenta in color. When I shoot mine using a white T shirt they come out white...am I overexposing?

I have the Orion XX16G. I have the Synscan controller and added a GPS unit to it. Fabulous with incredible gotos all night long! I run the whole thing on a Talent Cell for an entire night. at f:4.4 NO coma even in the ES 82 degree UWA eyepieces. The optics and the mount are simply amazing. I'm up and running 10 minutes after I'm set up. By the same token my C11 on it's CGEM II mount is up in about 45 minutes. Even with added calibration stars the EQ mount won't outperform the Orion GoTo DOB! I've seen 16+ mag stars with the 16" as well....And it gives up nothing to the planets either. I use a laser Cateye collimation system on this thing and so star images are clean right to the edge of the field of view. No longer made, I got mine used for $1,700 in the US...worth every penny and a steal at that.

Some time ago I posted a relatively stellar review of the GSO Classical Cassegrains as well as their 8" f:5 reflector. I also posted a brief on the information I found out about these scopes. Here I want to expand a bit. I have had two years to further evaluate these mechanical gems. And, mechanically they are a lot for the money with quality build and 10:1 Crayford focusers standard. My initial reaction was one of the high reflectivity and lack of a corrector, thus making these far superior to SCTs including the fact that there is no image shift with the focusers on these scopes and a fixed primary. However....while I will give them credit for mechanical superiority to some other scopes. This is the REAL facts that came forth after using them for a while and comparing them with other scopes I acquired since the GSOs. The CCs do give incredible resolution, no doubt about that given an f:12. HOWEVER, THEY DO NOT OPERATE AT THE APERTURES ADVERTISED! This is NOT a 6" and an 8" and due to the design operate more on a 5.4" and 7.4" aperture. Comparing these to an older 1976 Celestron SCT confirms that the 8" CC is no match for it in light gathering power and the design 'flaw' is just as apparent in the 6" CC when compared to a Celestron 6" XLT SCT. Not as bright. The secondary and primary system may measure the distance but the primary does not yield the full aperture advertised. I sold both of mine and never looked back! My recommendation, skip the 6" GSO CC completely. If you're happy with a 7" CC advertised as an 8" with superb views of the moon and planets and not deep sky objects then that's up to you. I didn't like the compromise, nor the primary seller of these either and there are a couple. They are cloned by several dealers so if it's a 6" or 8" CC f:12, it's a GSO made by Guan Sheng Optical (GSO) and it shares the same 'disability.' Another scope is plagued by the same optical limitations and it comes in the form of the 127 f:12.x MAKS, any brand since they all come from Synta. They claim to be a 5" but again, due to the same optical flaws it really only functions as a 4.4" MAK. I know this to be true since I have a 4" MAK, same 'brand' Orion and compared them on M13 one night and expected a noticable difference between 102mm and 127mm. Not so. The 127mm that really operates at about 114mm was only slightly brighter, difficult to discern the difference at all. Now on to the GSO 8" f:5 reflector. Again, mechanically outstandingly built same sort of Crayford 10:1 and I expected the optics to be great given the specs from high reflectivity and specs from GSO's primary seller. NOT SO! I have owned a number of 8" f:4.9/f:5 reflectors from Orion, Cave and others. Most did not have sufficient coma to even require a coma corrector. The GSO HAD to have a coma corrector and even with one made by GSO there was a tremendous amount of coma in the eyepieces. Even those of moderate 60 degree AFoV. I never considered any light gathering limitations only because the coma was so bad that it wasn't worth using. That was sold as well. Another word of caution in general on the GSO reflectors, the tube rings are very tight. I had a 6" f:5 where the hinge on the rings was unprotected and badly scratched and dented the tube. I discovered it after the 30 day return period had expired and the major seller of GSOs made me pay the return shipping even though it was a manufacturing defect and they knew it. 'Very bad! I have had quality issues with some of the Sytna products but when Orion's truss tube 12" XX12i was available a year ago, late spring 2021, I bought one. I wanted the Object Locator and the 12" optics. I felt for sure that I'd have coma in such a short focal length rich field telescope. However, I must have gotten a needle in a haystack because when I hit dark skies I put in the GSO coma corrector and it had too much out-travel to focus and I figured for certain that I'd have a lot of coma. NOT! No coma even using Meade's 5000 UWA 82 degree AFoV eyepieces! I was truly amazed! And it didn't stop there. The scope of that focal length and design isn't supposed to be a planetary wonder. Seeing the Encke Division at 400x made me think again! It performs like a 12" f:8 or better with the finest optical balance I've ever encountered in a scope this size. Put in a Lumicon 2" UHC filter and nebulosity abounds. And the Object Locator, the easiest manual GoTo I've ever had the pleasure to use. Bortle 2 dark skies yielded the central star in M57 - visually! However...that's an aside. Needless to say the GSO scopes aren't what they seem and neither is the 127 MAK, your choice of brand..they are all the same if made by Synta. The information on the GSOs as well as the limitations on the 127 MAKs are all well documented on CN...

Update: I sold my 8" GSO CC. It has been known for a while that GSO did optical adjustments on these rendering a rather 7.3" aperture compared to the 200mm or 8" advertised. I compared this to an vintage C8 without special coatings dated 1976 and the C8 image was brighter and while giving the nod to the GSO for higher resolution, sold it. I have kept the 6" GSO CC because it functions as a true 150mm scope and has ultra sharp optics that outperform an 8" SCT resolution wise. I was disappointed with the nameless dealer who insisted that an 8" is an 8", is an 8". Obviously jaded toward selling GSOs. On another note, perhaps not the right forum but I also had a GSO 8" f:5 newt. I needed a coma corrector for that to achieve marginal coma with SWA and UWA eyepieces. I just purchased an Orion XX12i f:4.9, expecting to see coma...did not! Whatever Orion's owner Synta did with the optics in the 12" truss tube model at least, are he finest optics I have looked through in that aperture! No coma even with the Ultra wides...so I have a GSO coma corrector for sale on CL and FB Marketplace now....