OJ87

Hello everyone, I have a problem, which I thought for long it's normal: after 2-star alignment I enter an object, after the EQ6 finish moving, I should center the object manually ( I do all the process using my phone via synscan WiFi adapter). If I go to observe other object (which I should again manually center it) and come back to the first object I was observing before, I should again center it as first time!. Am I skipping anything? Shouldn't the mount be saving my correction and call the new coordinates back if call the object again (at least in the same observing session)? Anyone can help me with it? Best regards,

Thanks Peter

Hi everyone, I'm planning to buy a used C11 Celesteron, I'm interested in more focal length than what my actual telescope has, plus lesser weight. The used telescope is in very good condition and the price is very good. Any one can give some buying tips to check if the telescope has any failure or issues? What to check? Any advice would be helpful. Best regards

Seems like a dirt on the chip .

Hi, Looks good. Let me if it worked also for you. Best regards,

Hi discardedastro, I see in your two images that star lines are going different directions, I had this problem and I suffered a lot ( RA were not guiding at some points) it turned out that clutches were not good fixed, they seem always to be solid, try to tighten them more and your problem will be solved. Best regards,

Hi, actually I got a lot of troubles running Toupcam too.. After a lot of pain I got it work fine in Toupsky , but it makes a lot of problems with PHD 2. It keeps disconnecting from PHD 2. The drivers are there, even after the last PHD 2 version, which supports Toupcam cameras. I tried the development version, it also didn't work. I'm regarding that day, in which I bought this cam.. I hope I could sell it and buy ZWO.

Hi masacco, It depends more on Viewfield also, not only magnification. To get andromeda in your EP you'll need a 2" EP with panorama view (about 100°), just take a look on this photo: Best regards,

Thank you for the link, The main subject was making the camera work with PHD, but I couldn't resist my self asking you about liveview, cause it's a lot (really a lot) of pain and time consuming to get some close focus on this came, even using short exposures. Best regards,

The Programm in which I operate my camera is ToupSky ( it came with the CD). The program you mentioned Toupview, which is ( in description) for microscope camera. Does it works also with Astrocamera? Best regards,

Hi, you are absolutely right! It was the diameter, I always thought it was the focal length, here the link, it's in German, But I think You'll get what I mean.. https://www.astroshop.de/guidescopes/omegon-microspeed-guidescope-60mm/p,49756 the focal length is 240mm, it makes more sense now 😅. Thank you guys, one problem is solved , Best regards,

Thanks for the link, very useful one, I see some of my past problems are solved here 😂. I'll report it if it c continues to come.

Hi Michael, 60mm is the focal length of my guiding scope. My 10" Quattro is 1000mm, but I always thought I have to put the focal length of guiding scope, but the imaging scope, right?

Thank you alacant, I'll try the latest development version, I hope it could help. Best regards,

Hi Michael, Exactly, that's the problem... Random completely black image come without any stars after 5~15 good images, the phd 2 stop guiding because star lost then the next exposure come again so it start guiding for 5~15 exposures until next black image. I have the last PHD2 version 2.6.6 , or there's a newer beta version? Maybe it's a USB problem? I use USB hub ( not the best quality) and share it with dslr so the images come directly to my laptop. I'm using a best quality 20m-USB cable with signal booster every 5m. Picture downloading speed is similar as the original USB cable. I think the USB power supply is definitively lower , but in this case the camera wouldn't run at all I guess. Focal length is 60mm same as my guiding scope, pixel size is 3,75. I'm pretty sure there is something wrong here also, but those black images where more irritating. Best regards, Alan

Hi everyone, Thanks for your answers, This does happens also during calibrating, the image comes complete black, but sometimes it Calibrate before this happens, sometimes it stop it and tells me that exposure time is long and it phd2 must be stopped to prevent other problems. I use Touptek to focus ( I wasn't aware there is a liveview function there, I have to check it out again. I believe it's a camera driver problem with phd2. Wanted to check if anyone else had the same what I has here As I mentioned above: I use Touptek view to focus. PHD could once calibrate, but in really big steps: 2500, I checked all other setting are correct. The problem is when this "black/blank image" comes out of nowhere and stay till next exposure finish then the guiding star will be in the same place. Best regards,

Hi everyone, As clear nights comes more in summer, I decided to try auto guiding using phd2 and my Touptek mono guiding came. This cam has no live view, so focusing was a painful process, after PHD started and selecting the star it begins to autoguid. After about 6~10 exposures I noticed phd get a black image and then it tells me the star is lost? same problem with different exposures time. (1-7secs). What could be the problem? I tried restarting and reinstall the software and updating it. Thanks,

Hi, ich you can afford it, buy a WiFi adapter, works perfectly for me, no need to enter date or coordinates, you can run it from your phone/ tablet or laptop. But never use it with iOS . Best regards

Thank you very much, very useful topic. I know what I'm doing now, modifying my 77d ✌

Hi, I would like to share my experience with EQ6-R , I have SynScan WiFi also and I use it for aligning. first I have this problem sometimes after aligning with 1 or 2 star too, I can't say why, it's just happens, I fix it usually by home positioning , which means telescope heading north AND the counterweight in the lowest possible position. After it you must align again. If you are considering buying a WiFi adapter: it's a relief cus you don't need to give you coordinates and time every time you turn the device on, you can can find dso fast. But manually aligning the device is a pain, since you have only your phone's touch screen, but no physical buttons to feel and operate in dark. Also if you're planning to use it on iPhone, don't bother your self buy this, you will have a lot of problems operating it since iOS doesn't allow it to operate in background. Best regards,

Hi Ken, Very nice photos and processing, hope you keep us updated with coming images. You said that you made images using your unmodified dslr and Ha filter. That is a very interesting topic for me, could tell me how huge the difference is using Ha filter on modified or unmodified DSLR? I'll really appreciate it if you put some pictures also. Best regards, Alan

Thank you Alan, I will buy them, do you know any good adapter (DSLR - telescope) for such combination (eyepiece with Barlow)? best regards

Thank you Cornelius, I'll try it.

Hi everyone, I want to try planetary imaging with my current equipments. My problem is making images out of video file: Canon makes MP4 format, which isn't supported in Registax. Is there any free mp4 to AVI converter? Or any staking program which supports mp4 files? Would Barlow lens improve the quality of video/ end image ? I have currently 12mm, 8mm and 5mm eyepieces. Thanks

Hi, Two days ago I tried to image the NGC 188 . Near Polaris I tried to move the mount (which were in home position) in Dec axis, I could hear the moving sounds, but there were no move at all. RA moving were moving without any problems. Anyone had such issue? Any ideas? Best regards