masjstovel
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Posts posted by masjstovel
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Hi,
Background:There will probably be too much information below, but my level of knowledge in electronics is unfortunately low.
I own a EQ-5 - upgraded to pro with synscan, a SW 150pds and a SSAG guidecam on a 9x50. I bought this with the purpose of AP. I have my telescope on the porch, so i can sit inside with the PC (5m distance) and power everything from the socket in the wall inside.
I live in Norway where there is 230V 50hz AC in the wall.
I have understood most telescope equipment (?) is powered by 12v DC.
The mount came with a 12V "car-connector" which im sure people are familiar with. But i didnt wish to use this, so instead i bought a plug (European), which the picture below shows. It is like a multipurpose plug where i can choose 12V and also choose different "pc-style" connectors in the other end.
I am currently powering the mount via this plug to a 20m extension cord with 4 sockets. It's labeled "250V AC 50HZ". (picture below)
I plug the USB3-powered SSAG straight to the computer. I plug the synscan controller to the computer with an adaptor to make it USB in the other end.
So to the core of this post:I now have an ZWO ASI1600MM PRO (DC 12V 3A), with a 8 slot ZWO filter-wheel (USB2.0 powered - guess this connects to the camera). On its way.
I also have a NEQ6 PRO on its way (12V 2A) - so no more EQ5 - but same power requirements.
And lastly i have a HitecAstro 4 channel dew controller on its way (12V DC) - which i plan to use with a Omegon secondary mirror heating strap, SMALL (https://www.astroshop.eu/heater-bands-controls/omegon-secondary-mirror-heating-strip-small/p,56529#tab_bar_1_select), and maybe something else down the line. The strap uses 0,18amps the product specifications says.
So....... With this setup, and from home like described:1.
-Plan is to use the 12v 2.25A adaptor-plug from the EQ5 on the NEQ6.
-Buy another one just like it, for the dew-controller. I dont know what Ampere it needs, but the dew-strap is only 0,18A.
-Buy a upgraded 12V 3A (or 5A) for the ZWO ASI1600 and 5m USB3.0 to PC.
-Plug filterwheel to ZWO.
-Plug guidecamera to PC as before - Or can this go straight to the ZWO?
-Plug the EQ6 via the Synscan ST4(?) to USB 5m to the PC.So the mount, the ZWO and the dew-controller will go to the extension cord-cable drum outside which goes to the wall inside.
The PC will go to the wall inside ofcourse.
Can i do this?2. If no: How should i do this?
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19 hours ago, RolandKol said:
Permanent, but not on the pear... I keep my tripod and the rig outside under the BBQ cover
as per PHD calibration, - if it fails, it can be due to many ssues, but the most usuall one is, - your Rig is not in balance.
6 o'clock in relation to RA axis, in other words, once your scope is parked, camera has to be parallel to the counterweight shaft.
ZWO will have all the spacers needed to get the cam into correct distance from Coma Corrector, however, like in my case, I had to add 1mm in addition, you may not need it, - maybe.
You will face lots of issues for sure, but better sort them as they come
In balance as in not leveled or off in polarscope? presume both is pretty regular.
Yes i am 100% sure there will be more issues to come! The negative thing with AP is that there are not so many "fix it by doing.." yet, but many "fix it by buying" 😮I've learned alot from just this post. I thank you guys alot @RolandKol, @vlaiv, @kens and @Adam J !
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1 hour ago, RolandKol said:
And you know what?
This not the end!
hahahaha
P.S.
Congrats!!!!
Haha i know.. it feels more like the start... Have an EQ-6 on the way as well. Should have listened to those begging me to not go for the EQ5.....
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On 10/10/2019 at 13:39, RolandKol said:
1) Do we have the same focuser (except yours is modified)? - yes, 130PDS and 150 have the same one. And no, my focuser is not modified, I just attached autofocuser to the focuser's shaft directly.
2) Why the DSLR on the lower part of the scope? - balance... 130PDS is quite small, once I placed autofucser (500g) also ASI + EFW, I was not able to balance... I wanted to move scope lower in the rings, but autofocuser's motor was in the way... So I needed something heavy at the bottom. My Canon fit the purpose!
3) The beauty of the Cooled Astro Camera, - you can use library of Darks and you do not need to collect them each night as you control the sensor's temperature.
4) I consider myself as a new starter with just a bit of experience
(only around 2.5 - 3 years in hobby)... but my routine is as follows:
If camera was removed before session, I focus using Bahtinov Mask and SharpCap Bahtinov focusing aid on any Brighter but not the brightest star. (if camera was in, SGP autofofus is enough).
As my scope is permanent I do not do Polar Alignment each time, however, if mount suffers from bad guiding, - after focusing, I start from PA routine (usually using PHD2 drift alignment). That Means I delete all sync points on EQMOD invest another 30mins to PA.
Once PA is done, I move scope just a bit lower than 0 Alt, later lift/slew to the Star which is located just above 0 ALT and close to the Meridian to do PHD calibration (I move scope just like this as PHD calibration starts from moving scope North, and I want all gears in DEC to be intact, without any backslash).
Once done, I start my imaging session. SGP uses EQMOD in a "dialog mode" and manual sync points are not needed ... (At least in my case it works without them nicely).
I do flats at the end, in the morning... I use a simple Stencil LED panel as this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A4-LED-Art-Craft-Drawing-Board-Tracing-Light-Box-Table-Pad-Tattoo-Arts-Stencil/264220730411?hash=item3d84c8642b:m:mmdtuhOAM_wQQuyyu5iAR6Q
It came in a card box, so I just cut the hole in it to fit the scope, placed 3 peaces of white paper in and used SGP Flats routine to get exposure times for each filter. I use full light ON all the time and regulated the light reduction by adding or removing white paper, to keep the same brightness for all sessions and all filters.
I do not re-do Flats each session if I have not moved the camera. Can be a bit dangerous with Newtonians as they are wide open, but I am lucky so far.
What else...
If you check the image of my set up again, - keep your ASI camera on the scope in the same position, at 6 o'clock or at 12 (I cannot use 12 as I have cannon on the top and it would become useless).ASI +EWF are quite heavy and such a position will give you the best balance. Also, try keeping counterweights as close to the mount as possible, if you use 1 which is at the end of the shaft, - place 2 and bring them closer to the mount, it will make mount RA movements easier which = to a better guiding performance.
Hmm.... Some more novels can be written here
but this is probably the basics I can drop out at the moment
Permanent? You have a foundation in addition to the EQ6?
Nice to see have an insight in others workflow. I have because of time and weather used around 50hours (prediction) on youtube/forums for learning, but only around 10 hours with the actual equipment - And half of those on setup, aligning and calibrating roughly.
Point is, naturally there is alot of tips & useful information that doesn't show through videos and articles i believe. I don't know if this 5 to 1 ratio on theory vs practice is healthy, but thats the story so far.If PHD calibration is not good, or guiding is not good, how do you troubleshoot?
I see on the picture, but 6 o'clock like 90 degrees on the scope or paralel with scope?
Also i don't have a coma-corrector, but i figure i need that from what i've read. Do i need additional adaptors for driving the ZWO through this? -
I bought the ZWO 1600MM Pro with 1.25" Filter-wheel, LRGB filters, and Narrowband filters now..
Please dont tell my girlfriend.As a bandage on the wound: My friend is 3D-printing a Bahtinov-mask for free ($1800 used - $20 saved :)
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4 minutes ago, RolandKol said:
I would agree with Vlaiv,
You may, or may Not suffer from a drawtube tilt problem.
And even if you will, - I almost sure, you will not really notice that for the first 3 months, till you get your eyes/brains adjusted.
and as I mentioned before, if needed, you can tighten the drawtube travel by the screws at the bottom of the focuser, it will reduce or completely eliminate the tilt.
Asi1600mm will be a good all rounder cam, it will fit almost any scope you decide to use later.
Once you get it, - do not put it on the scope. Power up, connect to the PC, put it in the dark cool place and collect Dark subs at gain 139 (unity gain) and in -20C.not sure about your imaging sub length, but do not go further than 600sec for NB (I stay in 300sec area) and probably up to 60sec with LRGB. In other words, collect library of Darks.
For Bias, do not use shorter exposures than 0.3sec, or even move to FlatDarks if you have enough patience!
(I don't).
P.S.
600sec is approximate value.
ASI1600 and other CMOS sensors do not really like very Long exposures and you may get AMP glow at some part of the image (usually, top, top right and etc).
Once you get your camera, you can test with Darks, stack several darks which are longer than 600sec and stretch them. https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/tutorials/what-is-amp-glow.html
So you can learn your camera limits.
Thank you, that is very useful to me. I saw your setup. Do we have the same focuser (except yours is modified)? Also, why the DSLR on the lower part of the scope?
The normal procedure is to make a darks library which you always use, or do you take new darks every session?
I am very curious in "start - to finish"-explanation regarding setup of hardware, and software, and workflow in general. I've seen alot (ALOT) of videos, but I feel most of them presumes you have alot of background knowledge allready. Is there any good ones around? (There is a fair chance i've already seen them) -
1 hour ago, vlaiv said:
206.3 number can be easily derived with a bit of trigonometry. You are right - it represents mapping between angles in the sky and surface of the pixel on the sensor. 1"/px means that single pixel will "cover" 1 arcsec x 1 arcsec of the sky. Here is simple derivation of that relationship:......
I must say I am impressed with your knowledge. I have to read through this a few times to understand it fully, but i think i understand the key points. Its the first time I've seen "derivation" and "simple" in the same sentence, btw
@RolandKol, @vlaiv and @Adam J I took a look at my scope now and see i messed up. I DO have threaded adaptor, it was just not tightened all the way (ever since i bought the scope). Thats why it was slightly movable. (pictures attached). This means the tilt-problem is out of the picture for me? The focus-tube is tight, and the adaptor is tight (when screwed in). And RolandKol, I'm pretty much decided on the ZWO ASI 1600MM mono.
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13 hours ago, vlaiv said:
Yes indeed - you need to do proper calibration of your subs, and even then, you will still need to contend with different gradients and different signal strengths because of selecting reference frames shot at different times for your panel stacks (signal strength depends on target position in the sky - higher it is, stronger the light because less atmosphere to block some of the light).
On the other hand - proper calibration is something that you best adopt from the beginning if your camera supports it - and one prerequisite for that is set point cooling - ASI1600 has that, and it calibrates well so don't worry about that aspect. Flats will probably be hardest part, not because they are hard to record but because you will need good flat source - I would recommend flat panel (that is additional cost, but in my view worth it).
All other "problems" should be handled by software.
Recording signal to certain "fidelity" requires certain number of samples. For example - CD sound is recorded at 44100 samples a second, and that is because most humans hear sound frequencies up to about 20Khz. Number of samples needs to be twice that of maximum frequency (for CD quality it is 22050hz). Similar thing happens when you take the image. Telescope can't "magnify" image past certain point due to laws of physics. Atmosphere also plays a part and on most nights even this theoretical "magnification" is too much - atmosphere blurs details. With long exposure AP there is another aspect - how well the mount tracks the stars (and how well your guiding works to correct for mount errors and other problems) - that also reduces level of detail that can be recorded. It just removes higher frequencies from the image (yes there is such thing as frequencies in the image, and it is not simply related to size of features - it is more complicated than that, but you don't need to understand that fully for this discussion) and if you sample image too much - and that means "zooming in" too much, or using too many pixels to cover certain object (which will make it larger on screen) - you will simply record bigger blurry image without additional detail. In it self - there is nothing wrong with that if it were not for noise.
When you do that - record image with too much zoom - you spread the light over many pixels and there is not enough signal per pixel and your SNR is poor - your image will look noisier and you might not even be able to distinguish object from the noise if SNR is too low. That is why you don't want to oversample.
There is opposite of oversampling and that is under sampling - you don't zoom image enough to capture all possible detail (that scope, guiding and atmosphere can provide on a given night) - things in this case just look smaller on screen, but you get better SNR by doing that.
This is story of sampling very oversimplified, luckily you don't need to know all the details - you need to know how to calculate sampling rate - in is expressed in arc seconds per pixel, depends on pixel size in micrometers and focal length of telescope in millimeters. Divide the two and multiply with 206.3 to get sampling rate in "/px. In your case that would be (3.8 / 750) * 206.3 = ~1.045"/px.
For wide field imaging with short focal length scopes - this figure is in general larger than 3"/px (there is no upper limit really - one is limited by focal length of lens used for milky way landscape shots for example). "Regular imaging" that amateurs use is in range of 3"/px - 1.5"/px. Sampling in range 1.5"/px to 1"/px is considered advanced (you need good mount, steady skies and aperture that is capable of it) and you can easily slip into oversampling if some of that is not playing ball. Going below 1"/px for most people with most gear in most conditions will lead to oversampling, you need large aperture, very good mount and guiding and very stable atmosphere to go below 1"/px.
Now on to binning. Binning is process of adding adjacent pixels to form larger pixel (usually groups of 2x2 or 3x3). It affects signal collected (summing 4 values gives bigger value, hence better SNR) and also reduces number of pixels covering target (2x2 pixels is replaced with single value - single pixel), or brings up sampling rate (binning x2 on 1"/px image will make it 2"/px). It should be done if you oversample - in that case you don't loose any detail, as there is no additional detail in the image in the first place, and you recover some of SNR lost due to oversampling (you would recover it 100% if you had sensor without read noise - or in case of CCD where you have hardware binning, and there is one read noise per binned pixel).
FOV is not affected by binning, but pixel count / resolution is. So image viewed in "screen size" (fit to screen, or posted here of forum) will not change, but image looked at 1:1 (100% zoom, or one image pixel - one screen pixel) will change object scale when binning.
You don't need autofocuser - but it is handy to have. I'm yet to make two of them for my two scopes - they will be DIY projects.
Using toothpick will stop focuser from being loose and shifting left/right, but it might not solve the problem you have because there is slack in the focuser - tilt. If focuser tube is loose it will shift left/right and in doing so it will change angle, and important thing with focuser is that it is squared to optical axis - that ensures that sensor lies in focal plane and is not tilted to it. If sensor is tilted with respect to focal plane - some parts of it will be out of focus and that produces poor stars (usually corners since they are furthest of center so most out of focus). Using toothpick will stop focuser from tilting but it will lock it in angled position - which will still leave sensor at an angle to focal plane.
Regarding over/undersampling. I think i get it in form of: "picture looks best with between 1-2"/px". The result says what is "covered" of target area per pixel?
I tried transforming this rule to general photography just for fun. Nikon D810 sensor pixel size (or pixel pitch= distance from center of pixel to center of next pixel which is the same(?)) = 4,87μm. I also have a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens which i've used on s star adventurer mini for Milkyway photos. This gives me: (4,87 / 14mm) * 206.3 = 73,76"/px - waay undersampled? I understand widefield photography is a different ballgame though. Is this because the level of star-detail is irrelevant at these focal lengths? At what focal length spectre is this rule handy? Is the 206.3 number made as an average factor for DSO-imaging?
Apologize for the question-bombing, but i found this interesting. -
4 hours ago, vlaiv said:
1. Yes
2. 1.25" filters work down to F/4.8 if mounted very close. Here is flat from my ASI1600 and 80mm F/6 with x0.79 FF/FR (effectively somewhere around F/4.75?):
….
3. At the time I was looking to purchase mono camera - that was only sensible option in that price range that had set point temperature cooling. I believe it the same now, except there is maybe 183 sensor based camera (and other vendors with same sensor as 1600), but I would still go for ASI1600 - it is the largest sensor at that price.
……….…...
Thanks alot for that excellent explanation! I understood the model. Wouldn't a ZWO filter-wheel be close enough to an ZWO camerasensor when its from the same manufacturer? I mean, without vignetting?
Stitching would be great to try, but i imagine there has to be careful work with calibrated frames if the stitching is to look Natural. I mean no contrast between "core" and corners and so on - the frames must be totally even all over?4 hours ago, vlaiv said:- I would not recommend 183 over 1600 for 150 F/5 scope - it will give you sampling rate that you won't be able to utilize, it has smaller surface area. For 750mm ASI1600 is about right (maybe a tad oversampling at 1"/px - but that will depend on your skies and mount / guide performance).
This i am not sure i understand? what is oversampling?
And about the binning. I may have misunderstood, but i thought binning was moving the frame some pixels back and forth to sort out different kind of distortions/errors in the frames? Wouldnt those still be there if i used binning for making bigger frames?
5 hours ago, RolandKol said:Shortly No, that motor will not help.
A bit more about my 130PDS focuser:
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Thanks @RolandKol! You habe an URL/name for a useful autofocuser in my case?
It's almost funny - this "It would be cool to take a photo through a Telescope"-project never stops surprising me with must-have-gadgets :D.
@RolandKol , @vlaiv and @AdamJ: Yes the inner adaptor-ring With the locking-screws is slightly moveable (<1mm). This is the issue you're addressing? Is it not fixable with just a toothpic pushed in between or something? Maybe im cursing in the church now, but…
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2 hours ago, Adam J said:
To answer this you really need to know what type of targets you want to image. Because it matters for sensor selection. The asi1600mm pro is great but with your scopes focal length it's not really going to give wide field views of emission nebula. A friend uses his 150pds for detailed looks at smaller targets like the bubble nebula or Cresent or galaxy imaging. The other thing you will want to be aware of is that the focuser will not support a asi1600mm pro and filter wheel without some droop / flex and so it's hard to get good corners, from my personal experience with the 130pds. A smaller higher resolution sensor will be easier and more suited to imaging smaller targets in detail. For example you will get very good results on small galaxys with a asi183mm pro or even better a qhy178m and they will be good right to the corner, but I sence you want the bigger sensor in the expectation of trying to go for larger targets. That being the case consider dropping down to a 130pds as it's just that bit wider. I. Terms of filters I went with 1.25 mounted, they are good down to F4.
Thanks! I see what you mean. I'm planning on buying something like i.e an 80mm f/6 in addition, which i think will be a good choice when the 150PDS makes it too close (?). Maybe down the line i will add something like the 130.
I don't quite understand what you mean about the focuser? It will not stay in place because of the weight or?1 hour ago, RolandKol said:I am sure, you will be very happy with ASI1600 as it has quite good sensor (much better than DSLR) and a very small (if not the smallest in the market) Back Focus and it will enable you to use 31mm filters without any frustration.
I went the same, ASI1600MM way, with my 130PDS, - had some problems with focuser's tilt, but sorted it out with DIY autofocuser and tightening draw-tube quite strongly.
Just to make your life a bit more difficult, - a main competitor of ASI1600 is Altair Hypercam 1600M PRO TEC, which has the same sensor, but larger - 4GB ram (not sure if there is any use of it),
keep in mind, - it has 17.5mm back focus, which will probably still be OK with 31mm filters at F5.
P.S.
I am not sure if Hypercam has it's own matching EFW and etc.
To @RolandKol and @AdamJ: Will this sort the problem? https://www.astroshop.eu/motors-controls/skywatcher-auto-focus-system-for-telescopes/p,11469#tab_bar_0_select
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48 minutes ago, kens said:
Thank you @kens, just the kind of answer I was looking for!
That clarifies it for me regarding question #2. If i understand you correctly - the bigger the filter-diameter - the better, or at least the more ready i will be for other equipment further down the line?
Are you familiar with the ZWO-filters? I've read that the old ones are bad, but the new ones are good alternatives to Astrodon and Baader- except some haloing on the OIII. -
Hi,
I bought my first telescope, SW 150pds about 6 months ago with the purpose of astroimaging "when i feel ready". So far ive used my Nikon D810 for that, and I'm now planning on taking the step buying my first AP camera.
My targets would be DSO's, and not planetary. I want a mono-camera, not color.
I want to get away with a very good camera to a reasonable price (wouldn't we all...) and in this regard I've been drooling on the ZWO ASI 1600MM Mono for some time. The price for it is in the upper part of my budget, but I'm willing to if its worth it. I've seen from other treads that sensor-size isn't everything, and dynamic range and gain and all is just as important, but i have trouble understanding it all 100% when it's all new to me, but in my experience i am a practical person who learns things much better and faster with the gear in my hand. So without getting to technical, and staying as objective as possible - please help me with;
1. Is this a good camera to go for?2. It's sold with options of filters 1.25", 31mm or 36mm - Why these options, and what determines what i would choose?
3. Would you go for another camera in this price range, and why? - Or to rephrase it a bit; If you were in my shoes, which camera would you og for?
I'd appreciate any help:)
I might add, that i understand that with my lack of experience, buying a mono-camera with filters and all might seem premature, but for some strange reason. I enjoy these "way over my head"-projects and figuring out things as time goes - I just need some guiding in the right direction.-
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I dont detatch the motors, i just loosen the clutches and it happens. I will try to strip it down and grease it. Im just afraid i need some new parts, but i guess i wont know before its stripped down..
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Hi,
I'm a beginner and bought my EQ5 (new) some time ago. That was my first mount and i didnt know anything at the time i got it.
I suspected it right from the start after watching these balancing-videos, but didn't think much of it since the mount was brand new.
Now i suspect it more; that the RA axis is too tight. By that I mean I can move it around by hand, but it doesnt "float" further when the axis is balanced. I can move the weights a bit and still it doesnt affect the movement. If i move the weights lets say +/- 3-4cm it still seems "balanced". It's just that there are some resistance to it.
This is not normal? What should i do?
I've installed motors separately so it is basically identical to an EQ5 pro now, and i havent experienced issues with slewing and guiding, so it doesnt seem like the gear is affected by it.
Any tips? -
8 hours ago, PlanetGazer said:
I use a lead acid battery which is 12V & 7Ah, I check the voltage before starting each session using the option on the handset. Currently it's 12.3 V. Below is a picture of the battery (I charge it by connecting it to the car's battery for a few minutes, engine running of course). Is the handset accurate in measuring the voltage? should I get a Voltmeter to accurately measure it?
The battery used is 7Ah, that should be more than what is required. I'm sure that I reset the park option, and have done a factory rest as well. and there is no polar scope on a dobsonian. it's an alt/azm mount.
Not at all, thanks for your help. Also there is no counterweights on Dobs.
I'm sorry, I didnt read Your post well enough, just got caught up in the power-supply-thingy:)
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I had the exact same problem as you and the problem was my Power supply as @johninderby mentions above. I used a supply with too low amps and bought a new one with 2.5 A and it worked perfectly.
Other thoughts:
You start from parked position?Have you calibrated your polarscope? So that your mount is not pointing in the wrong direction because the polarscope is off?
Lastly, it may be obvious and i'm sure you do it, but just to check since i dont find it in your steplist: You balance your scope with the setup you're about to use? And i don't mean to be rude, but you do actually look through the polarscope and align polaris in the right position in the given time?
I am a newbie and i missed some "captain obvious" points myself my first times so just checking. I would definately try my first tip if everything else is in order - that did it for me.-
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On 04/09/2019 at 21:12, alacant said:
Those are the drivers, beneath which you need the latest version of ascom from here. You already have ascom installed otherwise eqascom wouldn't run. Just make certain it is the latest.
It is ascom which deals with the interaction of the drivers and insists they all play nicely.
HTH.
Thanks! Lots of cloudy nights where i live, so havent been testing this other than this one time with the photo above.
Can you explain me the difference between "Pulse guiding" and "ST4" in the EQMOD setup and which do i use with the setup i mentioned? I use the ST4 cable (the network cable), but i use it from guider to PC. -
1 hour ago, alacant said:
If you have the latest ascom, yes. In older versions there was a virtual hub -POTH- which dealt with simultaneous apps. You shouldn't need it...
I have the
EQASCOM v200q
ASCOMPAD v209
Guess those are the latest?
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Still in Toolbox?
Ok, and then i can use it on several apps simultanusly? (PHD2, Cartes du Ciel, etc)?
Im sorry for questionbombing, but this ASCOM/EQMOD/ASCOMPAD etc etc is still very vague to me. -
24 minutes ago, alacant said:
Hi
No, you just cracked it; you got a frame out of the camera with the mount tracking and being guided for 4 minutes:)
Make sure that eqmod is running first and that there is only one instance of it. Next time, it will all be a lot easier.
Congratulations.
Thanks! Well its actually several 20sec exposures and 6 darks. Had some 120sec exposures but that was to much movement.
EQmod running = Opening EQmod toolbox, register, and Connect?
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On 03/09/2019 at 07:44, alacant said:
Got it working last night. Depends on how you define "working", but i got tracking in PHD2, using the ASCOM driver at least.
I did the setup in the "EQMOD toolbox".
Pressed register (I have to do this every time?) and 2 boxes popped up. "Unexpected error" and "Success"...….. so yeah.. if I wasnt confused from before...
Anyway, then i could do the "Driver Setup" and Connect ASCOM, and further on I could connect my Mount in PHD2. Guiding worked, but its on my porch so i think alot of vibrations on the floor when moving around becuase giuding jumped +/- 8 arc Seconds.
I am wondering how Your workflow is when you're astrophotographeing?
I bumped in to a problem. I was setting up my PHD2, then i was planning to Connect Scope to my Cartes do Ciel, but i couldnt Connect because the driver was already in use in PHD2 i think. If i disconnected Mount from PHD2 i could Connect Scope in Cartes du Ciel and visa versa.Is there a way around this?
Is this way of workflow not optimal?
Didn't have much time left for actual AP but this is what i got for 4mins total exposure. Its way to little exposure, and bad stars, but this wasnt my goal this first time.
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I didn't get any Toolbox with installing from that link you gave me, only a program called ASCOMPAD?
I found this linked to your link under "files":
https://sourceforge.net/projects/eq-mod/files/EQASCOM/With installing it i got some new drivers in my PHD2 Equipment. Is EQMOD ASCOM HEQ5/6 or EQMOD_2 ASCOM HEQ5/6 the correct one. I mean i have EQ5 but…?
I feel like im just installing a bunch of stuff and really dont have a clue of what im doing and why.
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48 minutes ago, alacant said:
What will it be displayed as in PHD2 Mount section? I installed it and there is nothing called EQMOD in the list?
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Ok, thank you, i will download it.
But what is it? it looks like a controller in the pictures? I mean I was initially just wanting to setup my mount to PHD2. I'm not familiar with any of these programs. Is EQ mode just a driver or? I seriously feel 80 years old now, but i just dont understand this. I thought a driver was just a file of some sort to make the Connection between X and computer, but these ASCOM and EQMOD look like program Interfaces of some sort? What am i not getting?
Powering an Astrophotography rig from home - how?
in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Posted
Thanks alot @teoria_del_big_bang, this is very informative and helpful for me, so i appreciate it alot!
You mean splash-proof extension-cord or 12adaptor? The extension-cord is IP44 standard, so thats splash-proof with lids on it.
I will definately look into the 12V 5A. plug size is 5.5mm x 2.1mm right? I've found several of these.
What do you mean by this? I'm sorry, my english isnt 100%
This was my intention yes. I dont understand the sollution with the HUB - can you explain how this would be? Wouldn't the HUB need to be connected back to the computer inside, and the cable-length still be a problem? Or you mean something like the ASIAIR?
The current plan is to use a Bahtinov (my friend is 3D-printing one as there are so few astrogear-suppliers in Norway), and just go back and forth between scope and computer until i'm satisfied. Further down the line i will maybe go for an auto-focuser with software, but for now i feel i must start up with the equipment i have provided. The need for more gear never stops in this business I've learned