DaveL59

yep that's pretty much how an EQ mount works. You can rotate the OTA to get the focuser back to a position that's comfortable to use by loosening the ring clamps and turning the tube, just take care not to get the rings to release and you find the OTA leaps out onto the floor For a refractor you can usually just reposition the diagonal to get back to a usable angle.

don't worry, am fairly new myself and took me a couple goes and then seeing what was up in daylight to figure it out too

hi Neil, is that with the OTA mounted? Does it move freely with the OTA off the mount? also worth checking if the lock levers are what's causing it to get stuck as they may be impacting the body as you rotate the mount. These can usually be sorted by removing the screw and turning the lever so it clears and then refit the screw. I only have EQ2 and EQ5's and so long as there's clearance so you're not hitting the tripod they'll rotate fully with no problem, but hopefully someone who has the EQ1 will be along soon with a more informed view

in the tropics they run the reinforcing bars in the concrete walls up above the wall top so they can use it to secure down the woodwork for the roofs. But they they have to survive much stronger winds than we generally get, but as James suggested, some long steel plates may well help keep things in place, tho the risk is the structure being able to take the strain over time.

can you check in task manager if there's any related processes running in the background. If so then kill those and try restarting the app. Not a user of this app as yet but have seen similar with CCTV and other apps under winwoes

wow that moon is bright tonight, figured why not see what the 5MP cctv makes of it all, 2m40s video in H264 and stacked, not too bad considering

oh I should add... You'd need your internet WiFi to run a different IP address range than the SynScan or the laptop won't be able to route traffic correctly. Same would apply if you ran a LAN cable to the laptop.

you might be able to add a wifi-USB dongle to the laptop so you can then pair the laptop to both the SynScan-WiFi and your internet router (one to each) and then be able to operate the laptop remotely while still having it connected to the mount. Not tried that myself and don't currently have a dongle I can test with to verify that suggestion tho. No chance you could run an ethernet cable out to the laptop? That'd be the better way as you'd get less lag in the remote session tho there will be some. Getting the focus right using this method will need patience and small adjustments so things catch up - I do my CCTV cameras this way, iPAD-VNC over WiFi remoting to my desktop and response isn't as direct as laptop directly connected to the camera, more practical tho when at height

to help with eye relief can't you use the longer FL EP in a barlow and in effect have the same eye relief but a shorter FL and increased mag? So in a 2x barlow your 25mm would be 12.5mm equivalent. A 12mm EP would get you to 6mm etc. Just a thought as might save some funds and give easier viewing.

zooming in am quite surprised, even got the sword, that was unexpected...

had a play with capture with the 5MP starvis module since that still has a clear view and last night the sky was pretty decent. VLC to capture a 10 min H264, fed thru PIPP adding a little gain, then AutoStakkert! 3 and managed to obtain an OK ish pic of Orion. Not so bad for a CCTV module, tho I think the IMX290 2MP may perform a little better but sadly the dome housing is occluded with condensation so no easy way to do a parallel comparison for now. I did have a wee play with a Logi C270 hooked to a LAN-USB server and Sharpcap, was amazed the USB server was able to handle live video tho its only 720 not full HD. Might even be a usable option to remote drive a USB camera over the network if I ever get around to modding the C270 or getting a USB unit and might be handy to run on the scope rather than having the lappy outdoors

yep RCD's a must if using mains outdoors, but not so sure they'd trip if the 12v side of a PSU causes a shock from damp fingers being in contact, given there's a degree of isolation between the 12v side and the mains RCD.

It should still be able to RA track tho... you'd just have to be careful choosing a goto target in case it'll take it into an obstruction. Have the same limitations with my 100RS on the EQ5 SynScan if I'm using it in the conservatory rather than out in the garden, esp as my scopes are all 1M long or thereabouts. The SW130 on the EQ2 with RA motor can at least track and not have the worry of risking it trying to go where it shouldn't Guess I could swap the 100RS or tal-1 OTA onto the EQ2 if I needed to but so far I just work within the limitations as needed.

lol am lucky with street lights in the back garden as that's reasonably dark but get what you mean. The tree, well its not far off the end of the garden so encroaches a lot unfortunately, but it is what it is... attracts a nice variety of birds so can't complain

problem with goto and aligning would be the lack of room to rotate the OTA and not collide with the window/opening I think. Perhaps a simple RA or dual motor might do just as well with the limitations, unless you want to be able to use the scope out in the open

worth remembering too that skin resistance is low once wet, so dew can increase risk, even 12v connectors can lead to some shocks you might not expect

sadly for me jupiter and venus are behind the oak tree at this time of day and too low so disappearing behind the trees in the distance too. The moon is looking nice at the moment against the blue sky, to time outside at the mo ain't great with the cold air and a healing root extraction lol

I'd guess if you set the EQ mount to its RA is set to 0 (level) on the axis then you're effectively using it as Atl/AZ , but of course you then need to make RA and DEC adjustments as an object tracks. No prob if you're visual but not so good if you want to image at all. As I think I mentioned earlier, the polar aligner pro app has an option to do polar alignment by mounting the phone/tablet on the mount shoe without needing to sight the pole star, can be used in daylight hours too. Seems to work reasonably well, GPS signal shouldn't be a problem given your skylight. You'd then have reasonably accurate RA tracking so less adjusting to do when viewing, esp if you've an RA motor.

Nice battery, the 10AH will give around the same performance as 17AH lead but not suffer the sulfating issues, had considered updating my UPS's to use those but the cost is huge vs 17AH lead so parked that idea for now.

neither do ssd's...

you can get the mount pointed north easily enough and be roughly there... or the polar aligner pro app will help get closer as it has a beta mode where you place it onto the mount with the OTA removed and adjust to suit then refit the OTA and you should be good to go

very nice images! I would find it a lot easier to hook the laptop and USB up on the table next to the scope than if it was in the garden so is another reason I'd been trying it out, rather than have to lug a table out as well as the scope(s). Tho can always have one outside to image while I sit and enjoy the view from another I guess. I'd just have to watch that my kitties don't go snagging the cables or the slime trailers that seem to be everywhere when the little hog isn't around to graze on them...

not posted much on this lately as not had a lot of time to play with it since returning to work. At some stage I need to strip down the first 1b version as it is laden with condensation, think a seal had failed but I think that housing type wasn't so suited to being pointed skywards. If I can get it open again I may just re-mount it on the side wall of the shed and see if it fairs any better that way. The v2 is still clear and working so am pleased with the rework of that housing type, hasn't dewed or misted at all even at 0c last night so heat from the camera module seems enough so far, tho I'm wondering if the 5MP is really performing that well vs the 2MP. That said, last night the sky was reasonably dark and clear and I could just make out most of orion in live view which was impressive (well, to me that is lol) given its a cctv module so its slowest shutter speed ain't nowhere compared to an astro unit or even a tweaked webcam. Must get around to capturing some video from it and see how it looks stacked, one day, when family visiting isn't colliding with a clear sky lol. Would've been nice to get a side by side comparison against the 2MP module but couldn't given its current condition, oh well. Didn't save any captures this time round unfortunately.

know what you mean, is cold in the conservatory but sure beats being outside esp if there's a breeze, means the long scopes get less buffeting too and all but the tal-M are long tubes. I leave them all mounted so just have to shuffle the one I plan to use to the desired locn too and they're already fully cooled

ah luckily I'm near the top of the hill, but of course the garden fence reduces how low I can view, but generally the planets have been quite well placed as the LH fence isn't so high. More an issue if the other side are in and have the lighting on the back of the house turned on, bye bye any dark adaption, but luckily she's not around a lot had once considered using the back bedroom, can only open one window and they're small, but its too loaded up with storage boxes etc so not v practical