DaveL59

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

sadly my more SE facing conservatory windows don't open else that'd be a more useful view, kinda have to wait for things to cycle further toward the SSE/S and then get a little viewing time before the oak tree starts to get in the way. But for short sessions it works well enough and for the EQ5 I can set it up so the tripod is part in and part out to get more SSE but still be half indoors when viewing. Means I disturb the wee hedgehog less too when he's visiting for his food

yep, making the best of circumstances means some compromises. I did the same with CCTV here, lots said it was dumb to have them behind the glass but they work fine, I just fitted a matt black card to removed stray reflections from indoor lighting and put IR illuminators outside. I can't drill through the walls (rented) so I made the best of the options I had. Downside is the skycam can't be run B&W as the IR makes a total mess of the pic lol

from the conservatory I note v little difference, tho the end of the scope is outside the doorway and having no heating things tend to outside temps very quickly. Added benefit is a handy table and subdues light thru the curtain to see what I'm doing. I'd imagine a window may have the warm air rising off the roof/walls that'd give much the same effect as looking over houses nearby if not a little more. All of my viewing is by necessity over houses but hasn't caused any real issues so far.

didn't frankenstein use a larger version of one of those

I've viewed out of the open conservatory door as with some careful positioning I can view out SSE, could be very handy in mid-winter rather than being out in the open. Summertime not so great as it gets very hot, but with the door left open a while it does cool reasonably well if I'm feeling lazy to shift the gear out into the garden. Makes hooking to mains power so much easier too

we've all done it, nowt like going off fishing and when setting up finding you left the bait in the fridge and its now a 1h drive away...

hmm a 1A fuse on the mains side is quite likely to blow if you have a switch-mode PSU hanging off it tho as they have a fair surge current on power-up, 5A would be the lowest I'd go for the mains. Agree tho regarding line fuses on the 12v side, some sort of fuse/thermal protection would seem a good idea given the value of the equipment attached.

thanks, that does help. Wasn't planning on investing in a DSLR as I've no real need for one much these days so have a Fuji bridge camera. Had considered getting a sony DSLR at one stage so I could re-use my Minolta AF lenses but never got around to that. Once I've had a play with a modified CCTV module or maybe the c270 webcam to start off with I was thinking it may be worth stepping up to something a bit better further down the line. The EQ5 is synscan so in theory should track by itself but was curious if the camera did both at the same time and so might improve things a bit. When I do get time and bits set up I'll likely start with the moon and planets as they come into view, but going a bit deeper once I've got the hang of things might be fun too. I can always mount the SW130 onto the EQ5 if I want a bit more aperture than the 100RS offers, tho its on an EQ2 with RA motor so might be ok also.

A question on these, was looking at the T7C as they seem at a good price compared to something like the Bresser Full HD unit and I might have some amazon funds to burn soon. Can you use the ST4 to guide at the same time as taking video/pics? I'm assuming that it'll link OK to the EQ5 synscan of course...

as others have said, a red dot finder isn't expensive and if you shop carefully you may find one that'll fit the same base as the supplied finder which makes things simpler. Once aligned with the main scope easy enough to use too. Worth checking out astroboot as they often have them and eyepieces at good prices and may have one to suit your scope. For eyepieces, I bought this set for the little NatGeo 76/350 and they're not bad esp for the price, and much better than the ones it came with, tho do check if they'd suit yours. Be aware too, non-standard filter thread so may be limiting if you buy others later on. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-Plossl-25mm-6-5mm-telescope-eyepiece-Moon-filter-non-standard-thread/161233779361?hash=item258a483aa1:g:dmEAAOxyJX1TC4rP