DaveL59

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

Welcome aboard If you want a low resource PC option to get an idea what's up there to see, in-the-sky.org is handy too, simple web browser and easy to use.

hi James those will take an MSATA SSD (if its the USDT/USFF model) which might help if you need to speed things up in the IOPS front and leaves you the option of a larger HDD if needed too. I've a fair few of the USDT types here tho not for astro use and they work pretty well. Standard SODIMM memory so inexpensive, I've 16GB in the ones I run, Hynix IIRC. and loads of USB ports 🙂 The PSU brick can be a weak point tho and being "smart" sensing you can't really just substitute a 19v feed. If you find the PSU runs hot maybe look out for the 180W one as a replacement. Overkill perhaps as that's for if you add the MX GFX card but they seem more reliable than the 135W one. You can also download the service manual off HP's site should you need it.

do you know the dimensions of the prism and if its BAK4 or BK7? I've some pairs that are pretty much spares so might have one that'll fit tho can't recall but likely they'll be BK7, I assume its a porro design rather than roof. edit: just noticed you're in Canada, have you asked on cloudynights also as they may be able to recommend someone over your side of the pond

could be that edge blacking the IR filter would quench the flare, depending how accessible it is of course. Nice image overall tho, very neat mounting idea too 🙂 I'm thinking the spectrum flare at the edge, lens flare across the image isn't easy to lose as it'll be from reflections off the lens surfaces and maybe the dome. Not like we can stick a lens hood on to try to control if when using a fisheye 😉

do you know if the lens edges are blackened? Not sure how simple it'd be to strip down and do that but it might improve things. I don't see that on mine which makes me wonder if there's a flaw at the lens edge? Does it have an IR filter glued on the back of it as that might be creating the flare effect?

More likely that the secondary isn't reflecting the whole primary light cone now its closer to the primary, I'd have thought, but it'll be relatively little lost compared to the convenience of using std 1.25 inch EPs. A larger secondary would catch the bit that's lost and then you may want to enlarge the hole for the focuser (I believe astrobaby did that on hers when she overhauled but for other reasons) but since the focuser tube isn't going to be changed for a wider one probably little point in doing so.

I've similar skies here but get good views from the back garden as its reasonably dark that side of the house. Front wouldn't work for me with LED street light that's v bright. Main view for me is to SE as there's a bit oak tree to the south but I've had nice views of Jupiter and Saturn earlier this year and of course the moon. Impatiently waiting for Orion to be back in view at sensible hours as I had some nice views with bino's last year and can't wait to see how much more the scopes show 🙂

bigger as the secondary is now lower into the light cone if you see what I mean if you consider the primary as the base of an isoscelese triangle and the secondary sits near the point where the long sides meet, the line across parallel to the edges forms a plane of a certain length. Moving the primary up is much the same as lowering the intercept point nearer the base, resulting in a wider plane at that new point. Yes I know the secondary isn't parallel but the result is much the same, closer the secondary gets to the primary, the wider the light cone hitting it... Not a great pic but might illustrate what I mean, if you consider upper and lower red lines as where the mirror was/is tho in the Tal it won't be that big of a difference