DaveL59

13 minutes ago, FLO said:

 

And now, this 🙂 

Almost looks like it needs a big spanner to fit it 😉 

Kinda nice to know they've thought about battery protection then, perhaps will mean it'll last a bit longer before we need replacements 🙂 

31 minutes ago, powerlord said:

yup, thats the 3 star calibration by a dumbed down name.

And tonight I got it working in EQ mode! I stuck a wee red dot on it, aligned with polaris, then manually moved to approx position of capella. I then pressed the start photo button. It then did the 3 star calibration ok. I then did a goto to capella, and this time it worked!

I then went to IC405 which was fine. Shot 30 mins and it all stacked nice with no rotation, and I'm now on M33 and will leave it there till it clouds up or battery dies.

Obviously lots of gotchas to EQ mode what with the limited DEC rotation, but it's still a bit of a game changer imho. With rotation on long integration really reducing your resolution to 1MP (i.e. centre square). Now you can double it back to the original 2MP. Hopefully I'll get a reasonable amount of time on M33.

I'll post the pics tomorrow.

 

Out of interest, how have you got it set up for EQ (mounted)?

I guess I could park one of the EQ5's so its static if I can get it mounted onto that, just a bit more faff to set it all up over using a simple level tripod setup.

43 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Takahashi eat your heart out - look no further for a lickable OG

Oh dear, did they get the finder on backwards yet again? 😉 

49 minutes ago, Elp said:

This "EQ" mode topic might be interesting. Note if you attempt this you're doing so at your own risk as the thread mentions the gears are made of plastic and many people have raised questions about it.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/904547-say-no-more-field-rotations-for-the-seestar-s50/

 

An interesting idea which seems to work, albeit we don't yet know the long term effect on the gearing. I'd actually wondered if you could run the S50 mounted onto a proper EQ mount so that its not doing anything at all with the gearing other than holding position as the EQ5 would then be taking care of the tracking. I'll probably never end up trying that tho since as-is it seems to do what I want and with such ease of setting up 😄 

Only had the chance to play with mine a couple times, also being visual before buying the S50. Those couple times I've sat watching the image appear and like Paul only ran short durations since I was just testing it out at the time. Impressive, I felt, that it was able to show so much in just a few minutes on target and since my aim was more EEA and ease of use it met my expectations perfectly.

Since the later updates I can now also use my Lenovo P11 G2 tablet which will be handy. Tired eyes after working at a computer all day has meant less time at an eyepiece and my scopes don't really let me see a lot that this little marvel can expose effortlessly. Well, IF we ever get much in the way of clear skies that is lol!

here you go

7 hours ago, LDW1 said:

Don't give up on it, it is probably something simple, I know when I did 1.13 I had to reset the SS to get a full connection but I won't try and explain. Someone more versed will have to, lol !  Basically when I occasionally have an issue I use trial and error checking / resetting until I find the solution, it works for me, I am a technical person but not well versed in this new technology, lol !

Had to reset mine also.

8 hours ago, DaveGarland said:

This thing works so well when it works, but doesn't work so much I'm kinda done. 

No issue with station mode other than you can't use a hidden SSID, but at what range are you using it? I'm using the 2.4G band for it as it gives longer range and it just connects when I fire up the app. Presumably you've enough headroom of IP addresses to dole out at the router end?

Isn't another downside of the commercial the fact that rather than using hydrogen and oxygen as propellant they're using something far less eco friendly? So with lots of 'development' launches and failures, then a constant stream of viable ones they're likely adding more pollutant into the atmosphere than a multitude of long-haul airline flights?

Seems even NASA have gotten into the act 😄

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67721671

Just updated too and gave it a quick play indoors with my Lenovo P11Gen2 tablet in desktop/PC mode and it seems very usable with the UI working correctly. A good step ijmprovement for me as I can now use either the phone or tablet to drive it 🙂

7 minutes ago, tomato said:

Hey, it’s the faff that makes it pleasurable.😉

depends. I spend my day job sorting all the faff with computer systems, I'd really rather not when trying to relax with a hobby so prug & pray suits me just fine esp at night out in the dark 😉 

26 minutes ago, MalcolmP said:

one each side of the garden to parallax the distance to 
1) nearest star
2) an incoming asteroid

I think (1) would be a tad optimistic ! , , , 
 

Probably have to be one heck of a wide/long garden to discern much triangulation effect 😉 

Stripped the threads?

Might be better to get a local machine shop to make up a replacement out of better grade material like steel and tap it for the alt bolt.

10 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

How many imagers find an aircraft in their frames when imaging the Sun/Moon? And given that those objects are only about a half degree across, one might think that is unlikely too, but it happens. So is getting a big payout on the premium bonds!

Ian

Yep, many times just observing visual, had an owl fly across the FoV one night too, even rarer than planes 🙂 

6 minutes ago, Elp said:

I see it now. But you also get lights on the tail, and the plane has to be incredibly close like landing approach which the OP still hasnt clarified.

From that image the gear is up and the segment visible only extends to the engine pods (surfboards as 900SL put it). So the underbody anti-collision light would be like a strobe flash lighting that area and freezing it in frame. As to how low, not necessarily depending on the magnification used it could be 5-8K feet up.

Can't disagree re the LT70AZ. It's a fair scope but let down by the mount and tripod which are a bit wobbly. But as a package its light and very easy to plonk outside when there's a clear bit of sky and does fine on the moon and major planets. The original eyepieces are OK, the diagonal is average at best. If you have a phone that is supported the guidance is pretty good.

I altered the one I bought with wood legs and a new yoke that makes it somewhat better, got an Svbony dielectric diagonal and 7-21mm Svbony zoom eyepiece which makes it easier to use and better views. I adjusted the focuser to make it more stable and added a cheap electric focus motor too, which takes away all the wobbles when trying to find focus. As-is tho its usable, just needs patience and a gentle touch when making adjustments and allowing it all to settle before taking in the view.

My aim when I bought this was to make a carrier to use on my other scopes and then give the LT70 to my daughter/grandaughter who have some interest but wouldn't be able to find much being in SE London. They things its pretty good tho haven't had much chance to use it, having moved and in the midst of sorting the house and garden.

Perhaps worth looking at the LT80 version for a bit more aperture which would give a brighter image, that'll have the same weaknesses overall with the tripod and diagonal/eyepieces of course, since you pretty much get basic components supplied with the kit. Much like kit lenses with DSLR cameras 🙂 Updating to a better diagonal/eyepieces doesn't have to cost a fortune however, plenty of choice out there.

Stepped out back for a smoke just now and after I'd lit up 2 bright streaks high to the SE passed between Orion and Jupiter in a S direction. A couple mins later another low to the SE. Hadn't expected to see anything from the cloud cover earlier this evening.

7 minutes ago, malc-c said:

So a year ago we saw the first test flight... and since all we've seen is a CGI video... meanwhile SpaceX have had two launches of Starship, and things at the launch site are moving at an incredible pace whilst they improve the launch pad and surrounding infrastructure...  The only thing that really held SpaceX back was the red tape whilst they answered all the silly points raised by government agencies (such as a risk assessment for starship splashing down on top of a rare whale in the middle of the sea !).  If it wasn't for the FAA dragging out the inspection post first launch I believe that SpaceX would have a starship in orbit by now.

 

I'm sure there were many valid reasons for the agencies to look deeper given Space-X have pretty much disregarded safety and environmental issues in their quest for the spotlight. Much as NASA have had their hands tied by political interference in how to go about their current trip to the moon, leaving them using time limited relics rather than developing something new.

Whether we get to see another person on the moon remains to be seen, its certainly taking a long time that's for sure.

4 hours ago, squipper said:

that is how the app opens up with out touching it 

Is that correct, as in that's the first screen that opens when you start the app?

It should open with the page showing the seestar showing the modes available (stargazing, moon, planets, scenery) and ask to connect. If it doesn't do that then I assume the seestar sits dormant doing nothing or does it start to move in the direction shown in the joypad?

very odd, what versions of android and the Seestar app?

Might be worth checking on ZWO's site to see if others have reported the same.

55 minutes ago, squipper said:

that's the problem move my finger around but the circle stays put

OK, so the filled circle shows where your digit has moved to from centre and the arrow indicator the direction the scope should be moving. Is that not happening?

The outer circle itself doesn't move it's merely a "joy-pad" type icon on the display GUI.

If you're saying that is how it comes up when not touching the display then perhaps there's an issue with the device you are using, screen damage, digitiser or touch-screen fault etc. What device is it and do you have another you can try?

3 minutes ago, tomato said:

Awesome, thanks for posting. Excuse my ignorance but what are the frequent clunking sounds?

No idea, bits burning/falling off? 😉

1 hour ago, squipper said:

Hi  any ideas please what caused this while setting up my seestar S50 trying to adjust the pointing ,the circle is stuck in the nine oclock position and wont move .Have delated and reinstalled the app and it still did it  am at a loss 

I didn't think the circle moves, you just pop your digit on the circle and slide it in the direction you want the scope to move and you get an arrow confirming and the scope should move. Can you post a screenshot of the problem to help us see what you are seeing?

Found this re the planetary mode too, looks quite handy being able to adjust exposure so show the bands on jupiter etc