DaveL59

well you're not alone re issues Paul. Yesterday evening I pulled out the i7 W10 lappy, powered it up and it quickly turned itself off. Plugged the PSU in and booted and hmmm, it was restarting from sleep it seems and was all but flat too. Anyway let it charge up a while and plugged in the new webcam. Fired up camera to check and got an odd error message. Run device mangler and nope, not permitted contact admin (I am!). Load sharpcap, no luck either. Hmmm, ok reboot then, oh dear! Now blue screen on power up saying device needs attention 😮 I think some corruption on the SSD when power went on flat battery. Weird tho as I'm sure I shut it down before I left my dads place a week ago, been sat in the laptop bag since. So swap back the OEM SSHD and instant boot. Did a test of the webcam and then back on charge to install updates, all good. The SSD into the SATA caddy and it works fine so maybe the boot sector/MBR barfed. Anyways I left it cloning the SSHD to SSD overnight, will swap it back into the lappy later and hopefully will work fine again 🙂 edit - forgot to mention, did do an error check on the ssd while woeful-one-zero was running, hence trying to reboot so it could repair but it didn't get an opportunity since powerup led straight to device needs attention blue screen.

I curl my fingers around a lit ciggy, keeps one hand warm at least 😉

so its been a while since I did anything with this project, but today this arrived, bought from the long river place warehouse section. Essentially open box/return so a nice bargain price compared to what they cost new at the mo. Already pulled the back cover off and fitted a different lens, one of the Treye ones I had already so faster and wider than the original. Sadly the sky is flat cloud so no real chance to see how it'd perform but a quick test it looks ok. Slowest shutter is 1/2s and at that the tree shows as if it is daylight outside. Am considering whether to swap the 5MP CCTV module out for this and hook it to a network-USB hub in the shed so I can connect over LAN to it. Sharpcap seems to work ok with it and it'll save to SER as well as avi etc. Of course will need dry days to pull the dome down and do the camera swap so not sure when I'll get around to it lol Given this is the view from the current cctv modules this is the view with the webcam sat on a tripod auto exposure mode 1/2-sec shutter must admit I was quite shocked by that last one at only 1/2 sec exposure. Methinks this may be a nifty cheap way forward rather than stretching to an astro camera at least for my purposes 🙂

A Dericam 1080 webcam from the long river place warehouse section. I've just opened it up and replaced the lens with a wider/faster one and blanked the LED's a little. Hopefully will point it at the sky sat on a tripod tonight and see how it fairs. Sharpcap shows slow shutter at 1/2s which is a stop better than the CCTV modules I'm currently using. The Logi C270 can run to 1s it seems but doesn't have an M12 lens mount. If this works reasonably well I may have a look at swapping it into one of the skycam's and run it via a network-USB hub inthe shed. If not then I'll just whack a nosepiece on it and use it in the scope 🙂

hope it works out. On mine the polarscope itself is just the tube that runs inside the collar and around 17mm diameter.

ok, not sure as both of mine have the collar but only one has a polar scope that slides in through the collar.

are the clutch lock levers snagging against the body at the point where they stop being able to turn the axis? Being a new mount it could be a little stiff I guess, but another thing to check is the adjustment on the worm clamp screws as they may bind if too tight (pressing the worm gear into the toothed gear on the axle). This can be adjusted if you have suitable allen keys and are accessed here First undo a little the silver screws and then use an allen key to adjust the screw in the centre hole. Adjust the centre one a little at a time and check motion then once the axle runs as you need it then tighten the silver screws back up. You don't want it too slack tho or you may cause faster wear on the gears, likewise if too tight. There's a similar arrangement under the box section for the RA axle, the box section is secured by a screw at the bottom IIRC. It's worth trying to run the axles through the range of movement with the clutches locked in daylight so you can see what's snagging before doing the above.

but surely the polar scope fits into the collar in your last picture and not the one you measured in the first? Certainly looks like an EQ5 as mine both look the same as your pics.

yep, a lot easier than figuring a way to secure a prism tho I found a small ledge at the low side and encasing it with a hole for the camera to look into worked really well 🙂 Hopefully will make something better once the acetal sheet arrives that I can then fit onto the Joby mount so its all more firmly positioned.

just for fun and in case anyone wants to make something up and doesn't have a prism handy (or a cheap mirror diagonal) I thought I'd try a plain mirror. This fell off the handle of a travel hairbrush so taped to some card and positioned under the camera. Had a quick play under a clear window of sky and it quickly found its location and reported directions to Saturn. Couldn't test further as too much cloud now but could be a simple and cheap option if you fancy making your own rig, just rob the OH's makeup kit 😉 update: having cleared a bit again I gave it another go and it was quite happy finding its position as I aimed it randomly at patches where some stars showed. Am actually quite liking this app now I've got it unlocked and able to play about. Will have to get it out with a scope at some stage soon I think tho might have to shuffle a couple things around first to get a decent mount out there (or refit to the LT70 lol).

mine actually were off the bay, seem to work fine but do seem to drain the battery quite fast if not careful. I tend to tighten the lock screw then power off else a slight bump and it turns back on and before you know it, no power. When it arrived that was exactly what I think had happened as the battery was all but dead but at least there was a spare in the pack 🙂

sounds like it'd fit then 🙂 Will PM you about postage etc

kind of you John. Just measure the one on the TAL finder and its a smidge under 30mm thread diameter: Doesn't look to have much of a thread internally either so perhaps was never made to carry filters or its just an odd size. If yours matches up then yes please 🙂

can't say I have but some comments on sites selling them say they're junk, need drivers etc. Cheap for a punt but don't expect great things. Better to mod a webcam really or look at something like the svbony range.

hmmm test fitting this OVL VPL filter and it doesn't meet the thread in the TAL diagonal, just slides in past them 😞 Fits the eyepieces just fine both TAL and Vixen ones and also the Celestron erecting diagonal on the LT70 I just received. Was hoping to fit one on the diagonal and the other on the eyepiece to make it simple to adjust the darkness by only needing to turn the eyepiece. On the Celestron diagonal tho you get an odd half dark half light view, probably down to the prism arrangement so not really useful on that one. Might have to see if I can get a different nosepiece for the TAL diagonal at some stage. Of course taking a couple bits apart it seems to be threaded externally cut into the end of the tube than the eyepieces which are threaded internally. Might not be so easy to sort then. I've an Svbony star diagonal en route so once that arrives I'll see if that fits ok and if it performs or the nosepiece can be transferred. Luckily I have a larger filter box to store this in, albeit split so they fit side by side 🙂

what's the weight of the binos? Something like this might work, can't vouch for it tho as never owned one https://www.amazon.co.uk/BV30L-Professional-Aluminum-Mid-Level-Camcorder/dp/B078X8TKRL/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=video+tripod&qid=1601985540&sr=8-4

here you go

I've a similar issue with the older TAL when I want to use a regular 1.25-inch EP as those old russian ones are 32mm diameter so the standard EP's rattle and can easily drop out if not careful. Electrical tape might be a better solution than duct tape, less stick mess left behind 🙂 For the plossls you might find the right diameter fit on astroboot tho they're closed for refurb at the moment.

might help to say what eyepieces you're looking for eyecups for as there's a few places you can obtain from. For plossls I've bought some from astroboot that fit and work fine but they aren't tall such as you'd maybe want for LER. Others have made DIY eyecups using bicycle inner tube cut and folded to suit their requirements so that may be an option. For the barrel change the 1.25-inch nosepiece tube will be of too large a diameter to fit the body unless you can get some engineered to suit.

hmm should work but not quite a trad crowbar, you'd normally do something like this tho not simple in a pre-built circuit but can be done. Adam if you do add a zener in for this I'd stick a note by the fuse too, to remind you to check the zener diode before replacing so you don't end up just popping fuses should it have triggered and then get real frustrated with what's mysteriously going on 🙂

are you planning to use the bino's seated or standing? The issue with standing is to get a tripod that can reach the required height which will mean legs extended and possibly the centre pillar extended too. Takes its toll on stability unless its a very solid tripod. There are some that are geared for video use that may suit but not having experience of these I can't vouch for any in particular. The tripod I have is a Pyser model and works fine but I mainly use a monopod (Giottos 5570) for the binos. Saves tripping over the extended legs etc. Having said that I'm not using anything near a 100mm pair which I'd imagine are quite heavy.

that's odd Paul as I've run Linux headless in the past but it's been quite a while since I ran Ubuntu, v14 or so. Are there any BIOS settings that are preventing passing the POST and therefore not getting as far as the bootloader? Likewise is the bootloader (GRUB or whatever) set to auto-pick a default or does that wait on your input? I also use VNC here on the woeful one and mobile devices, handy and it just works tho across winwoes systems I mainly use RDP. edit: have you tried to reboot with the screen keyboard and mouse all disconnected?

Not surprised really, if they'd sent you mirrors and let you fit them they can't then still cover the scope under warranty since you will have taken it apart and repaired it. If they do the repair then they will warranty their work and the entire scope which is how things usually work. Same with everything else such as cars etc.

oh wow, so I noticed my skycam showed much clearer skies and decided to have a play with this starsense app, not with the scope tho, just rested on the ground aiming at the sky. Initially tried handheld but it kept complaining about movement. Found its location after a minute or so and then directed to the chosen target, Mars and then wanted to re-solve and give further directions. So I can confirm it works quite nicely. So I decided to then try in with my home-brew prism rig. Seemed to work even quicker than with their mirror at fixing its location and then re-solving when closer to target. This was with the Samsung Note-10 since my Note-3 isn't gonna play nice, well the app didn't want to play with it... I'd say a nice result, for sure I'll build a carrier for the prism once the bits arrive and then the bulky OEM holder can go back on the LT70 scope 🙂

gave the scope a quick test pointing at Mars and the Moon a short time ago in a brief break in the cloud. Using the SV171 zoom it performed very well with no false colour on the moon at all. Wobbly as heck when adjusting anything but with the tripod legs extended no surprise there. Nice that it's so light that going for a smoke and seeing a clear patch it was literally seconds to pick it up and pop it into the garden and enjoy the view. My others take much more effort. So not too bad for a very low cost scope really. No chance to try the starsense tho as too much cloud and wasn't long before the next lot engulfed everything. It does warn about the moon and suggests aiming elsewhere but that side of the visible sky for me was all cloud so it'll have to wait for another night.