DaveL59

Comparison of the S50 and Dwarf-II just came out.

2 minutes ago, LDW1 said:

For you maybe but checkin with ZWO and their workings.   Good Luck !  PS:  Its more than just something turning on, I sure you know, I will give you a 12 yr. old ipad it still turns on but after that ....... .

well for the tele/fisheye adaptor I see it as much the same as sticking a barlow in the optical train, just on the front of the scope rather than the eyepiece. Whether it'd be useful who knows till someone tries it...

2 minutes ago, Elp said:

This is one of the issues I have with the Seestar, it's only going to be as useful as long as the software continues to work. Yes it's a budget device, but do you like spending a few hundred of pounds on a product only for it to be rendered useless a few years later at no fault to the mechanics of the device?

it may be possible to run the app on a PC under the droid emulator, not sure if anyone's tried/done that as yet. In which case even if the mobile device is replaced it may still be possible to run the older droid OS and app emulated in that way.

1 minute ago, Elp said:

And here's me using 50 year old camera lenses that should be obsolete...

hehe all of my Minolta ones are AF and pre 1987 but I've a few M42's that are from the 60's and they work great. So the tech has changed at the back end, but glass is glass and so long as it bends the light just so... 😉 

3 minutes ago, LDW1 said:

No matter how old they are they will likly turn on but when the company quits  supporting, stops updates what do you think happens in its actual operation, its capabilities.

not much positive to add huh? 😞

Just because the maker ain't sending updates, doesn't mean it just ceases to function. Heck my CCTV cameras haven't had an update in 7-10 years and they just work. My old Note-3 phone that I got in 2012 still worked as-was, I just decided to blow a newer droid version onto it since it was no longer my primary phone once I got the note-10. My old Note-1 also still works just fine, the only issue is if an app I may want requires a later droid version for whatever reason.

As for the tele lens add-on, well I wonder how the likes of Minolta and co feel about folks adding these things onto expensive glass they developed? The fact that I can turn my 50mm £200 (original price) lens into a fisheye for little outlay (that cost me around £12 a while back) gives the option of a bit of fun should I feel the desire to. Sure it won't be the ultimate in optical brilliance but seeing what might be possible is worth the adventure IMHO.

5 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

My 22 year old Japanese car still works fine, so a 10 year old tablet ought to work OK IMHO.  The rapid obsolescence of electronic devices, usually because of software updates, is annoying.

I wonder if upgrading the OS if one's available in XDA might be worth a shot, of course that'll have some limitations but maybe worth a go. Updated my note 3 to a more recent android a while back which made it a bit more useful as a small tablet tho I didn't try loading the S50 app on it yet as I'd be using the Lenovo P11-plus for that. Don't see much point loading it on my note-10+, why struggle with such a "small" screen 😉 

The old iPad (original) I have is just about junk, apps crash frequently and that was the case back in 2012 so it's only viable use has been to run VNC to give a gigger screen to use when aligning/focusing the CCTV cameras here.

Just curiosity here, but the opening where the solar filter goes, anyone able to measure the diameter and is it threaded?

I know it ain't for planetary etc, but I wonder if that old Jessops fisheye/tele/macro lens I have (screws onto an existing camera lens) might give the S50 a little extra reach with it configured as 2x tele. I'll likely give it a go if I can find a way to get it to stay in place, just to see what happens - well if I remember in a couple months time that is 😉 

23 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Trouble is that celesteon are probably shifting more scopes now with the Starsense unit and the markup must be pretty good.

To be fair, amatuer astronomers have basically said the phone holder/mirror thing is worth +/-£180 since most people will buy the scope just for the Starsense.  They'd be loopy to sell a standalone for much less.

bear in mind also, all the extras they can convince you to buy like the eyepiece set etc. Best to get the same brand as you know it'll work properly etc 😉 

15 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

I'm assuming using starsense removes any metal object interference you might get with push to using say skyeye pro or google sky map

It does, since it plate solves rather than relying on just the phone sensors. It seems to use those to track your movement of the OTA as directed then will solve again to home in closer to the target.

I had a play with Skyeye and it worked pretty well in the main but then most of my scopes aren't magnetic other than the TAL100RS but there I was using a stand-off arm which helped. Getting things well aligned is a faff tho where the starsense is fairly simple, just drag your finger on the screen to line up the target during setup and away you go.

2 hours ago, M40 said:

No charger with the device but it does come with a usb lead. I just have a simple 230v plug with a usb output and plugged it into that. I can't see why if you have a 12v battery pack with usb output it wouldn't work but it took mine about 3 hours to go from maybe 30% to fully charged. Hope it helps 

Will it run when plugged in to such an external power source, so it doesn't discharge or extends the run-time?

I vaguely recall seeing that being a possibility on one of the various vids tho can't exactly recall now.

2 hours ago, Stonecutter said:

Certainly...

 

Here is the auto stacked image saved directly onto device.

 

Very nice, I'd have been happy with that esp as I don't image so won't be looking much at "improving", at least initially. For sure my daughter and kids would be wowed to see something like this materialising on the screen. I can see mine being on long term loan or buying one for them to use in my future 😄 

we're using the taller tripod that the EQ5 or other mount goes on, not attaching it to the mount and making it EQ.

Handy to know re the app, I wonder if its available on google play yet as I didn't see it last I looked?

I was also thinking to get a EQ5 plate adaptor to mount it onto one of my taller tripods, would help with the fences in my small garden so will go look at that idea again 🙂 

edit - OK looking about, seems its not yet on the play store but download and installed it on the Lenovo P11 tablet from ZWO directly.

Wondering if this'd fit OK on the EQ5 tripods I have, being the older versions

Nice 🙂

I'll have a much longer wait given I only ordered one recently, but it'd have been hard to resist snapping the sun since it can. Good to prove its working and get some testing time in daylight after all, I did the same when I got the EQ5 SynScan, much easier than fumbling about in the dark. Hope you get some clear-ish nights to give it a test run against the stars too.

one on solar put up not long ago too

I can see that being useful for me, since looking at very bright targets isn't something I'd ever do normally, too much chance of poking the migraine bear when its as bright as the sun.

55 minutes ago, PeterW said:

No note on the local light pollution (though the near full moon was up) and boy did they let it accumulate for a LONG time… as a visual observer I’d have got bored after 5mins! Would be good to see what additional enhancement you can do in app, so you could run through a reasonable number of things in an evening. Playing with stuff on the computer is nice for when it’s cloudy though.
 

peter

He did mention that he'd heard a mosaic function may be in the plans which may be handy for some. Like you I'd not be wanting to spend an hour or more on one target, esp if I was using it for EEA, tho getting some images would be a bonus. I'm sure the grandkids would be bored after 10 mins on the same target too lol.

On the moon I did wonder given its not that wide a FoV could we maybe add some form of lens hood to cut the off-axis interference, tho if tis atmospheric glow it wouldn't help much.

I recall a comment earlier in the thread about humidity and I've been wondering on that too, as it's rarely been below 70% here lately. Hopefully it'll cope OK 🙂

I see a new vid has been put on the tube just 30 mins ago

I decided to throw in an order to FLO for one of these today. Sounds good from the reviews on youtube tho time will tell IRL once it arrives, whenever that'll be. For me I'm visual but not-so-dark skies, aging eyes and a day working on a screen leaves the eyes a bit jaded these days, so it'll be a handy EEVA tool perhaps and some fun for my daughter and grandkids to be able to see stuff they'd not manage on the Starsense LT70 etc., esp from SE London.

perhaps the wrong section there, old chap? 🙂

In one of my domes I use some ceramic resistors that are fed 12v, can't recall the spec I went with now but it should be on the el-cheapo sky cam thread. The camera itself is a USB webcam innards and other than snowy nights the dome has been kept clear of fogging up without using lots of heat. I do have it fed via a temp and dawn/dusk controller that's external so its only on either at night or below a set temp.

One day I may replace the camera part with either a spare Logitech C720 or stump up for a proper astro unit, but the way the skies here are more grey than black now I'm not sure its worth doing any more.

Is there a particular reason you want the goto kit, or would a push-to suffice? 

There's a couple ways to do that with an android phone on a cradle mounted to the scope that would get you close to or on target. Then a simple RA motor would keep the object in the eyepiece view.

we can all breathe a sigh of relief now, ET has phoned home and NASA is back in control 🙂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66408851

Given we're talking one of the founders of an outfit that ignored all warnings and advice re their carbon fibre sub that imploded at the Titanic... what could possibly go wrong? 😄

methinks I'll pass, thanks 🙂

Depending on age, canada balsam and there is an issue with lens separation but usually looks quite different and starts at the edge. Doesn't usually affect the view at least. Here's a pic of one of my TAL finderscopes that shows it.

The pics shown by the OP tho do look a little filament-like so quite possibly fungus. Of course by now it may well have etched the coatings and glass but if cleaned up may not impair the view. In fact it probably doesn't even now so just killing will be a good thing. If it gets really bad then sure, loss of contrast etc esp looking at bright objects will be the effect as well as worse damage to the glass. Will of course hit resale value

A couple hours on a sunny window ledge should do it, perhaps repeat a couple times if you feel the need.