Varavall

16 minutes ago, StuartT said:

When I connect my telescope, I have to check Windows Device Manager to see what Prolific COM port has been assigned and then make sure that is selected in ASCOM.

But ASCOM only has COM ports up to 16, so what happens when Windows has given it a number higher than that?

 

Try this https://www.startech.com/en-eu/faq/change-com-port-number-windows

I pull and push my usb cables in/out of the computer and shutdown with all connected without problems. The point to remember is that COM ports are assigned to devices at each usb port, so if you have a hub as well at the telescope the cables need to be connected to their same ports at the hub and the cable from the hub connected to the same usb port on the computer each time. That way the COM port for each device remains static. Hope that makes sense!

27 minutes ago, bomberbaz said:

I have no experience with these kind of things but I read the blurb and it seemed ok. Not sure what it all means though so maybe you can help out here.  See below

Designed to easily test and read the correct cable pin out configuration.
This cable tester can accurately test USB/LAN, RJ45 multi-modular cables.
The LAN/USB cable tester tests RJ11/RJ12 cable please use the appropriate adapors and follow the above procedure, so you can use it very easy and correct.
It can easily clarify cable, continuity, open and short. The remote unit allows you to test cables installed far away with the auto-test mode and with the easy to read 9 LED indicators for testing each pin.

The tester only seems to check pin-out, that is each internal cable is connected to the correct pin. This will not help to determine if the cable functions correctly in use. I had intermittent problems with my rig (10m run USB connection for EFW, EAF, ZWO 1600MM, ZWO 120MC, HEQ5) and my solution was a Startech powered  industrial 10m USB 3 cable connected to the 1600MM and connecting the EFW and HEQ5 to the USB hub on the camera and the rest of the kit to a USB 2 hub connected to a powered USB 2 10m cable. So that's 2 cables to the PC. Forget about Amazon basics cables and hubs, good for 50cm!

2 hours ago, SlimPaling said:

Hi ...

I have several USB cables linking up my scope, camera, focuser, etc. to my computer .... and I would like to check if all of these cables are working 100%.

I have been having some intermittent problems with my set-up and I suspect that I might have some iffy USB cables. 

Rather than just buying a load of new replacement cables willy-nilly are there any simple USB cables testers available out there???? I can't spot any so far 😞

Mike

 

Hi

From my experience as an IT consultant in a former life, a cheap tester will show continuity but not how the cable would function in real life.  Are you using USB3 and how long are the individual cables and how long is the run to the PC?

11 minutes ago, barbulo said:

All in Pixinsight. I’ve been using it for a couple of months and still getting the grip on it.
The color palette is the result of a balanced mixture of a pure SHO and a variation of one of this dynamic combinations. This method gave me a satisfactory result with my first mono project, but this time I am not so pleased. I’ll reprocess it in the future. 

OK. I'm a GIMP user so my comments would not be of much help here. You've got some nice nebulosity to work on, so I await to see the reworked image. 

2 hours ago, barbulo said:

Hi all, 

This is my second project in NB. 8h 35m captured in 3 different nights.
59x300s Ha. 
23x300s OIII. 
21x300s SII. 
Not very pleased with the colors. 
Comments always welcome.

What software for processing and is it SHO, HSO.....?

1 hour ago, Mr Thingy said:

Hello SGL,

I'm looking for a bit of help on diagnosing a problem that's emerged recently, leading to spoilage of about 50% of my images in my last 2 sessions. The effect are stars that either have a line coming from them in specific direction, like when the mount is jolted, or they appear with a second image above each star, like it lost position for a short period before correcting. Stupidly I junked the pictures so I have no samples to share.

What is strange is that some images are absolutely fine.

I'm looking for some advice on where to start looking for a diagnosis - maybe some of you have experienced and fixed this?

Some info:

- polar aligned via a Polemaster so I'm confident it was well aligned

- I noted in the title that I have a guiding issue but I don't rule out a mechanical issue. An option I have is to try without guiding to see if the issue continues.

- HEQ5 (belt upgrade). Guiding with PHD2.

- Clear skies - no interference on guiding from clouds.

TIA

-Thingy-

Hi.

I have the same mount as you. Have you tuned out the backlash of the worm drives? I had a similar problem once and there were of a couple of things: 1) a cable snagging on the head of the mount RA circle locking screw; I found that by slewing the mount to stars in opposite sides of the meridian and carefully watching what was happening to the cables; and 2) a counterweight thumbscrew was grazing the declination adjuster screw head. As said above, a picture and a log is worth a thousand words!

Here's my homemade pillar mount for my HEQ5 Pro. I can sit on it and it doesn't budge, so guess it would hold an EQ6 too. Cost under £30 to make.

18 hours ago, pipnina said:

Hi!

I set up my HEQ5 synscan and it seems to be maintaining tracking quite well, since I have had my camera shooting for hours now and orion is still in the same spot (save me going out to nudge it on RA/DEC via the handset to pseudo-dither), but every picture shows stars that look considerably bloated or even stretched out!

I will attach images here shortly (once I've retrieved the SD card when the battery in the camera dies in the next hour or so) which might help you guys help me work out what's wrong.

I tried my best to make sure RA/DEC are balanced, double checked the clutches are tight, the air in my garden is quite still. I did the two-star alignment and it's only set to sidereal rate and not sidereal+PEC. I seem to have rather random luck as to whether the mount will produce sharp images with good tracking or perform horrendously like this! It's on grass but I always give it a good wiggle and press into the dirt before I start polar and 2-star alignment.

I have even checked for dewing (and de-spidered it, that guy worked fast!) and re-focused it a few times. It looks quite sharp in the camera live screen but any 2 minute shot I take comes out looking just as bad! Any tips for making my setup more consistently performant? Any ideas what might be causing this issue with the mount because everything I can think of that I can control comes up fine : (

Any ideas appreciated!

I started out with the HEQ5 Pro, SW 200pds and a Nikon D5200 and generally I could really only manage 60 second subs without problems. Some days could make it to 5 minutes but they were few and far between. Yes, now I guide, done a Rowan belt upgrade and have a half decent cooled camera. But before you shell out the money for guiding, you could do a few things in the meantime. Adjust the backlash out of the worm gears; ensure a good balance of the rig (the tube is rotated so the camera is on the mount side?); get a good polar alignment (the polar scope does a reasonable job if used with a polar scope app); and if possible set up the scope permanently ( I made a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium and cover up with a clamshell motorbike cover). Taking down and setting up the rig is a pain and is a cause of continuous errors; if permanently setup, each error can be addressed leading to less stress and more observing time. I hope I have given you some food for thought.

On 05/02/2022 at 19:22, Eruliaf said:

Good afternoon all. I have been struggling recently with gradients across my images - which I just put down to moonlight. I managed to get some time imaging last night, and noted that my darks are coming out very strange (see image below).

Any pointers on where this issue is likely to be stemming from - light getting into the scope, camera issues, user error? Or, is this normal and I have still got lots more to learn!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I have a SW 200pds and I had the same issue as you are having. Light was entering around the primary mirror, so I made a "shower cap" out of black butyl rubber (cut from old tractor inner tube) for the mirror end of the tube. Problem solved.

1 hour ago, BrendanC said:

Sure, I can do the same (kind of) in APT - shoot, plate solve, it tells me the degrees I'm out by, rotate, iterate.

What I'm trying to do is work out how much I should rotate the camera before I go outside! I really like using Stellarium to plan the framing and timing, so, let's say I want to do M42, and I find that, according to Stellarium, the best framing for that is to rotate the frame by 90 degrees. Now, given that my camera is usually in its nice 'neutral' position so that it's aligned with the scope, is it possible to convert the Stellarium rotation into camera rotation? That is, if Stellarium says 90 degrees, by how much from the neutral position do I rotate my camera?

Or, to put it another way, how should I rotate my camera on my scope so that it's at zero degrees when I take a shot? That might be an easier way to express this actually.

My instinct tells me it should be a simple case of taking shots in the neutral position, at several different spots in the sky, and if they all agree then I'm right in that there is a constant conversion factor and it should be fairly easy.

But as with so many things in this game, I'm also prepared to believe that it isn't easy! I'd also rather not waste time having to take shots and figure this out myself. So, I just wondered if someone could, you know, just tell me!

If the framing doesn't fit the target, I tend to do a mosaic and crop the image rather than upset the balance of the rig. But if there's a few hundred quid lying around, a Pegasus rotator will solve the problem every time 😉 Well, on thinking about it, rotating the filter wheel along with the camera must alter the balance even a little, so perhaps problem created 🤔

46 minutes ago, BrendanC said:

Hi all,

Not really sure how to express this, but I'll try.

I'd like to be able to get my camera roughly in the right orientation before a shoot, so that if, for example, I need the frame to be rotated at 75 degrees to frame an object nicely according to Stellarium, I can get the camera somewhere near that before I start.

I have a nice 'flat' position for my camera in which it's aligned along the scope ie so that the top/bottom longer edges of the camera are aligned with the scope lengthways (a Newtonian - which makes this more complicated, in my mind). I've been trying to get shots, and then plate solve them, to find out what this flat position actually equates to in terms of degrees rotation according to the equatorial grid. Then it should be a simple calculation to say 'this is your flat position on the scope, which equals X degrees in the sky, so to rotate it to Y degrees, just rotate it Z degrees on the scope'.

However, I've not had enough nights to do this recently, and thought what the hey, perhaps someone can tell me whether this is possible on the SG forum! Before I waste time, effort and tears on trying to work out something that seems to be easy but turns out to be hard/impossible.

I'm assuming it would be a consistent rotation conversion no matter where the camera is pointing? Or, does it depend on where in the sky I'm pointing and/or where on the planet I am?

If so, does anyone happen actually to know what the rotation conversion might be? As in, has anyone done this before?

Am I making any sense here?

Thanks, Brendan

Hi

I don't know about Stellarium, but with NINA you can set it so it will plate solve and tell you how many degrees to turn the camera for framing. Look here https://nighttime-imaging.eu/docs/master/site/tabs/equipment/rotator/ Maybe that'll help!

11 minutes ago, almcl said:

How do you match the different flats from the various sessions to their respective lights?

There's an option under darks and flats tabs to "Classify by date for master creation". Then ASTAP picks the correct dark/flat when stacking. Well that's what I understand is what happens. I could be wrong but my images seem OK.

17 hours ago, almcl said:

ASTAP is another free alternative.  It doesn't do multi session stacking properly, unlike DSS and it is mind numbingly slow (over an hour to process an image that DSS can handle in 5 minutes) but the results otherwise are OK.

If you find Siril  too bad (and I hate script and CLI based software) then Sirilic gets round some of the problems, although it spends ages copying files from one directory to another and then then doesn't tidy up afterwards.

ASTAP seems to do multi session stacking for me and in a speedy fashion. Maybe its down to how beefy the computer is!

36 minutes ago, Lucas Barclay said:

I took 60 20 second exposures in red, green and blue totaling to 180 20 second exposures. Here is a list of the equipment I used!

Camera - ASI178mm

Telescope - William optics ZN73

Mount - Nexstar 5SE alt-az mount

Filters - RGB

Processed in astro pixel processor!

PS Take a look here for calculating optimum exposure times with an Alt-Az mount https://telescopemount.org/short-exposure-alt-az-astrophotography-learn-how-to-get-great-results/

9 minutes ago, Lucas Barclay said:

I took 60 20 second exposures in red, green and blue totaling to 180 20 second exposures. Here is a list of the equipment I used!

Camera - ASI178mm

Telescope - William optics ZN73

Mount - Nexstar 5SE alt-az mount

Filters - RGB

Processed in astro pixel processor!

Not at all bad for starters and with an alt-az mount. I would try and get some short exposure shots so the centre and trapezium are not blown out; maybe 10 seconds or even shorter. Experiment! M42 is a challenging target because of the differing light intensities. I have been working on it for 6 months (well not fully as lots of inclement weather), and bit by bit things improve, however I still have much to learn about my rig and processing. My photo is a NB image and I took 10 second images to get the centre. I process in ASTAP and GIMP.

9 minutes ago, Lucas Barclay said:

Recently I took this image of the Orion nebula and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! The image is false coloured since I use a monochrome camera (ASI178mm) but I think it still looks pretty good! I'd be happy to hear your opinions and any improvements you would recommend!

Hi

What equipment did you use and exposure times, etc.? Then comments can be made more specifically.

10 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Throughout the whole of the pandemic I have been living in a 3rd storey flat which does have a south facing balcony, but I have had a very limited viewing window on the sky for some time and it's been impossible to use any of my lovely refractors other than the little Vixen A62ss grab and go. This has all been very frustrating and me and my partner have been looking to move somewhere more suitable.

Finally I think I have found the right place and am all set to move next week. It will soon be time to dust off my scopes and give them some starlight. I'm so excited, here's the view of the garden from my, soon to be upstairs window, facing south, overlooking farmland. 😃

 

Looks a nice flat site to build a housing estate 🤣

3 minutes ago, alacant said:

@laser_jock99's telescope. I would guess aluminium.

**Please note that this thread is about the OP's SW 200pds. This particular bit is about a GSO model; I doubt whether the reinforcement plate would be necessary on the OP's sw steel tube.

Yes, its aluminium alloy. Light and strong but not there for reinforcement, its to take the guide scope. Yes I know thread is about a 200pds as that is what I have and that is what is in the photo.

 I have a the very same rig. As you can see in the photo it can be loaded with all the kit you may wish for. I have done the collimation,  Rowan Belt mod and adjusted the backlash out of the drives, and I made a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium to minimise risk of collisions with tripod legs. For guiding I started by using the 9x50 finder scope with QHY5L II C, but I have now bolted a TS optics 80mm finder/guider scope to the top which gives better pixel ratio for guiding, plus an additional lump of steel as an extra counterweight. I can do 10 minute guided subs without problems. Of course the tube is a sail when the wind blows and it can rock a bit. All in all I am very happy with it's performance., I configure NINA and go to bed and wake to all the marvelous images to process (well if no computer or weather glitch 😉). I have only been into mono imaging for 6 months so there is still a lot to learn about the rig, but I attach a photo I took recently in LRGB SHO of the Crab nebula.  It's a scope that provides enjoyment without breaking the bank, well at least until you start mono AP!

Hi

I'm a bit late to the party, but I have a the very same rig. As you can see in the photo it can be loaded with all the kit you may wish for. I have done the collimation,  Rowan Belt mod and adjusted the backlash out of the drives, and I made a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium to minimise risk of collisions with tripod legs. For guiding I started by using the 9x50 finder scope with QHY5L II C, but I have now bolted a TS optics 80mm finder/guider scope to the top which gives better pixel ratio for guiding. I can do 10 minute guided subs without problems. Of course the tube is a sail when the wind blows and it can rock a bit. All in all I am very happy with it's performance. I have only been into mono imaging for 6 months so there is still a lot to learn about the rig, but I attach a photo I took recently in LRGB SHO.  It's a scope that provides enjoyment without breaking the bank, well at least until you start mono AP!

Well the clouds and sun are moving in the sky, so maybe this qualifies 🙄

Equipment: Nikon D610 with AF-S NIKKOR 17-35mm f2.8 D at 17mm, ISO100

Time lapse of 15s  over 5 hours. 1250 frames at 24 fps. 30 January

Equipment: Skywatcher 200pds, Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Rowan modded, QHY5L-II-C guide camera on 30mm Skywatcher finder,  ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool, ZWO EFF with Astrodon LRGB 1.25", Astrodon Ha 5nm 1.25", Optolong O III and S II 6.5nm 1.25", ZWO EAF

Great Orion Nebula many nights 4-28 January, Gandesa, Tarragona, Spain

-15C, Gain 200, Bin 1x1

Ha 11x60s 14x120s 8x300s, S II 11x180s 9x600s, O III 14x60s 13x120s

Hi folks

Here is the first of my attempts 6 months in from starting mono ( the weather in sunny Spain is not always clear skies!), but the dreadful viewing has given me time to see what NINA, ASTAP and GIMP can do, but I still have a long journey ahead and at my age this beats sudoku to stave off the alzheimer's or so I hope 🤪

Equipment: Skywatcher 200pds, Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Rowan modded, QHY5L-II-C guide camera on 30mm Skywatcher finder,  ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool, ZWO EFF with Astrodon LRGB 1.25", Astrodon Ha 5nm 1.23", Optolong O III and S II 6.5nm 1.25", ZWO EAF

Horsehead image taken 23 January, Gandesa, Tarragona, Spain

-15C, Gain 200, Bin 1x1

Ha 7x600s , R 9x60s, G 8x60s, B 8x60s 

Software: NINA, ASTAP, GIMP

On 02/01/2022 at 11:26, 900SL said:

I'm certain a small lathe and mill would pay for itself over the years in this hobby, given the cost of astronomical accessories. Or is that the astronomical cost of accessories? 

Good improvisation there. I picked up some of the Vixen parts (slide rail, counterbalance bar) and cobbled a counterweight together for my Fornax using TS Optics pan heads etc. Have radial adjustment in RA and Dec now, but ended up costing a couple of hundred euro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice looking bit of kit! Yes, my milling machine has earned it's keep. A lathe would be useful, but with a rotary chuck I can machine circular bits and bobs; a bit more fiddly and slower but a lot cheaper.

On 01/01/2022 at 15:27, heathenwoods said:

Yeah! I'd definitely like to see the specs. The Vixen accessory prices are crazy so I'd love to hear about other solutions 🙂

Hi, sorry for the slow response. I attach a couple of photos with dimensions, etc.  which may help. The cube part is 50mm X 50mm X 50mm. and the arm is 10mm thick with a 1/4" hole drilled at one end to take the screw to hold the ball head. As I own a milling machine I machined a slot in the arm to facilitate adjustment. If you don't have access to a milling machine or someone with one, you could just drill a series of 10mm holes along the length of the arm for adjusting balance. The counterweight is just a lump of aluminium weighing 1Kg; I calculated the weight I would need for my setup, but 1Kg is sufficient for a 5-6Kg load at its furthest extension. If any further info required, just ask. Happy machining!