TerryMcK

My HEQ5Pro with Rowan belts is as quiet as a mouse. The only noise you hear when slewing is the gentle zuzz of the motors. Very quiet indeed!

The £9.98 subscription is the one I use and it has everything in it that you are likely to use for astrophotography. I also use it professionally so the ongoing monthly money cost is not an issue for me although it can be for a lot of people.

I found my Ekos/Kstars to crash after a recent update. Fortunately I worked out through a process of elimination it was the Lakeside focuser config.xml file that had become corrupt. I restored a backup of the file and all is well again.

Very nice work Carole. Sadly Orion and the Horsehead, when at the right place in the sky, are hidden by trees in my garden. Also my sensor would probably be totally washed out by a bright streetlight in the path. We had them pruned in January so might be able to have a go at the horsehead next year if I carefully reposition the scope and shielded it from that light.

It’s a difficult one to do and not blow out the main star when stretching. You’ve nailed it and it looks fantastic.

I have removed it (after months of being in place) to reposition somewhere else and it didn't leave any marks nor peel paint.

If you are using Velcro to mount anything to your scope/mount/tripod try to get this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M7P18HP as other lesser versions do have a tendency to come unstuck in time (not very long).

I also shortened the cables running to the dewheater controller as they were too long. I can disconnect about 4 cables from the scope and unzip the dewstraps and remove the scope and replace with another one very quickly. The cables stay in place.

Here is mine. Same scope (different colour) and mount but USB3 dedicated camera. The USB3 hub is one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L32B9C2/ no issues at all with it. The cables are held in place with these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DQLHVJX and these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B071G2BZXK. The cable harness is a combination of spiral wrap and cables cables held in place with hook and loop Velcro ties https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01DF3Y6GW The view around the other side for the other axis is much the same with a similar harness (slightly lighter as less cables) and there is another USB3 hub on the other side. I have kept the USB3 devices separate from USB2 devices so I doing get any timing issues.

It is indeed the ZWO ASI183MC OSC tonight.

M51 is the target I’m going for tonight with the same scope but different ZWO camera that gets in slightly closer (but not much!) Fabulous pictures @eshy76

I have a Pi4 with 4GB RAM and 128GB flash drive. I have been using Astroberry as an operating system with PHD2 to guide, KStars and EKOS to control the sessions. It is very easy to use and produces great results. You can sequence a number of targets over a session and it will automatically do everything once you set it up Slew to target focus plate solve calibrate PHD2 image meridian flip change to next target and repeat It's like Sequence Generator Pro but open source so free. I control the PI4 remotely using KStars for Windows running on a laptop inside the house. This connects to the Linux version of KStars running on the PI next to the telescope. You don't need to use a remote control like that as you can set everything up through a webbrowser running on anything (a smartphone can be used but probably too small). I have used an iPad to connect to the wifi running on the PI4 itself to do that. Or you can plug a cable into the Ethernet port and connect it to your home network (as I do). I have imaged for ages using a Windows laptop running software like AstroPhotographyTool, BackYardEOS or NINA and the use of the PI4 means I don't have to use a laptop outdoors anymore (I don't have a permanent observatory). The PI4 is inside a medium sized plastic storage box along with a power supply that supplies power to the scope/mount so is weatherproof. The PI4 has 2 USB3 ports and 2 USB2 ports so has all the connectivity most people will need. The addition of a USB (2 or 3) hub can of course expand that. Also you don't get anything like the equivalent of "Windows is now doing an update. Your computer may reboot several times" that takes place in the middle of an imaging session! It really is a no brainer.

+1 I also have a Nevada switched mode psu which replaced an older non switched mode psu. My rig never draws more than 4 amps at 13.8v. There is a meter on the PSU switchable between current and voltage. ZWO cooled camera, mount, dew straps x3

An interesting article from BBC News website showing photos from people photographing the night sky whilst it is free of aircraft. Regular people with smartphones or cameras set on long exposures pointing skywards and producing some great star trail pictures! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-52120114 Maybe more to the fold - who knows.

Much easier just to buy a SW 200p dob. FLO are currently selling them for around £289

I use one of these to house the power supply and another to house the laptop https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001O3PG6A Drill a hole in the side to let the cables in/out and it keeps all equipment dry and frost free. I turn the one that houses the laptop on its side so the lid can be removed whilst the laptop is open for viewing. Replace the lid when you have finished,

Interesting looking dob you have there. What are those parts attached to the left hand side of the scope in this picture? I refer to the long narrow objects one attached with a fork to a point near the aperture of the scope. Are the handwheels standard or something you have retrofitted? The current Sky-Watcher range doesn’t appear to have any of those attachments

I don't use the drift alignment tool so can't comment.

Yes

The calibration process works out which direction and how far to move the RA/DEC to keep the guide star on target. You can dismantle the telescope and tripod, move it somewhere else and when you reassemble the scope PHD2 still knows how far and in which direction to nudge the motors. That is assuming you keep the guide scope/guide camera in the same orientation and you haven’t changed that guide camera or guide scope.

Not bad at all. You can see some elongated stars which is understandable unguided. You will see a difference when you get a guide scope and guide cam.

I replaced all my bolts with 70mm long stainless steel M10 hex bolts. I just use a combination spanner to adjust. I was fed up with the stock ones catching my cable loom. I radius-ed the ends on my bench grinder.

Is there any reason why you wouldn’t consider a comparable refractor?

The Skywatcher Explorer 130p is 650mm and F5 but not carbon fibre. It is still lightweight though prob a steel tube.

I can recommend this one from TS Optics - it is great and well made - but it might be a bit too expensive https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0774PXK21/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1