TerryMcK

A ZWO120MM mini will be fine for a reflector as a planetary or lunar camera as that is what it is designed for. In the future you will also be able to use it as a guide camera on a German equatorial mount. It shoots high speed video as well as longer exposure stuff and is relatively cheap. I’ve used mine in my 200p to capture the moon and planets.

I've just ordered a replacement 25/30 amp power supply for the astro rig. I noticed the voltmeter on the original one had a bit of a hunting wobble where it appeared to go from 12 volts to 14 volts then stabilised back to 13.8. I put a voltmeter on the output and sure enough it was varying in voltage over a few seconds. Not very good for a "stabilised" power supply. I've had it for years and it was originally used to power my amateur radio equipment until I replaced it with a switched mode PSU in 2015. I couldn't be bothered opening it up to find whatever dodgy component is on its way out. So I've bought another switched mode jobby for the imaging rig from Nevada Radio https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007CHAQ44 It's got a couple of terminals on the back with integral sockets that will also take 4mm banana plugs that my flats generator has.

I've never used a colour camera as a guider before. Normally they are monochrome due to the increased sensitivity. You could try it out.

No I didn’t get anything as I normally do.

In most capture programs like APT or BackyardEOS it tells you the actual temperature of the sensor. When I use the DSLR I tend to do a sub of 2 to 3 minutes and leave a delay of about 20 seconds between frames to allow the sensor to cool. DSLR sensors can get quite hot with long exposures. You may find it beneficial investing in a cooled astronomy camera. Mine can achieve 40 to 45C below ambient. The cooler the sensor the less noise you get in your subs.

There is an ASCOM driver for the ZWO EAF so it should work fine with APT https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/software-drivers

Normally get rid of dust bunnies by taking flats and putting them in the stacking software. You can clean the sensor yourself with a blower brush or better still a can of compressed air specifically for cleaning photographic equipment. Set the camera to bulb mode, remove the lens and depress the shutter release. The shutter blades will open. While holding the release button down carefully spray the air onto the sensor. Try to hold the front of the camera oriented down so any dust or hairs fall by gravity away from the sensor. Let go of the shutter release, spray once again to clear the cavity and it should be good. Repeat if you can still see dust in the sensor. It takes only a few minutes to carefully do this yourself.

It only goes off when you repeatedly press F1 to dim the display untilthe display goes black roll of gaffer tape needed

Just tried turning off the apple logo on my macbook and it actually is the same backlight as the display. Tinternet advises putting a sticker over the logo. Newer MacBooks don’t have the illuminated logo to make the lid thinner.

Could be. The viewfinder cover normally works well but the Mac logo light may be sneaking in. I’m sure that can be turned off with the brightness key that controls the brightness of the keyboard.

This one from Lindy I bought a few years back is industrial quality in a metal case and has been bomb proof - pricy though but I can recommend it. 7 ports not 4 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0038JR1H0

Difficult to say in that case as it should have been calibrated out in DSS. It has the appearance of what one would see sometimes on a single sub but again DSS would get rid of that one frame. As you say you will recheck the subs - hope it shows something up that you may have missed first time around.

What sort of filter, if any, are you using?

Wow - fabulous work Craig

I agree with bottletopburly that the 200pds is approaching the upper limit of the HEQ5 for Astrophotography- I know mine is but still doable when the wind is light (the 200pds is a big boat sail especially with a dew shield on). I tend to use my 200 primarily for planets and lunar. There can be further disadvantages to what initially appears to cheaper way into AP using a reflector which you have to cost in the constant need to collimate a reflector - a decent laser collimator is a great addition but again adds cost. Then you have to add a coma corrector to make the stars at the edge of the field appear round You are making the best start with the HEQ5 and I too recommend the Rowan belt upgrade. A smaller refractor up to 100mm will be well supported by the HEQ5 and is best for taking wider field DSO pictures which show objects in context. Nothing better than seeing a nebula or group of galaxies in one frame. The Rowan will give the ability of maybe achieving unguided subs of around 2 minutes with smaller aperture scopes at which point you will need want a guide scope/camera to get longer duration subs. Be warned though once the bug bites Astrophotography is not cheap

Looks like a great website/retailer. Thanks for the headsup

Some people place the handset into a little canvas bag suspended below the spreader

The 600D is also RGGB. You could try AstroPixelProcessor which is ported to Linux Debian and RPM as well as Winders and Mac OS

Paul is definitely right. EQ6 has a maximum payload capacity of 18kgs (40lbs) and for imaging the total weight of equipment carried should not exceed around two-thirds that.

Vey nice haul LordLoki

I bought 3 of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00004YOKC Tri-Dolly’s (one per leg) to shift the scope tripod in and out if the workshop really assembled. They came today and are ideal for smoothish concrete surfaces, not so good for rough ground as the castors are about 30mm diameter. Once the tripod is wheeled into position lift one leg of the tripod and remove. Repeat on the other remaining two and you are sorted. Capacity around 200lbs (90kg] per skate so 600lb (270kg) total. Not many rigs weigh that much! Mine weighs about 25kg to 35kg total including counter weights dependant upon which OTA I use. A little pricey, for what they are, and there are cheaper alternatives but these seem to be heavier duty than the Silverline ones for instance.

+1 from me for Annie’s Astro Actions

Congrats on the Polemaster. You won’t regret that one bit. And you can also fit it to your EQ6-R Pro which is on my list. That can take 20KG for imaging so covers lots of bases and is also belt drive like my HEQ5Pro Rowan. Lots of good features on the EQ6-R Pro for instance the power connector. Much better than a push in plug.

Just to add to my previous comment I use a separate imaging computer from the one I use to process the data. Apart from the fact that the imaging box does not need to be particularly high powered mine (the PC) has a 250GB SSD and the Raspberry Pi4 has 128GB card inside. That's what I read as being out in the field and I tend to start those with a clean(ish) slate. Is that what you meant? My processing computer has lots of local storage in the TB range but I transfer the data I want to keep to a server which has even more space (10's of TB).

I've never got to that situation - I try to start with a blank canvas but aware that can't always be done. However when I used to use primarily SLR I used to take darks before a session so could always delete them.