Len1257

The best camera is the one that you can afford. I have a 2600MC and a 071MC. The pixel size is slightly larger on the 071 and the file sizes smaller. The small amount of amp-glow is easily removed by calibration frames. Just search on Astrobin for images taken with an 071. With your ZS61 it will be slightly undersampled and the 2600 would be slightly better in that respect. Depending on your seeing probably not worth worying about. Having said all that, the annual ZWO sale is on and the price gap is currently down to £400 between the 071 and 2600.

When remote I use a 36Ah LiFePO4 battery. Powers a HEQ5 or GEM45 mount (with GT-81), two dew heaters, ASI2600MC, ASI EAF, Guide Cam and (via a convertor) a 19v Intel i5 NUC. Lasts a full night and judging from the output voltage probably would do 1/2 the next. Once the initial mount slews are done tracking doesn't take so much. The dew heaters and NUC are the more constant load. The battery management on a LiFePO4 battery prevents you running it down. 10V or so and it cuts off. Not a problem if it lasts all night anyway.

That's your problem then. Constraining the size is a restriction you are placing upon yourself. You could easily re-hash the physical layout to make it more thermally efficient. Your flat minimal height layout isn't helping at all. Then making it out of plastic is another shot in the foot. This is what I use. Nevada Power Supply Note how the case is the heatsink. You can buy thermally efficient finned aluminium cases in all sorts of sizes. Maybe your underlying problem is actually your battery. If it drops below your quoted 12.5V and it's a lead-acid one then maybe look for one that holds up better under load like a suitably rated LiFePo4 one? When I'm away from home I use a 36Ah one that easily lasts a full night supplying my rig. Definitely a more expensive solution and the battery managment system will chop the supply off if you should exceed it's minimum voltage. Can't remember offhand how far my volts drop though, I'de have to dig my notes out.

Not sure that you need all of that circuit complication but............. Linear regulators always generate heat, nature of the beast. Get a fan in there at least. The old 'standard' heavy current supplies we used in our 1970's mini computers at work had multiple 2N3055's in parallel with suitable sharing resistors. But I guess your heat issue is the heatsinks in your photo look positively puny with a constrained air flow. Better to get a heatsink that can be bolted to a wall of your case with fins to the outside and mount your Q1 and Q4 with insulated mica's to that. Something like a Fischer Elektronic SK48 65 x 20 x 50mm at 2.8C/W or equivalent. Some on Ebay £6.39. I would have looked for one that maybe was wider with room for two devices and spanned across the side of your case. Lots of choice out there. Rapid Online Heatsinks have lots of variety. Else get a PC fan!

What is that thin wispy wire thing between the SynScan logo on the board and D5?

The RC is an open tube so not like a refractor at all. Cooldown just the same as any open tube jobby. By the time I've set all the rest of the gubbings up, done a polar alignment and platesolved a few targets I reckon it's pretty much there.

Definitely a vote for Octoprint. Being able to view progress via the Pi camera alone makes it worthwhile. My printer is in a different room and being able to remote in is invaluable. Mine runs on a RPi-3B just fine. Getting hold of any sort of Pi seems to be difficult at the moment though.

Just for completeness here's the belt drive focuser. Another 3D printed mount.

Actually got around to taking some pictures! The handle is a WDS Handle and shortened from the next size up. I lifted it on a couple of 3D risers to clear the side-saddle plate that my electrics modules are velcroed to. I had to drill and tap the Vixen bar to suit M8. The 3D modules are for power distribution and dual dew heaters. The other two images show the 50mm and 25mm extension tubes + tilt Plate + 90mm adapter + Baader SteelTrack focuser + Baader Clicklock + ZWO filter Drawer + ZWO camera. As can be seen the focuser is almost fully in and the auto focus has enough scope with what is showing. I bought A Stellalyra carbon tube so can't comment on any others except that they were more expensive when i bought mine. Ordered in Jan and came in Feb.

I fitted a cut-down handle from WDS Components (as recommended on here!) on a couple of 3D risers at the rear of the top Vixen bar and then a guidescope to the front half of the same bar. I needed a clamp-on counterweight added to the bottom Losmandy bar to achieve balance. I had some pictures somewhere but typically can't find them, I'll take some more later. The short handle is just fine as all the weight is at the rear of the scope. The risers were needed as my lecky boxes sit side saddle in the same location. Picture's worth any number of words.........

Just a thought on the possible causes for this failure. I might have misunderstood but are you saying that your power supply is in the workshop and the measured 13.8V is at the power supply or at the mount? I don't think you have said how far your cable run is? In any case, one failure we had when I was still working was due to a local lightning ground strike. The induced voltages in any buried cables in this scenario can reach stupid values and can easily fry connected equipments. The stable door shutting involved fitting protective equipment that would probably have cost more than your total observatory. I guess you would have mentioned any such occurence. If your PSU is in the workshop then just for voltage drop reasons it would be better situated at the observatory end and in the case of induced voltage the PSU 'might' act as an extra layer of protection.

In the description for each strap they quote the voltage and wattage. ie 12V and 3W, so 0.25A or 250mA. Of course this varies for each size.

For none critical parts I just tap into a predefined hole. For mechanical structures I embed nuts into the material. Easy to use the Cura Infil Mesh tool to reinforce the area. Just have to create some basic support structures. Tried heating the nuts in but not a fan, results variable to say the least!

The issue with the 3D printed bracket should be sorted out with FLO, they are usually very helpful! Have you seen this list of focuser fitments? eaf-support-list Must be a nightmare when every focuser on the market has a different pattern of holes. However if you have: then that should be sorted out first. No off the shelf electronic focuser is going to work optimally if you have the tension screwed up tight. I have three scopes with rack and pinion focusers and they all perform faultlessly with the EAF.

Thanks for the help and explanation. I really had no idea what I was looking for. From the stretched image it seems to be visually like a open cluster. I was looking for something more traditionally 'galaxy' shaped!

Despite the guide circle I'm still not sure which is the target? Just an observation but I just compared my RC8 / ASI071 field of view to your FLT98 / ASI6200 and it looks as though you are making it very difficult for yourself? Looks as though you would get a much better field of view for this subject with your LX200GPS unless the wide field is what you are after?

I concur. Astroberry was fine when it worked. The issues I had were just so frustrating. Imaging time in the UK is scarce as it is, to lose it because of equipment flakyness is just not acceptable. NUC and NINA haven't skipped a beat since I switched.

Captive nuts are easy to implement, wouldn't do it any other way except tapping the PLA+ / PetG directly. For enclosures that works fine, nuts for mechanicals. Don't know what you have used but I have had very poor results with some of the cheapo ebay buck converters and moved to Pololu devices. More cost but better reliability.

I was looking for a dovetail clamp a while back and the ADM version was out of stock. Got some from Altair. Good quality and a lot cheaper. Maybe they have something that will fit?

Might be old tech but works perfectly well and cheaper! I have it and a 2600MC and use the 071 where the larger pixel size is a benefit. No issues with it at all.

Went out just to check I had locked the shed as it was going overhead. It seemed extraordinarily bright against the still not fully dark sky, just Arcturus and a few other bright stars visible. Great capture!

Sometimes 3D printing doesn't turn out the way we want! My Bullseye fan duct came loose and dragged on the print, then self destructed as the bracket arm broke. The print joined in and it too side shifted. So I had to superglue the duct arms back together so that I could make a new one out of PLA+ and then get back to PETG for the bracket. It will be used to mount my SQM+ to an aluminium pole outside. These things are sent to try us 😉

My Berlingo is just a standard version with the normal floor but it is level without a raised lip. I don't use it for a dob but with the rear seats out it has a massive boot space with a relatively high roof line. My seats just unlatch, no bolts involved?

Despite my seeming to be an EAF enthusiast I have had a QC issue that I took up with FLO. The last EAF that I purchased had a distinct bevel to the mounting face. Looked as though it had been finished on a linishing machine. First couple came with a dead-flat mirror finish, this one was essentailly curved across the mating surface. The result tilted the drive shaft perceptibly out of true. I just skimmed the surface flat on my mill and sorted it out. If anyone gets one that doesn't lie flat to the bracket then kick it back to FLO pronto. Other than that mine have, as previously said, worked flawlessly.

The ZWO EAF comes with a standard L shaped bracket and costs £184 from FLO. As I use NINA for control and use HFR increase to trigger auto-focus runs I don't need a manual controller and don't use the temperature sensor. So no, £184 it is. As for moving stuff about I would much ratjher set up the focuser profile in NINA for each system and I'm definitely not messing about recaibrating my focusers before use. YMMV of course.