gilesco

6 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

@gilesco So long as all units are of the same standard (AV1200 in your case) that works and a drop when crossing to the sub-net I guess you can't do much about other than use a LAN cable to bridge across, tho that kinda negates using them in the first place. The issue is more when folks mix say AV1200 with the older AV200/600 as then the entire EoP network slows to the lower standard.

The other thing I noticed that can/does affect performance is noisy electrical items on the mains wiring. I found that some LED bulbs would cause a 50% drop in data rate when they were turned on, for example but even then the link stayed operational. I do also have a wireless CCTV that operates in the 2.5GHz band but isn't wifi (discrete Rx box for the AV end) and that can be real neat if you wanna mess with a neighbours WiFi. Turn it on and they go dark 😉 

Yes, if you mix different standards and different manufacturers I have found that they generally work, but will step down to the lowest speed across the board, e.g. 2 devolo 1200+ and a Tplink 300Mbps, means that everything will operate at 300Mbps max.

If you're starting afresh then go with the latest and greatest and continue to match (as you can see, my home network has grown, but I started with just two of these devices until networking requirements around the house grew and grew).

I also eventually ran a Cat6 cable from the ground floor to the first floor of the house to ensure that throughput was even higher (RSTP takes care of ensuring it is used in preference to Powerline).

45 minutes ago, barbulo said:

I don’t think so. I’ve PCL on different circuits, and using a 10m cable on mount’s end. 
Very reliable method IMHO. Much better than any wifi extender I’ve tried. 

I have one consumer unit, and then another consumer unit which is a sub-unit of the first (due to an historical home extension). My devolo Powerline units still work throughout the house, although lower speeds to areas that are on the sub-unit.

I say slower, it is still by far faster and more reliable than my Wifi is.

Mine are a bit older than what is currently available, a mixture of the following:

https://www.devolo.co.uk/dlan-1200-powerline

https://www.devolo.co.uk/dlan-1200-wifi-ac-powerline

Dining Room and Conservatory are connected to the secondary consumer unit. (Dining Room shows up --- just because there's no device using it there).

9 hours ago, JOC said:

I'm guessing the cabin already had mains power supply

If it does, then a modern powerline rather than WiFi might be better (you can still mix powerline with Wifi, but the backhaul will be over powerline). All points need to be on the same consumer distribution unit.

https://www.devolo.co.uk/products/magic-powerline

I'm just going to recommend a cooled version, there's lots of reports that cooling is not necessary for the results, especially with some of the newer sensors out there, but bear this in mind:

When you start imaging the ambient temperature might be around 12 deg.

Half way through the night the ambient temperature might have dropped to 6 deg.

I notice a difference in the exposures taken uncooled as the sensor temperature changes through the night.

I only cool to around 10 to 20 less than the ambient temperature, not necessarily for the cooling, but for the temperature to be regulated throughout the night.

2 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

WiFi is unfortunately one of those things so many think will just work but for a lot of things its far from the ideal solution. In the industry we tend toward the view that if its fixed location then it should be wired if you expect it to be reliable. Walls can drastically effect coverage and signal strength as can any other active devices around that use that same signal band, for 2.4GHz that includes DECT phones etc.

There is an endless list of things that will interfere with WIFI networks, some only should interfere with 2.4Ghz bands, other will also affect the 5Ghz bands, but in truth all radio interference will interfere regardless of frequency.

Some of the things: Other wireless networks in the vicinity, be it wireless networks in your own home that you're not even aware of (yes these exist), or they might be wireless networks in your neighbours homes, and the more wifi extenders they install the more they will interfere with yours. Bluetooth can interfere as well, it's constantly frequency hopping can make issues very intermittent, and more likely to occur on devices that have both Bluetooth and Wifi capabilities. Any radio devices - Wireless door bells, video door bells, baby monitors, walkie-talkies list goes on. The Microwave oven - classic one this.

Then there is passive interference, walls, be they dry-wall, walls with metallic frames, concrete, bricks, thick timber. Further water radiators can cause havoc, especially if your APs / Extenders are situated on low level coffee or hall tables or worse on just plugged into low level plug sockets.

Further any electronic device will cause some radio interference, televisions, radios, computers, computer monitors... as I say the list is endless.

A shielded Category 5 / 5E or Cat 6 cable is eventually the only sure fast way of ensuring a reliable and fast connection - range of 100 metres without any degradation in signal.

Looks cool, expected more specs on their website e.g. output command format via the serial port (for INDI integration development) . Is it supposed to be hand held or fixed on on a mount? 

49 minutes ago, Steve143 said:

Looks like all ZWO products have just gone up in price. I have a few in my FLO wish list and every one has gone up! 

I didn't see that price increase announcement coming or I might have pulled the trigger on one of them.  

It might be a price rise due to exchange rate changes, Sterling has taken a real hammering recently, expect more across the board price rises I'm afraid...

40 minutes ago, 04Stefan07 said:

Harder to source the Nevada styled power supplies in Australia.

Would something like this be ok?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000321045609.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.69a03b31xZ2PBX&algo_pvid=2a80214f-72d5-40ba-b891-70b26d9dcc4a&algo_exp_id=2a80214f-72d5-40ba-b891-70b26d9dcc4a-3&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000025679236878"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!AUD!!127.74!!!!!%40210318d116552130779985276ea5e3!12000025679236878!sea

Looks very similar in spec to the Nevada PSW-30 - practically identical, although the Nevada can apparently deliver 25A continuous, while this one states 20A continuous.

They are both built for the same application - CB / Ham Radio Enthusiasts.

Well Hubble introduced the Hubble Palette, so I guess we will have a Webb palette, but would probably still expect nearly all images to be predominantly red, perhaps some oranges and yellows for contrast.

4 minutes ago, Avocette said:

I own both APP and PI. My choice these days is to use APP to load Lights, Darks, Flats, Dark Flats, perform Tab 3 Star Analysis to check the quality of my images (useful graphing functions) and then Tab 6 Integration to stack the best of them using the default settings. I use the Tools Tab 9 to Crop the result to get rid of dither edge effects, and then Tools Tab 9 Light Pollution Removal which is absolutely brilliant. Often I save a stretched version of this image as a jpeg to share directly with friends and that may satisfy me at least temporarily, especially if I’m keen on capturing more images of the target. I save all the final integration, crop and light pollution removed images as FITS files. When I am ready to carry out more processing, I import one or other of these FITS files into PI to make use of more delicate control with star removal as an option and also noise reduction. I am experimenting with GHS in PI.

I bought APP first, and later PI, I do the same - I work with Mono frames, so I tend to use APPs combine RGB tool + light pollution, then work on the resulting composite in PI - both linear and then non-linear.

Although I must add I'm very much still getting to grips with PI.

40 minutes ago, scotty38 said:

You missed Stuart's point.

I think he got the point, but was making his own, there are a lot of voices in this thread - making valid standalone points about what works for them, all getting replies about what worked for them didn't appear to work for others.

Kstars / INDI, NINA / ASCOM - they all work, just use what fits your prior computer experience.

32 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

According to the FaceBook page, the counterweight bar is now available on the ZWO website, https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/zwo-counterweight-bar. No doubt coming to a place near you soon .

Ian

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/category-537/zwo-counterweight-shaft-for-am5.html

FLO are quick...

Nice to see one set up in the video.

Do FLO have the counterweight and shaft on their website or compatible? Apparently the shaft needs to have a M12 screw.

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Couple of boxes from FLO. Suppose I’ll have to open them up and see what’s inside. 😁😁😁

 

Looks like an Evolux 82ED ?

The problems for HO UK have been in plain view for quite some time, when I come across a web site with the bespoke design that they have I often check contact details (lack of an actual address), , try to locate their premises via Google maps (not present), and google street view (no such business on the industrial estate). It's in forums such as this that I also do my research (which is how I came across this thread in the first place).

I don't believe, however, that they are scammers in the sense that they're going out to get cash from people without even trying to provide a service. I just think that it is a business that's gone wrong, and the money (deposits) have been mismanaged (i.e. taken out of the business for the business owners personal needs). It appears that this has then led to stress, and a nervous breakdown. I have some sympathy for the situation, but I have more sympathy for the people who have lost out expecting a product. Buyer beware, and I would certainly not fork out a deposit via bank transfer without a written contract.

3 hours ago, newbie alert said:

I know how it's done and the different ways to do it.. but is that the recommended way for someone that's not even used his kit, may not have Linux, might not have a Pi or want to buy a ASI air.. pros and cons for every solution, but as he's thinking of guiding and never mentioned a stand alone guider I'd assume him to be using a laptop, which you don't need to power the guide camera for... And that's how I was reading it

I'm not a teacher, I see a request for information and i impart what I know, to the best of my ability. If it is too much information then I take the reader to intake what they can understand and follow up at a later date for further clarification. I'm not going to purposefully drip-feed information on a forum.

2 hours ago, newbie alert said:

Many are suggesting to power the guide cam with a RPI,power bank etc... That's untrue.. the power comes from the laptop that you're using, doesn't need a power source

It really depends on how you set up. Yes if you connect the camera to your laptop then the camera is powered through the USB power on the laptop. The downside to this is that your laptop needs to be within a few metres of the telescope (limited by the length of your USB cable, and the longer the cable you try to use, the more likely you will run in to problems).

So many mount a mini-PC or Raspberry Pi to the OTA and connect all the devices to that, they they run a ethernet network cable, or use a WIFI connection (less stable) to connect their Laptop or even desktop PC to the mini-PC / Pi, either via INDI client, or by connecting to the mini-PC / Pi via a remote desktop protocol such as VNC etc...

In that case, the camera will be powered by the mini-PC / Pi, as that is what connects to the USB.

There are lots of solutions, and which way you go depends on your circumstances. I personally like to set everything up outside and then go indoors to my home study with a comfortable PC to command the set up from indoors through the night. Ideally, I literally only visit the telescope to set up and polar align at the beginning and then at the end of the session to bring everything back down again.

34 minutes ago, Olli said:

Thanks for the info, I did think that about the camera. I have been looking at mini pcs I’ve also been looking at the zwo asiair plus or there is a cheap pc Flo sells which looks like a good option. The power  I currently is the skywatcher 17amp power bank. Would this be enough for everything?

The 17ah powertank will power everything, how long for depends on exactly what equipment you have and how it is set up, a poorly balanced scope on a mount can suddenly take up a lot more power and will shorten the time you have available. Dew heaters are also a drain if they are needed.

I usually power everything out the back of the house via a mains PSU.

I have got 2 17ah powertanks, but have only ever used them a couple of times. I tended to power the mount via one and everything else (via a Pegasus PPBA) via the other one (The PPBA, although expensive can report on power usage, so helps to estimate total time available).

ZWO Asiair under the hood is essentially the same driving hardware / software as a home made Astroberry Raspberry Pi. I think it will also tie you in to ZWO cameras though, so bear that in mind.

As others have mentioned, gonig straight to a full set up, with guiding, imaging, filter swapping, dew heater management, mount aligning, plate solving etc... etc... is a really steep learning curve, and when limited to a few hours on a single night (particularly during the Summer months in the UK), this is a recipe for a lot of frustration. So it is wise to go step by step, get acquainted with what you have, and slowly add things along the way that you anticipate will resolve the problems you experience as you experience them.

29 minutes ago, Olli said:

Thanks both for the suggestions, that is what I was kinda looking for and seems like a great bundle. This is probably a stupid question but how do you power the camera? I have a powertank can I just plug it into that or will I need to by a mini pc? This is completely new for me so sorry about the questions!

If you want to guide, then you will need a mini-PC. The ZWO120MM-mini is really just a cheap camera, it doesn't actually have any built-in star tracking functionality.

Also, if you choose to go down the Raspberry Pi route as a mini-PC, be sure to check about the compatibility of the ZWO120MM-mini as this particular camera has lots of problems with Linux which the Raspberry Pi runs on.

As for power, this camera can be powered over USB (from the mini-PC).

Couple of things to note.

1) The thepihut.com website always shows the popular Raspberry Pis as out-of-stock, and have done through the entire pandemic. This does not mean that if you place an order you won't get your preferred Raspberry Pi - it will usually go on backorder and your order will be fulfilled when the Pi arrives. Unfortunately the backorders exceed the production availability of the Pis, so when a delivery arrives at thepihut.com all the popular Raspberry Pis in that order are already sold, so they still don't appear in stock.

2) Getting the 8GB Pi4 may seem great, but to my knowledge the astroberry image is still based on the 32-bit version of Raspberry OS. This means that any single process running can still only access 4GB of memory.

3) Stellarsolver was developed as an improvement to speed up platesolving, and also remove some dependencies that made it difficult to run under certain OS's there are several ways that it achieves this. On the Pi, you don't have to use Stellarsolver, I believe you can still use a local or remote astrometry. It just requires you to change those settings. Astrometry will be slower, but will probably work better on the lower end Pis.

Of course, I do  visual every night I set up. I find Polaris in finder, then I find Polaris again in Polar Scope. Then I remove polar scope and finderscope and retreat to the nice indoors and plate solve a few positions. Then in the warmth of my home I perform star alignment until everything is working nice. Now I open a bottle of wine and start viewing. I might image in a way to obtain an end result or I may just go exploring, nice in the comfort of my study.

I'm not so sure it is young people imaging and older people doing visual. I'd think it the other way round.

My eyesight is so awful I can't visually see much through a telescope, but I can see the images on my screen just fine.

Did you check DHL? I don't think they've got optical instruments on their exclusion list.

I think they're trying to educate you about the motion of the stars at night, take a look at the following video: 

If you are really lazy, take one of your pictures, and upload it to astrometry.net: https://nova.astrometry.net/upload

Once submitted and processed you get lots of information (e.g.):

You can additionally just plate solve your picture locally and a lot of information will be present in the logs. This is quicker, but using astrometry.net online, while it takes a while, you get lots of information about your picture, annotated versions, overlays on the World Wide Telescope etc...