Stuart1971

Thanks a great image well done..👏🏻 ‘Not sure what software you use for processing but in pixinsight if you invert the image and run SCNR it will remove those magenta stars for you…👍🏻

Are you sure you are using this latest 2023 Ascom driver https://github.com/brets-astro/sxascom-releases/releases

Great pair of images there….would love to see them combined, too..👍🏻

Congrats @tomato

Ah, ok that makes sense, I like to see the startrails image generated each morning if it was a clear night and the Timelapse, I just have it out for about 6 months of the year…and I too also use as a cloud cam while imaging…

Why would I want to cover it, with a bag, it’s on all the time..? 🤔

Well mine is in the bin now, gave up with it, even with the dome completely sealed and desiccant in there and sealed up on a very low humidity day, it rained last night and the dome was all dewed up this morning….with and without the heater ring powered….☹️☹️

Put a post on the NINA discord group and they will fix the issue pretty quickly..👍🏻

Sounds great and nice set of images. AFAIK you can’t run two imaging cameras from one instance of NINA, you have to open a second instance and do it that way, but the second instance only needs the camera connected and nothing else…👍🏻

NINA will never be ported to Linux, so don’t hold your breath….👍🏻

Download Macrium reflect, free edition, it’s superb for cloning…👍🏻

I use windows 11, and TBH it’s been fine, I always have a clone drive ready to go, an exact copy which can be just booted from already fitted inside my mini PC…

Well that did not work, ☹️ the desiccant worked and the dome cleared, BUT as I have a dew heater ring inside the sealed dome, over time it heated the air up in the dome and dried out all the desiccant as it turned from green as it is when it’s working, back to orange as it is when dry and all the moisture was back on the inside of the dome this morning…it didn't help as the little pot of desiccant sits on the heater ring as I don’t have enough space for it not too, should have realised really…as it heated the pot from the bottom…😂😂 so one more thing to try and that is to disconnect the heater ring, so that the air in the dome stays cool, maybe just a little above ambient.🤷🏼‍♂️

It might not be water getting in, it may well just be the water in the air condensing inside and settling in the bottom, this is what I have found with mine, but just put mine back out now, with the dome area completely sealed and airtight from the rest of the enclosure, with some desiccant beads in there too, while it’s been sitting inside the desiccant has soaked up a lot of moisture from the small area, so should have dried the air pretty well, 🤞🏻🤞🏻 we shall see now…

Thanks guys, a couple of wraps of Plumbers PTFE take around the thread of the helical under the green wheel, has done the trick..👍🏻

One thing I will say is no amount of tweaking any settings will make a difference if the firmware is the old version, either in the driver or in PHD, trust me I tried everything….

Hello, I recently bought a second hand SW Evoguide 50ED, and it’s in mint condition and was happy with it, but I noticed that with the helical focuser when I change direction from in to out or vice versa, there is backlash, in fact the green focusing ring will focus one way, and as soon as I swap direction the same ring will move approx 1/4 of a turn before it starts moving focus the opposite way. Yo can actually feel the backlash as it goes really loose for a 1/4 turn before it picks up and starts to move.. So my question to any owners of this little scope, is this normal or do I have an issue and can it be taken apart and looked at..?

I had this exact same issue, and contacted Terry at SX, who said it was in need of a firmware and software update in the camera, so it went back to him to be done, and when it came back all was good, I think he can send you the files needed and you can do it yourself if you wish too, but I just sent it to him as I did not want to take the risk…but it is normal if the camera had old firmware in it…👍🏻

Yes, it’s a non smell type, as I did know about the issues with the stuff that smells of vinegar when curing… The dome steamed up as soon as I sealed it down, and is slowly now clearing, and the desiccant is changing colour already slowly too, so hopefully it’s working…👍🏻

Does desiccant work best in cold or warm environment to remove moisture from the air…? Wonder if it will be better indoors for a week rather than the gargae to remove any moisture…

Ok, so my solution is, and thanks for all the help on this thread… I have sealed the dome area completely from the box itself. Silicon sealant around the base of the lens holder as that where the gap was. So a much smaller volume of air to contend with. And also put a pot of desiccant in the dome and will now leave in the garage for a week or so for the desiccant to do its thing inside the dome, then I will fit back outside…I sealed it in the garage where it was colder. So fingers crossed this works…

That’s a great single sub, well done and looks like a great set up..👍🏻 but for us pixel peepers there is nothing to peep as the image is much to compressed….

Sounds like you have the exact same issue as me…

Those case screw holes go all the way through to the bottom and have a hole all the way through, they are as.o outside of the internal size of the box and outside of the seal around the lid, so no chance at all of any water ingress from there…and there is also a seal between the dome lip and case, and in sealant in those screw holes too..

Does it not make sense that if the air in the dome is warm then when it hits the inside of the cold dome it will condense, but if the air in the dome is cool pretty much as cool as the dome, then no condensation will occur…🤔? I ask this because I can seal the dome chamber completely so it’s not linked with the air in the box itself, as this may help, and not heat this air in the dome…or I could leave the heater ring in the dome on, which would be best, heat in there or no heat..? also I could put a couple of desiccant packs in the dome too…thoughts…?