Stuart1971

21 minutes ago, JonCarleton said:

I use PI, but they aren't magenta on my monitor.  I did a monitor calibration to try and correct it, but it didn't help.  Perhaps I need to use a different tool to create the jpg....or just upload a tiff instead.  Could be something in the fits conversion.

 

So these stars don’t look magenta to you on your screen….? 🤔

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…👍🏻

15 hours ago, ASTRO1966 said:

I contacted Nina discord they say its the SX ASCOM  driver and that NINA 3.0 uses an updated ASCOM driver framework which is more strict about the state of things.

So need an updated driver  . I contacted Starlight Express but not had a reply yet ,i know its not an native driver but maybe they could ask Bret to update the Ascom driver

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

9 minutes ago, tomato said:

That would indeed be a problem, but I use mine purely to monitor sky conditions when imaging. Also I found having the sensor exposed to sunlight all the time was generating lots of dead pixels so now the covers only come off at night.

 

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…

1 hour ago, tomato said:

That’s not good news. I think with all the efforts you made there must have been moisture ingress somewhere. I noticed some moulding marks on the flange of the dome which would create a sealing issue, I filled them and sanded the flange smooth but I still think standing water was seeping in. The base plate heaters got everything toasty by the end of a session and when it cooled down I think there was the driving force to cause water ingress. 
 

Maybe a £3 swim bag might be worth a try?

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….☹️☹️

1 hour ago, ASTRO1966 said:

Hi i have updated to nina 3.0  but have problem running SX814 CCD as nina starts new exposure while camera is still waiting . Does anyone know how to get latest version before 3.0 as i didnt have issue before . think i was running 2.3 but dont have exe file . Thanks

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…👍🏻

17 minutes ago, knobby said:

When NINA works on Linux , I'll be on it asap.

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

42 minutes ago, Anne S said:

I thought I'd cloned the MINIPC but I obviously hadn't done it properly! My recovery dvd didn't work either.

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.🤷🏼‍♂️

22 minutes ago, tomato said:

I took mine apart today to fit the heater ring, the bottom of the enclosure was very wet, so the warter is getting in somewhere. As an additional measure I am going to enclose the whole unit in a waterproof drawstring bag when not in use to hopefully drastically cut down on the moisture ingress.

The air fryer is great for replenishing silica gel bags.😉

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..👍🏻

1 hour ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks Stuart

That confirms what I vaguely remember reading somewhere.

I have pinged SX a message and will see what they suggest.

Thanks again.

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..?

11 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

I have always binned my Lodestar Pro in 2x2 - its has always worked well.

This afternoon I sat down and read the up to date instructions from the creator of PHD2 and the old advice of binning 2x2 and slightly out of focus stars being preferable has been superceded by a new advisory that having small, tight, percetly focussed stars is preferable.

So I changed the binning to 1x1 as the Lodestar pixels are huge and I was expecting smaller, tighter stars.

Instead I got double and even triple stars - see attached image.

I tried all available drivers - ASCOM and non ASCOM and got the same results.

It was very poor seeing but when I switched back to 2x2 the stars were single round points - but bigger as expected.

I vaguely remember reading some where that a specific driver is required or the firmware of the camera updating to avoid a similar problem.

Any suggestions ?? I would really like to try 1x1.

 

 

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…👍🏻

1 hour ago, Carbon Brush said:

Just seen your mention of silicon sealant.
I assume this is the 'no smell' cure type? Standard sealant releases acetic acid (vinegar smell) during cure.
The chemical release from 'smellicone' sealant can cause a lot of corrosion problems in electronics.

As for leaving in a warm or cool place while the silica gel works its magic...difficult but I don't think there will be a big difference.

If there are problems fitting big bags of silica gel into anything, there is another way.
Calcium chloride absorbs a lot more moisture per Kg of product.
It changes from flakes to a lump or gel.
You would need to buy it already packaged in suitable bags. It is a single use method. No oven reset.
A further thought is that calcium chloride is quite corrosive - if it gets out of the bag.
I have encountered this compound in big applications - not in small applications.
This stuff from amazon may be worth a look.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NATRUTH-Moisture-Absorber-Bags-Fgrance/dp/B0BHX32SN7/ref=sr_1_10?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.z7yKOZaItl_GYJbR8CsMEUKRrcPjXnItbLiAy9KimxmKfQ3vx20ZgZmLrsx9WZ0pnFpN3IYxiK4WWvB6IrftE1l7UMx4zcwapvFZbe4A7FnayMlKffZp8WEYIbOAlBL3Ll4v5OMEY8GRclSgni5jcTXfOgGlD6Sm0phE4kOE8MKm7_7UYSxTWrZ48LdfP7oQik3StPj956HcMRqZvvv6o8nY6VQNAtifCD-E1giX91o.GYATK0_cPTdaEDZ7TwCBgiuSxKM2eb9kWwY7hR_e1HM&dib_tag=se&keywords=calcium%2Bchloride%2Bdesiccant&qid=1711633995&sr=8-10&th=1

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….

58 minutes ago, tomato said:

I have internal heaters and desiccant and supposedly a well sealed system but my all sky cam is always dewed up big style in the winter, both on the lens and inside the dome. Moisture must be getting in but the enclosure is totally soaked every time it rains so it wouldn’t take much of a seal problem to get enough moisture inside where it is not wanted.
I have just ordered a Dew Control ring heater to see if that will help as it will be closer to the condensation but I see you you already have one fitted…

Next step will be some kind of forced air ventilation, but that will be tricky as there will definitely be a route for water ingress with that installed.

I might also try a secondary water barrier by putting a water proof bag over the unit when not in use.

Sounds like you have the exact same issue as me…

2 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

Now for me, I'd have assembled that with the box the other way up so there's no chance of water pooling in those case screw areas and potentially seeping in. I also put clear RTV into the holes thru the dome lip to prevent ingress, tho in my case I used a CCTV metal bell housing inverted. You only need the tiniest gap for water to wick into the housing which will defeat the dessicant very quickly.

For a dew heater I just have a few ceramic resistors in series where you have the fancier circuit board and it doesn't fog up unless temps get really low and snow settles. Then again I'm not using a Pi but a USB camera so far less heat involved.

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..