Stuart1971

Hello all,

I am looking for some information on the Altair Astro 80mm maxiguider, I have acquired one of these and want to start using, but first I would like to know a couple of things, like the backfocus length, and also what this thread is that’s use on the back, as I have a good quality helical focuser that I want to use, but his has M42 thread on, 

so if anyone can help, it would be much appreciated... 👍

21 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Lol, cheers Paul.  There stars are a stacking defect, easily remedied if I have clicked the right box.

Hmmm, don’t think they are a stacking defect, looks like flattener spacing, or sensor tilt issue, I get same on my scope, and it’s sensor tilt...

Great image all the same.... 👍😀

10 minutes ago, Rusted said:

Interesting! II just need to source something like it over here. Amazon won't deliver.

I thought it would only be available in black but they also list a white!

Thanks.

Yes, also Grey, which is what I used.....and maybe good for your application....

A rubberised roofing paint may work, I have used it on a felted garage roof, when the felt started to wear, it works very well, and stays very flexible, but provides a good waterproof finish...

In fact it would be ideal for your application...it’s about £30 a tin and you would probably need two...

9 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

As long as its dry and you remove the loose stuff then 2 coats of 2 pack polyurethane paint should give you 10+ years

https://www.international-yachtpaint.com/en/gb/boat-paint-products/topcoat-finishes/perfection

 

Will that paint expand and contrast with the wood...? If so then all good... 👍 as plywood does move a lot, with varying temps...

3 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Lots of expensive paint claims to be weather proof, I've used Dulux Weather Shield and Sikins  and both give up eventually.

Dave

Yes, in my experience no matter how good the paint, if there is movement in the painted surface, then it will eventually crack, then water will get under the edges, and then it will peel....🙁

Paint on plywood will always peel due to the movement in plywood material....the temperature plays havoc with the expansion and contraction of the outer surface of the wood, unfortunately this is pretty much unavoidable, I would bite the bullet and get it fibreglass befor you waste any more time and money, and then still need to do it anyway.... 😀 

On 01/06/2020 at 15:13, alacant said:

Hi

No. The Stellarmate is a rpi. It's still a slow 32 bit single board computer, but with professional support.

Exactly. But hey, when you have mastered the os, you have a bulletproof system which just works. You are in control rather than the computer.

Cheers

 

Actually the rpi will run 64 bit OS now the beta one is out....it’s not limited to 32 bit....and is not “slow” as you say... at all... 👍😀

24 minutes ago, BargeGazer said:

I am setting Astroberry up on a Pi4 and have succeeded in setting up to its Hotspot, ethernet and my home wifi.

To continue setting up I would like to be able to sometimes connect to the astroberry's hotspot while in range of my home network just to check everything out before heading away from home.

Is there a way of forcing the astroberry to drop the home wifi and activate its Hotspot (and the reverse) without editing the advanced network controls and the priorities assigned to the connections and rebooting or alternatively turning off my home network.

Many thanks, David

Hi,

In a word no....not without altering the priorities...

Hello,

I have the Pegasus UPB V2 and it’s just superb, I have used the hitecastro offerings and TBH they are not a patch on the Pegasus products, especially the software, it’s very clunky...

I also use the Pegasus motor focuser too, and I had the V1 UPB before this one...all excellent...as is customer support 👍😀

2 hours ago, skybadger said:

Hi both.

Encoders - not purposely turned off. 

Eqmod doesn't say eq8 when it connects, it still says eq6. 

 

Ken, I use whatever park position is suitable. If having to restart due to an issue, I use polar home, otherwise park in place or park at W and E presets has been perfectly fine until now. The only large systemic change I have made is to adopt Voyager as my end to end imaging platform but that is not involved in this. What sort of things have you seen ?

Cheers

Mike

Why not use the EQ8 autohome function, I use it with EQMOD and works a treat...

Just now, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Typical just bought a 4Gb recently.

I am pretty new to using the pi would this have a significant difference in speed or performance over the 4Gb ?????

Steve

No, don’t worry about it, the 4gb is perfect, I use RPI4 for all my imaging, and no need for the 8gb version, you would not notice any difference as all the software is 32bit, and so can’t really use anymore than. 4gb....I’m not upgrading... 👍

Why does it show EQ5/6 in the EQMOD driver when you have an EQ8...?

Also have you got the encoders turned off on the EQ8.....?

Already in stock at the PI hut... no need for back order....

https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b?variant=31994565689406

5 minutes ago, pete_l said:

Raspbian is still only 32bit, you can't run a single process that uses more than 4GB

Yes, that’s what I meant to say above.... 😀😀

Hmmmm, Astroberry and Stellarmate are both 32 bit so can’t use more than 4gb anyway....unless some major changes are made to both OS’s.... 🤔🤔

1 hour ago, wxsatuser said:

There is no limit to the number of sockets on a radial, just make sure it's protected with a breaker no more than 20Amps
when used with 2.5mm cable.

Hmmm, No Limit... 🤔 not sure that is correct, Especially on a single 2.5mm cable 

2 minutes ago, matt_baker said:

I think there should be a filter for wanted ads

There is a filter, you can show whichever ads you want to see, for sale or wanted, or all... 👍

6 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Thanks @steppenwolf and @Laurin Dave

That was my plan, to use a wooden board and mount it to the dome via spacers glued to the dome.  Good idea with the lights on the panel too, hadn't thought of that.  Was considering those LED strips around the circumference of the dome under the lip of the wall.  Dave is that a candle in the middle of your lights?  I like the wall mounted 12v power supply, that is a good use of space.  I currently use 14 sockets in my observatory, as I run extra meteor detecting PCs and monitors.  These will stay where they are, so I should be ok with 10 sockets, I'll put in 12 to have spares.

 

@Stuart1971 thanks Stuart.  I had considered that, but wasn't sure if it made any difference.

 

Well I dont think 5 sockets of each single wire is too bad, but for ten sockets....Personally I would use a ring 👍

26 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I’m getting my electrical stuff bought today so looking for some ideas on how everyone has setup their sockets etc.

In a row or column?  I reckon 6 doubles will cover it. I plan to run directly into the consumer unit via MCBs. I have two cables pulled into dome to split the load.  Is dew an issue in the dome? In my ROR obsy all my sockets are in the warm room with cables fed through the wall.

Ive seen some nice photos on here, but haven’t been able to locate them. Would you mind posting photos of your dome set up please?

 

Thanks

Adam. 

If you have pulled two mains cables into the dome from your consumer unit, then best to create a ring main with them, rather than split into two... 👍

1 hour ago, wornish said:

 

 My post is correct.  The RPi4 doesn't BOOT off USB3 yet but it can then RUN off USB3 once the initial boot sequence is complete.  I don't see any contradiction in that statement.  

I know this is about to change when, the USB3 boot code currently in Beta, is released.

That’s my point, it was released a week ago... 👍

https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/how-to/boot-raspberry-pi-4-usb

It sounds like you had the clutch either too tight or not tight enough, the way I understand with the clutches on these mounts is that you turn the black clutch knob to tighten, then when just snug, back it off a small amount, the magnetic gear will keep it in place and prevent any backlash, the grinding you heard sounds like it was probably too tight...if used correctly the clutch system on these mounts is very good... HTH 😀 don’t give up....

20 minutes ago, Juicy6 said:

The RPi4 doesn't boot off USB3 yet but there is quite a simple mod that's available that allows the system to run completely off the SSD.

I think you need to reword your post, as you have contradicted yourself by saying the rpi4 DOES NOT boot from USB 3 yet, and then saying that the rpi4 can run completly off an SSD drive, which is connected to USB 3.... 🤔🤔

The rpi4 CAN now boot from USB 3 with the firmware update in the link you sent....

19 minutes ago, Adreneline said:

Thanks for this advice.

Just one thing I'd like to check before taking this step. The mount all works fine when I use it with my 135mm/ZWO-ASI1600 combination driven by the ASIair. What I am aiming to do with Astroberry is to have a similar setup in terms of working processes but using my 85mm/Atik414ex-osc combination on the CEM25-EC. If I follow your advice will it still be ok with the ASIair or might that now be 90 degrees out?

Thanks again.

Adrian

The thing is with any software, it will assume that when you first power up the scope is in the home position, weights down scope pointing at NCP, unless you have predefined a different position in the software...

So your mount is an EC version, so it has encoders, this may well be the issue, I have them on my EQ8 but have them turned off all the time...

So when you start Kstars and power on the mount, where is the red mount crosshair on the skymap, it should start on the NCP...? And how have yo got the mount set up at this point, with weights down and pointing at the NCP...?

When you use the park command, and the scope parks with CW bar horizontal, switch off and move the mount with RA clutch released to correct position, then start up again and try it all again, and should then be good every time, for some reason park data has got skewed, also purge the “write data” before you save it...

This only needs to be done once, not every session HTH 👍