FiveByEagle

Okay - so I am almost entirely set up and running. So far so good! So my main question is now how to take flats. I use a smaller tracing pad for my 80mm refractor but it does not fit over the new tube. With it being an 8", should I just go out and find a larger one? A4 sized should cover it but not sure on reflections and possible other problems.

Fair enough! Seems there is too much of a compromise in any direction. I won't go with a larger sensor, as I only use 1.25" filters and enjoy this FOV.. but I also hate low resolution. a 5MP sensor would be the lowest resolution camera I own by a factor of 6.

My biggest issue last night, because I did start to use Bin2 and noticed it was no real loss in resolution, especially with drizzle and deconvolution in post. Biggest issue was stray light! I never had to deal with that on my 81mm refractor. but my goodness every stray light beam somehow found its way into the tube!!

Really do appreciate the time and this response! Unfortunately I did not understand about 85% of it, but that is OK! I can just wing it. I'll bin 2x2 because it sounds like the right thing to do. Went out last night and guided this beast at .5-.7 with its normal payload for 4 hours until the focuser slipped (its a WIP) and I was too tired to watch the monitor anymore. Looking at that chart, it says it was 2.39" last night and an index of 4. It was really really mushy with the Moon however. Definitely not the best conditions.

Also - please excuse and forgive my ignorance on this. Guiding numbers relating to end PQ. I have CHASED the lowest RMS arc-second numbers since entering this hobby (lowest was .28, 3 weeks ago, almost fainted) just because I know it results in sharper images with pleasant star shapes. That is it. I have those numbers with an OAG. Can you elaborate a but on this? Do my numbers at that FL indicate what I can expect with this new OTA?

Thank you! Sorry, I am aware my posts are word-vomit. I've considered binning the 183MM.. but going down to like 5MP is cutting it way too close for someone who doesn't own a non-4K display anymore, its fairly low for me, But I understand the benefits!! I should have added. I also do plan on never buying into this hobby again, as this will be my last setup. I am moving and changing careers, and going from 5 scopes to 1, which is the 800mm scope. Figured it is the average FL of all my stuff so it makes the sell off easier for me, plus at F4 I can pull in some images quicker. The others are already gone, so that is a constant in this equation. I know since the sensor doesn't exist, the camera obviously won't but man I wish there was a mono camera with the 533/2600 specs but 1" size. http://www.astro-imaging.com/Tutorial/MatchingCCD.html This what the math I used -

Hello all! Added a 8" astrograph to the fleet this week. Changing the focuser, and modding it out for my usage and I am having FUN! With my wide field setup I am using a ASI183MM and having an OK time but I do genuinely believe my patience and desire for monochrome has waned.. however I really do not want to waste time and money on going to a OSC that won't really work out for me. I am concerned using the 2.4um pixels on an 800mm scope. The math tells me ideal sampling pixel size for 800mm and my area and band is 3.56, and closest to that is 533MC for me. I know the 2600 is great.. I do not want that sensor size. Personal preference, I shoot a lot of medium format and square formats look right to me. I had a 533 for a scope at my old site and loved it, so I am confident in its capabilities. The 294 is cool too, but not a fan of the sensor size and resulting FOV. However, it'll be a minute before I can make this transition. Might even have some clear sky time to give the 183MM a shot on this scope and I was honestly wondering... what's the worst that can happen? Being sampled at .62 is really oversampled but will my guiding have to be perfect? I use an OAG and get .4-.6 on average, regardless of proximity to meridian. With a larger OTA, I am not going to expect those numbers, but I do expect to stay below 1". Is that "good enough" for round stars at that scale? I get perfectly round pin-points currently, and would hate to settle for anything worse. Either way, me going back to OSC is gunna happen soon, its more or less an argument of what is a great fit for what I want to do, and unfortunately a lot of my responses on facebook groups and social media has really been driven by what influencers and youtube channels are saying versus some real math and explanations.

Hello all! Recently decided to add an 8" scope to my imaging scope collection, and settled on the TS Photon 8 F4. It has arrived, and so far everything is going smoothly getting it all put together, collimated, and getting all my crap attached and cable managed. However.. this focuser is awful. Of all of my triplets, I almost became used to a very heavy, solid focuser that does not wobble, and no matter how much I pull or push, it stays in place. This stock focuser I can pull out completely with 2-3lbs of force, and with the camera attached I saw it slide out of place. Unfortunately the tension screws are only locks, and so there is no way to get this to be more stable. Also, those were natively compatible with the ZWO EAF, which I almost entirely rely on nowadays with my automated setup. I use the ASIAIR - so I can't use anything BUT the EAF. Budget is not much, but around $300 USD for a new focuser. Replacing with the TS Monorail N2 puts me OTD at $260 with shipping, and is compatible with the EAF. (including bracket in price) But honestly, I do not really know this market. Is there a good option that is around this price I should be going with? Also, I use a Hotech SCA collimator, is this a good piece of kit? I always used it for my Dob, and it always visually looked perfect....but I don't image with my dob so I have never really been concerned with just how accurate it is. Now I am significantly more concerned.

Hello! Upgraded from my Apertura 60ED to a William Optics GT81IV+Flat6AIII and in the same week traded in my 183MC for an 183MM+EFW+Filters - and as is tradition.. 3 weeks of clouds. For first light I wanted to go after the Tadpole Nebula, and captured 45 subs of 300s in Ha and Oiii over the last 2 nights. Also my very first attempt at using Pixinsight! Let me know what you think, and please give it a like on Astrobin!

When you Super Pixel mode, do you mean Binning? I have never heard of super pixel mode.

Hello all! Been scope shopping for a about 2 months and I have narrowed it down to two choices. I will be using this scope with my ASI183MC Pro camera. And I very much intend this scope to be a "destination" piece for me. As I have many other life expenses and financially I have to cut this hobby off. The two are the AT115EDT from Astro-Tech. With the .8x flattener we are at 644mm and without it, we are at 805mm. My worry here is that the pixel scale for my camera is too small, at 2.4microns. My guiding is OK at best, so I fear lots of frustration on guiding and non-round stars. My FIRST pick.. is the WIlliam Optics GT81IV with its 2 flattener choices. It gives me 380 and 480 in one scope.. and I have no fears here. This will work, however I am not sure if 480mm is enough reach for me. 644mm sounds very interesting to get in close on these DSO's, but is it worth the frustration?

Hello! Hope everyone's weekends are off to a great start. So these last two weeks of the EQ6-R have been a blast. Successfully imaged 4 targets in the front yard, and after uploading my guiding graph to the PHD2 guys and getting a collective thumbs up that everything is great I thought all was well. My pre-order for the ASI Air Pro came in, and after wiring it up we were ready to go for the clear skies tonight! Unfortunately, it was not to be. The stripped down version of PHD that is in the Air just does not react like the one on my computer, at all. I tried my best to copy the settings from my computer to the Air, even bringing the laptop and comparing numbers. Balance is great, I use a small WO Z61 with EAF, 183MCPro, AsiAir, and 30mm Guide scope. All comes in at around 10lbs, and I used the same method and technique I have been using for a while. I have averaged .70 RMS error from my house with the laptop and PHD2, and I averaged 1.14 RMS for 20 frames I captured before giving up and going to bed. Mind you, I paused the plan probably 10 times in between subs to check balance and re-calibrate. Does anyone have experience with PHD2 on the ASI Air Pro to help me with the some tips? Because currently this is unusable.

I currently use this guy + find flattener https://www.highpointscientific.com/apertura-60m-fpl-53-doublet-apo-refractor-60edr This is the last shot I took with it. https://www.dropbox.com/s/bmxn8tk1i10vprr/wide6-denoise-denoise.tif?dl=0

Hey everyone! So i think I might take the plunge and get a CMOS camera. I use a Fuji XT3 right now and I like it, but i just want to be a little bit more integrated and it seems the obvious answer is to get a dedicated camera. I use a 60mm APO refractor right now, on a guided AVX mount. Planning to also add a 127mm later this year for some extra reach. It seems like when I shoot my stars are very big. I don’t really like that look in my photos and it takes so much to minimize. I’ve heard smaller pixel’s on smaller scopes is recommended as well as my sky quality. My home location is Bortle 8 and my shooting site is Bortle 4. I do like shooting from home sometimes however. Can someone help here? Budget is sub $1000 but trying to be around 6-700. Thank you!

Awesome! So with the Parallels setup, I just want to make sure I have my order of operations correct. Do I polar align using the polarscope, then the 2 alignments for the mount, and then go to the target, open PHD2 and select a guide star? Auto guiding is 100% new to me.. I have never brought out a computer with a scope. Its always been simple go-tos and dslr's

Hello! I am new here. And newish to this hobby (again) started about 10 years ago and gave it up once I saw some price tags... now situations have changed and I am diving right in. Also, frankly, chaos is how I learn. So I bought a Celestron AVX, 30mm Guidescope + QHY5L-II-M, Apertura 60mm FL53 and in the daytime I am a photographer so I have an assortment of bodies (dedicated astro camera is 2021's goals Gotta start somewhere!) So I know I have to use PHD2 for guiding, however every time I try to watch a video or do some research I get caught up in this ASCOM stuff. Im a MacOS user.. so I dont really have the access to this. Does it work on Parallels? The AVX has the miniUSB on the hand controller... is that it? I am just super lost on this part and not sure what to do here. Can anyone provide some direction? Thank you so much!