Simon Pepper

Hi Tenpinmark your last point when i pulled the dew straps out that’s when the cameras came to life so perhaps that was the issue. I will look for converters to utilise the 2.1mm jacks. All your other points I think I am good for they are plugged directly I am using 12v 5amps as per the requirement and prior to skewing so maybe it was the dew heaters! ok how do you polar align with asiair I tried but said something about not connected to mount? I was thinking I would but the ipolar camera for heq 5 by the sounds of it I don’t need to do that? thanks

Hi SGL, Where to start.... Perhaps with the positives.... Like a lot of people got into Astrophotography due to lockdown and got myself a William Optics Redcat and Ipolar star tracker and have been using that for 6 months and got some nice images, so I thought it was time for a step up, however it all went wrong today. Firstly my new equipment: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro, Optolong L Extreme filter, ASIAIR Pro, William Optics uniguide 32mm and ZWO ASI 120 mini for guiding! Before going out I tried setting it up and managed to get my gear where I thought I needed it, however... Firstly polar aligning was unbelievably difficult (I'm used to ipolar software) like other posts here my polar scope was just a sea of red no stars at all visible. Other posts say to lower the brightness using the hand controller but no where was this function for me. In the end I used a torch to shine through the scope and I think I managed this (no idea if it was Polaris, but did try over min subs so must have been). Anyhow that took the best part of an hour! Secondly couldn't figure out star alignment as I could not see any stars with the filter in, so there was no go to function happening today! Also trying to focus was a nightmare and failed at this. The built in Bhatinov mask was not creating diffraction spikes on 2 minute subs at ISO 6400 have I added the Lenhance to the worng part of imaging train? Thirdly the ASIAIR was unbelievably temperamental constantly losing the camera and guide camera? After another hour I finally managed to get the guide scope looping exposures only to not find a single star I assume this is a focus issue, but I tried moving the camera in and out and after 30 minutes of not seeing a single star a gave up with that as well. Lastly the two dew bands I had plugged into the USB on ASIAIR didn't work at all do I need 2.1mm jack adapters? Overall a real kick in the teeth for me. With the success of my star tracker I thought this new gear would make things easier and more enjoyable, however the difficult level has gone through the roof. Cold and depressed as fisrt clear sky in a month, brand new gear and night totally wasted! Any advice would be much needed. Thanks

Thanks for for this whilst on the subject I have the asi air pro on order also and I am aware these do not come with a lead either. Is there something to use that will incorporate both or will both need separate power cables? Thanks

Hi all, My HEQ5 pro has finally completed and is turning up imminently, however I see this comes with a cigarette type power lead. Can someone assist in letting me know what adapter I need for this if running extension cable to garden or any other better ideas for power if you have any? Thanks

Ok thanks all I reckon this could be an amateur fail in mounting the tripod on less than ideal ground and it’s slipped after alignment. I have seen this before but the above shift is the worst it’s been. I will update the base and give it another crack 👍

Hi all, So just to confirm we think my polar alignment was off and that has caused the image to shift between frames? If guiding will it correct the above issue? Thanks

Hi all. Please see attached out of DSS. You can clearly see the walk I got here last night. Surely if it was bad polar alignment would I not see start trailing worse than I have here? This was 80s subs, 2.10 hours total. Thanks

Hi all thanks for the responses apologies I was a bit vague. I am not guiding (so not dithering learnt something there) just tripod, redcat, dslr on my ipolar skyguider pro. Not out put through DSS yet will do that tomorrow and upload here so you can see. thanks

Hi all. Still learning this hobby and I have another question for the community please. When taking my images I find more often than not that my images between subs are moving in one direction. For example if I start with M31 in the bottom right of frame after 90 minutes of subs it’s moved a good inch to the left of frame. I assume this is not dithering as I think dithering is random and only shifts a few pixels? So my issue must be balance, but when balancing I’m sure it’s balanced (ever so slightly heavier on one side). If anyone can assist I would be grateful. thanks

Thanks all this is good to know I will dial down the exposure!

Also checking this again it appears this only happens in Light Room?

Hi all, I was pushing the exposure time on my tracker the other day with my modded canon 750d (300s) and when I zoomed in on the milky way the stars had this red stuff at the centre of the brighter stars. Even when I put the picture to black and white they are still there. Is this an error in the mod or am I doing something wrong? The lens is a 14mm Samyang. Thanks

I have all my gear on order from FLO and in the process of converting the shed as well! Yours is looking good 👌

Thanks for feedback I will drop the exposure time to see if I can correct for the trailing. Bahtinov is not possible as I have the annoying petal hood thing on the Samyang. Also will play with WB and temp in LR! Thanks all!

Thanks it cost £75 I think so I assume I only paid for the filter to be removed. I was not fussed about autofocus either. Just on the image then any feedback you can give on whether I have perfect focus that will be appreciated. I think it looks ok, but I know some peoples eye is better than mine. Also is this colour expected upon IR removal. The North American nebula again looks as expected I think. Thanks 🙏

Hi all, I recently had my camera Astro modded IR filter removed and I immediately noticed that when attaching my Samyang 14mm the infinity focus was way off. I’m lucky to have two Canons so on the non modded camera the infinity mark works a treat (I am aware some Samyang lenses have poor quality control but mine works fine on non mod). I kind of want to understand if this is expected behaviour after modification? Would the in focus mark be completely different? I used live view in order to make Jupiter as small as possible and captured the attached. I think this was a 4 or 5 minute single exposure. I guess what I want to ask the community is is this in proper focus and also is the purple glow expected cab this be corrected with white balance any advise would be appreciated. Thanks

Thanks Ivor

Thank you I will be sure to get that focus a little better. Thats it then guiding and more exposure time is the way forward Heading over to FLO now for some extra gear!!!

I have the sky guider pro and redcat and have had the same issue! Was out the other night got perfect polar aligned then every time I position my camera to something to shoot it takes ages to locate. Once faffing for thirty minutes and moving it so much I dont dare check my alignment as I bet its completely lost! I think the issue with me is the £60 tripod just doesn't cut it! I got it for lightweight but clearly there is a trade off. Lighter is less sturdy. I wonder if you have the same issue. I agree with Victor ramp up the ISO with a few second exposures to find your target and a maybe try a sturdier tripod. Also I have heard mounting a laser pen on the side can help with direction although I have not tried that yet and be sure to turn it off if planes in the area. I just posted abut some feedback on an imaging session and I could not for the life of me get Andromeda in the centre of the frame I gave up in the end and the resulting image clipped off the smaller galaxies! Thanks

Hi all, I was after some feedback on my image of Andromeda please , but please dont be too harsh. This was my first ever imaging session which I think looks ok, but I have some questions around it to try and improve next time. Firstly the obvious its not centred and as a result I have missed the orbiting smaller galaxies. I had some issues getting it in the middle and eventually gave up as time was ticking. Next time I will get this right! I have attached the stack out of DSS and can see the top and the bottom of the image is darker because its shifted. I noticed while imaging it was slowly moving up. Is this a result of dithering or is this a result of my polar alignment not being perfect? Is my image in focus? This probably seems like a ridiculous question, but I feel I need to ask to me it does look good? Is it noisy could my calibration frames been better? My Photoshop edit appears a little out but I think this is because you need a degree in Photoshop which I dont have and I have really winged this part. Also the image is now in .jpg which has decreased its size. The Photoshop final I feel could have been much better but as I have not used it before I really struggled it looks quite green especially to the bottom left. It was 40 minutes of exposures in total. My ISO was 800 at 90 seconds subs. I used a canon 800d with skyguider pro and redcat. I used 21 darks, 25 flats, 31 bias. Any feedback or tips to try next time will be welcome. Thanks Simon

Hi all, Was wondering if anyone can recommend a good tripod? I spent £70 quid for one off Amazon, but I am already seeing why spending a lot more maybe better. Once polar aligned I dont even trust myself moving the camera too far as its ruins my alignment. I can only assume this is because I was too tight on one of the most important parts! I will be using this for my ioptron skyguider pro and 14mm lens on dslr for Milky Way shots, but I also have the redcat which I will use on it for deeper sky. Ideally I want fairly lightweight as I will be going places as my back garden does not have good nightscape options or long enough exposure time due to other houses and trees. I understand weight and sturdiness is a trade off. Ideally I dont want to break the bank either. Preferably I would just have one tripod, but it maybe that I need a lighter one just for dslr and sturdier one for the redcat? Any ideas would be appreciated. Clear skies! Thanks all.

Beautiful image. I am just starting out and have a 800d with Samyang 14mm lens. I hope I can take a shot like this. Is that Andromeda you have caught on the far right too? Was this 10 images stacked or a pano with 10 stitched? How do you do the stitching?

Hi, Did you ever get to the bottom of this? Thanks

Firstly I am new today, so please be kind I have decided to take up a new hobby and settled with astrophotography after seeing some amazing videos and images on YouTube. I hope I have chosen wisely with the equipment to start me off, so please be gentle in your responses. as I have already bought them. I opted for wide angle (as I heard that was more forgiving) and also wanted to keep it as lightweight and portable as possible as my back garden has a lot of obstructions.. I am aware that this is not going to be easy and there is a lot of commitment involved both with the cold nights, but also at the computer processing the images (darks, flats and bias). What I have bought so far. A sturdy tripod William Optics Redcat 51 Ioptron sky guider pro with ipolar Canon 800d / T7i T48 copper adaptor I have been scowering forums in order to answer a few questions and these are around tracking and guiding. Obviously the more exposures you obtain the better the final result. I often see images taken at say 66 x 2 minutes at a given ISO depending on the brightness of the object. what I am unsure of is will my sky guider be able to handle say these exposures or is this when guiding is required? I keep seeing that with a tracker thats well aligned people are saying they are getting 4/5 minute exposures with no star trails. Does this mean that they are only capturing one image at this length or after 4/5 minutes they close the shutter and can go again after a brief pause to let the sensor cool with the next exposure? I am aware that the iptron has room for guidance, but at 5kg payload I need to be careful with weight. Also as I mentioned I want to keep the weight down for portability. Also I think baby steps are better for a complete novice like me. Any help would be much appreciated. Clear skies!

Hi, Just one I picked up off Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VMLFVRC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I also have a celestron nexstar mount I can use. Thanks