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Jamgood

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Everything posted by Jamgood

  1. Jamgood
    @Richard Wesson I had mine printed by a guy on facebook who prints Bahtinov masks. Just sent him the file and he charged me £11.
  2. Jamgood
    I've used my concenter once since buying it, worked a treat in getting the secondary perfectly centred. Now I just use a collimation cap ever now and then and rarely have to adjust anything and when I do it is minor tweaks. I don't rate cheap lasers. Never tried an expensive one but a collimation cap does the job nicely. I also collimate with the scope pointing straight up as the primary mirror can move slightly when you have it at 90°
  3. Jamgood
    I started out with an EQ3PRO and they are good little mounts. I never used it with a guide scope but without, using the 130PDS and a DSLR, I could expose for a maximum of 60 seconds without trails. Which was OK when I was learning. It wasn't long (3 months) until I upgraded to the HEQ5PRO though which I got used from someone on here. I also got a guide scope and cam from the same person and the HEQ5PRO with guiding is great! I did the Rowan Belt Mod myself the week I got the mount. A worthy upgrade unless you can find one already done. If you can stretch the pennies, go for the HEQ5PRO. It'll save you having to spend more further down the line. If you can buy used, go for it. Most people really look after their gear and generally mod them to make them better. Win win. 👍
  4. Jamgood
    Yeah, I always use the one weight. It is about a thumbnail away from the end of the pole and the balance is spot on. I used to use two further up like you and I know that many people recommend that but I don't have any issue with one weight far down. The guiding speaks for itself for me and I'm happy with the results. If it ain't broke.....
  5. Jamgood
    I honestly don't know. I made this one myself out of cardboard and gaffer tape but you probably can buy them.
  6. Jamgood
    Here's mine ready for action. (I hadn't got the dew shield on for the photo but I do use one.)
  7. Jamgood
    Very nice. 👍
  8. Jamgood
    I know, isn't it infuriating! APP does do some auto processing for you though, unlike DSS. I think it all just takes time to learn the art. I've only been at this hobby for a couple of years so I'm a master of nothing. Sadly, the processing learning curve is steep, regardless of the tools used and it is difficult to find the right tutorial for a one size fits all. Trial and error and applying new techniques as you go is the only way to learn really. Have you tried using Starnet++ and processing target and stars separately? That is a good way of isolating different areas.
  9. Jamgood
    @Pitch Black Skies You sound like you're like me. I always struggle with Galaxies. I find them really difficult to process and I'm never or rarely happy with the result. I recently upgraded to Astro pixel processor for stacking. You could give the trial version of that a go. It's a bit daunting at first but when you get it, it is a nice powerful tool.
  10. Jamgood
    It's been a long time since I posted anything. Not had a lot of clear nights to get out but I have been imaging M101 - The Pinwheel Galaxy since January and managed 6 sessions on it. Sadly, due to haze, a lot of hours worth of data has been junked but I kept the best and have now lost count of hour many hours this image actually consists of. I think around 14hrs in total. I'm not a fan of galaxy imaging and I find processing them even more difficult. I need way more practice! But, 'tis the season..... Sky Watcher 130PDS HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod ZWO ASI294MC Pro - Cooled -10° TS-Optics GPU Superflat Coma Corrector Optolong L-Enhance - Optolong L-Pro Orion 50mm Guide Scope & Orion Star Shoot Auto Guider Pegasus Powerbox Advance Astro Photography Tools & PHD2 Astro Pixel Processor, Photoshop & Starnet++ Bortle 8 Skies!
  11. Jamgood
    @scotty38 Have a read through this thread and see if you can find anything helpful. @vlaiv helped me solve my problem when I got my 294mc. There's quite a bit of info in there, if you haven't read it already.
  12. Jamgood
    I have the same camera and had issues with flats when I first got it. After reading everything about the cameras problems and needing longer flats I figured that they would work but I could never get long flats to work. What I do, using APT, is use the Auto Flats Wizard to get the recommended time for the flats and then take that number over in the a normal Light Plan with the same settings as my lights, just the different timing and they work perfect. My flats are usually 0.03secs with the L-Enhance which completely negates everything I've read about needing to do long flats. I haven't tried with N.I.N.A though as I don't use it. For a light source I use an old TV Tablet with a blank white jpg open. Have you tried short flats?
  13. Jamgood
    I use a supply that is very similar via extension from inside to outdoor. My power supply is in a dribox with an RDC on the extension. You have to be careful with electrics outside, especially in the damp. My power supply powers the PPBA (Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advance) but it should work with your splitter also.
  14. Jamgood
    I bought a laser for my 130PDS when I started out and didn't know any better. Even after collimating the laser, I found it next to useless. The cats love it though, it's one of their favourite toys. A Concentre and a collimation cap are all I use now. Quick and easy, when needed.
  15. Jamgood
    Hopefully this doesn't happen! 🙄
  16. Jamgood
    @Jim Smith Did you give your OTA enough time to cool down outsite before shooting? You could be seeing a reaction to thermals from the primary mirror. I've had this in the past and pulled my hair out over it for a while, collimating again and again thinking it was that. My 130PDS needs a good 30 minutes to an hour cooling time to ambient temperature before use.
  17. Jamgood
    You are moving the RA around in an unnatural way that will likely never happen when in use and if by chance the mount did turn around that far, that clutch will be locked and not catch. You've found a problem that doesn't exist by making the problem exist.
  18. Jamgood
    I can't fault my HEQ5Pro. I got it used on this forum. I've since stripped and cleaned it all, replaced the bearings, re-greased and done the Rowan Belt Mod on it and the guiding is solid as a rock. I constantly get between 0.4 and 0.6 all night but more importantly than nice looking graphs and numbers in PHD2.....I get nice round stars. I also don't have an OBSY so I'm carrying it out every time but don't find it overly heavy to move about. I don't have to take it very far to have it set up though, just out the back door about 15ft. I've also drilled little holes in the patio so the feet are always in the same place when I set up which saves time on polar alignment/balancing, etc. Just a quick tweak of the AZ/DEC bolts while using SharpCap for alignment.
  19. Jamgood
    Are you using a powered USB Hub? If not, you could try using an extra Passive USB Extension just for the mount, if everything else works through the hub. Personally, if I were you, I'd start from scratch, uninstall all the drivers, eqascom, etc. Set up in the daytime, in the warm, get things working and troubleshoot if needed. Setting up outside in the cold and trying to fix things can quickly grind you down and mistakes can be made as you get frustrated. When you have everything working, make sure everything connects the same everytime. All connections in the same USB ports, etc.
  20. Jamgood
    Reading about the Tal-1 has been interesting. A once, very highly, regarded starter observing scope. You might however find that standard 1.25mm eyepieces/attachments don't fit the focuser tube as the Russians used their own sizes pre 94. You also might find that the OTA requires some modification to achieve prime focus. At £21 though, I don't suppose you'll care if you have to cut a couple of inches off the bottom and move the primary mirror up. Good luck with it. 👍
  21. Jamgood
    Have you set the correct port for the connection in the Toolbox? Start > EQMOD > EQASCOM > Toolbox > Driver Setup Set the Com Port to the number that corresponds with the Lynx Astro Cable in the Ports (COM & LPT) in your Device Manager.
  22. Jamgood
    That's fair enough and I don't blame you to be honest. I've personally never had any success with N.I.N.A either. I've always successfully used APT and have been happy with it but I like to try new things. The first few times I tried N.I.N.A it just crashed when trying to start the camera. I've since tried it again and managed to get everything working but suffered from random crashes in the course of imaging sessions. APT just works for me and works well. I'll stick with what I know.
  23. Jamgood
    USB Limit on the Camera page, under Gain and Offset.
  24. Jamgood
    Can you not test it in the daytime on a distant object or even a blurry close object. For the 294mc I use the defaults of 120 Gain and 30 Offset. Like I said before I did have some idle camera issues with APT, usually after a meridian flip, and dropping the USB down to 40 solved that for me.
  25. Jamgood
    When I upgraded from DSLR to Dedicated, I went for the OSC for the reason of UK weather. I'm deep in the Midlands in what is known as Cloudsville! As much as I really liked the idea of Mono imaging I just don't get the weather that allows for the kind of time needed for it. The OSC with the Optolong L-Enhance and L-Pro has served me well for the times I found I can use it. I've literally has 2 nights in the last 10 weeks though. I'm now thinking when I do eventually go for a mono set up, rather than upgrading, I'll keep the OSC gear as well, for the bad weather spells, and have the best of both worlds.
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