Clarkey

Assuming you are looking at planetary imaging at this FL then a CC would be and option. Good for imaging and visual and less of a dew magnet than and SCT. I image with an RC8 which is excellent once properly collimated. Should be fine with you camera and mount combo. Also within budget.

22 hours ago, GalaticBoba said:

I might just go for a budget sky-watcher refractor similar to this one and keep it for visuals that is also easy for traveling.

With your suggested budget you could also get a triplet which would be great for AP and visual. (If you can find one of course). The Evostar is still good for the money though - I use one for AP.

Apparently it works OK with the RC6 so might be worth looking at. However, looking at the results you have already I'm not sure I would bother.

I have an RC8 and have spent many hours going round in circles trying to get it 'perfect'. Eventually I came to the conclusion that with the cheaper GSO RC's this was as good as I was going to get. I would say you are about as close as you are likely to get by eye. The inner spot is indicative of good collimation (the name eludes me). The DSI collimation procedure is quite good for star tests, but I found a method using a combination of the TS RC collimator (secondary) and star testing (primary) worked well.

The only thing I am planning to do is get a ronchi grating to get the FL of the mirrors spot on. Some seem to quite along way from the published FL.

I suspect the original research is completely different - there is nothing new in this article. "Stars produce heavy elements - SHOCK HORROR". Just poor and lazy journalism would be my suggestion.

I made my first attempt a planetary image last night. This is the result:

Yep - nothing. Took me 2 hours to get focus then couldn't even find Jupiter! Bad preparation on my part..🤣

So well done

On a bright star 5 seconds will be plenty.

When I used APT I always struggled with the Bahtinov tool. Why can you not focus manually using the Bahtinov mask instead of using the tool. If you magnify the view you should be able to get it close enough without any other tools. As said above, you do not need live view - just loop short exposures as you adjust your focus. Live view with the astro camera's is generally not as good as a DSLR.

1 hour ago, Robculm said:

I am a little confused about the two features (left side & top right corner). One of them seems to be the focus tube (top right I think), but not sure about the other!?

I would agree that one is the draw tube - the other is not so clear.

The picture of the defocused star seems to suggest the secondary may not be quite centred as there is an angle between the two vertical supports? Might be worth checking.

19 minutes ago, Dazzyt66 said:

Not sure about APT, but using EKOS I have to make sure of the correct settings for the lens diameter and length (and camera sensor details) for the calculated FOV otherwise plate solving will fail.

Yes definitely - I was working on the assumption that these were already correct. Obviously still worth checking.

I quite agree. Brighter objects such as stars which do not need excessive stretching with a good gradient removal tool (such as Star Tools) are quite possible with a full moon. There are so few clear nights here that you need to use every opportunity possible.

5 minutes ago, Newforestgimp said:

Went to then plate solve and it couldn’t resolve the images ??

Could you see the stars in the image or was it just the plate solving that was struggling? From what you are saying above, it would appear the camera is working correctly. I would normally plate solve with something like 10s exposures - this avoids issues with other light as only the stars show.

As there has been no reply we can only assume that Powerlord has been eaten by the zombies. Too slow on the replies I guess......

RIP Stu.🤣

Does not sound too good if you cannot make out the stars... When I got my 600D camera modded I changed very little in terms of the settings. The images did appear to be a little noisier, but not to the extent you are suggesting. I would not think changing the white balance would make that much difference - it changes the colours but should not stop you seeing stars.

Have you tried taking a normal daytime image with a lens? The colour will be out but it should show you whether it is working correctly.

14 minutes ago, oymd said:

The GREEN PLUS button? Press that to se the new limits?

Yes. Manually slew to the position you want to set the limit and press the + button. There is a bit of info here:

EQASCOM Limits (sourceforge.net)

There is also some more useful info here for EQASCOM in general:

EQMOD Tutorials (sourceforge.net)

23 minutes ago, oymd said:

Can you please walk me through what steps do i need to do exactly?

If you connect you telescope mount through EQMOD and then open the tools you can set the meridian limits using the mount limits option.

Once open you can manually set the mount limits. From memory (it was a while ago), you can simply move the mount to the right position and add the limit. Then move the mount all the way to the other end of the meridian position to set the second limit.

Alternately you can uncheck the mount limits box but if the flip fails the scope could collide with the mount so I would not recommend this.

Hope this helps. 

I had some issues with meridian flips (not with NINA but another one - maybe BYEOS or APT) and it was down to the settings between the mount control and EQMOD. I extended the range of the mount in EQMOD to a few degrees past the meridian on both sides which allowed the software to continue imaging just past the point of flipping. The mount then finishes the sub and flips without issue. Without this PHD and the imaging software was trying to move the mount but EQMOD was stopping it giving the star trails and errors. I would try to extend the range of the mount slightly in EQMOD and I think this will solve the problem. (You might be able to do this in NINA - in effect reducing the range of the mount, but the system will then need to wait until it reaches the meridian before filpping. Doing this wastes imaging time).

3 hours ago, Pixies said:

If the weather is going that way, I think it'll be obvious to you!

Not sure how to remove flying fish from a lens😂

Some good advice already given - but I'll add my own thoughts.

In terms of portability, any newtonian design is always going to be relatively large an tricky to move about. An SCT would be more manageable but would need a good mount due to the long FL. Another option might be a larger refractor? You could get something within your budget with ED glass second hand such as a 100mm SW Evostar DS pro. Although not quite the same aperture it will be more forgiving on the mount and could be use for AP in the future.

I think you need to decide on your longer term priority (visual or AP) as the requirements are very different. For 'general purpose' DS, planetary, lunar and possibly future AP a Mak would probably be my choice as a relatively portable all-rounder. A bit like the SCT's, there are quite a few second hand.

According to the following link iso 1600 is optimum for the 6D.

Best ISO values for Canon cameras | DSLR Astrophotography (dslr-astrophotography.com)

Good luck with the Zombies.🧟‍♂️

Option 4 - go to Astrobin and nick someone else's picture and take all the credit! (and hope the zombies fall for your cunning plan)

Me too. Goes to show what a mentally corrupt bunch we all are😄

20 hours ago, ONIKKINEN said:

I bought the RisingCam IMX571 sensor colour camera and it works great. Obviously its been cloudy for weeks since i bought it but lots of people are happy with theirs and so am i, and the price is really competitive compared to the monopoly-gang manufacturers like ZWO and QHY who have just decided to ask 2200 euros for these products for no real reasons other than they can.

Although there is no reason to suspect these cameras are any worse or better than the more well known makes, there is the risk of how much support you will get in the event of something going wrong or driver issues. I agree that the likes ZWO and QHY do have a bit of a monopoly and the prices reflect this - but there is a well established support network in place. How long would it take to send a camera back to China for repair / replacement (assuming this is possible)? Also, you will need to persuade the authorities not to add VAT a second time.

Just something to think consider.

I have used the C adaptor with the SW finder and 120 mini and it is fine. I did have to wind the focused right to the end of its travel, but it did work.

Sounds similar to my delivery of a new dovetail. The first TWO were lost in transit out the corner of the box. Third one was very well packed and arrived ok. Interestingly, both were UPS too. Fortunately not as annoying just a pain....

22 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

I suppose the dew heater on the guide cam is overkill

I think it is a good idea. I always use a dew heater on my guide scope as it has caused issues before. I would not want to lose a nights imaging for the sake of a dew heater - especially as my rig gets left outside unattended.