Clarkey

Yes, mine is one of the early V1's. I have seen some complaints regarding the CA - it is there certainly, but manageable. As you say - realistic expectations, especially at fast focal ratios.

A small mount probably draws no more than 1A tracking and a camera will be similar, probably less. If that is all you are using then that is 24 W at 12V. So if you want 4 hours run time it would be 4x24, or 96 Whr. Give yourself a bit more for slewing etc, but 200 Whr should give you at least 6 hours.

Carrying on with my PI learning journey, here is my latest image. I am starting to get the hang of the software now, so hopefully the results will start to improve! This is 12.5 hours of HO with the L-Extreme and 6 hours of RGB. Other than the stars, the RGB made very little difference as it was swamped by the Ha signal. Imaged using a Risingcam IMX571 and the FMA180. The FMA180 seems to get some bad press, but I must confess I quite like the images it has produced. Yes, there is a small amount of CA but this is easily removed in processing. Constructive comment welcome as always.

@Marvin Jenkins Oops. It was meant to be! I shall move.

I have had at least 5 scopes shipped from FLO (and others) and never had an issue. I think it will be fine.

Just to add to @Mr Spock comment above, technically with the larger scope better resolution is possible. but both of these are less than your pixel scale so you will not see any difference. If you go to do any planetary imaging using the longer FL you would see a difference. You can work out the numbers here: astronomy.tools

I think if you are using a long FL scope on a very tall pier, then some if the arguments in the video are probably valid. However, in most cases the seeing, optics and mount will have a much larger effect. I used to image on a tripod in the garden and then moved to a pier in an observatory and I saw no significant difference in performance. FWIW my pier is made from 10" plastic pipe filled with concrete, I have a rat cage and a brake disk as a mounting plate. Works fine. The hole for the concrete was decided by how many bags I could be bothered to carry through the house. I got fed up at about 250 kg.

Yup - or at least that was my understanding. It can be used for test reports etc.

As @Carbon Brush says, there is a lot of fiction online. I purchased a dummy battery for my 600D but stuck with a USB powered version. My thought was I would rather have a faulty bit of low voltage kit than mains powered.

I dismantled the camera again today but could find nothing amiss. I put everything back together and no noise.🤔 Anyway, I'm guessing something must have been vibrating against the case. Who knows? But peace has returned...

Yes, in think you are right. However, I did not want to push the data any further. Extra integration time would help any image, but it already has about 6 hours of luminance and I was not sure it was worth another night. FOV is about 0.8 by 0.6 degrees in the image.

Phones had wires in 1992🤣

I am hoping some of the knowledgeable folks on SGL can help me with a bit of an odd problem..... I have a Rising Cam IMX571 camera that has been getting noisier and noisier. It was a high pitched whir / whine so I thought the fan must be going. Anyway, today I replaced the fan. This turned out to be more hassle than I expected as I ended up having to rewire the plug which was a different fitting. Having done this I turned it on and WHIRRRR!!! On closer inspection the noise was happening even when the fan was not moving. So, my two questions are: What in a solid state device would make the noise of a worn out fan? Given the noise is getting worse, should I be concerned that the camera is likely to fail? Any ideas?

NGC7129 in Cephus. Approximately 13 hours of HaLRGB data over two nights from early October. Seeing was not as good as I would like. ASI1600MM pro and Stella Lyra RC8, processed in PI. Not too unhappy with the result, but the background is still a bit noisy. Probably pushed the data a little too hard to get the nebula detail. Constructive criticism and comment welcome.

I do still like the look of the Sharpstar- in particular using mono and filters. Feedback from FLO seems to be that most of the earlier issues with the primary mirror.

Blimey, that must have been some gust to do that. Have you checked your focuser alignment? It might be a simple job of realigning? (Far from my area of expertise, but I would check that first).

You won't need anything, but a dual band filter will allow you to image HOO with a colour sensor. Also, helps if imaging during a full moon. You don't say what mount you are using. At the end of the day, it's the most important part of the set up.

With my ZWO camera it came with the correct spacers to give the 55mm back focus required. As far as I know this it still the case. Unfortunately, I sold my ED80 which I have come to regret. It is a great all-rounder for visual and imaging.

Assuming your 0.85 reducer is the standard SW flattener/ reducer, it with readily combine with your image train. Also, the 294 is known to be a bit temperamental with flats, so the 533 I'd probably a better option.

Those are some cracking images - I love the 3D look. I have tried to image the Wizard a couple of times, but I have failed dismally to do it justice. Even with long integration, it never quite looks right.

You have got further than I did. I did 2 nights last winter from my bortle 6 garden and ended up binning all the data. It was just too noisy to be any use. Not sure you'll get much from SE London!

I think the Samyang 135mm lens recommended by @Elp is a good shout. This will work with a standard star tracker or mount. You might want to consider modifying your DSLR so it will pick up H-alpha signal much better than unmodified. (There are filters that can be put back into the camera so it can be used for terrestrial use without messing up the white balance). The 72ED is a reasonable scope to image with but you are getting towards the need for guiding. It might be worth you looking at the AZGTi owners thread on here. There are plenty of people using this set up (modified for EQ use) and getting good results.

My first image processed 100% in PI. I still struggle with the interface - but it is starting to make slightly more sense to me now. I still find Affinity easier to work with, but I'll get there eventually..... Imaged using my trusty ASI1600MM pro in LRGB on a StellaLyra RC8 reduced to F6. Taken over 2 nights last week, with a total integration time of just over 14 hours. Stars are a little mis-shaped so I think I need to do a little bit of collimation. Critical comment and review welcome.

I think for capture only a pretty basic laptop will be fine. I have a very basic one (with usb3 and SSD) and it is more than adequate. However, if you are looking to process as well then it's worth getting something better. I process on a separate desktop PC as the specs are much better for the price.