BillKinn

Thanks for the info I think it is my flat frames. I was looking at my t ring for my DSLR and noticed that it's cutting the corners of my image, so now looking into getting a bigger one if that's even a thing. 

My gear is a EXOS-2 mount with a Sky-Watcher 200pds and I'm using a Canon 6D which is a full framed. 

I tried stacking is Pixlnsight but it kept rejecting the flats probably due to the issue above. 

I took the flats using backyardESO and the display picture was fully white but when I looked at the canon's display screen I could see a lot of vignetting, I didn't even think to look at that 😬

Still have shed loads to learn, thanks again for taking the time to look.

Regards Bill. 

Hi all can anyone tell me why I'm getting this distortion after stacking, I shot 72x50 second shots and stacked it with 20 flat 20 bias and 20 dark in Deepskystacker I used 80% stacking.

I'm new to stacking and processing so I'm not sure if this is normal or not. I did try to process the image in Pixelsight but I get a really bright circle in the centre of the image so maybe this is due to the stacking I'm not sure.

Any help would be apricated.

Thanks Bill. 

Veil Neb.tif

Hi all I thought I would come back with a little update.

So after following the tutorial that StevieDvd posted (thanks for that mate) I figured out that in fact it was my home position that was the problem. The two little arrows that are meant to point at each other are way off. I uses Sharpcap to do another Polar alignment and set my RA to the new home position and all objects are bang in the middle of my view.

It's amazing how much it was off so I guess the little arrows are just for reference. I've marked the mount for future reference and for anyone with the EXOS-2 mount that's experiencing the same problem I would suggest to do as I did.

Thanks again for all the help.

Bill.

20 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

Hi Bill welcome to SGL,

We will try and help getting you up to speed.

It appears that you have polar aligned the scope which is the hard part.  The computer star alignment is based on your mount being in the correct home position and having the date and long/lat set correctly.  If any of these are out then it will not take you to chosen alignment point correctly.

Basically the scope would be pointing up (12 o'clock position if you think of the scope being the hands of the clock), whilst the weights would be vertical (or at the lowest point of the arc when the mount is moved). Some mounts have scales that can be set to show this as zero against a mark on the mount and can be adjusted by loosening a locking screw.

So if the date is set correct (it may want date in US format) and the long/lat/time is set correctly try with the weights parallel with the leg and see if that gets you nearer to the first alignment star.  If it does and the remaining alignments and goto stars are OK then tell the mount to park in home position and mark that position for next time (some tape and a marker pen).

See this page for an idea of how to set your home position starting point.

Thank you this is very helpful, I'm starting to think it maybe a home position issue, so definitely going to try what you suggested.  

Thanks again.

2 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Hi sorry i could not help still learning this hobby 

I'm in the same boat, it's a steep learning curve.

2 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Hi a lot of the goto systems have PAE i use synscan i found if you clear its memory then do 3 star alignment  if the first target after alginment is off i press esc then press and hold esc it asks me to centre  target which i do then press enter it stores it in PAE the next target is spot on your goto may have same sort of PAE and needs to be cleared and re done

Hi thanks for the reply I don't use a handset as the PMC-8 box is connected to a laptop where everything is controlled via software, I reset the alignment data each time I use it.

Hello everyone, I'm wondering if I could get some help, sort of ripping my hair out a little.

I have the EXOS2 PMC-8 and last night I used Sharpcap to Polar align, I set the mount up as usual and adjusted until Sharpcap said excellent Polar alignment.

So my next step was to do a 3 star alignment  I was using a program called Explorer Stars to achieve this, so when I asked the mount to slew to the first star it was way off even in the finder scope, is that normal? So I used the controls to get the star in my FOV and centred it, it was the same for the next two stars way off. so I did the same.

I finished the 3 star alignment and when I asked the mount to find an object the object was not centred it was bottom right of the quick photo I took.

I've made sure all the information is correct by setting my Longitude and Latitude and also made sure my time is correct, the mount is balanced and level and pointing North. I think I'm doing something wrong somewhere.

Also may I ask should my counterweight bar be parallel with the mounts front leg? I have two little arrows on the mount that should be pointing at each other when in the home position but when they are the counterweight bar is pointing to the right quite a fair bit.

I'm new to all this only been doing it for a few months so a lot of things are quite confusing.     

Thanks in advance Bill. 

Thank everyone for the information, after a long talk with someone on the phone I have ordered an Explore Scientific EXOS2-GT with PMC-Eight Mount.

I did look into the HEQ5 but couldn't find any in stock even eBay where overcharging, I hope I've made a good choice. 

The person I spoke to on the phone said the mount can hold up to 12.5kg for imaging and 18kg for visual and the mount is belt driven so it should be a little quieter.

I guess if this setup wont work well I have the option of downsizing my scope.

Thanks again. 

19 hours ago, Erling G-P said:

It does sound like you're no longer considering the EQ5, but just realised I should clarify something in my earlier post:  The Rowan belt I mod mentioned, is only available for the HEQ5 Pro & for the EQ6 / NEQ6 - I don't believe they make one for the EQ5.  

Thanks for letting me know.

23 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

It is 8 kg without eyepieces 

Thanks.

8 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

I have a EQ5 with a rather heavy 5" frac I have got round this getting a EQ6 tripod getting a adaptor plate (https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/geoptik-heq5-tripod-adaptor-for-eq6-2-tripods.html) so my EQ5 mount fits really sturdy now.

Thanks for the info, how heavy is your telescope?

3 hours ago, masjstovel said:

Hi, I had the EQ5 Goto. I am have a 150PDS, so smaller than yours. I was heartbroken with the cost of this hobby when i started with it - I therefore bought the EQ5 intead of something bigger. 6 months or so later i sold the EQ5 and bought a EQ6 instead. If i were you I would , I would pay the exrtra  bucks and buy the EQ6-R or Az-EQ6. The EQ5 will be to small.

 

Thank you I'm starting to understand what I need now, I was told by a so called professional that the EQ5 would be suitable for the 200pds but after doing more research I'm starting to think it's not maybe he was trying to pull a fast one on me, I will definitely look into something bigger now, everything is so confusing but thanks again for the information.

35 minutes ago, Erling G-P said:

I'm imaging with a 200PDS on a HEQ5 Pro, and many here will say that my mount is too small for the scope, so using an EQ5 Pro would probably be pushing it.  Haven't heard the EQ5, but if it's anything like the HEQ5, then it will be noisy when slewing at full speed, especially when stopping & starting, as this produces a loud, grinding noise.  When just tracking, it's virtually silent.  Noise & tracking can be improved with a Rowan belt mod (about £100 if you buy the kit and install it yourself, about £200 pre installed from First Light Optics).  With this the noise is greatly reduced.

Not familiar with the Explore Scientific, but a quick check reveals the quoted capacity for imaging to be 28 lbs (40 lbs visual).  That ought to be enough for a 200PDS with camera & guide scope, so of the two mounts you mention, this seems the better choice.

Thank you for the response very helpful. 

1 hour ago, Maho said:

Looking forward to the responses here as I'm considering the EQ5 myself and have the 130PDS.

 

Am I correct in thinking that the EXOS-2 is only WIFI enabled and does not come with a handset?

Yes that's right it controlled via a laptop or tablet.

Hi all, I'm quite new to all this and looking into astrophotography so looking for some recommendations.

I'm looking in buying a Go-To mount  and I think I have narrowed it down to two mounts the Skywatcher EQ5 Pro GOTO or the Explore Scientific EXOS-2 PMC-Eight has anyone had any experience with any of these mounts?

I have a Skywatcher 200PDS would any of these mounts support the scope, A few people have said the EQ5 is rather loud  so that's sort of putting me of due to my neighbours.

Any info or recommendations would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks, Bill.