Budgie1

I went with liquid cooling of the CPU a few years ago, Steve. My desktop case also has extra fans in the front and base of the case to create a through draft of cool air from floor level. I did build it when I did a bit of gaming and noticed the temps going up, so took precautions. I've just run a quick test and using v11 Lite my CPU was running all six cores at between 96 & 100% load. The CPU temp went from 36°C before I started, increased to an average of 43°C during the process and never went over 46°C.

I've not updated this thread for a while, mainly because not much has happened. I've been too busy using it for imaging and getting used to the joys of having a permanent setup! I did a wee check on my setup times and from deciding it was a good night for imaging to starting the first exposure took 15 minutes the other night. I did make a desk for the laptop out of an old piece of kitchen worktop I had in the shed. That works well and I've used a laptop dew shelter I made a couple of years ago as protection. Because I don't have electrics installed yet (if I ever bother), I've fitted a 3-gang extension to the wall which I connect the laptop and main scope PSU too and I've run a 5m USB3 cable from the Pegasus Pocket Power Box Advance to the laptop. This means I just run an extension lead from the house into the obsy. This afternoon I had some spare time so I got on with building the decking for the front of the Obsy. If you remember, this was part of the deal with my wife for putting the shed where it is. Anyway, it went a lot faster than I thought it would and I got the whole thing completed in a couple of hours, I think it finishes it off nicely. I do need to get some anti-slip tread for the decking boards before winter, otherwise I'll likely fly in through the door when it gets icy! I still haven't made the weather flap for the rear of the roof and there's a few other small parts to complete, but it's just about there now.

So, I also installed the update this evening and tried it out on my desktop. The computer is an older one which I built a few years ago but works well. The specs are: AMD FX 6300 Six-Core 3.5 Ghz, 32GB RAM, 4GB graphics card, Windows 10 Home, 1TB SSD Using StarXTerminator in PI on a non-linear image, Bin x2 (which my normal process) I got the following times from the versions using default settings: v10 - 1m19s v11 - 10m21s v11 Lite - 5m12s Of the three AI versions I tried, I would say v10 still gave the best results, followed by v11 Lite, then v11 which left artefacts from one star. The PC ran fine throughout, with no lockups, Not Responding messages or anything and I was able to use my browser while the process was running.

You don't mention whether you're using Starnet++ on it's own or with other software but, in the PixInsight version there's a "Linear" tick box on the Starnet settings window. Are you maybe trying to make a non-linear image starless with the linear setting selected, or vice versa?

I think it's wiser to remove the camera from the scope and just put the cover over the sensor when shooting Darks. If you build a Darks Library then you only have to do it once, unless you start to notice they're not working. I setup a plan in APT on a cloudy day, put the sensor cover on, sit the camera on the sensor cover (so it's pointed down) and create 30 Darks of each exposure setting I'm likely to use. Once the library is created then I reuse the Darks for the rest of the season. With the filter draw, here's what I found with mine: I now have a second filter draw, complete with the "lip" for my filters and I don't get any light leaks when imaging.

I managed few more hours on NGC6888 last night. So here is 5h15m of 180s exposures, everything else is the same as in the first post.

Yes, you can just use a previous Master Dark of the same exposure and sensor temp as the lights. Leave the Bias frames blank and add the Dark-Flats to the Darks menu and WBPP with separate them from Darks using the exposure time. You should also see a tick in the "Darks" box on the Flats on the Calibration tab.

I started off with the 1.25" L-eXtreme in the adaptor, but soon got tired of removing the camera to change the filter. So I ended up going with the ZWO Filter Draw and got the 2" Askar Duo-Band filter instead. I now have the 2" Astornomik L-2 UV/IR Block for broadband and I recently acquired the 2" L-eNhance for when I don't want the full blown Duo-Band. The filter draw suits my needs because I generally don't change filter mid-session and there's no chance of getting vignetting with the 2 " filters on the ASI294MC.

I like looking back at what I managed to achieve with a target when I re-shoot it again. It confirms I've made progress, both with imaging & processing and pushes me to continue to better my images. For this thread it's NGC6888 Crescent Nebula. I last imaged this target on 23rd December 2020 with an astro-modded Canon EOS 1300D attached to the Evostar 100ED DS Pro with 0.85 FF/FR and mounted on a EQ5 mount. The capture software was APT with PHD2. I can't remember which software I use to process it, I think it was likely Photoshop CS3 and stacking was DSS. This is 2h34m of 240s exposures at ISO800: Now to the comparison image. This was shot on the 4th September 2022 (last night) with high cloud and poor seeing. The scope is the same Evostar 100ED DS Pro & FF/FR but the mount is the HEQ5 with Rowan Belt mod, the camera is ZWO ASI294MC Pro with the L-eNhance filter. I still use APT and PHD2 but all stacking & processing was done in PI. Given the seeing conditions and the short integration time, I think it's done quite well. The Oiii shell is just starting to show and the detail is there, I fully intend to take another 4-5 hours worth of data on this target while it's in a good location for me. This is 1h24m of 180s exposures at gain 200 & offset 30. Anyone else done something similar, feel free to post your own progression images.

I use the MutecPower 15m USB3 active extension lead and it's been fine. No issues at all. I've used it with both a powered USB3 hub & the Pegasus Pocket Powerbox Advance at the mount end and plugged into a USB3 port on my laptop at the other. This way it gets power from both ends and just works. If you don't have a hub of some kind at the mount end then the Mutec comes with a PSU which you can use instead. This plugs into the female end of the cable or the mid-point booster.

Thanks Alan, It used to take me about half an hour to carry the mount, tripod, scope, laptop, power & USB cables through the house and setup in the garden. Even for the first time the other night, I connected the mount, scope & cameras during the daytime and all I had to do was run the power across the garden and connect the USB3 cable to the laptop. Setup time, about 5 minutes.

You could try reducing the exposure time and just do more subs, something like 180s or 240s per sub. You can use a second pass of DBE if there's still some gradient left and add more points to where the gradient is. Another option is to start off by using GraXpert after stacking, but before PI processing, so most/all gradients are dealt with before you start. I'm also with the others regarding the filter, defiantly go broadband on this target. The L-eXtreme and L-eNhance kill this type of target.

It's finally dark enough to start capturing again! Those following my Obsy build thread will have seen this image already but I thought I'd post it in here as well. This is the first image of the season for me and the first taken in the new Obsy in the garden, also the first using the L-eNhance filter. This was taken on Thursday evening (1st Sept) as a test session to check the new pier, get the mount Polar Aligned and test out the new focuser & EAF I fitted over the Summer. The kit used was: HEQ5 with Rowan Belt mod, Evostar 100ED DS Pro with 0.85 FF/FR, ZWO ASI294MC Pro set to -10°C, 200 gain & 30 offset, L-eNhance filter using APT & PHD2. The image was stacked and processed in PI and consists of 22 x 240s exposures = 1h 28m total integration. It could have done with more time but I lost some subs to high cloud before lower cloud covered the sky just after 11pm. I hope you like the results and C&C's welcome, as always.

I thought it would be rude not to try it out, Dafydd. It's a shame I couldn't have used more of the subs but it was obvious the high cloud had reduced the details, so it wasn't worth trying them. I'm please with the L-eNhance though, not quite as aggressive as the Askar or L-eXtreme and I'll try to get more on this target if I can.

Not much has happened with the actual build this week but my wife has completed a blind for the inside of the windows and the support posts have grown leaves! I did get a couple of evenings with clear skies this week and put the HEQ5 and Evostar 100ED DS Pro onto the pier for the first time. This was mainly to make sure the roof cleared the scope and it does, just! I did have to rotate the focuser so the EAF cleared roof and didn't hit the pier when imaging. The metal plates I got for the discs are now in place and work well. The one which holds the mount securing bolt isn't fixed to the underside of the disc, so I can remove it if needs be. The mount is solid on there now and I'm really pleased with the pier. I still need to make something permanent for the laptop, but I've got a fold-up table in there at the moment and a small seat, which work fine as a temporary measure. Power is supplied using an extension lead run from the house and the 12v 10amp PSU sits under the mount, again, this will be fitted more permanently later. Tuesday night was looking good for a clear night so that's when I setup the mount & scope, as it turned out, it wasn't that successful because it clouded over quite quickly and I only managed to get the mount polar aligned with SharpCap and saved the Park position for the mount in EQMod. Last night (Thursday) is was looking good, so I got out there just after 9pm and connected the laptop & power. I then used APT's new Polar Alignment tool to find turn the AP using the main camera, after getting the focus right. I then setup on NGC6914 in Cygnus as the first light target, also as a test for the L-eNhance filter I acquired from a fellow SGL member recently. I managed 38x 240s images before the cloud rolled in but only used 22 of them due to high cloud on some of them. This also included an meridian flip, which I let APT do on it's own and it went without any issues, although I was poised over the STOP button! So here's my first light from the Obsy and for this season, 1h 28m of NGC6914 stacked & processed in PI.

Another busy week at work but I managed to grab a day off to get a long bank holiday weekend. It was dry today so I got on with fitting some items which arrived in the post during the week. First off was another set of wheels for the roof. Looking at the fully assembled roof and feeling the weight that's in it now, I decided to air on the side of caution and add some more wheels. As the wheels I originally got were only £13.99 for four, I just got another set and fitted four to each side. It does run much easier now and I'm more happy with it. The second job was fitting some handles to assist with opening & closing the roof. These are sprung and fold flat when not being used. Then I took the feather board off the front of the obsy so I could give it another coat of paint and also fit the draft-excluder/runner brushes. These seem to work quite well and as I've got 1.5m of the stuff, it should last a while. Lastly today, I fitted the flooring. This is 3mm thick interlocking workshop flooring I got from Homebase and I used 2 packs of 6 tiles to cover the shed floor. It covers the gaps in the floorboards, insulates and will hopefully save any astro kit I may drop. So, all that's really left to do is finish painting & fit the battens for the corners and the wall joints, make the feather board hinged flap for the rear of the roof and fit the security. Then build a small desk for the laptop in one corner and put a dew cover over it, build the decking, line the inside of the shed.......................... So, not much left, but at least I can start using it now.

There is usable data in there, but not as it's currently stacked. I put it in PI and did a quick ABE, which did show some of the nebula. First off, I would try restacking without using the flats and see what that does to the image. The ASI294MC seems to work better with longer exposure flats, try something closer to 1-1.5s with 26,000 ADU. You're also using flat-darks and BIAS, when you only really need to use one or the other. With my own ASI294MC I found using BIAS frames caused issue with a residual of amp glow still being visible, not an issue when I stopped using them and just used flat-darks.

Hi Joseph and welcome to SGL. You'll need to know the screw thread size you need but do a search for "Star Grip Knob" and see if that's what you're looking for.

I haven't made much progress this week, mainly due to work & rain, but I did get some jobs completed today. First off was to correct something I noticed I got wrong when I put the wheels on the roof frame. For some reason, on three of the wheels the axle bolt had the nut facing the upright part of aluminium runners and this was catching occasionally. So I decided to lift the roof and put the axle bolt in from the other side, so the hex head was closest to the aluminium and wouldn't catch. That roof is heavy now the roof panels and felt are on it, but job done and something I won't have to worry about. Once that was done, I cut the door to size and got it mounted, I've not decided on security for the obsy yet, so the padlock clasp is on there at the moment to keep the door shut. I then cut the feather board to size for the shed sides, these were painted a couple of days ago, so I just painted the cut edge & fitted them in place. Hopefully theses will keep the weather out. I also cut the front feather boards and did the cut-outs for the top of the door and the runners. I then painted the back & edges before fitting them in place and giving them one coat of paint. These will get another couple of coats of paint this coming week and I have 50mm long garage door brush strip coming to put behind the boards to clean the runners and act as a draught excluder. Spot the freshly painted boards! 👇😀 Finally today, I cut the beads which cover the centre of the wall panels to length and started painting those. Then it'll be the corner beading to cut, paint & fit and that'll be then main part of the shed just about completed. Oh yah, I've still go the rear feather board flap to make as well, once I decide on the hinges I'm going to use. Then I can move on to the decking. Oh, didn't I mention the decking? A small request from my wife to put decking in front of the obsy as somewhere to sit, as it's in full Sun in the Summer. Well, she did agree to have the Obsy on the garden and she painted it for me, so it's the least I can do.

No chance of see it from my latitude then, Sunset wasn't until 20:55 this evening. 🤣

Look strongish, but not far enough South yet. Note: Live image, so it will update with the latest data and may not show aurora on the date of this post.

Update: As you may have see in my earlier posts, I worked into the late evening yesterday to get the roof boards in place and the felt fitted. Today I went around and tidied up what I missed in the dark & working by headtorch last night. Then I painted and fitted the battens to the gable ends of the roof, painted & fitted the door surrounds (still need to cut the door and fit it) then fitted the four roof clamps. On my way home yesterday I managed to get 10 x 1.8m lengths of feather board, which will nicely cover & weather proof the gap between the roof & walls, also allowing me to hinge the rear one so it will lift when rolling the roof. These are in the middle of painting at the moment. I was going to work on this evening but the midges are horrendous again this evening, it fine if there's a bit of wind but it's calm here and I could feel them bouncing off my face when I was trying to paint the feather boards and they were getting stuck in the paint. So I gave up, finished the painting in my other shed and called it a night.

I did have a look at EPDM, David, but the shed came with a roll of felt so I decided to use that first and then go with EPDM when it gives out. The felt is now on the roof, I finished at about 10:15 last night so it's at least watertight before any more showers come through.

For the uninitiated, midges are different from mosquitoes, you may get a few mosquitoes around you but you'll get thousands of midgies, see video below! I use "Smidge". I was out until late last night putting the roof panels & felt on the Obsy and the midgies were really bad towards 10pm. Even though I'd Smidged up, they were still landing on me but weren't biting, at one point I looked at my hand and it was covered in them, bit like in the video. Smidge works better than anything else I've tried, it's not cheap, but it works. 👍

I had a wee play with PixInsight and came up with the image below. Sometimes I fine the first attempt is the best, then I go back a few months later, when I've learned more processing skills and try again. Sometimes I think it's better, other times I scrap the attempt half way through.