Hoopla

Hi. Thanks for the reply. On the first point the bit the jackscrew is attached to seems to move before it bites. There no obvious thread issues. 
 

on the second it’s like the mount retaining bolt that screws up from the bottom has room to warble in the shaft the bolt goes through in the pier. No matter how tight I make it it has play to move from the top. 

I’ve recently upgraded my scope to a skywatcher 250P-DS on this mount and it seems the JackScrew has become loose. There is a lot of play before the scope moves up and then down when turning. I’ve got the following kit on it. Zwo ASI533MC Pro, 120mm guilde scope and zwo mini camera (can’t recall the model) and an zwo EAF.  All of which bring the total weight to below 18Kg but not by much. 
 

just wondering if anyone knows why this might be happening and what I can do to tighten it as there’s no obvious solution. I don’t what to spend more on the CEM70 unless I really have to as the scope and kit should be ok for the mount from my calculations. 
 

I should also add that I’ve always had issues with the mount sitting properly on the Pulsar pier adapters (I’ve bought two) as it rocks when on and tightened as much as possible. I’ve worked around it by using a g-clamp which works well.  Just wondering if this was a Friday afternoon mount and needs disposing of. 

Hi All. 
 

im hoping someone can help here. 
 

I have the following equipment. 
 

WO GT71

ASI533mc pro

zwo eaf 

2 x Barlow

i have no problem focusing without the Barlow but I just can’t seem to get any focus at all when I introduce the Barlow. I have extended the relief by adding extension tubes a very long way and not at all etc but after three nights trying I’m reach out to see if I’m missing something obvious here. Any thoughts or help would gratefully received.  

Thank you both for the replies.

I will be putting my ASI120 onto the scope this eve and retesting but in essence yes I do have the correct backfocus and the issue occurs only when attached to the OTA seemingly.  I say seemingly as I need to reduce the exposure and retest the camera when off the OTA this eve too as the 10 second exposure I took last night produced a white screen only. 

So after much testing can anyone let me know if you’ve seen the below before. The image on the top is with or without any filters or flatteners with the scope cap off and yields the same results in all cases. The bottom image is the same test with the scope cap on. I’ve shone a light all the round the scope and cannot introduce light of any note when the cap is on. Scope is the skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro with 0.85 reducer and zwo asi533mc pro camera. Does anyonethink it could be an optical issue with the scope? It’s brand new!

8 hours ago, Chefgage said:

Take a look at this video. At the 5 minute mark he shows the measurements at which the camera and focuser should be set at. I did this and then I could see stars. A bit of fine tuning and I am nicely focused.

https://youtu.be/2oiTVGA2zIs

Thanks for the comment and I’ve now set mine to the same or near enough values. However the kit seems to be slightly different from what I have so will have to see later tonight. 

Hi,

I recently purchased the below from FLO and am really struggling to get good focus on my guide camera and wondering if you can give me any suggestions. It’s consistently losing the star whilst guiding. 

I have tried extending the front by unscrewing etc but to get any sort of focus I need to have the red screw piece practically all the way in and the camera on the very extreme outer edge to get any level of stars in view. I just can’t seem to get a decent enough focus so am hoping you can offer some advice / guidance please?

I’m using an ASI AIRPRO for the guiding. 

Thanks Malc. I managed to find my error and Amazon delivered a EQMod cable yesterday. Hey presto! It worked! 
 

hoping for clear sky’s tonight to learn about auto-guiding and fingers crossed get a nice picture of pleiades! 

So after ordering my Asiair Pro and waiting a month for it to come I’ve made the schoolboy error of not understanding how to connecting it up successfully and now I’m left wondering what I need. 
 

after 40 minutes trying to polar align I finally got the first plate solve! Then nothing from the mount..... I believe I need a cable to connect the hand controller to the asiair pro. But I can’t find anywhere which one is best to get! 
 

Im unsure if I can just use a usb a to usb b cable or if I need a serial to usb or what. Hopefully someone can help! 

So thanks to all that commented. Whilst I’m still Terrible at polar alignment after finally getting something resembling a moon I did a little focusing and 💥 here’s the result of my first ZWO shoot. 
 

thank you guys!!!!! 

14 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Is your scope the PDS version? If not I'd think you'd need to use the least amount of adaptors necessary as the camera will focus almost all the way in? Can you focus normally on the tree using an ep? If so where abouts is the focus travel at focus then? You would want the camera sensor to be at roughly the same position as the field lens of the EP.

 

Edit: just seen that you can get focus on the tree with your dslr. I'd put the dslr in, focus on the tree then make a note of where in the focuser travel it is, then trying to replicate that with the ASI. Will need to take into account how far into the body each sensor is on the two cameras

If I can just ask Craig, which of the adaptors in the picture would you suggest using please? I can only seem to fit the bottom left adaptor in the image above directly to the camera but this won’t fit on the T2 u used with the canon to add length. 

2 minutes ago, discardedastro said:

The way I sanity check my adapter configuration is to grab an eyepiece with a similar field of view and make a note (mentally or with some dry-wipe marker) of where the first lens in the bottom of the eyepiece is when viewed from the outside. Then, get that to focus. You now have a mark on the outside which is roughly where you need to place your focal plane. You can then simply hold up your adapters (or measure, etc) and see if you get the same answer, more or less! Then adjust to suit.

On Newts, often you'll surprise yourself with how far back you need the camera's sensor to be relative to where you might end up with an eyepiece "sitting" because of the offset between the actual entry pupil location (the first lens in the eyepiece towards the scope) versus the "stop" of the eyepiece in the barrel.

Thank you. I’ll give that a shot too if I can’t get focus on the moon a bit later this afternoon. 
 

I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the forum. Never seems to disappoint. Thank you all. 

2 minutes ago, Craney said:

Later this afternoon the Moon should be rising in a (hopefully) blue sky..... it is looking promising here in N Yorks.

An easy target to find and is pretty much at 'infinity' for a telescope.   That should get a result for you. If not post a picture of your imaging set up and we might be able to spot something.

Sounds like you have the software working which is always a bonus.

Sean.

Thanks Sean, I’ll try this. I’m aware I could just be shooting too close but thought it would be able to focus initially on my target as my canon 700d does. 
 

I’ll give it a shot and try. 

Hi Craig, thank you for replying. I’m trying to focus on a tree a very long way off. 
 

all I’m seeing is green as I take it through the gain or exposure on the way to white or black (depending on which way the slide is going). 
 

im really unsure if the adapter I’m using are the correct ones for my scope? 

Hi All,

im hoping someone can help. I have a skywatcher 150p explorer scope and in wanting to get better DSO shots I’ve purchased a ZWO ASI533MC Pro camera however I’m trying to attach the camera to the scope to gain focus and attempt to get used to the software during the day so that in the eve o can hopefully get a few shots going. 
 

I simply can’t seem to get any level of focus. I’m aware regards the gain and exposure and am sure it’s not that but more the spacers I’m using when attaching to my scope. 
 

i have tried so many combinations and the manual does not seem to line up with the wording on the spacers it’s self. Can anyone please help!!   I have attached the spacers I have in the pack. I’m sure I’m doing something stupid but just can’t seem to resolve this. 

Hi Geoff,

thanks for the advice. I assume the EQ3 Pro can track Mars though or am I wishful thinking? 

Hi All, I'd just like to say thanks for all those that have commented.  It's a tad confusing when getting started as you'll all probably remember but the advice has been clear and easy to follow.  

It seems like I now understand regards to the usable magnification and how to calculate this given the kit I have.  If I have then I will try again tonight (weather permitting) by placing my scope outside for a couple of hours and using a 10x eyepiece with a 3x barlow as my scope has a focal length of 750mm which if my calculations are correct works out to 225x magnification?

Then on to working out how I can photograph this with the Canon 700D....

9 hours ago, Stu said:

Your scope is certainly capable of showing detail on Mars. I have a Heritage 150p which is essentially the same scope but in a collapsible tube with a plastic helical focuser.

Some weeks back I was able to see the polar cap and dark markings on the surface, powers of up to over x300 were useable but x220 ish was best.

Conditions play a large part in what you see, and I understand the Jetstream is overhead currently which can obscure the detail. The only answer here is to observe as often as possible and spend time at the eyepiece in order to pull the detail out. Make sure the scope is cooled and collimated well.

This is an iPhone shot through the scope; the views were better than this. The second one has been processed and is nearer the detail level I was seen.

Hi there, I assume you have just 'blown' the images up a bit here and these are not the actual sizes taken with a camera?

Hi All,

im totally new to this and have been getting setup over the past 3 months. I’ve purchased a Skywatcher 150P on a EQ3 Pro mount. 
 

I have a 2x and 3x Barlow with 10x and 20x eyepieces. I’m trying to view and photograph Mars as it’s so bright at present and easy to see however I’m really struggling to see anything more than a bright ball when viewing and when photographing it’s just a blurry ball. 
 

I have a canon 700d DSLR with t ring and adaptors  

can folk suggest what combination of Barlow / eyepiece would be required to view Mars in all its glory and possibly lens and iso/exposure settings to get some nice shots too please. I’m aware I may need to stack and am tech savvy so this bit should be ok. I just can’t seem to get anything at present to process.

help!!