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LandyJon

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Posts posted by LandyJon

  1. On 20/03/2024 at 15:56, Wanderers said:

    I've just bought a 6se on ebay with smashed corrector

    Remember the corrector, primary and secondary are all matched at manufacture and oriented for best performance so try to use all 3 from the same scope and maintain their orientation through any dismantle and reassembly.

    Hope you get something that works well at the end, I liked mine, they're a good little scope.

    • Like 1
  2. 12 hours ago, Wanderers said:

    I carefully tightened it in its thread

    I didnt think the secondary screwed in to a thread ?  Is it held in place then ?

    I had a 6SE but don't recall removing the secondary, the Edge 9.25 has the same as pictured above, the secondary slots in with a peg to achieve correct rotation position, then the retaining ring screws down to hold it in place.

    A photo of what you've got would help, there may be earlier versions which were different to the above image, certainly fastar compatibility would have changed the way the secondary mounted if yours is pre-fastar.

    As for buying spares a quick Google found nothing, but a quick call to FLO or Rother Valley, one or other may help you find the part.

    Edit : Oh and collimation will need to be checked either way once you've sorted it, these SCTs hold collimation pretty well, I work on the idea mounting and dismounting and carefully packing away etc is all good but take it for a drive and you should check its still aligned.

    Also cleaning the corrector is easy enough, even if it needs removing, just be sure to mark the orientation so it goes back in exactly the way round it came out from.

    • Like 1
  3. Indeed, you need a finder scope of some sort ...

    20220527_233102.thumb.jpg.5ea6f163c7cf4aee1b3ce8657f2923fc.jpg

    Mine have cameras in there rather than eyepieces, but the small white scope (or a red dot) you'd use once aligned with the main scope to find the star you want, then looking through the main scope it shouldn't be too far out of your view, hopefully in it but if not you may see some glow that'll indicate which way you need to move.

    My main reason for comment tho ...

    Have you got your location set properly in the synscan handset ? using the right format, ie. decimal or deg:min:sec ... to be honest I forget, its been that long, software does it all for imaging so I haven't used the handset in a long time, but if your location is off your goto and star aligns will all be off.

    Just a thought.

  4. 37 minutes ago, Physopto said:

    Very nice Jon. So Stu is doing it all for you then...................   😂

    Only teasing

    Yes, I need to put some time in to learning the processing now I've got some good data collecting kit.

    Was at this point 2 years ago with the 6", now I've finally got everything I need for the 9.25 and got it working I can start concentrating on learning photoshop techniques.

    • Like 1
  5. 38 minutes ago, AKB said:

    Really glad to hear you’re getting up to speed with the Hyperstar.  Enjoy!

    Tony

     

    Yes, I've only had 1 opportunity to try it since and had trouble with it not reaching focus, so I had to wind it out a bit and forgot to not do it on the bright star I'd focused on.

    Just done it on a star field and happy with the result, maybe a little tweaking could be done but left it on M42 for an hour on live stack and this is the "save as seen" result.

    M42HyperstarStack_173frames_5190s10_02_2024T21_07_00_WithDisplayStretch.thumb.png.4389bbd1f1eb78fdb8b8e3e4348b1c96.png

    Its got an hour of horsehead now too, but we're in the warm room for a chat, I'll go pack it up shortly.

    • Like 2
  6. Indeed, we're getting some good clear skies with the occasional patch hazing up.

    Got my hyperstar collimated pretty good and some good data on M42 and now horsehead coming in.

    Would be good to see you but I'm hoping to get underway before lunchtime to get back home at a reasonable time since I'm back in work Monday.

    Glad to hear your friend is getting better, hope you're on the mend too.

    • Like 3
  7. 13 hours ago, Obsi said:

    But I still don't know how to polar align this or more precisely how I get that clock in the scope perfectly aligned with 0 beeing up and 6 down.

    Ment to include this in previous post, but the process of putting polaris in the crosshair then adjust alt only bolts to move it to the outer ring puts it at 00:00 ... then rotating RA so the circle is on polaris has set your polar scope to 00:00 which is where you need to be able to set these green rings to 00 ... if they can't be fixed to the axis, I dont see how you are supposed to accurately dial in a polaris time.

  8. 1 hour ago, M40 said:

    Ignoring any numbers on the polar scope

    Those green rings should allow you to dial in the polar clock accurately, provided the RA ring rotates with the RA axis, which I'm not sure from reading above if that is happening properly on this mount or not.

    The way I've used it in the past, before laptop software took over the process, was to set polaris to the 00:00 position by centering the star on the crosshair using alt az bolts, then adjust just the alt bolts move polaris vertically to the top of the (clock face) ring.  Then rotate the RA axis so the little polaris circle is centred on polaris and set your green ring to 00:00

    Now your green ring can be used to dial in an accurate time from one of the polaris timing apps eg ...

    Screenshot_20181127-173613.png.3d9203edf531e958136e3cc36c7de929.thumb.png.9496349ff06d6dd0c6ca1b75e8f693fb.png

    This shows a time of 08:31 but your dial has a 24 count ... no problem just double the 08:31 to 16:62 obviously we're on clock base numbers so 60 is an hour (just being clear for everyone) so we have 17:02 to dial in on the RA axis and we simply adjust the alt az bolts to put polaris back in its circle, now at the 08:31 position.

    Realistically by this method the 00:01 is impossible to pinpoint on the green dial where 1mm is about 00:06 The only way to do it more accurately is by having software make the rotation to exactly 08:31

    Hopefully this mounts RA dial can be used this way as I understood it to be the most accurate way to polar align without computer control.

    Edit : just to warn, be sure these rotations aren't going to cause a clash between scope and tripod ! ... the process can be adapted to rotate from polaris at a 6 o'clock position only needing a <45° rotation to 08:31 ... 02:31 clockwise so 05:02 on the dial ... or you could go anticlockwise from a 9 o'clock position 00:29 or 00:58 anticlockwise on the dial ... which is why the ring counts in either direction.  3 and 9 o'clock require an az only adjustment to polaris from the crosshair obviously.

  9. 2 hours ago, alacant said:

    no filter

    I think this might be a good next step, take the filter and CC out of the equation.  Try another short stack, forget the bias too, just lights, don't worry about spacing, just get the camera direct on to the scope and see what happens, if it's still there you've ruled everything out, if it's gone you can re-introduce things one by one.

    Reason I suggest is I've just done a  crazy stretch to your first image and the banding looked more of a grid and the only time I've seen anything like was due to reflections from a filter being too close to the sensor.

    Worth a try before looking to return it.

     

  10. 21 hours ago, WolfieGlos said:

    3) What’s the offset value for? I’m fairly new to my 585mc astrocam myself, and I’ve just checked my imaging settings in NINA and it’s set to 1.

    Offset basically pre-fills each pixel with a small amount before starting to capture light, I dont think its really necessary with these CMOS sensors, but your 1 or the OPs 10 out of a full well of 47,000 are a minimal amount.

    More importantly with your sensor like many others they have a HCG on the gain at 252, so be sure to use gain there or above as there's a dramatic reduction in read noise.

    On 26/01/2024 at 11:54, skipgazer said:

    it's the same with or without flats,

    You don't mention darks, have you done them ? does it show on them ? remember darks need to be done at the same temp as your lights, particularly with an uncooled camera you'll want to do a few darks for each imaging session as the camera can't be set to a temp it'll be running slightly warmer or cooler dependant on the ambient temp of the night.

    • Like 1
  11. Welcome, nice to see you know how to spell Jon ! 🤣 

    I'm from Manchester too, lived all over and eventually settled down the M56 a bit, close enough to see family but far enough to not have them dropping round all the time !

    Sure you'll get up to speed quickly, the only silly questions are the ones you don't ask and waste hrs of precious clear skies figuring out for yourself.

    Have fun.

    • Like 2
  12. 7 hours ago, Vinnyvent84 said:

    I really appreciate the feedback. Thanks for the advice about the heat ring and acclimating to temps! I read about using Reflectix wrapped around the scope. Is this something I should do? Or is more of a choice. Use reflectix for immediate use from indoor to outdoor or let it sit outside for some time prior to use and no need for reflectix?

    Again, I wouldn't get overly concerned about things like that, yes its a cheap, easy modification that I believe speeds up acclimatisation times, but its more a concern for larger SCTs with exponentially larger volumes of air to wait to cool and which generate more turbulent currents.

    Your 6" will be acclimatized before you've even finished setting up the first few times out, it'll take you an hour figuring out tripod levelling, location setting, star alignments, Goto, focus etc. You don't need the best seeing while you're setting up, yes it can take an hour but even when you're setting up in 10-15 mins it just means your views will still be improving for the next 45 mins so don't start trying to look at the faintest of targets straight away, see what planets you can see, check out Orion or some big galaxies, by the time you're getting down to the fainter stuff it'll be well settled, then come back to the other stuff see if you can pick out more detail.

    In time, yes you might want to be setup and looking at the fainter stuff quicker, modifications like insulation will help, but you're not 'bored' of the main targets yet or experienced enough to be setup ready to observe in 5 mins.

    The reflectix/camping mat insulation slows down the cooling of the metal tube, it effectively extends the acclimation time, but in doing so it reduces the temp difference between the surfaces and the air inside, cutting down the turbulence, but again its more a larger scope issue anyway.  Just get out, get used to the kit you've bought and start enjoying the views as they improve over the 1st hour 🙂

    For reference, I went from the 6" to 9.25" take a look at the difference in volume of air to cool/form turbulence, then imagine the 11" and 14" where SCT coolers become worth the investment.

    20220514_200257.thumb.jpg.12ecdcee31d8117c574709b23becbadb.jpg

    This thread will still be here in a few months to refer back to advice you've been given to improve your experience, but I'd advise worry more about getting used to using it than improving it for now and more important enjoy it 🙂

    • Like 3
  13. 9 hours ago, Vinnyvent84 said:

    Thank you! Funny story my parents and sister knew I was getting the scope and one gifted me Safari Pro 7 and the other Stellarium so I have paid versions of both. I don’t have a windows PC only Mac but it seems I can do everything on my iPad Pro 12inch if I’m not mistaken? In addition I also have the WiFi module for the scope. 

    Oh that'll be good, try both you'll settle on one for preference, I haven't used SkySafari, just Stellarium mostly on PC.

    With the WiFi module you should be able to control the mount from your ipad, certainly can on android, I dont see why apple wouldn't.  I believe the paid version of Stellarium allows control but may be trickier to set up than the Celestron SkyPortal app I presume is on apple too and I remember using for a while before upgrading the mount.

    Reading through the advice, I think you're getting a bit bombarded, I'd stick to the kit you've got, get the hang of setting it up and using it, focusing, checking collimation (roughly with defocused doughnut shape).  The other books suggested could be worth a look, but forget cameras and seestars other eyepieces or filters till you know what you can and can't see from your location.

    The dew heater ring (I have one) is great if you have issues with dew forming on the corrector plate (glass on front).  It will cloud out your views so keep an eye out for it and try to avoid wiping it off, it'll leave marks, if your atmosphere is dry or warm you might not have much of an issue with dew, the shield could be all you need.

    Oh you asked if the heat ring negates acclamation time, No the ring stops dew forming on the cold lens by warming it to above the dew point which depends on temp and humidity.  These SCTs are a closed unit with a large volume of air inside, when you take it out from the warm house this air gradually cools to match the outside temp, as it does convection currents develop inside the tube as cold air falls off the cold metal and glass and the warmer air in the centre rises, this turbulence affects "seeing" in the same way high altitude winds can, since the light is passing 3x through the tube.  I keep mine indoors, just get it out of the bag and leave it in the colder conservatory from sunset on nights that are forecast clear skies.

    On the subject another free app I use is Clear Outside, gives and general indication of which nights a week ahead are worth keeping an eye on for clear spells, they can get longer or shorter or arrive earlier or later but looking a day or 2 ahead they've usually got it nailed down pretty close.

  14. 7 hours ago, Vinnyvent84 said:

    I wish there was some type of guide that listed the names of the objects that fall into those categories which are observable to me so I know what to focus on

    I started out imaging with a 6SE a few years back, it was a steep learning curve at such long focal length but I found the scope great to use from the start, I remember the stock mount being good at finding objects and the optional WiFi module allowed control from the phone app and gave some nice info on the targets. Obviously had to upgrade to an equatorial mount for the longer exposures but for visual and eyepiece snaps with a phone camera I'm sure you'll have great fun with it.

    To address your wish for a guide, I use Stellarium on the laptop to point the mount, its free and has many settings, one of which is to limit the magnitude of targets it displays.  This you could use to make a list of potential targets, once you've got an idea of what magnitude targets are viewable from your skies.  There is a free mobile app version that is cut down but I think the paid app version might have the same magnitude settings, but I'd suggest trying it out on a laptop initially.

    Have fun, hope your lad enjoys it. 

  15. Ahh I see, I misunderstood, yeah it doesn't seem to let you discount subfolders from the search, just tried some of the options but no joy, thought maybe adding the header text would only show results from it, but it doesn't work. 

    I guess you're stuck scrolling through picking out the ones from the right header.

    • Like 1
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