rsarwar

Thanks. D7000 is a fine camera. astro modding is very straightforward with no real pit fall. https://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/nikon-d7000-ir One thing to keep in mind is that if you are controlling it from a laptor/rpi through a USB, your exposure will not go beyond 30 sec as it does not have full bulb support through usb. You can use a remote release, or get yourself a DSUB. but DSUBs are too expensive for what they actually are, so you can make yourself one using Esp32 and control it over wifi, or something like this: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/456774-usb-serial-ftdi-and-ir-remote-shutter-control/ Also get an power adapter - about £25 on amazon.

finally managed to iron out all the issues i was having with the belt mod. mostly with lateral movement the the worm gear bearing - just got new ones. obviously i donot have PEC on my DIY tracker so i use PPEC on phd2 this is the performance before the belt mod - very spiky and thos is one of the better nights new one:

new cleaner implementation of with proper PCB. this time using the cheaper chinese board. been working on a belt-modification for CGEM.

and that is solely due to DR, bit dept and increased relosution due to smaller pixel and lack of RGGB matix glad you finally came to the obvious conclusion that "brightness" means nothing but it is all about SNR. no apologies needed

did not realize you own the forum and can make data up to fit your world view. contradict /kɒntrəˈdɪkt/ verb past tense: contradicted; past participle: assert the opposite of a statement made by (someone).

wow, someone does not like being contradicted. i dont need to pretent to be a scientist. G'day mate

its lacking because its missing details. however the first picture, from the D7000 was "brighter" despite the missing details. not sure, but i hope you are going to confirm a source for "DSLR stretching". should be an interesting read. I am not worried - just amused mate

do explain then how it better to drill holes in a EFW to and leave a gap compared to a simple adaptor

can you please link a source to the DSLR stretching please. DSLRs are known to clip the blacks, but that is the opposite of a stretch. but you cannot do an arbitary stretch on one of the image and then compare them to each other. that is just minupulation of data to match your narrative of "brightness". anyway, here is what i get from D7000 (25*600 sec) and QHY268M (25*300 sec on ha and 25*120 on rgb). i will let you decide which is which; both images drizzled by 2 and cropped by a factor of 3

errr, you could have bolted the M48 adaptor to the camera and then used a m48 to T2 , that way you would not have that gap between the edge of the filterwheel and the camera opening. or ruined a perfectly working equipment. at least that was my plan when i was looking at a asi 36 mm filter wheel, before finding a second hand 2 inch instead and going with that instead. With the 2 inch filter wheel from asi, i used their m54 to m48 adapter It sounds so unreal, that i am not sure if i missed what you are trying to accomplish. https://www.365astronomy.com/photography/photographic-adapters/m48-adapters/zwo-short-adapter-with-t2-female-thread-and-m48-male-thread-2-filter-thread-zero-effective-length

Hi - firstly, it is a long post, so I apologize for any typos - I am dyslexic but i will fix them as i find them. I have always loved taking night-time and landscape photographs. So, when I saw a picture of the Orion nebula, i was intrigued. and after a month of researching last year and realizing that it is probably not be very smart investing 2000+ pounds towards something that i did not know if i would find interesting in the medium/long run. So, I decided instead of buying ready-made stuff, I just make one. Step 1: I made myself a DIY tracker using an FPGA, two the software needed for it to integrate with Indi Eqmod. Step 2: Once i could see the motors spinning, I ordered an old Nikon D7000, took it apart and removed the IR cut filter using these instructions and checked to make sure it worked. Step 3: once confirmed, I got myself a EQ5 non-goto and a SW 72ED and integrated everything and the first night I tried, at NGC7000, I was amazed. quickly realized in need an auto guider and so I got me a sv305 + a Orion 50mm f3.5 guide scope and there I was taking 30-minute subs. I decided that I should write down what I did so that anyone else wanting to do so, can do it as well. all the source codes for the software and fpga are available online. knowledge of Linux would be desirable to carry out the instructions to remake it. Hardware needed: PCB Prototype Board - £10 2 x Nema17 1.7A 0.44Nm motors (RA/DA axis) - £20 1 x Nema17 1A slim motor (focuser) - £8 CmodA7 FPGA - £80 (would have used cheaper Xilinx Artix boards from banggoods for £35 pounds if i knew about its existence - it is essentially the same thing but slightly bigger profile) 4 pin Aviator plugs + enclosure + leds + optocoupler - £20 max 3 x TMC2226 stepper motor controller - £21 pounds (could use cheaper DRV8825 as well but that would mean lower resolution for £7 but i dont like them as they run hot and burn out within a year or two. Plus the TMC2226 runs very cool and very very silent, absolutely no noise or vibration on my mount when slewing) 2 x 60 teeth 6 mm bore and 2 x 12 teeth 5mm bore timing pullies - £20 max 2 x 154 mm timing belt - £ 10 max. Raspberry Pi4 2GB + SD card - £35 (but this is used for everything - connecting cameras, focuser, eqmod, filter wheel, guide cam- so it is not fair to add the cost of it in this.) Old 20v@4Amp laptop charger - £0 - we all have old chargers?. that is a total of £224 or £179 when using the cheaper fpga. but you are also getting a ASIair with it as we will be running astroberry distribution on it. And the gear ratio is such that the resolution is comparable to that of an eq6-r. Mounting the motors: mount - using the brackets that came with the motors: Focuser - 3d printed a mount i found on thingiverse.com: Hardware interconnect: FPGA - FPGA contains the hardware logic needed to accept commands from the RPi and decode them. And according to commands it can issued. GoTo/SlewTo commands tracking at a given rate, take auto guiding inputs, handle acceleration and deacceleration. Nikon D7000 cannot do exposures more than 30 sec over the USB, so it also controls the camera trigger - similar to SNAP port i guess. SPI Save module display IP (cant be turned off) a noctua fan i had in the house somewhere and a 12 v converter for it. Here is the picture of the board made. Notice that there is also a temp sensor connected to the 1wire bus of the Rpi Here is all the connection from the controllers to the outside Driver: The FPGA is controlled from the RPi using a 30 MHz SPI bus. The main driver for it is written in C++-14 using Koheron Framework, and runs as root at boottime runs a RAW TCP socket on the device. Any python script or C++ program with the right headers can send commands to the fpga over the spi bus to make it do things. Software interconnect: The question then becomes how to integrate it into one of the many control programs, e.g. kstar, nina, app, etc etc etc. I picked Kstar as it depends on indiserver which is open source and also has an elaborate eqmod implementation. but mostly because the code is beautifully written and easy to follow. Hence this is what the software stack looks like Kstar runs on my desktop on ubuntu (I think they can run on windows as well. It runs on raspbery pi so that is also possible) RPi is running astroberry distribution, so it comes packed with indiserver. on it the indiserver would run the indiserver would then communicate its commands to the main_driver deamon (lets call in "serverd") which then sends the commands to the fpga. Indiserver does not have any driver, but rather has loads them "dynamically" so we have to point to some drivers to control the mount, guide scope and the Nikon camera. we are not interested in the guide cam, as that is a standard driver. for the nikon camera indi_nikon_ccd works is well suited. and for the mount, indi_eqmod_telescope. However there are few of problems: indi_nikon_ccd: it has two problems, firstly, it has not temperature sensor. secondly, Nikon D7000 cannot do an exposure more than 30 secoond. There is a DSUB thing that can be used - but that does not do mirror lock up - so that's useless. Even if it could - i could make one far cheaper using an optocoupler from the fpga/RPi GPIO. hence i forced the source code and implemented a call to the fpga to send trigger and get temp from the temp sensor and store them in one of the FITs parm. I also made a peltier cooler and stuck it to the underside of the camera which is also controlled by the same driver using a different branch. However that experiment failed due to uncontrolled level of condensation. indi_eqmod_telescope: This is the eqmod compatible driver for most skywatcher mounts. I am not entirely sure how it connects to them but i know that is it's intention. However, skywatcher uses some ancient ASCII based serial communication operated at a few khz (still? its 2021!). And i am using SPI@30MHz through the serverd operated on the localhost at port 36000. so i made some changes and swapped out all the calls made to the skywatcher mount, with equivalent calls to the serverd. and voila. we have a full implementation of GoTo. The screenshot below shows extra configs added to the program inoder to control the calibrations indi_fpga_focuser: there is no good implementation of a focuser that came close to what i was trying to achieve. there is a close match, cannot recall what it is called at the moment, astroberry_focuser maybe, so i used that as a template to write myself as module that does the job. screenshot shows the main control page. Performance: Max slew Rate - 700x when using TMC2206 or 1200x when using DRV8825. running at 20 V. Guide: here are some screenshots that may be of interest. My mount has not been mechnically optimized, i.e. it is a stock eq5. Total payload is about 7kgs with dew shield (quite a bit over limit) which stays on all the time to help with neighbour's bathroom habits. Here is one of my setups: SW 130pds 1x CC Nikon D7000 (same as ASI071MC) @ 4.76 um pixel size Orion 50mm f3.5 175 mm scope sv305 (same as ASI290MC) @ 2.9 um pixel size so my main scope is at 1.19 a-s. Hence my theoretical max guide performance is about 0.6 a-s RMS. T On a vey good day, i say between 0.6-0.7. on a bad day 0.9-1. but mostly between 0.7-0.9. I should not, that I almost never do a precice polar alignment - but i do use static polar allignment before starting and happy with results less than 45 sec of deviation Now I have no frame of reference as to what an eq5 goto can do, or heq5/eq6. reponses on forum varies from post to post - probably due to the level of maintanence. Please feel free to comment on the comparison. I started this project as a way to prevent boredom during lockdown and so that my wife does not kick me out. while i am not bored, my wife may still kick me out as i seem to be hooked in this o-so-expensive hobby and spending a lot on it as is evident by my latest qhy268m + 2inch filters/wheel. If you wish to make one, all the source code is there, and i have a pcd design that I will be happy to share with you. All you need is some skills with a soldering iron. the software codes are straightforward to compile - just follow the instructions. As is the FPGA code, but i can provide the binary firmware for it if you are interests - all you have to do is flash it. fpga pinouts can be found here if you wish to make the pcb yourself. I am hitting my mounts load capacity so my next target is to find myself a old eq6 or maybe even a heq5 and do the same. if anyone has got one that they wish to get rid off at a price, i be happy to oblige . I found a AVX on the sales forum, but i am reading bad things about it so i am in two minds about that.

i did check. it is not there. if there was a service manual probably it would be mentioned there - but cant see any.

Hi does anyone know what the RA/DE Gear Teeth count is on AVX mounts? I am looking at an AVX with broken mobo, and thinking of making it work with my current DIY GoTo/tracking controller, but i need to replace the DC to stepper and need to know the RA/DE gear teeth counts to work out the steps/rotation. if i cannot find that info i cannot confidently make the purchase as i donot intend to take the mount appart to count it and rather keep looking for heq5/eq6 which are well documented

Interesting point you make. May i you to elaborate on what you mean by "lucky imaging". light pollution is constant, unless there is a power loss so why would level of light pollution vary from one sub to another? only reason why it would vary that i can of is if the target is moving towards or away from a distant light source, maybe a big city in the horizon.

The P2 filter will definately reduce your NB photons due to transmission loses. so it depends if you want to count every possible photon or happy with a 5-8 % loss.

finally got confirmation that my 2inch LRGB filter are on the way from FLO. but the weather has gone bad.... so all i have is a bunch of Ha subs for several galaxies. Is it worth while putting a IDAS P2 filter in front of the LRGB filters? not sure how to address the light pollution for LRGB subs - first time using a mono cam

i use mine through a RPi, using their linux drivers -> indiserver -> kstar (remote desktop). only had a couple of driver faults in the first week while taking dark. but ran fine on every session since getting it. i think i had about 7-8 session thus far with it,

yes, it has been very clear last week or so in oxfordshire too. i think it is clear tonight and tomorrow as well. with mode 1, your gain will reduce by a factor of 1.5. but you should see less noise. and your DR range will increase 20% and your full well by 300%. you would definately need that for 600 sec shots. May i suggest you try both 300 and 600 sec and share the comparision. Honestly I did not expect much difference when i took the pictures i took, so would be nice to have them confirmed by you ,

Yes, 600 sec is probably worth the try with gain 56. also you are in "photographic mode " which is mode 0? I think you should probably try mode 1/high gain. lower read noise and far better DR. I am having a horrible time getting anything on OIII/SII though with these settings- first time trying narrowband and i am not sure what to make of it. that is why i am thinking of trying out 80 gain. DId you try them? i am using 130pds

I have been testing as well. using Astronomik 12 nm Ha filters. both of these are 1 hour integrations. 50% moon. Thinking of trying gain 80 and see how well it goes. but yes a bit noisy. RM=1, Gain=56, Offset=25, subs=600 RM=1, Gain=56, Offset=25, subs=300

that is your interpretation. however even in the low res screenshots, i see details in the qhy image that are not present in dslr. and the obvious lack of noise. All this while the obvious understampling of the subject due lack of focal length - imagine if i had the right focal length on the scope if you are concerned, change your order to asi2600mc. it will work better with hyperstar anyway. However, as i said, you are looking at the wrong parameter in order to define performance of a camera. you should be looking at SNR - not "brightness"

how can data be biased? Interpretation, sure that can be baised, but not data. You may choose to dismiss data if they donot fit your world domination plans, but one can not just find whatever data or or statistics they want to see, otherwise we would surely be able to find a dataset which showed a APS-C sized camera is able to take a picture that equats to a full frame camera in terms of field-of-view when using the same lens (focal length). if your comment relates to the canon vs nikon debate, i donot want to go into a fanboy based argument, but i know what the data states and i know what my experience has been thus far based on which i made choices that had financial consequences for myself ill uploaded the fits file to this post (not sure if you use PI or someother tool). Also just to clarify, i did not show there is no phenomenal difference between the qhy and the nikon - but on the contrary. The contrast between the two cameras is very straigtforard - qhy is wins hands down. and i have already said why and not really willing to rehash them again. What i showed is that your expectation for exposure time is unfounded. Exposure time, i must add, has not bearining on the quality of of the pictures produced - just the amount of time it is needed to complete a project. infact the only reason i ran the test is because i was secretly hoping that going mono did not mean i have to spend 3/4 times more time taking picture - coming from OSC i am not thrilled (i am guessing that is why you are also interested in this question). and i have the answer i was looking for - the SNR, DR, bitdepth and the welldepth allows superior details, meaning if i was to to be happy producing a picture equivalent to DSLR quality, yes i can reduce the total integration time, but the exposure time will have to be similar, or 75% of what i used on my dslr. QHY_M_82_Light_H_Alpha_300_secs_readmode_1_gain_56_2021-04-16T00-00-58_002.fits QHY_IC_1805_Light_H_Alpha_600_secs_readmode_1_gain_56_2021-04-15T22-09-31_002.fits QHY_IC_1805_Light_Ha_300_secs_readmode_0_gain_59_2021-04-12T22-40-38_001.fits D7000_M_82_Light_600_secs_ISO800_2021_03_06T00_37_33_001_c_cc_d_R.fits D7000_IC_1805_Light_600_secs_ISO800_2021_04_03T21_18_45_001_c_cc_d_R.fits

Here is the heart nebula from last night. Before i kept my guide camera, sv305, at 2x2 which gives a pixel size of 5.8. this worked well with D7000@4.7um. but was inadequte and i only realized after running the session for 1.5 hours - so ended up losing half the frame. the binning on the M81 was 1x1 and i was able to keep all 41 frames before the sun came up. 10 min subs at 2.2 * unity gain. Halpha filter peak on nebolosity region is 0.0123 and the peak on image from D7000 i posted previously was 0.0136. that is factor of 1.11 in favour of D7000, but qhy was operating at a gain 1.5 times lower. so it all boils down to qhy being 1.35 times faster.

having said that - i dont think D7000 is something that should be put aside. it is a very capable camera. this was with IDAS V4 filter. Unfortunately i have to wait till next year to try horse head/orion/rossetta nebula as they are blocked by some trees

I only started astro last year. I used Canon before in early 2010s - 550d and 70d. The nikons cameras post 2013 all use sony sensors and have better SNR and DR. Prior to 2013, i nikon's offerings were below below par. Notice the last three entries: I take a lot of images of fireworks This image was taken with D7300 and it was completely blown out. i had similar blown out shots from canon and they were not recoverable. that is why i sold all my canon gear to move to nikon. initially to d7100 and now D750 I took these last night. Stacked. total integration 2 hour for both QHY 300 sec (gain = 2.2*unity)😞 D7000 600sec (gain = 3.3*unity): same stretch, qhy on the left.