Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

StuartT

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,082

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by StuartT

    How do you cut the foam in a flight case?

    in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice

    Posted

    13 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

    I can see how you can make vertical cuts into the foam. But how do you cut underneath the plug of foam you have made? Or are you cutting all the way through? 

    I actually cut all the way through. For any eyepieces shorter that the full depth of the foam, I simply cut the cylinder of waste foam and then poked it back down the hole to plug part of the depth. (I was quite pleased with that idea 😊)

     

    • Like 1

    Newcomers Feedback

    in Getting Started General Help and Advice

    Posted

    So I only joined at the beginning of this month, so I guess I qualify as a newcomer 😉

    TBH, I find it very difficult to think of anything to criticise at all! Everyone here has been incredibly friendly, respectful and helpful. Whenever you join a bunch of people who are way more expert than you are, it can be a little intimidating to ask the really basic questions. But on SGL no one has ever made me feel stupid - whatever I have asked - and I was made to feel at home here right away. 

    It's a really great crowd and I am very much enjoying it. So thank you all! 😊

    • Like 3

    First attempts at lunar photography

    in Getting Started With Imaging

    Posted · Edited by StuartT

    2 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

    So, if you are using a scope and imaging already, what’s with your other thread on using the LX90 vis a computer...?? I am confused...

    No, I am not yet using the LPI camera for imaging, if that's what you mean. I just used my Canon EOS for these. But I would like to get the LPI camera working at some stage, and for that I asked about the software.

    But regardless of the technology I use to get the images, focussing the scope is a big problem as it's just a manual focuser and the mount wobbles when I try to focus.

    First attempts at lunar photography

    in Getting Started With Imaging

    Posted

    Ok, SO many things I don't understand here 🤣

     

     

    23 hours ago, Clarkey said:

    BYEOS lets you zoom in and you can focus using a large screen. Also, you can focus on a star using the FWHM value then use this for the moon shots. Alternately you could use a star and a focus mask - again do this before your moon shots. From what I can remember (I have not used it for a while), BYEOS can also be used for planetary and deep sky.

    So if BYEOS can show me my camera's back screen on the laptop, that sounds very useful! (though I have no idea what FWHM means)

     

    21 hours ago, M40 said:

    I took the Baader zoom eyepiece route deliberately due to the options it provides; byeos can focus the camera lens but by adding an adapter the lens can be connected to the Baader eyepiece for afocal imaging or alternatively by using a T2 adapter and M43 adapter, the camera body can be fitted to the eyepiece and byeos can then focus the telescope using an ascom focuser for eyepiece projection. Another option would be to maintain focusing by hand and then look at the laptop screen to see what it actually looks like. Being new to byeos, I can only say that it is very impressive and as a freebie for trial purposes is well worth looking at. HTH.

    I literally didn't understand any of this.

     

     

     

    21 hours ago, EntropyTango said:

    Focusing can be a real pain.

    Some suggestions include adding a weight to the bottom of your tripod

    Something as simple as a plastic bag filled with sand. this will help dampen out vibrations

    You produced some nice images, congratulations

    Right! Some good tips there. Thanks

    And thanks for the compliments. At least I got some kind of an image. But I am literally just starting here 

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thanks everyone for all the encouragement!

    Computer guiding of a Meade LX-90

    in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice

    Posted

    On 18/03/2021 at 18:31, Stuart1971 said:

    No it’s not, just Persevere, all the controls are under menus on the right side..

    But to be honest if you are only doing planetary then you only need sharpcap and you don’t need telescope control either, maybe you should have led with that, or did you and I missed it....🤔🤔

    sorry.. I didn't lead with that. But then again I didn't know you didn't need remote control for planets (I still have a LOT to learn!) What is sharpcap? Another piece of software I am guessing

    10 hours ago, michael8554 said:

    In it's simplest form, to Planetary Image, you only need software to expose and download the camera images (SkyCapture in your case ?).

    You move the mount with the handbox to the planet, most of them are easy to locate visually.

    But to control this remotely, load software that displays the night sky like a map on your computer, and connects to your mount via the ASCOM Mount Driver.

    You click on the image of the object and select GoTo, and the mount moves to that object.

    Generically called a Planetarium, versions include the free Cartes du Ciel and Stellarium, or fully-loaded software such as APT.

    Michael

    ah. apologies, I didn't realise 'Planetarium' was a general class of software. I was thinking it was a specific one.

    I did try loading up SkyCapture (which came with the LPI imager), but it seems to not produce a live image. It is extremely jerky (and I am talking about like an image a second) which makes focusing virtually impossible! (I'm sure I must be doing something wrong)

    Computer guiding of a Meade LX-90

    in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Stuart1971 said:

    No, that is not guiding, just scope control, in which case APT is deffo all you need....👍🏼
    Guiding is when you use a second scope and camera piggybacked on your main one, to follow a single star, if the star drifts then a signal s sent to the mount to move it back, it’s for long exposure astrophotography, and something you don’t need to worry about yet...👍🏼

    thanks. It's the solar system I am mostly interested in, so I don't think I need guiding.

    (I've installed APT and it looks intimidating...😬)

    First attempts at lunar photography

    in Getting Started With Imaging

    Posted

    24 minutes ago, fwm891 said:

    I wish my first lunar images were that good - especially the eyepiece projected shots👍

    You are too kind! 😊

    19 minutes ago, M40 said:

    Hello Stuart, the pictures are great and much better than most of mine 👍 I try eyepiece projection and have the same focusing issues particularly as the lcd screen on my dslr does not flip out. To try and adapt, improvise and overcome, I have started to learn backyardeos which is able to focus the camera from the laptop in real time with the end result no wobble or fingers to mess things up. Its a freebie to try, so might be worth a go.

    But the focussing isn't done by the camera. It's done by the scope's focuser. So how would an EOS app manage that?

    Computer guiding of a Meade LX-90

    in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice

    Posted

    Sorry, you guys seem to be saying different things (or I've misunderstood)

    On 15/03/2021 at 22:07, Stuart1971 said:

    Yes you need a full capture program, I used to use APT..

    https://www.astrophotography.app

    this will do everything, once open you pick your camera and scope and it will load the drivers for them and you can use that, but you need to read up on using the software....

    So APT will do everything (imaging and guiding)?

    On 17/03/2021 at 11:02, michael8554 said:

    Then use the Meade Skycapture software that came with the camera to image the moon and planets.

    (It's not suitable for Deep Sky Objects according to the spec.)

    To steer the mount to where you want to image, you need Planetarium software.

    But Skycapture will only do imaging and I need a separate piece of software called "Planetarium" for the guiding?

    How do you cut the foam in a flight case?

    in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice

    Posted

    19 hours ago, Pixies said:

    I fund that a disposable plastic knife, blunt pencil and the fossilized jawbone of a cro-magnon man are best.

    Well, that's what it looks like I've used whenever I've tried to cut it myself!

    Yes, this is exactly what I'm afraid of! I am positive that the moment I start cutting I'm going to make a right old dog's breakfast of my nice pristine foam!

    Problem is... I have to do it, otherwise I can't use the damn thing!

    First attempts at lunar photography

    in Getting Started With Imaging

    Posted

    This evening I took some photos of the moon with my 90mm refractor and Canon EOS750D. The first one is at prime focus and the second two are with an eyepiece projection attachment (Plossl 9.7mm).

    I found it very difficult to focus using the back screen on the camera in 'live view' mode as the wobble on the mount was quite bad whenever I adjusted the focusing knob. So my hand was causing so much motion that I couldn't really tell if it was in focus until I'd made each adjustment and waited for the oscillations to die down. I had the same problem with the shutter release (so I used a 10sec delay to allow the wobble to stop).

    I set a -2 stop exposure adjustment

    Any tips very welcome!

     

    IMG_6146.JPG

    IMG_6154.JPG

    IMG_6161.JPG

    • Like 12

    Computer guiding of a Meade LX-90

    in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice

    Posted · Edited by StuartT

    1 hour ago, Stuart1971 said:

    Ascom download here

    https://ascom-standards.org

    and the correct driver is the 17th one down on this list

    https://ascom-standards.org/Downloads/ScopeDrivers.htm

    there is a newer driver for the meade scope, just a couple above in the list, but it’s new and I have never tried that one, but I had success with the one I mention 17th on the list....but you could give it a try, and make sure you install Ascom first...

     

     

    ok, I've installed both of those. But I'm not sure what program to run now. There's something called ASCOM diagnostics, something called telescope simulator, ASCOM device hub...

    The LPI-G camera came with software called SkyCapture, but I don't know if that will steer the scope (I don't think so). So do I need different software for steering?

    Err... 😕

    My first attempts at solar imaging

    in Imaging - Solar

    Posted · Edited by StuartT

    I tried out my new Herschel wedge today (the Lunt one with an ND3 filter) with my 90mm refractor using eyepiece projection (26mm Plossl) and my Canon EOS750D

    I couldn't really see any interesting features. Also found focussing quite difficult (live view mode and the camera's back screen)

    Suppose you have to start somewhere.. they can only get better, right? 🤣

     

     

    IMG_6140.JPG

    IMG_6142.JPG

    • Like 3
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.