StargazerUK

12 hours ago, Albir phil said:

Are you using the skywhatcher wifi dongle on you mount

It has built in wifi, so don't need a dongle but it is wifi connection through the synscan app

Hi,

I have a Skywatcher Star Discovery 150 and I have recently purchased a zwo asi585mc camera for it. Until now I have been using the synscan pro app on my phone to control the mount but I am trying to get the laptop setup to control everything.

I have installed:

synscan pro app (for windows) 2.4.5

Sharpcap 4.0

Stellarium 23.2.0

Ascom platform 6.6SP2

Ascom Synscan app driver 1.4.0

I can get the synscan app to connect to the mount and control it fine, I can also get Stellarium to connect with the synscan app and control the mount (connecting via port 10001) but if I go onto ascom device hub or sharpcap and select the synscan app driver it fails to connect. When I click into properties there is an option for remote port which I have not seen in any of the videos or pictures I have seen about setting up the device hub.

Please can someone guide me to what settings I should be using or what I am doing wrong. 

Thanks

4 hours ago, thomasv said:

I could not find a way around this, not sure, why they don't just fix the focus at infinity once it goes into AP mode. There is no way to override the auto focus. AP mode is good, but the lack of manual mode do annoy me a bit.

In settings you can set the focus to far to disable auto focus.

35 minutes ago, Stu said:

👍There is a current discussion on Reddit I think about one of the modes on the latest Samsung phones which actually uses AI to fill in more detail than it actually sees on lunar images by referencing other images I believe. Not totally sure where the truth lies on that one but that seems to be a step too far for me.

I agree this seems to be a step to far, if you wanted then then you may as well just download an image of the moon

13 minutes ago, Stu said:

Thanks! This was attached to an eyepiece, don’t think you can do prime focus with cameras without removeable lenses.

The clever bit is all in the camera, no real skill involved which suits me! No reason why you can’t achieve similar results.

Which scope and adaptor did you buy? Getting the home aligned properly is probably the trickiest bit.

One thing, you do ideally need a mount which does basic tracking to keep trailing to a minimum. It doesn’t need to be an EQ or Goto mount, just simple tracking will do.

I have the skywatcher star discovery 150i so tracking is not a problem. As for the phone adapter it is just a very basic clamp onto eyepiece adapter. I will just need to figure out which camera it is using and line it up. See what happens

@Stu those pictures are incredible. I would be gobsmacked if I can achieve anything half as good as those.

Did you attach the camera to an eyepiece or did you use a t adapter nosepiece and photograph at prime focus (if that is even possible)?

@Jimbo64 did you get the 585 in the end, if so how did it work out for you. I am in a similar predicament as you were. My scope is not as big as yours (only 6" newt). I too was looking for the perfect camera to do planetary and dso. I now realise that such a camera does not exist so I am torn between getting a planetary camera (asi224mc) and just doing to planetary and lunar eeva to learn the basics then upgrade the camera when I want to do dso, or just bite the bullet and go all in for a dso camera now.

Amazing picture

@aGent how did the asi585mc work out for you with the star discovery?

Hi,

I have a google pixel 7 pro phone and have recently discovered the astrophotography mode on it. I haven't tried it yet but I have bought a smartphone adapter to attach to an eyepiece of the telescope. Has anyone else used a google pixel phone attached to their scope in astrophotography mode?

Do you use the timer function to allow the phone to stabilise after pressing the shutter?

Also I would be interested to see any images people have got using a google pixel in astrophotography mode.

Thanks

Hi,

I have the skywatcher star discovery 150i which is also my first real telescope. I love it.

It gives great views of the planets and moons and deep space objects can be viewed but they are quite faint. I am in a bortle 4 area so probably get much better views at a dark sky site.

The eyepieces that come with it are adequate to start with but you will definitely want to invest in some better quality ones. I bought the baader hyperion mark iv zoom eyepiece which is expensive but it's brilliant.

If you eventually want to go down the astrophotography route just bear in mind that you will struggle to get prime focus with a dslr, you would need to either use a barlow lens or better yet get a dedicated astro camera. I may be wrong but I think a lot of newtonian reflector scope suffer with prime focus unless they are built for imaging (i.e the skywatcher 150pds for example).

Unfortunately I can't comment on the celestron as I have never used one.

Thanks for the info guys, I think the mini maybe the way to go

That option did cross my mind, the trouble is I don't have a laptop anymore, all I have is an android tablet and android phone so I thought the ASIAir would be the best option as it allows connection to an android device

Hi, I am looking into venturing into the world of eaa/eeva and was wondering if anyone could tell me is it worth spending an extra £100 for an ASIAir Plus instead of a ASIAir mini?

From what I can tell the only real difference is the USB ports (Plus has USB3.0). Obviously USB3.0 is going to relay quicker than USB2.0 but realistically how much of a difference is it going to make for eaa/eeva purposes?

Thanks

I know this is an old post but just to add, I have owned the skywatcher star discovery 150i for 2 years now and never had to touch either mirror. When doing star check collimation looks spot on so no complaints.

🙁 no launch today, hopefully all ok next time

Now just have to wait 7 years for it to get there. I expect we will see some magnificent pictures when it does get there

Watching eagerly, exciting times

39 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

To access the buy/sell section you need a minimum of 30 days membership and more than 25 relevant posts (ie not posts in the welcome section or non-astro lounge)

 

Thank you for clarifying that

Hi, sorry if this is a stupid question but is there a post limit requirement to access the buy/sell section of this forum?

I read that there was a 50 post requirement but that was withdrawn to allow anyone access. Has it been reinstated?

Thanks

Perfect, thank you

Thank you curtis for another very informative video. Please can I ask, in the video you say you wouldn't recommend the ZWO ASI224 due to it's small sensor size, is it just for DSO that you wouldn't recommend it or for planetary/lunar too?

Thanks for the reply, I think I am correct in saying that the mini camera only comes in the mono version and I would like to use a colour camera (at least to start with) so I think I will just have to chance it and give it a try.

1 hour ago, curtisca17 said:

I appreciate the positive feedback and am happy to hear that the video is helpful.   Working on the next installment which will cover what to look for when picking a camera for EAA.

That will be really helpful as that is where I am at the moment, trying to decide which camera to buy for my setup

Welcome to SGL. I am in Malton.