stevebb

oh wow, thanks Carole and everyone - those are brilliant ideas

I have a leaky Sky ShedPod at the usual two spots that a few others have been experiencing (ie at the hinges). Followed a few suggestions and put some neoprene strips along the edge and even put silicone around the area to form a "dam/run-off" but I do live in Yorkshire and get some very wet weather Does anyone know of "covers" that might go over the dome, got to be neat'ish or "her ladyship" will kill me !! I have seen photo's of some home brew solutions but could not find an email address to chase up. Steve

Hi, I am about to take delivery of a full spectrum modified Canon 6D and know it will require a UV/IR cut filter. I had considered the XL size clip filter but think I will go with the 2" screw in filter instead but I am stuck between 3 filters at varying prices ! IDAS LPS D1 Altair Astro Premium CLS-CCD UV/IR Astronomik CLS-CCD I will be imaging both emission nebulas and galaxies and because of the latter I have ruled out both Duo and Tri band filters. I will probably save up for a set of narrowband filters at a later stage ... once the bruises have healed over after the "bank of wife" found out I require a filter in addition ! The cheaper Altair Astro (half the cost) immediately springs to mind but I do not know if this works with a full spectrum modified DSLR (full frame). I do want to avoid vignetting if possible. Many thanks in advance, Steve Muston Imaging Group

I have tried to contact Juan via the website as he has a used Canon 6D which I am looking at purchasing (subj to availability and shutter count). Juan, if you are reading this or if someone could tip him off I would be extremely grateful. Best wishes, Steve ps he may be on holiday

About time I updated this blog as a lot has happened over the last few years. I left my rental in Hackness after work offered me a permanent position. So I searched and found a lovely house with a 1/2 acre garden in a semi-rural area just outside of Filey. I have continued to deliver talks on Astrophotography to clubs & societies and general outreach including schools both at home and abroad. I was also privileged to present to Prof. Brian Cox, an awesome and genuine gentleman who's advice ("slim down your other hobbies and concentrate on astrophotography") where brought up in conversation with the "bank of wife" begging for permission to progress this hobby to the next level. Permissions were granted and work began on a pedestal in the back garden and a Sky Shedpod came up for sale in Manchester. It is amazing how many nice and decent people you meet in this hobby. The gentleman who sold me the obs invited his family around to help left the obs on the back of a flatbed. I could not believe how heavy the top section is. Of course the Sky Shedpod was too wide to fit down the side of the house so had to be lifted over a 7' fence (I'm getting too old for this lol). Eventually, we rebuilt and parked it on the pedestal, rotated into place, ducts for the electric were spot on (within the concrete). And most of the pod is shielded from the kitchen window so no hassle from the boss !! I have recently acquired a Skyfi and a modified Sony A7S to replace my Canon 450D. The latter I was exceptionally happy with together with Backyard EOS but I needed something a little more sensitive for the milky way. I replaced the WiFi range extenders and bought a MESH setup with one satellite which has increased the range into the garden. A signal test on my tablet is very encouraging so it looks like remoting is going to be possible. I have been asked if I could provide basic workshops and tutorials on astrophotography. Once I am happy with the setup and comfortable in using it (I am a little rusty), then I will begin with these. I cannot finish this blog entry without giving a shout out to York Astronomical Society (YAS). There are several members in this club that continue to offer help and provide inspiration. There will be a thank you BBQ organised when the nights become a little longer. Here are a few photos on the progress - need a better photo of the unsmiling "old git" though Best wishes, Steve

Thanks Isabelle, it is a touchy subject unfortunately - the previous owner of this house had also mentioned it and it turned nasty. On some dark and dreary days it never even turns off. I brought the subject up once and then told him to forget it and bought the family a huge tin of chocolates for Christmas - I think I have patched it up and would rather have a miserable, ignorant neighbour than a hostile one ;) Steve

I have put a plinth down in a position where there is an evergreen in the way. It will do ... however, without the light it would be incredibly dark - just no reason for it to be on constantly (currently comes on at 3pm and goes off around 9am the following morning). It is a touchy subject though and I gather other neighbours have commented on it. Was tempted to buy him a PIR light as a Christmas present but chickened out and got them a box of chocolates instead ;) Best to keep the friendship with neighbours - I will make do ! Steve

That did make me laugh - brilliant :)

Well, after struggling for a few years in a fairly light polluted area I have moved to the edge of Dalby Forest just outside Scarborough and the sky's are just magical. A shame my neighbour has a security light that is permanently on as soon as a hint of darkness approaches - I offered to buy him a PIR operated one but - it is a touchy subject so best left alone ! Anyway, just laid a concrete plinth and trimmed some top branches. Clear view to Polaris north and an uninterrupted southern view which is great. I have just set up an Astronomy Imaging UK group on Facebook which is a sister group to our Aurora UK group - two groups worth joining ;) Hope to post more soon. Steve

After a long time trying, the challenge of autoguiding has just about been sorted - took quite a lot of problem solving though. Equipment: QHY5 camera SkyWatcher ST80 refractor USB cables Software: QHY5drv QHY5drvupdate AscomPlatform6.1 Microsoft Net Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Net Framework 3.0 Service Pack 2 Microsoft Net Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 PHD and some additional software that allows complete removal of QHY5 drivers to start all over again - Astrosoftbe/InstallTool (thanks to Bern from Modern Astronomy for his instructions and links because I would not have sorted this without his help). Well, I installed all the above and the QHY5 camera went about calibrating itself, moving the mount on all planes and then came up GUIDING. I was so pleased then ...... as soon as I started my first capture with BYEOS - PHD crashed with errors 31 and error 22 intermittently. Removed and reloaded drivers and again same problem. Checked BYEOS was set to dither mode (PHD set to server enabled), crashed. Tried different drivers (QHY5_1024), still crashed and even though I tried all 4 USB slots on the laptop I could not get the two programs to work together. Only thing I can put it down to is a USB clash but unsure how to isolate. Thought about a USB cable problem but as u will read later, it works fine on a 2nd lappy so probably not that. However, all was not lost and fired up the netbook which is notoriously slow and of course I had to download MS Net Framework which took around 2 hours to install. But - it worked even though PHD is not tied in with BYEOS and I was running out of time and patience - 0200am. I took 3 x 6 minute captures of M51 and they were absolutely perfect. So, needing two laptops but I am autoguiding - the port clash (if it is this) has beaten me for now but the main thing is .... sorted :) Next challenge will be EQMOD but that will be for another day ;) Steve