jam1e1

15 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

What I was referring to with PAEs was the Synscan facility - if at any time you choose "named star" and do a goto, and you immediately centre the object manually and confirm it (just as with the initial alignment), Synscan refines its model with the new information (you can see the new object added to the list in the alignment menu). In principle, if you've set up as methodically as you have done, and aligned with a "good" pair of stars, you shouldn't need PAEs. But the instructions say that you can improve the goto accuracy in an area of sky that's far from the original alignment stars by doing a PAE on a local star first.

Apologies if you know all of this already. It's a bit of a mystery.

 

Brilliant thanks ill give that a go too  No i didnt realise - very useful! Its odd that it did work fine for a bit without need for extra PAE etc.... although i do recall a while ago picking two stars that were great for a few nights, when changed pairs a couple of weeks later it was way off.

Let me know how you get on with findings - yes i think planets can be more challenging for tracking vs other objects - mine definitely went down but cant remember if AZ affected too. One thing i did notice was Skysafari was also tracking the movement so it shouldnt have been clutch issue for me (i hope at least!)

hi

Recently switched over from an all sky camera to a smaller FoV setup circa 90deg x 80 deg in effort to capture more meteors - was definitely a good move as managed to capture loads more! Below are a couple of recent examples from last couple of nights.

Built the cameras using guidance via Global Meteor Network / UKMON and raspberry pis. Each night it creates images and auto detects meteors as well as creates video timelapse - great investment and contributes to science projects :)

Jamie

On 04/10/2021 at 14:33, Zermelo said:

On the levelling aspect, do I understand correctly that your approach is that your ground is level, so you set up by extending the tripod legs to maximum and setting the mount to horizontal with the setting circle? Have you tried putting a spirit level on the OTA itself (in two perpendicular directions) to confirm that? It was only when I did this myself that I realiized I couldn't assume anything about the spatial relationship between my tripod head and mount, or the accuracy of the alt scale zero mark. I appreciate that your mount is several times the price of mine, but it might be worth checking. I've read a lot of discussion about whether or not accurate levelling is really necessary, given that Synscan should be using your star alignment to calibrate its internal sky model for each session. But I did notice better results when I changed my levelling procedure. And if my goto is inaccurate on a particular session (probably because I'd set up after dusk and couldn't see properly), I usually find that it's consistently so, for different targets - to the extent that I sometimes just make a mental note of the offset in the finder and adjust subsequent operations manually, without trying to correct the mount's sky model with a PAE. That suggests to me that goto inaccuracies are reflecting any inaccuracies in my setting up, rather than resulting from some more random lack of precision in the software or mount.

Have you tried doing PAEs when you have goto problems (i.e. after a goto, make the adjustments to centre the object, and confirm)? Some people have found it necessary to do this, especially if viewing an object that's a long way from the initial alignment stars.

Another thing I've noticed with Synscan (and/or my mount) is that goto accuracy and tracking accuracy in any particular session don't always go together. So, I might find that it will keep an object centred at 300x for several minutes, yet the initial goto for that object might have been half a degree out. Conversely I might be having a particularly good night for gotos, but tracking may not be great. An interesting point there is that if I use repeated, small slews to keep an object in view then it will continue to drift. But if I let it drift and don't bother nudging it, but I then just issue another goto after it has drifted off, it will centre again and usually stay there. It seems that Synscan "knows" that the object is drifting, but can't correct it without a goto (the other alternative would be that Synscan thinks it is moving the axis motors correctly to track the object, in which case I assume that issuing a repeat goto should have no effect - because it believes the object is still centred). I don't know if any of this tallies with your experiences?

 

hi yes so level with spirit level thanks. 

Agree on offset approach, also use this at times when it is consistently inaccurate! 

Ive done local alignments too when it allows - ie often says too far from centre even though in near FoV!!

also similar on inconsistency with goto and tracking, some nights will stay bang on, come back 20m later fine. other nights moved like the other night as left saturn on rim of EP and moved in like 2mins. Also found depending on if use small or big movements it can sometimes drift then stop, other times not drift at all. Still lost for a solution unfortunately 

thanks yes, its the latest firmware. Had the same problem again last night, also noticed the stars would drift a bit over time which is only really noticeable in a reticule. Bit stuck as what to do next! However, reading on other forums and this one it appears there are some threads with similar issues ....

On 02/10/2021 at 10:40, Zermelo said:

Before you do alignment, is anything listed in "Align">"Align with Sync" ?

not now that ive cleared everything out- there was some junk/malformed data in there before and the delete buttons dont seem to work they just duplicate the star and proliferate obscure character additions - seems a very buggy app

thanks both, ive cleared out all settings (hopefully) from the Synscan Pro app so will see how it goes tonight. Its not the most stable app, nor is it straightforward to clear stuff out. Will update once had another go!

hi 

got an issue where on multiple nights my goto is way out in AltAz mode, by around 1/2 width of 10x50 finderscope. When i first got the Wifi dongle, it was really accurate after alignment i.e. goto would be within say 12mm eyepiece or very near. Now, over the past few months ive had issues every night despite following guidelines in the manual. Welcome any ideas to help troubleshoot / solve?

Setup summary:

- AZEQ6 mount in AZ mode, ground is perfectly level and I start alignment in AZ of Polaris (ie north) and Alt zero degrees, calibrated via setting circle 

- power supply is mains Nevada PS-08 6-8A Regulated Linear Power Supply so dont think thats the issue

- synscan wifi dongle

- IOS latest and Synscan pro app + skysafari pro

Procedure

- turn all devices on and set AltAZ mode in Synscan pro

- ive tried both north level alignment (usual mode) and brightest star, both exhibit same issues as below

- pick two good alignment stars within spec as per manual e.g. Algol (28 alt and 58 az) and Scheat (55 alt and 119 az) , around a month ago Scheat (39alt and 91 Az) and Altair (46Alt and 160Az)

- align using 9mm reticle with red led for accuracy, using the up and right to ensure no backlash

- it says alignment successful

- i then slew to say Caph and accuracy is way out like 1/2 width of finder, not even near in EP

Welcome any help as ive tried deleting all apps, reinstall, multiple nights different stars and no luck

thanks

Jamie

- 

managed to find panstarrs last night - was better than Atlas - first comet seen in over a year  Also saw a nice meteorite about 1047pm that really brightened to about mag 1 - was about 20 deg from horizon and below the plough - short but good night last night!

thanks all for quick replies that is really useful and gives me something to think about. 

Initially im looking at the ST2 replacement, not AZEQ6 - however the encoder option for future proofing is tempting . going to give this one some thought as a big outlay either way.

Any views on whether the EQ5 legs would suffice (i assume not)?

@johninderby my OO12 is 14kg 😐 luckily i use it on grass mostly but i feel could be dicing with danger. My other one is APM152 at 8kg so less but length affects balance. 

whats the view on having this as a replacement for the Skytee2? ie im thinking of getting one to replace that...plus maybe AZEQ6 replacement also.... would anyone that's used it see a need to keep the ST2 if had this?

skysafari has as -1.8mag!

hi not sure if anyone got out last night to see Ursids - got a quick viewing in naked eye in the clear patch.

Happened to clear up around 1030pm ish so went outside to watch and see if I could spot anything. Transparency was great, could see stars in south direction to near to the horizon which is a rare occurrence from my garden, additionally made out a number of fainter stars around Taurus/Aldebaran circa mag 4 or so- ones rarely see. Shame as wanted to get scope out but was a) tired and b) clouds were scheduled soon.

The meteors were amazing, saw around 10 in the space of 30mins.  Saw 3 in quick succession about 2 seconds apart each from Gemini through Auriga circa mag 2, streaked across the sky but really quick. They were nearly parallel and about 5 moons apart each in parallel spacing.

Saw a couple of really faint ones circa mag 4 but short about couple of degrees apart. 

Another started off circa mag -1 then broke up and went to mag 2 through Andromeda to Cetus.

There didnt seem to be too much of a consistent direction.

Best one came right across sky from Cepheus through to Orion , was about mag -1 and orange /white with colour like Capella, really long trail and lasted for around a second.

There were a couple of others too but above were most memorable. Shame as wanted to stay longer but clouds came in. It was a very busy shower in the time i stayed out and saw way more than most others this year - not that been out too much!

Jamie

this new mount looks like i can sell my AZEQ6 and ST2 and use this instead so just have one mount...... I dont do imaging but do use goto with skysafari

23 hours ago, Tyson M said:

I am not an imager, visual only.  I prefer to not bring out my computer at all costs.    I don't think I have a problem with power but I can easily test that with a multimeter. 

Multimeter ok for voltage and current but won’t be able to detect noise or ripple in supply you’d need an oscilloscope, the noise can affect accuracy hence why worth ensuring a decent supply ( I found this out hence why changed supply) 🙂

Have you considered power supply as this also makes a big difference ie if cheap version it can introduce error if noisy hence worth ensuring a decent supply with minimal noise and sufficient current. The supplies on Flo website are a great choice as switched to one myself after using a cheap eBay variant that didn’t work out 

this looks great! Assume its an 'upgrade' from the skytee2? At least thats what im thinking of replacing it with! Although i have an AZeq6 already...... a heavy duty manual mount would be great 

23 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

@jam1e1 that does look similar indeed.  I've picked up a fainter trail, but that may well be due to my darker site.

i think you've got the 180deg lens, i got the 150deg hence expect yours would be fainter as slightly 'slower' lens - though ill swap your skies for mine

just been thru last nights captures, spotted a pair again in first capture and separately a flare from single satellite (suspected) in second, similar to yours.

did a video of the pair too, but no flares on this run.

here are 4 frames from a similar ish one , found sequence odd as one flared then second frame had 2x similar side by side but weaker and one in same place

Looks like a pair that’s caught one half flare and other full satellite flare, ie similar orbit but one slightly ahead. I’ve noticed over over last couple of weeks where for a few nights a pair appear over different areas of sky , in one capture had equally similar slightly odd looking capture. I’ll post a few when get a chance and can dig them out. Normally they don’t flare and just see the light traces. In summary I’ve noticed similar. (Writing from phone hence brief explanation)

Thanks yes it’s not the most prominent capture! Took me a few takes to find it, plan to raise it to a more permanent fixture so can capture more sky

that's great only just saw this - your milky way is so much more prominent!  i changed my lens to the 150deg one, as i have a lot of ground level things in way, also is slightly faster so should capture more stuff

ps just realised your frames are 45s, ive gone for ~15s hence partly why my captures are 'dimmer'  

hi

came home after a night out and by chance decided to setup the allskycamera as clear skies at 1am, looks like managed to capture the meteor that was reported in the news, although initially thought my capture was a plane. Really low in the horizon unfortunately, but happy managed to get it. Initially i reviewed footage this morning and didn't see it, although realised later i was looking at wrong part of sky then found it after second search!

see top right of capture about 4 seconds in - video is 3FPS and captured at 5.51am this morning - luckily still was capturing as auto switched off at 5.54am! This was captured over around 5 frames. Direction of travel roughly SW.

Jamie

looks like it most likely is the meteor after brief email with ukmeteor team  

Ive asked UKmeterornetwork team to help confirm/validate also - so not validated at the moment

Just made the video, its in top right of capture from about 4 seconds, the direction of travel is roughly SW. Timestamps of frames is 5.51am and lasts about 5 seconds, which seems to align roughly with the video on ukmeteor network.  ive made the video 3 frames per second. 

If it is validated ill start a new thread in imaging widefield with it (hope no issue posting here?)

i didnt see it but think i potentially have a capture, ill get the frames and share shortly - appreciate any help to validate if it is