Deepblue12

Might be an idea to post a pic of your current setup to see what options may be available.

8 minutes ago, Giles_B said:

I agree with @Lee_P - I've had no problem with dust, the lens is nicely tucked up when the Seestar is not in use, plus I store it in the carry box.

However Ebay and Aliexpress both list lens caps if you want one neverthless (or have the urge to accessorise your new scope!)

If you know someone with a 3D printer they can download a lens cap from Thingiverse and knock it up in a few minutes.

Any links to a padded bag or similar storage for an AZ-GTI Mount?

Thanks

Gary

Really embarrassing but i traced the issue to a loose terminal connection DOH!!!

Thanks for replying anyway

I'm currently using a 12v 32ah leisure battery to power my mobile setup. I've installed it in a box, connected an inline fuse to 2 x car type power outputs, a USB3 socket and a voltage display.

The battery is kept on constant trickle charge using a CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger and shows in the region of 12.4 volts when first switched on. To this I'm connecting a NEQ6 Mount, 2 x small dew heaters and a ZWO ASIPLUS. The plus has a ZWO ASI294 main camera, a ASI120 mini guide camera, an EFW and an EAF attached. 

The issue i'm having is that the ASI keeps showing a low power alert and on checking its often registering down to 10.8 volts, way below what i expect to see. Looking at similar setups the battery should easily be able to cope with the load.

Any thoughts as to why i'm seeing this issue.

Just purchased and tested one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KCTMJ4Q?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Works a treat, fast connection to my home network means i can sit indoors and monitor the scope outside. Would definitely recommend it.

M42, the classic first image 😀

2 hours ago, Bizibilder said:

Your camera needs 7.4v not 12v.  You could use an ACK-E10 mains adapter if you had mains available but you don't - so you could try a buck stepdown module like this one HERE .  Just google 12v to 7.4v Buck stepdown converter.  You would need to rig up suitable connections for the camera (maybe steal one from the ACK-E10 unit?  Hope that gets you started. (usual discalimers)

correct, i meant from a 12v supply, thanks.

I'd like to power my Canon 1200D DSLR from a 12v supply whilst out in the field. 

Is there a commercially available product that can do this.

Thanks

Gary

Ended up buying a 0.2m Lindy cable. Turned up extremely quick. Plugged it in and camera connected first time. Constantly stopped and started the service, unplugged and replugged the USB and it works everytime.

Thanks all for input and advice.

1 hour ago, fozzybear said:

depends on the quality of the cable manufacture.  I tend to stick with Startech.com or lindy.co.uk what brand is the 25cm one?

I have a qhy5-II mono and use a startech short usb cable and no problems.

 

its an Amazon cheapy. i've used startech in the past so may as well give them a go

Ta

The 2nd hand QHYCCD camera I purchased came with a 5m usb cable. In order to limit the amount of loose cable I purchased a standard 25cm one. However, when connecting to EKOS I only get intermittent connectivity with some dropouts. If I switch back to the 5m everything is fine. Question, does the QHY require a specific usb cable or just something different to what I have purchased?
 

additional info.

Missed out one important part. I'm running the camera via a RPi and Kstars. If i disconnect the USB then Liveview works but i need the connectivity to control the camera.

I've got my Nikon D3300 connected to a Skywatcher 72ED. When selecting liveview i get an error "Cannot start live view at current settings or under current conditions"

I've selected Manual, Bulb, ISO800 and gone through all the Menu options but it still doesn't work.

Has anyone come across this before and can help or advise 

Thanks

i'll know as soon as it turns up

thanks all for commenting

2 minutes ago, Daf1983 said:

I connect my heq5 to my rpi4 with a eqdir cable.https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/lynx-astro-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-for-sky-watcher-eq5-pro-heq5-syntrek-pro-az-eq5-gt-az-eq6-gt-and-eq8-mounts.html

They cost about £30 and I control everything with stellarmate os(or astroberry does the same job).

 

Thanks I am already aware of the cables that are available but the question is what’s the difference between direct connection to the mount or through the sync scan controller?

Just ordered an HEQ5 and I’m intending to connect it to an RPi. There are cables available to connect directly from the mount or through the Synscan controller, each uses a different end connection.

Are there any pro’s/cons to using a particular method?

On 18/01/2021 at 03:02, kens said:

+1

I leave the wifi permanently as a hotspot and if I want to check on things I just plug in an ethernet cable . That also means it only gets updates when it is on the ethernet because that is its only route to the internet. The less you change the setup the less chance of things going wrong

excellent idea!

Thanks

connected via VNC and still no difference?

Is it because its a new install and possibly the latest version that doesn't work in the same way?

I’ll give it a go over VNC and see what happens.

Thanks

16 minutes ago, Elp said:

On the left hand side there should be a floating tab with around 6-7 buttons on it going vertically down the side of the panel. One of them opens a profile wizard, you have to create a new profile and select all the attached equipment you have (mount, cameras etc). There's a checkbox if I remember correctly to say automatically start on startup. Once it's started, all the drivers should be loaded and your equipment should work. Remember when you're finished making the profile to press the save button (disk image), otherwise it won't save and you have to do the process again.

would you believe its not there! was looking yesterday after reading a couple of websites...

However, think the same is now available within the KStars application

11 minutes ago, catburglar said:

I’m not sure that DSLR’s use the same drivers in oaCapture which is based around V4L rather than gphoto that the indi DSLR drivers use. 
 

You may be able to get it to work, but I couldn’t get a canon DSLR working when it was fine in Ekos…

Ekos picked my Nikon up first time, thanks for the prompt. No idea how to use the software atm but at least its connected now

Thanks again

i'll be honest i'm totally new to Astroberry so feeling my way around the various software very slowly.

21 minutes ago, Elp said:

Have you loaded the camera driver on startup via the equipment profile? I assume you're running astroberry?

How do you do this please?

Hi

I'm trying to get my Nikon D3300 to connect to oacapture on my Raspberry Pi. I'm using the same cable as per usual connectivity for downloading images to my PC etc but its just not being found.

A simple Creative webcam is found ok but not the Nikon so think i may be missing a step.

Has anyone come across this before.

Thanks