Anne S

The owners are very nice and helpful. They turned off an objectionable light which was reflecting off out motorhome. We and a friend had south-facing pitches so could image east to west.

1 hour ago, fireballxl5 said:

Do you have the details please? Hopefully I'll have this option soon🙂

We stayed at Camping Puro Alentejo, about 10 miles north of Elvas. There's also Camping Os Anjos which is near Campo Major, about 20 miles east of Puro Alentejo.

End of 2022 we stayed at Cantino da Paz which is a farmstay caravan park about 14 miles from Beja.

Anne

We spent 6 weeks in the Alentejo part of Portugal in January and February. We had clear periods but also several days of rain and periods with high level cloud. I managed 9 images, 2 of which were 2 pane mosaics, around 8 hours data for most images and at least 12 hours for each mosaic. I also did several all night sessions unattended. We have a motorhome and stayed on a small campsite where there was electric hookup.

The weather was not as good as I expected, we had the jet stream over us some of the time. It was vastly better than the permacloud we have in Wales! Were going again next year but slightly later.

Anne

10 hours ago, fireballxl5 said:

The ASI071 needs a flattener from my experience using a RC6. I now use a 533 with no such issues,  other than the usual collimation hurdles🤪

Do you bin your 533? I'm currently using a SX 694 binned 2x2 with my RC6. Gives a resolution of 1.4 arcsec/pixel and reduces the impact of the f9 focal length. One day I'll need a replacement.

48 minutes ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

That is an amazing setup. 

For my more basic setup, I just need something that can handle 3 data usb and three power usb.

Maybe just two power usb if I replace my dslr with an uncooled osc.

Are yours mounted on their scopes and if so how and how heavy are they?

I use a Beelink u59 which is 12 volt. I power it through a Pegasusastro Powerbox Advance which has 5 power and 4 usb. Mini pc doesn't have power sockets unless you go really expensive! Ie Stellarmate or PrimaluceLab. The usb is powered. I use mono ccd cameras with filter wheel, OAG, Focuscube and Mount. Though I use a double 12 volt socket adapter so the mount can be plugged into a mains extension lead via a Coleman fridge mains to 12 volt adapter along with the PPBA. I use the PPBA usb sockets first and anything remaining into the MINIPC usb.

The Beelink is attached to the PPBA using a Pegasusastro plate, the PPBA has its own brackets which I attach to the top of the tube rings as I have a small scope. The whole lot can be lifted off quickly if needed. I hope that helps. 
 

Incidentally, I also use a OSC 533 with duoband filters and uv/ir cut filters. They're also in a filterwheel, it keeps dust at bay. You will need usb and possibly 12 volt if you go that way!

Anne
 

Could the single screw in the eyepiece holder cause some newtons rings? I remove the eyepiece holder and attach my Hypercam 178 to the revealed T thread. That's the only way I can get focus! I do need to use a spacer as well as I've a Starlight focuser with very limited focus range. It's much better than the original helical focuser.

I use Astrobin quite a lot to get suggestions of exposure times and filter to use. As to sky quality, I do live in the wilds of Carmarthenshire. Unfortunately I don't have many clear nights!

As the the Iris nebula, the above is broadband. Some targets show much better like that. I'm still getting to grips with dark nebula imaging. I managed the Witch Head nebula is January but that was in the Alentejo, Portugal! I wouldn't have done that well at home. Sky conditions are key. In light polluted areas you need a light pollution filter or narrowband (duo/tri band) to use with your dslr. If you do get a tec cooled cmos osc, you'll find it makes life considerably easier. Although I use mostly CCd cameras, I do have a ASI533mc which is brilliant and only needs short exposures - less than 5 minutes - to do many targets.

A ccd camera some years with several hours using LRBG filters. As to your stars, you've a larger field of view than me so the stars should be smaller. Also the camera was mono and much more sensitive.

They're nice images. As to the Iris, lots of dust around it.

It's stretched to show the dust! Possibly a bit too much.

I use SGPro, not NINA but the process should be the same. To calibrate, I connect everything then do the calibration using Phd2. Look under Tools, I'm pretty sure that's where it is. Phd2 then more or less takes over and slews the mount to the correct place for calibration. Once finished just start your imaging in NINA. You won't be pestered with calibration error messages.

I always had an issue with calibration and the correct location. It's now really easy and quick.

Returning to calibration, I see you're using Phd2. As long as you're using pulse guiding, ie using the mount connection, you only need to recalibrate if you take down your setup. Phd2 can do the calibration for you by slewing to a good position and moving the scope to do the calibration. You don't need to do one after a meridian flip as Phd2 will adjust the corrections as it will know it's now working on the other side of the meridian.

9 hours ago, Adam J said:

There is just no way that a even a F3 would need more than 1.25 inch filters with a SX694, I strongly suspect something else was going on. As I understand it 36mm is fine and used by many people on the 26M with no issues. The only thing I can think is that you must have had the filter a long long way from the sensor. 

Adam

The focal reducer was causing some reflections from off axis stars as well but that only became apparent after I'd replaced the filters. No issues with the new filters and replacement reducer. The scope is an f7, though works at f5.53 with the reducer.

It's good to hear that the 26M should be fine with 36mm filters. I can concentrate on saving up for it!

I had a similar problem when I installed a focal reducer on my 102mm Wave some years ago. A smaller ccd, just a SX694. Completely solved with 36mm filters. When I removed the reducer everything was fine. My ccd was only 16mm diagonal though. I'd like a 26M camera some day and I'm concerned that I'd need to go up to 2 inch filters. My 694 backfocus is 17.5 approx.
 

The reducer steepens the light cone which increases the risk of vignetting.

20 minutes ago, PhilB61 said:

This comes across as utter condescending nonsense. I've no doubt there may be some advantages to Linux, I don't know and don't care. The reason Window's based systems are used by so many is that for the vast majority of people, it is accessible, it has a vast array of software and hardware options and it works! I took have been imaging for just over 3 years and like you have never lost an image or session due to a software issue. 

Obviously people do have issues, with so many users and variety of equipment and experience levels, it's inevitable whether it be Windows or Linux based.

I agree with you. I'm of an age where the first computer I encountered was one that ran using a cassette player to load programmes! I can use programmes but only if they do what they're supposed to do! I've only ever lost subs due to silly mistakes by me. The MINIPC behaved impeccably in my two astro trips this year.

I can't use ASIair as I don't use much ZWO kit and my iPolar only supports Windows at present.

14 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

I use windows 11, and TBH it’s been fine, I always have a clone drive ready to go, and exact copy which can be just booted from already fitted inside my mini PC…

I thought I'd cloned the MINIPC but I obviously hadn't done it properly! My recovery dvd didn't work either.

I've had to reinstall W11 from scratch. All went smoothly and I've got most of the auto stuff loaded on. I've also removed most of the Microsoft junk. At least I was offered the option not to sync my folders this time to one drive. I don't know if deleting it before the MINIPC failed to boot stopped it from using the recovery programmes. Let's hope this is the last time I need to repair it!

Terry often replies during the evening. We had a problem with an Ultrastar earlier this year. He sent a firmware update which I applied. Very easy.

I've got the previous model to your Lodestar Pro, only bought it in December. I'm using it unbinned with no issues. I think I'm using the Ascom driver in Phd2. Can't check as I've had to reinstall everything on the mini pc concerned! Have you installed all the latest drivers?

Years ago I used a MX716 which uses the same ccd, no issues with that either. I was using Maxim dl5 at the time and I don't recall changing anything in the driver. Have you asked Terry Platt at SX?

I know how to bring clear skies, switch my Ritchey Chretien in the dome for my Lunt50 ready for the summer! That'll make sure there's permacloud daytime and clear nights!  I like your profile picture, I want to image that but it was too far to the north in Portugal. Maybe I can do it when we go back next February.

The weather was patchy in Jan and Feb, runs of up to 5 nights interspersed with hazy or wet and windy ones. At least it stays dark longer in the Spring and Summer. It was good to escape most of our winter! When sunny temperatures got up to 19 or 29 degrees in the day time.

I've dabbled in Linux but don't really understand it. I can't use an ASIAIR as I've Starlight Xpress and Atik cameras etc. I also use SGPro for imaging. The MINIPC is used for starparties etc but my dome isn't motorised so there's no point removing to that as I need to rotate the dome. I always use an old laptop for that. I have used an active usb cable at star parties which worked well. I haven't tried that with my ASI533 as that's usb3 and may or may not work successfully. The mini pc is perfect with that.

i just wish i understood what's making the mini pc play up. It's done it two years running after a September update. This time it's different but is seemed crash when asked to copy a zip file over the house network from the laptop removing into it and then when I gave up and copied the file via a usb drive, it copied ok but then wouldn't extract it. I was just about to copy the uncompressed version when the MINIPC wouldn't let me log in and when restarted refused to boot up.

Fingers crossed it'll let me fix it tomorrow!

I cloned it last September after its last breakdown, hoping it'll be fine once I've restored it from that.

Anne

Thanks, though I'm not sure I understand it. I've already been through the auto diagnose and recovery options. Nothing worked, it just rebooted and started again. I'll try restoring it from a disk image tomorrow. Otherwise I'll have to start from scratch with the Beelink software etc. I did that the first time I reloaded everything. It's just tedious reinstalling all my software. If the disk image works it will have everything on as of last September.

Let 's hope. Fortunately everything important was copied off to be processed.

2 hours ago, Fegato said:

Looking at it on here, maybe needs a bit more contrast, black point adjustment. And not sure if all those colours are real or "invented" by my OSC processing...

I'm in Carmarthenshire too, managed 2 images last autumn and 2 at 2 Kelling starparties. Just as well we spent 6 weeks in Portugal with 9 images.

Though I've probably jinxed it now, bought a new 80mm triplet. It'll probably rain until Xmas!

Nice image there. I hope you've fixed your issues. I dread to think what my equipment will do when it's clear again. We have washed the observatory in between the rain though!

35 minutes ago, Elp said:

OneDrive shouldn't interfere with the operating of a PC at all. Your mentioning of it deleting your files created a thought, you're not saving the images under the OneDrive folder are you?

 

This is the first pc with preloaded w11 that I've had. I didn't realise what one drive was doing, I discovered that I'd been using the documents and pictures folders in the one drive folder when I was in Portugal. I'd already made the folders to be on the pc.  So I stopped it syncing as it started warning me that I was going to run out of storage. Once home I eventually found how to select which folders synced but lost a load of files, which I retrieved from one drive. I then realised that the docs/pictures folder was in the normal place. So I unlinked the pc and deleted one drive as per ms instructions.

Today I wanted to install Platesolve3 and, when copying the files, it seemed to crash. I managed to get the compressed file on but couldn't extract it. So I turned off the pc, disconnected remote access, rebooted my laptop and once I reconnected, saw the Lock Screen briefly and then just had a black screen. At this point I connected my keyboard and display but didn't get the login screen. I had to recycle the power as the off button wasn't reacting. After that it wouldn't boot. Tomorrow I'll try restoring using the ISO I made after the last September's problems.

If this doesn't behave soon it'll be in the for sale thread as I'm obviously too stupid to get it working properly. Though it worked perfectly all 6 weeks in Portugal!

I actually uninstalled one drive. I'm surprised it couldn't restore W11 pro automatically, I thought it was linked to my MS account. My 2nd reinstall kept my files and reinstalled Windows. I'll try the ISO tomorrow. Then I'll find out if anything else has gone wrong.