Problem with inwards focus on a 250px using spc880 webcam

[Stephen]

ok im going to go for -7 , i saw it in todd8137 video on the sidebar:)

scopes been cooling down for 2 hours, iv got it all collimated, been nice and clear..just about to go out and ...yep its covered in clouds:mad:

Im going to leave it outside and keep a good eye incase its starts to rain, just need a gap in the clouds for 10 mins! of corse more would be nice though.

Why do you feel you need a fixed value? You've just got to line it all up and adjust until it's right for your set up

Also what unit is that in? I would of expected exposure to be 1/100, 1/200 etc

[Madhatter]

Im not to sure to be honest Kh3ldar, WXastrocapture was in that format though, but yep your right, its going to be trial and error!.

Its not that doctorD i am acctualy finding things ok now:) (although it can be tricky!) its a setting issue i think.

I have tryed and tryed again tonight but its been pretty awful, the gaps in the clouds just are not enough to get any real feel for how well things are working, the moment i get jupiter on the screen a cloud comes in..i think im going to wait for a better night and try again:).

I did manage to get an A-focal video and picture of jupiter though:) im acctualy quite pleased with that.Its not great but its my first acctualy photo of a planet.

[spaceboy]

Looks an OK pic to me.

As for the webcam it's as I mentioned to you a while back, it will take a lot of hard work to start with but if you get a bahtinov mask at least that will make focusing a lot easier then you can concentrate more on nudging and getting sharpcap settings right. The another way is to get a volunteer to nudge the scope long enough that you can tweak the settings and then have a bash at getting the focus bang on. Either way it will be testing to adjust settings at the laptop while trying to keep Jupiter on the chip and if you do loose sight of Jupiter it can be hard work to find it again once the gain,exposure and gamma have all been adjusted.

[Madhatter]

Thanks spaceboy, im just glad to finaly have something! lol..

You dont happen to know if there is any printable bahtinov masks do you? i know 10" is bigger than A4 size so mabey one in two halfs? or if i used the apeture stop would a tiny one work on the hole?

I know im being very tight fisted here, but money is tight and i still need to buy a IR/UV filter before i get dust on the chip.

This is harder than i thought it would be:eek: im determined to learn this though!

I do appreciate everyones patience with me:)

[spaceboy]

I'm tight when it comes to buying a piece of plastic but I digged deep for £15 and got one for my 8" and thats on an EQ mount. There are print outs you can get off the net but I'm unsure how you go about printing such a large one???

[Madhatter]

Lol:) it does seem like a very worthwhile investment, but im littiraly skint right now.

i was thinking one in two halfs mabey that can be stuck together:o

I plan to just use it as a template and then make a more sturdy cardbord one using a craft knife set.

i wonder if you can just make your own without a template..just following a design online and cutting it yourself.

[Spikey]

Personally I wouldn't waste 2 hours waiting for the scope to cool down. If you're still learning then the important thing is to get capturing some data to play with. It doesn't have to be perfect. Before you're next session keep it in a room with no heating, garage, shed or similar and put it outside for half an hour or so as you are setting everything else you need up.

[RikM]

A piece of stiff card with a big Y cut in it is pretty good substitute. I used one like that a few times with some success but I did get one of the Starsharp plastic ones in the end. They really are worth it.

Do remember to take it off again before capturing your avi