humble beginnings

[beamish]

Okay, like many I've had two good nights viewing (at last), Monday with the 80mm celestron on the heq5 (this did offer much better views than I can ever remember when it was on the original wobbly mount) and last night using the 8" Cape and the bins. Woke up this morning with a whole new perspective and respect for all you imagers out there. I thought I'd try a little of my own on :jupiter: with the SPC900. O My G !! :shock: :shock: It's just not like the moon is it ? I did manage to target the planet on the chip but had loads of problems with the settings and ensuring it was well centred.

I keep reading about altering the shutterspeed of the webcam, people talk of 1/33 etc but when I've looked all I find is a slider with no reference to the speed ! So if any has any ideas they'd be appreciated.

I also tested the Maplin's AC/DC 12v converter, wasn't expecting the humming but it was fine. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=42702&doy=1m8

Thanks Ant.

Either way I then completely coc*ed things up by losing most of the AVI's somehow .AARGGGH !

Don't get me wrong I had a great time viewing and inspite of the muck in the atmos, got many fleeting views of the giant planet where banding was visable ( I am gonna have to get that 7mm Burgess/TMB !). For the money I still can't get over the views thru the Lidle bins just great and refreshing compared to the scopes' viewing. Just hope I get some clear nights next week in the Lakes !!

As a postcript it is interesting that the 80mm would probably have lasted longer as primary choice of scope if the mount and tripod that Celestron supplied was a little sturdier, but then it would have cost a lot more and it would probably not have been bought for me !

Karlo

[geppetto]

Sounds like you had a few ups and downs but overall an enjoyable couple of sessions Karlow

As you know, Jupiter is very poor for imaging now but practice is practice. It takes quite a

while to get used to setting the webcams properly and of course each target needs different

settings so keep on trying till you get the feel of it...

Good starting point is:

Brightness half way

Saturation full up

Gain as low as possible to keep the noise down

Frames per second 5 or 10, no higher

Shutter speed set to get a clear image on screen (not to high or you will burn out the high lights)

[beamish]

Cheers Philip, Yeah I had a great time Honest ! As you say it's all practice and practice in patience (why does my wife insist on having to ask me something"important" at critical times?)

I appreciate the tips too. Do I "guess" the shutter speed or just use the preview and slider controls? I'm using K3TOOLS if that's any help.

[geppetto]

Do I "guess" the shutter speed

Once your centred on the planet, start with the gain at lowest then move the shutter speed

until it shows the image on screen (this is where experience comes in), working from highest to lowest.

As soon as you see a reasonable image then tweak it with the gain setting.

You have to remember that stacking often adds brightness so it's easy to choose too low

a shutter speed and end up burning out the highlights.

Once you've got the practice in, you will know instinctively by the on screen image that you have it

right...

By the time Mars comes round you will be a webcam pro 8)

[beamish]

I admire your confidence ! Thank you all the same Philip.

Karlo