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I'm sorry...


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First off I'd like to say a big fat SORRY to everyone here on SGL...

I realise that some of you may have wanted to get out and see the universe tonight, (and probably this weekend, because the bad weather is showing no signs of letting up...) and will be very disappointed

by the wall to wall clouds that fill your skies tonight.

I also understand that those sneaky telescope manufacturers like to include three years worth of clouds in their telescope boxes, presumably to make you buy more accessories whilst the new scope excitement

is fresh!

I was extremely excited to take delivery of my new scope this afternoon, (Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ-MD), even if it's too cloudy to test it!

I got bored waiting for the delivery man (next day delivery was paid for, but for some reason the delivery driver decided not to deliver it on friday and took it back to the depot?!), and so I made myself a makeshift planetary/lunar imaging webcam out of an old Xbox Live camera... It was pretty fiddly, but I think it turned out okay for a first attempt! (pictures below)

IMG_0871.jpg

Finally the delivery man arrived... It felt like christmas, but I made a huge mess ripping open the box and putting it all together...

box.jpg

Finally built, I decided to leave the motor drive off to start with as I hadn't even finished building it and the EQ mount was already starting to confuse me... (hoping i'll get to grips with it faster than I anticipate!)

scope.jpg

After some close ups of the trees at the end of my garden, I decided to give the DIY camera a test fitting... it was snug, but stayed in place perfectly.

cameraiscope.jpg

That's all for now... First impressions are amazing, but I haven't had much experience with scopes previously so I have little to compare it too!

Will let you all know how I get on, and look forward to posting a first light report!

I'll also be posting regular updates on my astronomy/astro-imaging progress on my blog (http://www.gingeronthemoon.blogspot.com), as well as some tips for beginners that I think would be useful to people as clueless as I am right now!

Ginger

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Hi and welcome to the forum. Looks like you've been really busy - it is one of the few benefits the clouds afford us! You will have to provide us with a first light report when the clouds/wind dies down and on how you found getting to grips with your new scope.

Wishing you clear skies soon!

James

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Nice setup ginger and well done on the cam, I'm going to try the same myself soon.

I got my new setup a fortnight ago and the only clear night since was when I was starting work at 4am. Typical.

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Thanks to all for the replies - This is the first place I turn when I get stuck, and in my eyes probably the most valuable resource possible for all things astronomy related!

I decided to give my webcam a quick test on my lunch break... It's still cloudy, and the wind is absolutely insane, but I've managed to get a quick 30 second capture of the leaves on the tree visible from inside.

It's a 30 second clip at 30fps captured with SharpCap through a double glazed window, and I've changed none of the SharpCap settings whatsoever. (Apologies for the less than perfect focussing, I set up, took the clip, and uploaded it all within about 5 minutes!)

I know that 50m away is very different to 1.2 billion kilometers, but i'm very happy for a first attempt! I'm hoping that when the skies clear up I'll be able to tweak my SharpCap settings, change the resolution and stack some images using Registax, but we'll see how that goes...

Here's the link:

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing your criticisms/responses!

Ginger

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Hey and welcome!

At least now we know who to blame for this ''Summer'' we are having so thanks a bunch!!! haha

Nice scope and some nice handy work there with the web cam!

I hope it brings you HOURS of great veiwing :grin: :grin: :grin:

Cheers

Steve

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Vid looks just fine - I'm fairly impressed with the resolution there really. Will be interesting to see how you get on with Saturn - if it's still there when this cloud finally clears! Never know, by then the Sun could've entered the red giant stage....

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Many thanks for the compliments everyone... if only I could figure out how this @#$! EQ mount works!

Badger - I'm glad you like it! (Must admit, I was content with just a notebook to record my astronomy progress, but then your blog changed my mind! - Will probably try some DSLR images at some point, because yours look amazing!)

Bobsta - I've bought a couple more of these webcams to modify for friends - if they don't want them they'll probably end up on ebay! I'm currently working on both a step by step picture guide, and a video guide to make an Xbox live vision astrophotography webcam tutorial, as i've had LOADS of people ask me how It's made! If you still haven't finished yours by the time I upload my guides in a day or two maybe they'll help you out :).

Jflowers - 12" is ridiculous! Hopefully you'll get some amazing views through that when the cloud passes!

I have played with some settings and managed to get the webcam up to 640x480 at 30fps in full colour without any loss in picture quality due to compression... I'm quite amazed by the pictures such a cheap DIY bodge job can produce!

Ginger

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Hi

Congrats on your new scope - you're forgiven for the clouds! Look on the bright side, you have more time to learn your way around your new purchase so using it will be easier when we do get clear skies.

BTW, weather 'experts' are predicting a late summer so it may be warm and sunny for Kelling Heath.

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Onesmallstep - any chance you'd be able to let me know the dates for kelling heath, or point me to a website with more info? It's a two hour drive for me, but It looks like it should be amazing! It will probably be my first group astronomy event, and I'd love to go! Do you have to pay?

I'm working on improving the capture settings in SharpCap to get a better full colour picture etc. and presume I'd get better responses in the Imaging section, so i'm going to be posting in there from now on - I'll still check this thread periodically but If anyone was watching my progress that's where it'll be!

I'll still be updating my blog regularly as well :).

Ginger

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First off I'd like to say a big fat SORRY to everyone here on SGL...

I realise that some of you may have wanted to get out and see the universe tonight, (and probably this weekend, because the bad weather is showing no signs of letting up...) and will be very disappointed

by the wall to wall clouds that fill your skies tonight.

Ginger

This weather is nothing to do with you mate- I installed a hot tub / jacuzzi thing outside two weeks ago. It has done nothing but rain ever since..............

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I finally understand EQ mounts, how and why they're used, polar alignment and how to find and track objects!

I'll post the link here instead of starting a new thread for fear of clogging up the beginners advice and info boards, but please pass this on to anyone who might find it helpful if I've missed anything!

http://www.themcdonalds.net/richard/index.php?title=A_Quick_Tour_of_an_EQ_Mount

Being a beginner with no previous experience in astronomy and having just bought my first EQ mount, I've spent many hours googling how the damn things work because despite being simple when you understand them, to someone with no idea where the NCP is or how to balance in the RA and DEC axis they're blumming terrifying!

Even when I did find a guide which explained polar alignment in simple terms, told me how to do it and what it was for, it still diddn't tell me what I was and wasn't allowed to move in order to find and track an object across the sky... This guide explained it all nicely and I understood first time, so I thought I'd whack it up hear for anyone else who might find it useful!

I spent about 10 minutes setting up, practising aligning and then using the permitted (RA and DEC) controls to point at random things in the room. I probably looked a bit silly, but it definitely improved my understanding of how the different axis work, what they're for and how to get your telescope to point south without pointing at the floor etc.

Hopefully this will help somebody!

Ginger

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I found the 4 different axis (alz, az, RA and Dec) confusing to start with, then the fact that you could follow an object using one of them, which coincidentally diddn't move in a straight line... have to admit it took me a while!

Ginger

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