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A quick session


DoctorD

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Hi

My Minitower has developed a fault and has been returned to the UK agents to be sorted and as you might guess, first night home for a while and my main mount is broken and the skies are clear!

I dug out my 102mm MAK and my SW AZ mount and hooked up the video camera and F3.3 reducer - set up inside the house then carried the whole thing outside in one go!.

I did not hook up the laptop - viewed on my little 7" monitor and had a good hour Messier hunting.

M35, M36, M37 & M38 all fitted nicely into the FoV I even managed to "see" M1then to finish off the evening I slewed to M42 and spent some time fiddling with the setting on the camera - I set the SSDR and SSNR to their maximum settings and the exposure to x256 and waited for the image to stabilise - I was amaze at how the SSDR limited the over exposure of the centre of the nebula whilst allowing the detail in the edges to come out.

The attached photos taken with my iPhone do not reflect the images I could actually see on the monitor but give an idea of the extent of the nebulosity I could see.

I've also included a shot of the set up to show how bad the light pollution is - M1 was to the south east directly over the city centre and quite near the sodium light in the photo - I'm pleases I even managed to recognise it!.

Location:

Little Scope that Could

M1

M1 14-11-13

M42

M42 14-11-13

Clear skies
Paul
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Good shooting Paul, cant wait to get Orion! Your LP is very similar to mine. M1 is I have found a tough cookie to get detail with LP. I zoomed in on my last effort on it and the Sammy was starting to pick out orange and purple detail, so when I get to a dark site Im hoping to squeeze more out of it.

Regards Carl

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Great shots considering how bad your light pollution is Paul!

Nice to hear you are using the 3.3 reducer! I just bought one of them and was going to ask if anyone had used this with the sammy :)

You got any idea if it stacks with a 0.5 reducer ok?

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Hi Chris

You need to get the spacing right on the F3.3 - I use SCT->T adapter 2x10mm T spacers and a T->1.25" adapter. Distance from ridge on the reducer to the camera where the CS adapter is = 58mm which seems to work OK for my 102 MAK and C8 SCT.

I've not really looked to hard at the edge distortion though and have not measured the actual reduction achieved.

I've not tried the 0.5x reducer although I have read that it will not work (must check for my self).

HTH

Paul

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Cheers for that Paul. I had a read at a few reviews for the 3.3 and they also mentioned the spacing problem.

Its all setup in my livingroom waiting to test it out. Can i ask how a diagonal effects the spacing?

Currently i have 3.3 reducer > SCT to 1.25 adapter thing > 1.25" prism diagonal. (had to remove the 2" diagonal as it hits the base with the reducer attached when pointing near the zenith)

Can i ask if the 58mm you mention included the nosepiece on the sammy?

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Hi Chris

I would not use the diagonal - it will make the distance between the sensor and the reducer too big - this is the critical distance, also it adds another optical surface that you can do without.

The F3.3 cannot be used for visual use anyway so eyepiece location is not an issue.

Maybe this will help:

SDC435 F3.3 Reducer Spacing

Note that the spacing works for me but may not be optimal.
I also use a Skyglow filter on the 1.25" nose piece.
HTH
Paul
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Ok thanks a lot paul i will give it a go and see what the deal is.

Sorry for de-railing the thread on reducer chat btw :)

Back on topic...

What happened with your main mount? 

Also Im guessing it didnt work well at x512 with they two at max settings? How did the images compare with lower SSDR and SSNR but at x512?

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Hi Chris

Just noticed your other question - my Minitower II developed the dreaded "cannot communicate with DEC motor" error.

Cannot fault the service from Ian Knight at Altair - arranged for a courier to pick it up under warranty.

I'll let you know when it's back - most likely a motor board failure according to the Google search I made.

Clear skies

Paul

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