Everything gone wrong

[Dave_D]

Well, tonight is one of those nights... guider won't connect unless it's in 1 particular usb port, APT constantly disconnects with a connection error. Scope is sat outside doing sweet naff all while i re-image the computer. RDP is refusing to connect via the wireless access point. Getting real close to giving up and going to bed

[red dwalf]

i know that feeling well

[red dwalf]

i can`t get my new planetary camera to do more than 1 fps !

i`d be better of using a Canon dlsr at this rate

[Mukv]

I'm feeling a tee-shirt logo/motto coming on

Andy

[HumptyMoo]

RDP is the worst, even if you are RDP'ing from your phone to the PC 6 inches away and it fails, you feel somehow cut off from the world

[Uplooker]

Sorry to hear that! I have loads of nights like that, just keep your head and spirits up. Nothing wrong with calling it a day and coming back to it later when your head is in a better place and lady luck is on your side. It didn't go that well for me tonight either. I was all set to get some more data on the Leo Triplet, scope out and balanced, camera attached, CdC, Eqmod and APT all working and talking good, just plate solved and the blooming high cloud / mist starts coming in. had to give up, albeit it after a quick peek at Jupiter.

Better luck next time.

ian

[jonathan]

Well I just spent the last two and a half hours trying to get my 8SE mount to align, just couldn't do it. 

I should have taken the inline fuse blowing in the first two minutes as a sign, I just went inside and got my emergency cable out.  Spent the first hour with the incorrect date in, then no matter what combination of Universal Time, Standard Time, or Daylight Savings Time I tried it always just wanted to point at the zenith, that is when it wasn't failing the alignment.  So frustrating!  I can never remember if we are on Daylight Savings or not, it's not something I need to know in normal life.

Gave up in the end, pointed it at a couple of things manually (when it would let me) before my hands and feet started to turn blue and then decided to pack up.  Time wasted when I could have been enjoying some sights in my binoculars at least, OR USING A MANUAL MOUNT!!  Grrr goto.

[Kropster]

I'm sure the electronics can sense stress levels.

Next time when you decide to have a play because you have 100% cloud cover, it will all fire up perfectly!

[kev]

Yup. When its clear things go wrong.

Alternatively when your commited to an evening in (as I was tonight) you pop out just now to take the father in law home and find...

crystal clear and frost everywhere.

Ho hum

[wolfpaw]

It was crystal clear here an hour ago. I set the scope up outside, look through some books and make some targets in my head to go for, and I've just gone back out and it's 90% cloudy. So it's all come back inside.

[Dave_D]

Must be something to do with dew/temperature because it all works fine in the house now... time to find a way to ruggedise the computer methinks. Strange that it all worked without any of this nonesense the other night. Didn't seem to be more moisture about and it was about the same temp... *scratches head*

[PhotoGav]

Dave - perhaps you need the patented computer ruggediser case... Get yourself a thick walled brown cardboard box of an appropriate size to push your lappy in with the box on its side. It makes a snug little home for the laptop in these chilly conditions. You can shut the flaps up to keep it really cosy when you fire off an imaging run and walk away for a while.

[PhotoGav]

Here are a few shots of the Laptop Ruggediser Case in use right now:

[ChrisLX200]

I had a different problem, everything set up aligned and tracking, just focusing the main scope by remote, and my youngest decides to throw a screaming fit (about nothing). One hour later after sorting that out I'm so hissed off and stressed out I put the whole lot back in the shed.

ChrisH

[cotterless45]

Neat, you need to go on Dragon's Den , I'll go first as I've found that frying pans make super saucepan lids, going to market them as "Lying lids" !

Nick.