Imaging with the 130pds

[dyfiastro]

1 hour ago, Uranium235 said:

I assume you ment "size" and not "side".

Theyre M4, drill an M3 or M3.5 hole (personally I go for M3 for a better thread) then tap it out with an M4 tap (tap sets can be gotten from B&Q). Also its better if you have access to a bench drill (dont do it by hand!) to get a nice straight hole.

Then, you can nick a  thumbscrew off a barlow or other EP accessory (as theyre all M4).

Yes sorry.

Thanks, a mate has a bench drill, I will roping him in to help me with this and few other things at the same time.
I already have a set of taps from another project so that will not be a problem either.

I am hoping to build a better mounting solution for my 9x50 guide scope at the same time. At present I am not able to adjust it and really would like to align it with my main scope.

Thanks again

[richyrich_one]

This works nicely.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/234217-sub-£15-guide-rings/#comment-2534941

[richyrich_one]

On 14/10/2016 at 16:25, carastro said:

I won't be moving the mirror up that's for sure, beyond my capabilities, but I know some-one who might take a bit of the focusser tube should it be necessary. 

Moving the mirror IMHO is easier and it's reversible!

I was pretty apprehensive before I did it but it really was simple to do.

[carastro]

Quote

On 10/14/2016 at 16:25, carastro said:

I won't be moving the mirror up that's for sure, beyond my capabilities, but I know some-one who might take a bit of the focusser tube should it be necessary. 

Moving the mirror IMHO is easier and it's reversible!

I was pretty apprehensive before I did it but it really was simple to do.

On the few occasions I have attempted to modify/repair anything I have messed it up.  I tried to do what I thought was something simple in the car once and ended up breaking down with a more costly repair.  I need a "man wot does" to do anything like this.  Plus I don't have suitable tools.

Carole 

Edited October 16, 2016 by carastro

[richyrich_one]

11 minutes ago, carastro said:

On the few occasions I have attempted to modify/repair anything I have messed it up.  I tried to do what I thought was something simple in the car once and ended up breaking down with a more costly repair.  I need a "man wot does" to do anything like this.  Plus I don't have suitable tools.

Carole 

Well if you feel brave the details are here:

 

[carastro]

Quote

Well if you feel brave the details are here:

Hi Richy, was that link supposed to open, and is it a step by step of "how to" move the primary up?  If so, I'd perhaps feel braver if I could see how to do it.  

I can't open the link.

Yours in anticipation.

Carole 

Edited October 16, 2016 by carastro

[wimvb]

On 2016-10-14 at 18:25, carastro said:

To add to my frustration, I possibly have the adapter I need  M48 to T2 (I think), but it is very thin and stuck on another adapter and I can't even get a grip on it because it is thin to get it off.  

Carole 

I guess you may have solved this problem by now, but here's a method I use to unscrew filteradapter rings.

I screw a filter in the ring I want to unscrew. This enables me to get a firmer grip and not bend the rings. It's then much easier to unscrew the two thin rings from each other.

Hope this can be of some use

[carastro]

Thanks Wim, no I have not resolved it yet.  I tried the freezer and Marigold gloves method, but that didn't work.  I've tried a couple of sets of pliers (ouch), but nothing will budge it.  It's annoying.

Carole 

[wimvb]

If there are no optical parts involved, you could try teflon or silicone spray. Clean afterwards. I wouldn't use it with optics (other than an old filter as per my previous post).

Just a thought

[dyfiastro]

5 hours ago, richyrich_one said:

This works nicely.

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/234217-sub-£15-guide-rings/#comment-2534941

Thank you very much. I was thinking of doing the same thing but with a section of exhaust pipe.

[Tiny Small]

Has anyone successfully swapped out the focuser on a 130 PDS for a rack and pinion? I'm in the middle of trying to convert the Crayford but it's not a simple operation. Fitting the rack and pinion is easy but as the Crayford is a pressure drive and the rack and pinion is a geared drive, I'm running into issues with stability and spacing. Though the spacing is relatively easy to sort.

So, if anyone has done this, any advice? Or has anyone successfully swapped an entire focuser? What issues are there? I'm assuming that light leakage is an issue though that shouldn't be too hard to rectify. The differing radii are on obvious issue but in terms of actually securing and squaring it, that shouldn't be anything a few washers can't sort out. Other than that, can anyone foresee any major problems?

[Stub Mandrel]

They may have cold welded together if the anodising rubbed off the screw thread.

[richyrich_one]

3 hours ago, carastro said:

Hi Richy, was that link supposed to open, and is it a step by step of "how to" move the primary up?  If so, I'd perhaps feel braver if I could see how to do it.  

I can't open the link.

Yours in anticipation.

Carole 

If you click on the heading with speech bubble in it it'll take you to the earlier post in this thread.

It isn't a guide just a pic of the parts assembled.

[richyrich_one]

Posted in Deep Sky...

 

Edited October 17, 2016 by richyrich_one

[Tiny Small]

I've now swapped out the focuser on my 130 with a rack and pinion focuser from a 12" OO imaging Newtonian. This has a different size drawtube with an odd converter on the top to take it back down to 2". The focuser fits better than I expected and the gaps have been filled with silicone sealant. To achieve focus, I had to take 10mm off the top of the focuser and move the mirror about another 10mm up the tube. I've conducted some initial focus tests and it achieves focus fine. The robofocus also seems much happier with the R&P and over a few clear nights, I'll see if it makes a difference with autofocus routines. I don't know what this is going to mean for light loss with the mirror being so far up, but I'll see over the coming weeks.

[Tiny Small]

The clouds rolled in and stopped imaging again but I got a couple of hours Ha on the Crescent. 34 x 300s with a few darks applied. It needs MUCH more data before I move on to O3 and S2, but here it is, a work in progress:

 

[Tiny Small]

[Tiny Small]

[carastro]

Got myself a coma corrector, Spacing sorted, collimated - First test shot:

Fingers crossed this is going in the right direction, shame it's full Moon as it's a clear night tonight, eager to try a first image with it.

TEST SHOT, M45 Next to a full Moon, but just to check collimation and stars:

(Not sure what that hazy bit is top right of image), any thoughts?  Had to do a gradient exterminator on this as you can imagine, but the hazy bit was noticeable when doing the subs, which are a batch of 5mins luminance.

Carole 

Edited October 18, 2016 by carastro

[Tiny Small]

10 minutes ago, carastro said:

Got myself a coma corrector, Spacing sorted, collimated - First test shot:

Fingers crossed this is going in the right direction, shame it's full Moon as it's a clear night tonight, eager to try a first image with it.

TEST SHOT, M45 Next to a full Moon, but just to check collimation and stars:

(Not sure what that hazy bit is top right of image), any thoughts?  Had to do a gradient exterminator on this as you can imagine, but the hazy bit was noticeable when doing the subs, which are a batch of 5mins luminance.

Carole 

Collimation looks good. How many subs did you take and is that fuzzy bit exactly the same on all the subs? Could be a cloud. 

[carastro]

It was 11 subs, and the fuzzy bit does seems to be on all the subs.  I'll give the coma corrector a clean as there was a mark on it (2nd hand), and see if that makes any difference.  I did do flats, but if it was a light smudge would flats remove it? 

Carole 

Edited October 18, 2016 by carastro

[lee2017]

As a person just getting into astronomy and AP, (With no scope, just a D7000 + D300s and a tripod) I'm blown away by these images    Awesome!!  I'm feeling inspired!

[Thalestris24]

1 hour ago, lee2017 said:

As a person just getting into astronomy and AP, (With no scope, just a D7000 + D300s and a tripod) I'm blown away by these images    Awesome!!  I'm feeling inspired!

The darkside is a slippery slope!

Louise

[Susaron]

14 hours ago, carastro said:

Got myself a coma corrector, Spacing sorted, collimated - First test shot:

Fingers crossed this is going in the right direction, shame it's full Moon as it's a clear night tonight, eager to try a first image with it.

TEST SHOT, M45 Next to a full Moon, but just to check collimation and stars:

(Not sure what that hazy bit is top right of image), any thoughts?  Had to do a gradient exterminator on this as you can imagine, but the hazy bit was noticeable when doing the subs, which are a batch of 5mins luminance.

Carole 

Hi Carole, I am not an expert but looks like there are several false reflections on the picture, if you take a look to the brightest star on the left, it appears a kind of " double donut" around it, maybe there are parasitic lights reaching your scope. 

[carastro]

Quote

Hi Carole, I am not an expert but looks like there are several false reflections on the picture, if you take a look to the brightest star on the left, it appears a kind of " double donut" around it, maybe there are parasitic lights reaching your scope. 

I think what you can see (and I am amazed you can see it as I had to stretch the image a lot to see it), is the effect of gradient exterminator, as this was taken right near the full Moon.  I am going to clean the coma corrector before I next use it and see if anything remains.

Carole