Show us your Frac

[Nigella Bryant]

Latest and final incarnation. 

[badhex]

My new Zenithstar 73 out for a bit of solar in preparation for later this week (and in lieu of a proper first light, thanks to evening clouds). 

For the safety conscious, btw, yes that is a very thick elastic band - but as an addition to the pegs on the Baader pre-made filter. Normally it would use velcro, but didn't want to put it on a brand new scope one day after receiving it! 

Edited June 6, 2021 by badhex

[badhex]

On 31/05/2021 at 00:39, Nigella Bryant said:

Latest and final incarnation. 

This setup is amazing! 

[paulastro]

7 hours ago, badhex said:

My new Zenithstar 73 out for a bit of solar in preparation for later this week (and in lieu of a proper first light, thanks to evening clouds). 

For the safety conscious, btw, yes that is a very thick elastic band - but as an addition to the pegs on the Baader pre-made filter. Normally it would use velcro, but didn't want to put it on a brand new scope one day after receiving it! 

Nice looking scope.

When Ive had to use elastic bands to hold a solar filter in place I've always used three.  The idea being,

One band is just too risky, you never know.

Two elastic bands a little better, but its still possible they could break at the same time.

Three bands, fairly unlikely they will all break simultaneously.  However still possible and would only do this if there really was no choice.

Personally I wouldn't take the risk.  Its easier to get sticky stuff off your tube,  than getting a new eye!!!

[badhex]

2 minutes ago, paulastro said:

One band is just too risky, you never know.

Two elastic bands a little better, but its still possible they could break at the same time.

Three bands, fairly unlikely they will all break simultaneously.  However still possible and would only do this if there really was no choice.

Thanks! Yes, fully agree safety is paramount! A more permanent setup will be constructed. I'm not sure if you've seen the Baader pre-made filters but they have rather sturdy metal pegs with rubber outers, which are bolted in place to fit your dewshield and are a pretty tight fit. This is then supplemented by the velcro straps. 

In my case, the elastic band (very thick and which I thoroughly tested beforehand) was only replacing the velcro strap part, and there was no wind that morning, so both the pegs and the rubber band would have to fail at the same time, which I believe was very low risk for the brief time I was testing the setup. I also check the filter between every eyepiece swap etc. 

Perhaps if I need to use rubber bands again though I will adopt your triple band technique - never hurts to be extra careful. 

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, badhex said:

This setup is amazing! 

Thanks, they're the triple mounted solar setup enables me to image in three wavelengths, hydrogen alpha, calcium II k and white light. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by Nigella Bryant
Pic added for info

[badhex]

26 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Thanks, they're the triple mounted solar setup enables me to image in three wavelengths, hydrogen alpha, calcium II k and white light

Fantastic. I'd never thought about it until now but I suppose that with solar if you want to image multiple wavelengths, you need to be able to image on more than one scope simultaneously due to the rapid changes on the sun's surface? 

[Merlin66]

An optimum solution, but not mandatory.  If you can image reasonably quickly between set-ups comparisons between the wavelengths would still be valid.

I have an ED80 setup for Ha, a Genesis 4” for White Light and a Vixen Custom80 for CaK. These can be quickly interchanged on the HEQ5.

 

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, Merlin66 said:

An optimum solution, but not mandatory.  If you can image reasonably quickly between set-ups comparisons between the wavelengths would still be valid.

I have an ED80 setup for Ha, a Genesis 4” for White Light and a Vixen Custom80 for CaK. These can be quickly interchanged on the HEQ5.

 

No not mandatory Merlin, but nice and convenient, lol. 

[wookie1965]

On 24/04/2021 at 02:54, WestCoastCannuck said:

End of my "ever bigger" frac run.  Love it.  Can still handle with ease - the perfect scope for me.  In my driveway....  and first light a couple months ago at a nearby dark site. 

 

Is that a Ioptron AZ Pro I have two fracs a Tal 100rs and a Meade LXD55 127 emc F10 and F9. 3 do you think the mount will hold them separately obviously thanks. 

[wookie1965]

9 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Is that a Ioptron AZ Pro I have two fracs a Tal 100rs and a Meade LXD55 127 emc F10 and F9. 3 do you think the mount will hold them separately obviously thanks. 

 

[garryblueboy]

This week’s choice if a clear night appears 

[Robindonne]

5 hours ago, garryblueboy said:

This week’s choice if a clear night appears 

😍very nice.  Thank god we fell for astronomy.  Imagine getting hooked to fishing and showcasing our classic rods or hyperfast reels etc.  Naah

Edited June 8, 2021 by Robindonne

[scotty38]

2 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

😍very nice.  Thank god we fell for astronomy.  Imagine getting hooked to fishing and showing our classic rods or hyperfast reels etc.  Naah

I bought myself a Mitchell 300 when I was 15..... Couldn't afford the Match.....

Edited June 8, 2021 by scotty38

[garryblueboy]

56 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

😍very nice.  Thank god we fell for astronomy.  Imagine getting hooked to fishing and showcasing our classic rods or hyperfast reels etc.  Naah

Funny thing I loved fishing as a young boy but grew out of it and now I loath it glad the opposite happened with astronomy 😊

Edited June 8, 2021 by garryblueboy

[Victor Boesen]

On 07/06/2021 at 00:59, badhex said:

My new Zenithstar 73 out for a bit of solar in preparation for later this week (and in lieu of a proper first light, thanks to evening clouds). 

For the safety conscious, btw, yes that is a very thick elastic band - but as an addition to the pegs on the Baader pre-made filter. Normally it would use velcro, but didn't want to put it on a brand new scope one day after receiving it! 

Looks great! How do you like the az gti for solar tracking? I'm tempted by the solar quest and its simplicity but would rather get the az gti for night time use as well. I've read that one star alignment on the sun or north and level alignment should work fine?

[badhex]

Thanks Victor! Yes it's quite a nice little setup, very pleased with it. BTW - really enjoy your videos on YouTube, you have come a long way in a short time and more advanced than many others, myself included! But I guess we are all still learning 🙂

So the first test the other day when I posted this was just manual tracking with the app keypad, but today I took the time to get set up and aligned. 

I read a tutorial I think over on CN that suggested you could turn on the solar viewing option in the app's advanced settings (which requires you to do some maths to prove you're an adult and reeeallly sure you want to turn it on!) and then use North Level, which is what is normally use in the night. The North Level however requires two stars, and not only that, it did not allow me to select the sun anyway. 

All of that said, from the north level position I just tried the one-star alignment, wherein the Sun was available. It was off initially by some degrees in the azimuth but I suspect that was actually my North being off. Once I'd centered the sun and confirmed, it tracked really well for the whole time, and I only had to adjust for a small amount of drift twice in the whole two+ hour session.

In general I love the mount as it's so portable and very quick to set up, and alignment very forgiving. Finally the dual encoders are super useful if you want to manually slew and although they technically reduce accuracy when turned on, it's really not noticeable for visual. 

My setup today is below (btw @paulastro note the additional extra-thick rubber band) 

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by badhex

[Victor Boesen]

35 minutes ago, badhex said:

BTW - really enjoy your videos on YouTube, you have come a long way in a short time and more advanced than many others, myself included! But I guess we are all still learning 🙂

Wow thanks Joe! Very kind words I wish I had more time to put some effort into keeping my website and youtube channel up to date. The list of todo/to post on both platforms keeps getting longer, but I will not be able to do much about it until the summer holidays after I've graduated in a couple of weeks!

Back to topic: It sounds like the az gti would suit my needs great. I've never used a goto mount before, my star adventure being the only motorized mount I've tried, and always managed to get around with manual tracking. Although having a travel-capable goto/tracking mount for my Evostar 72ED would be great, especially now that I also use it for H-alpha with my Quark. Still having the dual encoders allowing for manual control is quite a plus in my book as well.

Looks like I'll be adding the az gti to my wish list Out of curiosity, does it fit on the stainless steel skywatcher tripod? Or do I need a mounting plate? I'm looking for one, this one to be exact (or this one with an M12 thread at the tripod end), currently for my star adventure, but can't find much about it.

Edited June 10, 2021 by Victor Boesen

[badhex]

11 hours ago, Victor Boesen said:

Wow thanks Joe! Very kind words I wish I had more time to put some effort into keeping my website and youtube channel up to date. The list of todo/to post on both platforms keeps getting longer, but I will not be able to do much about it until the summer holidays after I've graduated in a couple of weeks!

Back to topic: It sounds like the az gti would suit my needs great. I've never used a goto mount before, my star adventure being the only motorized mount I've tried, and always managed to get around with manual tracking. Although having a travel-capable goto/tracking mount for my Evostar 72ED would be great, especially now that I also use it for H-alpha with my Quark. Still having the dual encoders allowing for manual control is quite a plus in my book as well.

Looks like I'll be adding the az gti to my wish list Out of curiosity, does it fit on the stainless steel skywatcher tripod? Or do I need a mounting plate? I'm looking for one, this one to be exact (or this one with an M12 thread at the tripod end), currently for my star adventure, but can't find much about it.

The AZ-GTi is the first goto mount I have owned too, and although I think for learning it's great to do things manually, sometimes you just want to get up and running without any faff. 

The mount is available in two options: one with the tripod and extension pillar shown below which also fits the star adventurer and AZ5 mounts (and your AZT6), or just the mount head itself. The main connection to the tripod is a 3/8“ photo thread on the base so will also fit any typical photo tripod e.g. Manfrotto. 

I bought the version with the tripod and find it to be pretty sturdy, definitely enough for the size of payloads we're talking about. FYI the tripod packs down to about 70-75cm, I carry mine in a manfrotto 75cm bag with the extension pillar wrapped in bubble wrap and nestled between the legs. Very manageable. 

One last thing worth noting is that the mount is obviously an ALT-AZ but with a wedge and a counterweight (I think the same as the star adventurer) it can be switched to EQ mode. I read that it works well although I have not done that myself. 

Good luck with your graduation! 

 

[Victor Boesen]

Highly useful information once again Joe! Thanks a lot for your advice and luck for my graduation

[F15Rules]

Nice old Vixen SP102M F10 achromat..

It had some optical issues which have now been sorted, courtesy of Es Reid, a real optics genius and gentleman.

If you're interested you can read more here: 

Shown in photos with my FS128 which I've just had serviced and optics cleaned, again by Es Reid.

During a short test session last night I got up to 468x on Epsilon Lyrae with the Tak using a Vixen LV5mm eyepiece..

I could only just get the two pairs into the FOV at that power (the LV5 only has a 45 degree fov, but is very sharp), but was presented with two very clear bullseye's. The FS128 is just a delight to use🤗👍.

Two very different, but enjoyable refractors.

Dave

Vixen objective after cleaning and realignment..

The Tak lens now looks again like it did when I first got it😊

Edited June 11, 2021 by F15Rules
Photos added, text added

[globular]

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

Like the colour coded bike  

 

[F15Rules]

3 minutes ago, globular said:

Like the colour coded bike  

 

Yep, it's a "Takabika" 😁😁..

Dave

[Saganite]

6 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Yep, it's a "Takabika" 😁😁..

Dave

Or a taky bike.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Saganite

[wookie1965]

2 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Nice old Vixen SP102M F10 achromat..

It had some optical issues which have now been sorted, courtesy of Es Reid, a real optics genius and gentleman.

If you're interested you can read more here: 

Shown in photos with my FS128 which I've just had serviced and optics cleaned, again by Es Reid.

During a short test session last night I got up to 468x on Epsilon Lyrae with the Tak using a Vixen LV5mm eyepiece..

I could only just get the two pairs into the FOV at that power (the LV5 only has a 45 degree fov, but is very sharp), but was presented with two very clear bullseye's. The FS128 is just a delight to use🤗👍.

Two very different, but enjoyable refractors.

Dave

Vixen objective after cleaning and realignment..

The Tak lens now looks again like it did when I first got it😊

Love those tripods love one of those for my EQ5.