Help needed 3D printing Bahtinov Mask for ZWO mini guide scope

[keramos 119]

Hello All,

I wondered if someone could 3D print a Bahtinov Mask for me, I've got the STL file from thingiverse.com for this particular guide scope. I'll be more than happy to pay for time, material, and postage cost.

Alternatively if someone know's where I can get the mask printed that too will be very helpful.

ps: couldn't find a mask for such a small scope/aperture with any of the online vendors.

Thanks in advance.

[PeterCPC 2,907]

Why do you need a Bahtinov mask for a guidescope?

[Synchronicity 253]

My understanding is that guiding benefits from slightly soft focus so doing it by eye would be fine and even then it might need slightly defocused.

Michael

[keramos 119]

Well I thought I had good focus, set the guide camera and scope in ASI Air as main camera and scope and too some test shots. Then swapped back to Red Cat and DSLR as main scope and primarily camera.

In guiding it shows up the star as a fuzzy blob so I wondered if it was focus as guiding was all over the place (in one instance I had nothing on the graph).

Scope is balanced and polar aligned.

[PeterCPC 2,907]

Why not just adjust the focus - as said it doesn't have to be spot on.

[keramos 119]

How “soft” does the focus need be? Any examples so that I have an idea of what to aim for.

[Dr_Ju_ju 1,548]

usually a fuzzy, not too bright blob, is ok..... Let PHD2 decide what it wants to use to guide on !!

[almcl 626]

If you are using one of the later versions of PHD2, the present developers (Andy Galasso, Bruce Waddington &c) recommend (sometimes on an almost daily basis on the Open PHD guiding forum) getting the guide camera focus as sharp as possible: 

link 1

link 2

While the centroid computation can cope with some pretty hefty distortion (fortunately for those of us using OAGs), they state that the best results come from sharp guide stars.

They suggest using the HFD figure as a guide and adjusting guide scope focus to minimise this.  For me that figure is seldom stable enough to judge whether an adjustment has improved matters so some sort of mask can be very helpful.

To get a small 3d print, I have used 3d Hubs  in the past and they were pretty reasonable and fairly quick.  I think it was a case of up load the file, choose the material and some other things and they quoted there and then.
 

[Synchronicity 253]

7 hours ago, keramos said:

I wondered if someone could 3D print a Bahtinov Mask for me, I've got the STL file from thingiverse.com for this particular guide scope. I'll be more than happy to pay for time, material, and postage cost.

Send me the file and your address by PM and I'll get it done this week.

Michael