QHY268M & QHY268C Users Thread (Please share your knowledge and tips)

[Stuart1971]

Just now, tomato said:

Cooler works fine and displays on the trend graphs, power and temp but still no humidity or pressure.

I didn't consider the laptop display, I just assumed NINA would accommodate the screen display available. I have plugged a bigger monitor into the laptop and get the same display...

Yes, mine is here even with cooler off, and just on my iPad screen…..🤔 not sure then…

 

[Stuart1971]

You are also not getting the firmware version or the FPGA version showing either…

[teoria_del_big_bang]

I too think it is just down to the size of your screen.
If I use another laptop with smaller screen it is also hidden

As a quick test do you have a monitor you can plug in and see if it appears on that ?

Or maybe can you adjust your screen resolution ?

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

What resolution is the laptop using on the monitor ?
You may need to go into display to use the monitors full resolution

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Are you running NINA from your laptop with your equipment plugged into the laptops USB ports (maybe via a hub) or running NINA on a remote computer on the mount and using remote desktop or similar to remotely view the mounts computer ?

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

A good test is to make sure your camera data is being displayed then disconnect your camera and at same time watch your screen very carefully.
On my small screen laptop where the bottom two rows are also not visible (like yours we suspect)

when I disconnect camera the Settings disappear first and for a second or two you can see the hidden two lines appear.

Steve

Edited January 8, 2023 by teoria_del_big_bang

[tomato]

I agree, it is most likely a display issue, I played around with the resolution on the external monitor but with no success. I run 15" display laptops which each take a USB connection from hubs mounted on the respective scopes.

When I disconnect the camera, the display holds for a second then reverts to the connect screen but next time I'll look harder to see if I see the missing lines momentarily. I'm assuming you can't configure these screens yourself in NINA?

I have posted the observation on Discord, but in my experience  the NINA guys don't mess about if it's a Numpty based issue.😄

[Stuart1971]

1 minute ago, tomato said:

I agree, it is most likely a display issue, I played around with the resolution on the external monitor but with no success. I run 15" display laptops which each take a USB connection from hubs mounted on the respective scopes.

When I disconnect the camera, the display holds for a second then reverts to the connect screen but next time I'll look harder to see if I see the missing lines momentarily. I'm assuming you can't configure these screens yourself in NINA?

I have posted the observation on Discord, but in my experience  the NINA guys don't mess about if it's a Numpty based issue.😄

Yes, I agree they can be somewhat patronising and dismissive and one reason I don’t post there too much, unless i really have to…have had my fair share of patronising remarks and no actual help….they don’t seem to realise we all make mistakes and everyone has to start somewhere….

[tomato]

I'm not too concerned, I can check the chamber humidity periodically via EZCAP, and TBH I have had the OSC version for over 2 years now with no moisture problems.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

I have posted the observation on Discord, but in my experience  the NINA guys don't mess about if it's a Numpty based issue.😄

I agree and actually find Discord very un-user friendly anyway, but maybe I am just too old to get how it is structured 🙂 

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

I'm not too concerned, I can check the chamber humidity periodically via EZCAP, and TBH I have had the OSC version for over 2 years now with no moisture problems.

True, but if you are like me you get fixated on small issues like this because they are so annoying and you just want to find out WHY ? 🤣

Steve

[Stuart1971]

9 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

True, but if you are like me you get fixated on small issues like this because they are so annoying and you just want to find out WHY ? 🤣

Steve

I’m exactly the same, it makes no odds if it’s there or not, but I would need to know why it’s not…that is the important bit…..😂😂

[teoria_del_big_bang]

One thing you could try is changing the font, unfortunately there is no way to change font size (AFAIK) but I just changed mine to courier new bold and all the lines are now visible on my laptop screen.

Steve

[tomato]

Thanks, someone has responded on the NINA forum and has also suggested it is a display issue.

Some while ago I do recall some problem with the laptop which got fixed, but I remember the font changing, could be connected?

I’m not usually a pixel peeper so maybe that makes me a “bigger picture” kind of person who won’t lie awake at night worrying about this?☺️

[tomato]

Still having fun with this. It is definitely a display issue. Using the Courier New font got me one of the missing lines but only the top one. Ah, I thought, it's font size, so I chose one of the smallest in the list. This gave me tiny text but less lines are displayed than the default! I have found one that displays all of the lines (Microsoft Himalaya), but it is so small I would need a 3x barlow in front of my glasses to read it.

I'll just keep trying fonts from the very long list until I find one that displays everything and is big enough for my ageing eyesight.

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out on this one.

[tomato]

I've settled on MS Gothic Bold for the time being, where did all these weird and wonderful fonts come from?

[Tomatobro]

Now all you need to sort out is the sensor cover heater control.......................

[rnobleeddy]

When people mention the tilt adaptor, is that referring to the three screw ring that attaches to the dovetail, that takes the back spacing to 23.5mm? That appeared to be the only option with my OSC version, but it's not immediately obvious to me how to use it.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

On 12/01/2023 at 19:21, rnobleeddy said:

When people mention the tilt adaptor, is that referring to the three screw ring that attaches to the dovetail, that takes the back spacing to 23.5mm? That appeared to be the only option with my OSC version, but it's not immediately obvious to me how to use it.

As far as I remember the OSC version does have a tilt adjuster and will be the part you are talking about, the mono does not come with this piece but I believe you can buy some screws to adapt the plate for the mono to do something similar.

Steve

[Starflyer]

Good afternoon

I'm after some advice on mode, gain and offset.  I've had my QHY 268M for about a year now and shoot only 10 minute narrowband subs, mode 1, gain 56, offset 30 from my Bortle 6 garden, which works well for me.

I'll shortly be heading off to darker skies (Bortle 2) for a long weekend and want to try and image some galaxies in LRGB.  I've had issues in the past with my Atik 460EX blowing out the cores of galaxies and really want to avoid this as it ruins images.

I'm guessing mode 1 isn't the best choice for LRGB unless I go for very short subs, something I want to try and avoid for processing reasons, unless there's overwhelming reasons why I should stick with it.

I'll be shooting at f/4.8 with my CT10 if that makes a difference.

 

Cheers, Ian

[Stuart1971]

1 hour ago, Starflyer said:

Good afternoon

I'm after some advice on mode, gain and offset.  I've had my QHY 268M for about a year now and shoot only 10 minute narrowband subs, mode 1, gain 56, offset 30 from my Bortle 6 garden, which works well for me.

I'll shortly be heading off to darker skies (Bortle 2) for a long weekend and want to try and image some galaxies in LRGB.  I've had issues in the past with my Atik 460EX blowing out the cores of galaxies and really want to avoid this as it ruins images.

I'm guessing mode 1 isn't the best choice for LRGB unless I go for very short subs, something I want to try and avoid for processing reasons, unless there's overwhelming reasons why I should stick with it.

I'll be shooting at f/4.8 with my CT10 if that makes a difference.

 

Cheers, Ian

Try mode 0 gain 26, or Mode 1 and gain 0, (offset always 25) i personally don t think there is much difference between these 2 settings…but try them and see what you think…👍🏻

Edited February 28, 2023 by Stuart1971

[teoria_del_big_bang]

2 hours ago, Starflyer said:

Good afternoon

I'm after some advice on mode, gain and offset.  I've had my QHY 268M for about a year now and shoot only 10 minute narrowband subs, mode 1, gain 56, offset 30 from my Bortle 6 garden, which works well for me.

I'll shortly be heading off to darker skies (Bortle 2) for a long weekend and want to try and image some galaxies in LRGB.  I've had issues in the past with my Atik 460EX blowing out the cores of galaxies and really want to avoid this as it ruins images.

I'm guessing mode 1 isn't the best choice for LRGB unless I go for very short subs, something I want to try and avoid for processing reasons, unless there's overwhelming reasons why I should stick with it.

I'll be shooting at f/4.8 with my CT10 if that makes a difference.

 

Cheers, Ian

I cant really advise as I  too have pretty much used mode 1 gain 56 with offset 25 for most images.

Certainly will need pretty short subs I would think unless very dim targets, please let us know what worked for you on this thread if you could that may help others.
Hope you get some good clear skies on your weekend away 🙂 

Steve

[Rob_Jn]

I’ve been working on images of M81 and M100 LRGB mode 0, gain 26 offset 30 with 60s subs at f5 and neither show the cores burned out. Hope it’s clear for you 😉

Rob

[tomato]

 

6 hours ago, Starflyer said:

Good afternoon

I'm after some advice on mode, gain and offset.  I've had my QHY 268M for about a year now and shoot only 10 minute narrowband subs, mode 1, gain 56, offset 30 from my Bortle 6 garden, which works well for me.

I'll shortly be heading off to darker skies (Bortle 2) for a long weekend and want to try and image some galaxies in LRGB.  I've had issues in the past with my Atik 460EX blowing out the cores of galaxies and really want to avoid this as it ruins images.

I'm guessing mode 1 isn't the best choice for LRGB unless I go for very short subs, something I want to try and avoid for processing reasons, unless there's overwhelming reasons why I should stick with it.

I'll be shooting at f/4.8 with my CT10 if that makes a difference.

 

Cheers, Ian

Hi, I use gain 30 offset 255 on both a 268M and 268OSC. With a 6” F7 refractor under a Bortle 5/6 sky I use 2 min subs for LRGB and 3 min subs for NB.

[Stuart1971]

13 minutes ago, tomato said:

 

Hi, I use gain 30 offset 255 on both a 268M and 268OSC. With a 6” F7 refractor under a Bortle 5/6 sky I use 2 min subs for LRGB and 3 min subs for NB.

Offset 255……😮😮😮 why…??