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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 10:18:33 GMT
My DSO-S arrived today and sure enough it is a cloudy night, having been clear skies all week. I have a Mallincam Micro which has been great for video astronomy on the move ,out in the field ,at dark sky nights but lacks a wired remote so that changes in integration times requires manipulation of those little buttons at the back of the camera. Also when gain is set to low or above, the image has no colour. To me this has not been a problem as the details, particularly of galaxies, is still quite impressive. The DSO-S has both a wired remote and the images are said to remain in colour with gain on. Hopefully I will be able to confirm this in the next few days. The DSO-S wired remote does not work on the Mallincam Micro.
My Mallincam Xtreme, in my opinion, is a stay at home ,computer dependent camera. That is not a put down as you only have to look at Ken James' images to see what it is capable of (my images just don't look that good). I used to take the Xtreme out in the field with the computer and cables and club members used to have a quiet chuckle to themselves with me struggling with all the gear in the dark.
The Micro and the DSO don't need a computer and ,on the move, this makes an enormous difference to ease of use. And it is a $99 US camera. My on the move setup is a Meade LX90 8 " with a Mallincam 8" screen on a tripod and a Meade 6.3 plus a prostar .5 focal reducer. I figure this gives me somewhere between an F3 and F4 and a FOV around about .4 degrees. The finderscope is an Orion Mini 50 mm guide scope .It centres the nearest bright star to the deep sky object quite nicely and the go to is quite accurate. Pretty happy with it all. Paul
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 27, 2015 13:53:07 GMT
That's good news that it has arrived Paul. Not good about the weather though. It has socked our whole state in tonight And thanks for the compliment You don't need a computer for the Xtreme, unless you bought the 'PC only' version. It works fine with just a monitor. In fact I was using my Xtreme today with a little portable 7" B&W TV to test focus with the Xtreme in a Meade SN10 scope.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 14:30:30 GMT
Ken, how do you get sense up past 128 in the Xtreme without a computer ? The LN300 goes to 1024 with a stacking of 5 with a screen. Paul
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Post by johnno on Feb 27, 2015 14:56:51 GMT
Paul I think you have to use the wireless integration timer to get past x128 only for the Xtreme deluxe or X2 deluxe, does not work on the PC version's www.mallincam.net/xtreme-and-x2.htmlcan't find a price for it but would be handy bit of kit to have
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 27, 2015 16:03:54 GMT
Paul, to go beyond 128x without a PC you need to use the wireless remote control.
As is says on the Mallincam website: When PC control is not utilized, for example when out in the field at a Starparty, the optional Wireless Exposure Control (WEC) module can be used with the fully integrated On Screed Display (OSD). THE WIRELESS EXPOSURE CONTROLLER HAS A BULB SETTING MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO SET EXPOSURES FROM 3 SECONDS TO 99 HOURS.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 19:12:34 GMT
Aahhh Thanks guys Paul
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Post by johnno on Feb 27, 2015 21:04:33 GMT
Paul I think there's a file with the pin out's for the micro either on Mallincams website or in the Mallincam Yahoo group, I suppose you could make a inline converter so you could use the DSO's hand controller
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 21:26:18 GMT
Thanks John My daughter is working on a wired controller for the LN300 I got from Aliexpress. It is my belated Christmas present. When she does get one up and running, I guess there is no guarantee it will work on the Micro. My wired controller for the Xtreme works fine on the Gstar Ex so here's hopeing. Paul
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 7:09:08 GMT
When I bought the Xtreme, I thought the wireless and wired controls did the same thing. Should have looked at the fine print. I bought the wired control but then couldn't really find a use for it. It worked on the Gstar so that's where it has stayed. The Gstar is perched on the Orion Shortube 80 as a finderscope and I basically have it set at sense up 64 to find stars and then ramp it up to 256 for the DSO's while the Xtreme is connected to both a screen and laptop with Miloslick. I have not heard anyone talk about the wireless control and that is why I didn't know about it. Have any of you guys had experience with it? Paul
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 7:24:34 GMT
Me again Another question is Given I already have an Xtreme and I want to go computerless in the field , am I better off getting a wireless controller for the Xtreme or buying a Micro.?
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 28, 2015 8:17:06 GMT
Paul, the Xtreme will give you far better results than a Micro, so my guess would be get the Wireless Remote control. It will give you long integration ability. From Cloudy Nights Forum: www.cloudynights.com/topic/403894-mallincam-wireless-exposure-controller-yes-or-no/#entry5181384Posted 18 January 2013 - 07:27 AM
Just for the record (since it seems all is settled after your talk with Jack), the wired hand controller is not that hard to use. In fact, it gives you a much more "tactile" sense of what's going on with your camera. I also have no difficulty switching back and forth between deep sky and solar system objects. It does take a few sessions to go up the learning curve, but that's what a hobby is all about, isn't it?
As for the wireless timer, the Mallincam Extreme is limited to a 2.1 second integration without the wireless timer or computer control. I found taking a laptop computer out into the desert every night, booting it, launching apps, getting all the dongles connected, a royal pain in the ar$#. The camera is actually well designed to work stand alone with no computer. So, I decided to give up on the laptop for now. So, without a computer to control it, you definitely need the wireless timer. With it you have essentially unlimited integration times available. I also find the wired remote control essential. It is just not convenient to walk up to the telescope and use the controls on the back of the camera, especially since you really need to be watching the image on your monitor to see what the controls are doing to the image.
As for documentation, I found that it was rather confusing and helter skelter. There's alot of it, but it isn't integrated well. The most helpful document I found was a 1 page "cheat" sheet that gave you the default settings for many different types of objects. From there it is easy to jump off and experiment on your own. I have thought of doing my own documentation, based on my learning curve, but haven't been able to get around to it yet.
/Ira
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2015 3:22:21 GMT
I bought the wireless controller from Jack and used it for the first time on the Xtreme last night at our dark sky site. It is a simple setup on my LX 90 8 " and 9 inch monitor with minimal cable clutter but no recording of images . I have had the Xtreme for more than 18 months and this was the first time it really showed me what it can do .My images at home on the TV and laptop just don't compare. Ken,I envy your dark skies at Snake Valley.
I have both the Micro and DSO-S which I have been using with monitor only at the site. They have been pretty good particularly in black and white but nowhere near as good as the Xtreme.
I am still the only member in our club doing Video Astronomy(EAA,NRTV, IEEE,) but a few members last night were very impressed with the Xtreme and were talking about giving it a go. With the introduction of the Micro and DSO-S it is certainly very affordable now. Paul
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Post by Dragon Man on May 17, 2015 10:33:41 GMT
Excellent news Paul. Glad to hear you've got it all working for you. Yep, the Xtreme is a ripper Was broadcasting with mine last night and my mount froze up twice!!! and when I packed up the scope had a thick layer of hard ice on it. Gotta love winter
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Post by davy on May 17, 2015 10:44:05 GMT
are you broadcasting later..i have a free pass today..took the grand kids out yesterday so in good books
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Post by Dragon Man on May 17, 2015 14:44:07 GMT
Not tonight davy, sorry mate. I've got fog again
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Post by Rick in NWArk on May 18, 2015 19:08:57 GMT
You're a brave dude to deliver your most excellent images under nasty, nasty conditions.
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