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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2017 21:09:47 GMT
Hi Guys, Nothing much on this so figured id put up a couple of picks. www.altairastro.com/Altair-Lightwave-72ED-R-Refractor-iOptron-SmartEQ-PRO-COMBO.htmlI got the RDF, the 0.8x Reducer/Flattener EOS adapter things and a 1.25 diagonal as extras. Pretty happy with everything. The scope comes in a hard case but was disappointed to see the mount doesn't. It comes with the GotoNova 8408 hand controller. Seems ok. Ive only ever used Meade before and would say the gotonova is mega basic in comparison. It has like 7 configuration options in total haha. The build quality of everything is pretty good! Seems a solid little thing with tripod at lowest setting anyway. Looking forward to seeing it in action! Im effectively starting everything from scratch. As I've never had a EQ mount and the camera side of things seems to have changed massively since i was last involved. Can i ask a couple random questions that might allow me to progress a little please. 1: I only have a Mac Book just now... is it easy enough to do stuff from my mac? Or should i been thinking about getting a windows laptop? 2: DSLR or other strange new video/ccd things going about? Whats the best direction given the above setup? I need this to be small easy and portable so the simplest route would be best for me. 3: Is NSN still the best broadcasting platform? I know we were all looking into other options for higher resolution etc a while back. Thanks, Chris
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Post by davy on Jan 28, 2017 23:47:09 GMT
Hi Guys, Nothing much on this so figured id put up a couple of picks. www.altairastro.com/Altair-Lightwave-72ED-R-Refractor-iOptron-SmartEQ-PRO-COMBO.htmlI got the RDF, the 0.8x Reducer/Flattener EOS adapter things and a 1.25 diagonal as extras. Pretty happy with everything. The scope comes in a hard case but was disappointed to see the mount doesn't. It comes with the GotoNova 8408 hand controller. Seems ok. Ive only ever used Meade before and would say the gotonova is mega basic in comparison. It has like 7 configuration options in total haha. The build quality of everything is pretty good! Seems a solid little thing with tripod at lowest setting anyway. Looking forward to seeing it in action! Im effectively starting everything from scratch. As I've never had a EQ mount and the camera side of things seems to have changed massively since i was last involved. Can i ask a couple random questions that might allow me to progress a little please. 1: I only have a Mac Book just now... is it easy enough to do stuff from my mac? Or should i been thinking about getting a windows laptop? 2: DSLR or other strange new video/ccd things going about? Whats the best direction given the above setup? I need this to be small easy and portable so the simplest route would be best for me. 3: Is NSN still the best broadcasting platform? I know we were all looking into other options for higher resolution etc a while back. Thanks, Chris hi chris 1.. mac is a bit lacking in astronomy software..couple of the guys are trying out a usb stick with windows operating system on it,, waiting on write up to how it performs. my opinion is a cheap windows laptop from ebay . 2.. im using dslr cameras myself just now canon 600d cameras and a canon 450d modded,, with these im using an astronomy software called backyard eos, you can get a trial version to try out,,i loved it and got the premium program,,, canon utilities can be used as well,,, these are then linked to a free program called astro toaster,, it uses the deep sky stacker engine to stack images captured with your dslr and stack and display them,,, bit more to it lol,, Howie has made some cracking utube videos on using this technique.. usb cameras,, a few come to mind,, lodestar x2 and lodestar live have good results,,,, atik have a dedicated video camera as well, that has good results as well,, if I was going to buy one right this minute I would go for the altair hypercam 178 with the starvis sensor,, new kid on the block. analogue,, if your feeling nostalgic,, new version of the old ln300,, to be honest its a different camera completely,, new dsp chipset,, more sensitive but only sense up to 512 sense up.. can come as a kit from oc telescopes,, ken is a tester for them and rates them as good little cameras. 3.. nsn is very quiet,, was a major fall out with rock and joe Sardinia and both claimed to own nsn,,, we made a forum for joe Sardinia nsn.com but it bombed due to lack of commitment,, ken tried broadcasting on nsn the other day and had one viewer. karl had his own broadcast site and was helped by carl,,, due to work , the site has went dark good news vaf have joined forces with astronomy live,,it is in construction just now to upgrade it and wont be too long before beta testing can be done.. as we all know unless you spend mega bucks broadcasting is tied up to facebook and utube. sander gave us an udate a couple of days ago and is pleased with the progress by the software engineers,, so vaf will have broadcasting soon and the good news is we have guys ready and eager to test...
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Post by howie1 on Jan 28, 2017 23:47:27 GMT
Hi Chris ... someone else had the same question recently .... aha found it ... cut and pasted below ...
"I have actually always used a Macbook for EAA ...... but (many astro software) is Windows only. So your options (which I have all done) are ...
Installing and using Virtual Machine VMWare stuff in order to run Windoze on the OSX Mac system. IMO way too flaky and slow and computer guru like! I gave up on that way back.
Installing WINE on Mac OSX (google WINE for Mac to see what that is if you havent used it). If you arent computer savvy that's a PITA. It works and I successfully ran a bunch of Windows apps but again = too many problems and hassle ... so I gave up on that too.
In the end I wanted simplicity and so I simply bootcamped my Macbook. I left about half the disk as an OSX partition and put Win7 on the bootcamped partition. Had no problems with it that way at all. There's plenty of stuff on the web re how to bootcamp and install Windoze on it. If you aren't game enough or dont trust yourself to do that then go see your local PC shop and I am sure they will do it for you. "
And lastly ... re buying a second hand windows pc ... don't know about your typing skills? But in the dark the only decent laptop I could find which has a backlit keyboard so I can actually find the keys in the dark was the Mac. All Windoze machines right up to uber expensive ones seem to all be lacking in that feature. So personally, I'd recommend sticking with the Mac and bootcamping it.
cheers Howie
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Post by davy on Jan 28, 2017 23:52:17 GMT
lol,,just the man he was looking for
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Post by davy on Jan 29, 2017 0:08:44 GMT
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Post by howie1 on Jan 29, 2017 2:23:07 GMT
Cheers davy Haven't seen much of your multi scope rig lately? Too busy with your obs maybe? Hope it all goes well for you ... and hope that just as you finish it all up you get clear skies for a month. regards Howie
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Post by davy on Jan 29, 2017 2:43:37 GMT
Don't think it will be out for a while,, weather really bad.. Possible postponing observatory for a few months,, few things in my life may change,, block of flats along road from me are possibly getting compulsory purchased and flats at mine are just as bad,, so may need to look for house with garden,, plan b may be to go even more portable with the Skywatcher venturer mini Sam..I think running it via a tablet and canon camera byeos and astrotoaster i could have a very powerful portable set up.
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Post by davy on Jan 29, 2017 2:46:28 GMT
Keeping busy with a few projects just now while weather is so bad. New astronomy information directory,, dew heater set up to build,, leather belt making... many hours are in a day again lol
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2017 9:40:29 GMT
1.. mac is a bit lacking in astronomy software..couple of the guys are trying out a usb stick with windows operating system on it,, waiting on write up to how it performs. my opinion is a cheap windows laptop from ebay . 2.. im using dslr cameras myself just now canon 600d cameras and a canon 450d modded,, with these im using an astronomy software called backyard eos, you can get a trial version to try out,,i loved it and got the premium program,,, canon utilities can be used as well,,, these are then linked to a free program called astro toaster,, it uses the deep sky stacker engine to stack images captured with your dslr and stack and display them,,, bit more to it lol,, Howie has made some cracking utube videos on using this technique.. usb cameras,, a few come to mind,, lodestar x2 and lodestar live have good results,,,, atik have a dedicated video camera as well, that has good results as well,, if I was going to buy one right this minute I would go for the altair hypercam 178 with the starvis sensor,, new kid on the block. analogue,, if your feeling nostalgic,, new version of the old ln300,, to be honest its a different camera completely,, new dsp chipset,, more sensitive but only sense up to 512 sense up.. can come as a kit from oc telescopes,, ken is a tester for them and rates them as good little cameras. 3.. nsn is very quiet,, was a major fall out with rock and joe Sardinia and both claimed to own nsn,,, we made a forum for joe Sardinia nsn.com but it bombed due to lack of commitment,, ken tried broadcasting on nsn the other day and had one viewer. karl had his own broadcast site and was helped by carl,,, due to work , the site has went dark good news vaf have joined forces with astronomy live,,it is in construction just now to upgrade it and wont be too long before beta testing can be done.. as we all know unless you spend mega bucks broadcasting is tied up to facebook and utube. sander gave us an udate a couple of days ago and is pleased with the progress by the software engineers,, so vaf will have broadcasting soon and the good news is we have guys ready and eager to test... Hi Davy Thanks for the prompt reply! 1: Yeah exactly. Thats what prompted the question. The first app i tried was backyard eos. Windows only lol. 2: DSLR is a route i think I'm leaning towards! As i have the reducer/flattener and access to a 450D to play about with. My worry is the view will be tiny and will only work on huge objects? Hahaha the Lodestar! I remember them causing a fair bit of drama back in the day lol!! The Altair sounds good and looks the part. But i can't find much info or reviews. And my only experience with the usb cams was the ASI120MC and that was just useless on DSO's. I'll have a look at this revolution cam and see what the fuss is all about. Sounds promising. But I'm thinking just for ease I'm best with just get a usb cam. (less cables and equipment) 3: Thats a shame. Sorry to hear that. NSN aways seemed pretty popular! I tried logging in but no one on or the site wasn't working. Chris
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2017 9:54:20 GMT
Hi Chris ... someone else had the same question recently .... aha found it ... cut and pasted below ... "I have actually always used a Macbook for EAA ...... but (many astro software) is Windows only. So your options (which I have all done) are ... Installing and using Virtual Machine VMWare stuff in order to run Windoze on the OSX Mac system. IMO way too flaky and slow and computer guru like! I gave up on that way back. Installing WINE on Mac OSX (google WINE for Mac to see what that is if you havent used it). If you arent computer savvy that's a PITA. It works and I successfully ran a bunch of Windows apps but again = too many problems and hassle ... so I gave up on that too. In the end I wanted simplicity and so I simply bootcamped my Macbook. I left about half the disk as an OSX partition and put Win7 on the bootcamped partition. Had no problems with it that way at all. There's plenty of stuff on the web re how to bootcamp and install Windoze on it. If you aren't game enough or dont trust yourself to do that then go see your local PC shop and I am sure they will do it for you. " And lastly ... re buying a second hand windows pc ... don't know about your typing skills? But in the dark the only decent laptop I could find which has a backlit keyboard so I can actually find the keys in the dark was the Mac. All Windoze machines right up to uber expensive ones seem to all be lacking in that feature. So personally, I'd recommend sticking with the Mac and bootcamping it. cheers Howie Hi Howie, Thats awesome! Exactly what i needed to know haha! Sounds like this bootcamp thing might be a good option. I'll look into it. Immediate thought would be i'd need to buy a copy of Win7. So might just be better getting a cheap laptop dedicated to astronomy... Either way I think its safe to say OSX just aint usable for astronomy! Also i watched a few of your vids. Very impressive pics and very helpful btw! The whole flow of how you changed the settings and what order to change them was great. I never had a clue what i was doing and just changed stuff randomly and hoped for the best really. Will defo try and copy that flow in future. And if i go down the dslr route i'll have a million daft questions so be prepared haha! Thanks Chris
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2017 15:04:44 GMT
Update on the above...I bought a lenovo yoga laptop and a Canon 100D at pcworld today. Should sort me out for a while.
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Post by davy on Jan 29, 2017 15:17:29 GMT
bitten by the bug again chris lol
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 14:45:57 GMT
Hi Chris ... someone else had the same question recently .... aha found it ... cut and pasted below ... And lastly ... re buying a second hand windows pc ... don't know about your typing skills? But in the dark the only decent laptop I could find which has a backlit keyboard so I can actually find the keys in the dark was the Mac. All Windoze machines right up to uber expensive ones seem to all be lacking in that feature. So personally, I'd recommend sticking with the Mac and bootcamping it. cheers Howie Hey Howie btw meant to say about the keyboard issue you mention. This Lenovo yoga thing has a very similar backlit keyboard to the mac book air! So will work great. 👍🏻
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 14:52:54 GMT
I have a couple of random questions and didn't know where was best to ask so I'll keep it in this thread.
Balancing.... how important is it? Cause this scope can't be balanced on one axis. Because it's a shoe thing and not a dovetail bar I can only move the scope a tiny bit forward. So it means when I have my camera attached it's very bottom heavy. Will this be an issue?
Eyepiece projection... I got a baader Hyperion zoom lens from a mate and I've been considering buying the adapter to attach my 100d. Is there any downsides to doing it this way? Or should I just go for a decent Barlow?
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Post by howie1 on Feb 7, 2017 23:14:08 GMT
Hi Chris,
Re balancing, my experience is people go way over the top when balancing. I've read many a web forum where they put the OTA on a pencil and balance it, and then balance RA and DEC really precisely after that. It's a joke, as when you put a different EP in and refocus, or put filters in, or reducers or barlows, or even have the finder on one side of the tube ... the balance point is changed! But none of those posters precisely balancing the thing ever say to rebalance in the rings, on RA and DEC etc when they add stuff to the scope! So they run most of the night in an unbalanced state! Secondly, as per the old geezer who sold me his imaging rig way back when ... if you do AP, then absolutely perfect balance can lead to just the drag on a cable "teetering" the OTA across the gear slop (no gear teeth mesh absolutely perfectly). So many AP'ers balance East side heavy ... so the RA motor is pushing the OTA around all the time, and there is a constant force (as it were) on the motor and OTA so gear teeth are nicely meshed and no teetering.
So don't sweat balancing too much.
If you do find GoTo's are really bad or the tracking really bad, etc then as your 72ED-R has two 1/4-20 threaded bolts in that shoe, then I'd try buying a short dovetail and drill two holes. IE attach the dovetail to the bottom of that shoe. You may get a bit of flexure but your 72ED only weighs 2.5kg and the 100D only 0.4kg, so at total weight of 2.9kg (which is really lightweight) I doubt it would be a big issue.
Or, as your ED70 + 100D weighs 2.9kg and the mount can take 5kg, you could try attaching a tube ring holding a small counterweight near the front of the scope to balance the rear. You shouldn't need much, and so the overall weight should still be less than 5kg and enable your existing counterweight and bar to work with it.
Only one way to find out ... try it just attached via the shoe and see how you go. If there's big issues with balance then try the short vixen bar bolted to the shoe idea, or the addition tube-ring and weight to the front of the OTA idea.
Re the 72ED, BTW ... it's f/6 according to the specsheet. So if you saw my 30 sec shots which were at f/5 then to get similar brightness of images you'll have to shoot 40 to 45 seconds because f/6 is "slower" than f/5.
cheers mate Howie
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Post by howie1 on Feb 7, 2017 23:23:45 GMT
Ooops, missed the hyperion zoom thing ... nah, I wouldnt bother. The 100d has live view and that can zoom to 5x and 10x mag. Jerry Lodriguez and other famous AP'ers and posts on the web reckon that 5x zoom on Live View is somehow the perfect size for taking video for planets - from which you use AutoStackart etc to process the video (its some mathematical pixel size, arc seconds of yada yada stuff! LOL). Just remember that your 72ED has not got much focal length to do planets really close up. You still need a good amount of focal length to see them ok. But, do it first. Give it a go and go have fun learning first before swapping scopes n stuff. You may find EAA using the Canon is just too hard to do ... so learn that whole thing first! cheers Howie
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 23:34:48 GMT
Got a wee test tonight from inside my room looking out the window at the moon. Struggled with pretty much everything haha. There is just so many different settings for everything! Total trial and error job! Biggest issue was getting focus. Visually it was fine but using the camera was a nightmare. First attempts haha
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 23:50:31 GMT
Hi Howie, Thanks for the tips on balancing. Its a good point about different eyepieces and filters etc changing it everytime. I'll just see how it goes as you say its very light and its wide field so shouldn't make to much difference. Ive got the 0.8 reducer/flattener on it so it takes it down to f/5 i think. Although im still not expecting anything like your kinda shots haha! Ok thanks i'll just leave the zoom lens idea. I struggled getting the video to zoom. Lots more playing about with stuff is required. Thanks, Chris
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Post by davy on Feb 8, 2017 7:06:54 GMT
Re balancing a scope with equipment, Howie has made some good points, I have twin scopes and twin DSLRs, and personally I like getting the balance as close as possible, there is the gearing issue, Over loading ect For me it's more the weight slipping the clutch, I had used meade etx80 and tried a DSLR on it, the clutch just kept slipping,, so with a twin scope job I now have I bought lead weights that I can hammer into very flat bar and glue velcro to to help keep the strain off the clutch
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Post by howie1 on Feb 8, 2017 9:47:52 GMT
As you point out davy, if the clutch is slipping then balance is crucial. Especially with all your dual scope, camera n kit on an HEQ5 PRO! . But Chris ... the OTA and DSLR for your rig is still under the payload. So I'd still give it a whirl. If goto and stuff struggles then put the small vixen bar with two holes drilled in it and balance it up. Drill the holes at one end so the dovetail extends further out in the direction which would enable you to balance it in the mounts saddle.
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