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Post by metro on Jan 31, 2019 5:03:20 GMT
So I finally plugged in the camera (Revolution Advanced 224 kit) and opened the ToupSky program, the camera obviously doesn't show an image but does register when pointed towards bright light. I noticed a speck on the screen and when I looked at the sensor in the camera there is something on it. Will this show up in an image? Can you clean these sensors? If it will impact my images and cleaning is not recommended, I will be sending this package back. You can see the speck at the bottom middle.
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Post by howie1 on Jan 31, 2019 9:50:59 GMT
So I finally plugged in the camera (Revolution Advanced 224 kit) and opened the ToupSky program, the camera obviously doesn't show an image but does register when pointed towards bright light. I noticed a speck on the screen and when I looked at the sensor in the camera there is something on it. Will this show up in an image? Can you clean these sensors? If it will impact my images and cleaning is not recommended, I will be sending this package back. Metro, Really sad to hear you got one with a speck on the sensor. Well I douibt it is the sensor actually ... there is usually a clear or even a mild IR cut filter cover over the actual sensor. The speck is on that 'cover' not the sensor. If you've sent it back ... no problems. Await a new one. But ... astro cameras are always fully open to the elements when in newtonian scopes, but even those using other types of scopes will see at any time when you put it in and take it out of the focuser they can stuff on them. So they do get specks on the protection cover over the sensor. So ... a 'normal' photography blower brush will clean the speck off if it is just lying on the surface of the sensor. Get one and try the blower first. However, if its stuck on there, then a cotton bud dipped in alcohol from the drug store (we call that a chemist here in Australia) carefully wiped across the protective cover lightly with a 'rolling' action of the bud ... to pick up the speck and pull it away off the surface. Dont wipe the speck so it rubs the speck across the protective cover like a piece of sandpaper grit. You want to do that 'rolling' action I described. So when you do get the camera replaced, or cleaned, I suggest this is how you should get to know the software............. Do NOT use it for the FIRST time at night! You will be extremely frustrated! Do it all in the daytime to start with! Heaps easier. 1. Setup your mount and scope in the daytime with an eyepiece (EP) inserted pointing at something distant on the ground. Neighbours house down the road. Or fields or buildings in the distance. Bring it to focus. Also VERY important to always set your finderscope at this time so it is pointing to whatever your main scope is pointing to. Its the ONLY way to find things with a finderscope at night! If you dont do this calibration of center of the finderscope matches the target in the center of the main scope then you will not be able to find something at night when your goto doesnt land on the object. It becomes VERY hard to find stuff at night unless you calibrate scope with finderscope! 2. Take out the EP and stick in the camera and get sharpcap or tousky started. Immediately bring the gain down to its lowest number. Then bring the exposure time down to around 1/60th sec. Then slowly bring up the gain and exposure in small increments until you see colors as the image in the software. It may not be in focus ... just colors. At that point focus the camera. Doing all this in the daytime allows you to much more quickly and easily read the instructions you have found and also much easier to find focus in the daytime. 3. Once focused, You need to find a piece of plastic milk carton or some such source of plastic of that thickness. Cut a template / rectangle so it just slips between some part of the focuser and the camera body ... ie at night (when we get to that first time at night moment further down in this list) you stick the camera into the focuser and use the template your made in the daytime to 'set' the camera at focus! 4. Now the important bits .... still in the daytime ... play with exposure and gain in the daytime and watch what happens as you play with them. You should also play with the color balance (may be Red Green Blue sliders in Toupsky) so move them as see what they do. Your job is to move them and get the image colors the same as what your eyes can see. Distant fields/buildings/bushes and the sky on the horizon in the image should be tweaked via color balance to look like the colors that your eyes can see. Again, all HEAPS easier to play with and learn in the daytime than at night. 5. And more important bits ... now leave the setup there until dusk. As darkness falls keep looking at those distant fields/building/neighbour houses. Your job is to adjust exposure and gain until you can make out the details on neighbours house, distant fields, building etc as it gets darker and darker! The colors should look ok but as it gets darker you may have to re-adjust the RGB sliders to get them to look more natural ... even though at this point your eyes may not actually see any colors as it is too dark! LOL. Once you have that figured you can then turn to some objects. 6. If you pick a nebula as your first object then IMO only pick M42! Its big so easy to find and your finderscope will also show it to you when you look through it! So very easy to find when your GoTo doesnt land on the object first time you slew to it. All the rest of the nebulas are pretty faint and IMO not, repeat not first timer targets! So other than M42 pick the bright globular clusters or open clusters to start with. Use that 12dstring online tool I showed you in that video in your other post ... to make a shortlist of globular clusters in the Messier catalogue using your RI R2 and refractor with 0.5 reducer on set in that FOV tool. You'll then "know" what size and how they should appear. And being stars your eyeball through your finderscope should also show them to you easily if your goto doesnt land on them. You will probably find your dusk/night settings for exp time and gain on distant building/neighbours/etc are pretty correct for them! Hence you'll be off and running. First time out do NOT expect nasa phtoo of the day, or anything like what you see in forums etc. It takes time and practise to learn the craft. People learning daytime photography hunt for instructions on the web, join clubs, and pay for classes to teach them how to use their cameras in full manual mode. And in the dark we MUST use full manual mode. So it is not something you instantly pick up. Step by step, every session you go do EAA you will learn something. Cheers
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Post by Dragon Man on Jan 31, 2019 12:10:07 GMT
That's my procedure too when I get dust specks on my sensor window. Cotton bud and Isopropyl Alcohol if it doesn't blow off.
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elpajare
Member
Posts: 438
home town/country: Girona-Spain
time zone gmt +/-: 1
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Post by elpajare on Jan 31, 2019 14:46:34 GMT
And there in mine:
As a regular user of prescription glasses I use the same liquid and towell that I use for my glasses
The sensors are protected with a glass so what is clean is the glass, not the sensor.
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