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Post by Rick in NWArk on Aug 31, 2015 19:44:15 GMT
I'm jealous, Harry -- I have never seen Uranus or Neptune thru a scope. They are on my Astro Bucket-List and I hope I can do it with video... I'm just going to need a Barlow or heavy eyepiece projection to get there.
Too many projects and not enough clear skies.
--Rick
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 1, 2015 8:15:19 GMT
Not a problem Ken, when I left school you wrote a letter in joined up writing put it in an envelope with a postage stamp in it and posted it. A lot has changed since then so I've always done e-mails etc in the same format.
G'Day!
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 1, 2015 8:24:25 GMT
I'm jealous, Harry -- I have never seen Uranus or Neptune thru a scope. They are on my Astro Bucket-List and I hope I can do it with video... I'm just going to need a Barlow or heavy eyepiece projection to get there. Too many projects and not enough clear skies. --Rick It is up there with the first sight of Saturn and my other favourite view is watching the shadows changing on the Terminator on the Moon as the sun sets. For some reason in the UK we encourage the use of Newtonian telescopes but for me the refractor is king in our solar system. Beyond that the Newt starts to leave the refractor behind, I've had some really good views of Comet Lovejoy through my SW200P but I found it more difficult to get on target even with an ST80 as a finderscope. I bought the Nagler zoom eyepiece as part of a job lot at a very good price, otherwise I would not have seen Uranus either, it's just how things work out. First job with the new scope is sorting out which eyepieces work the best as I will now be able to manage with less of them after buying the Mallincam. Cheers, Harry.
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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 1, 2015 12:30:07 GMT
Not a problem Ken, when I left school you wrote a letter in joined up writing put it in an envelope with a postage stamp in it and posted it. A lot has changed since then so I've always done e-mails etc in the same format. G'Day! Same here Harry. It took me a while to get used to computer lingo and online language formats. I still prefer to use the postal system, but people want answers NOW!
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 3, 2015 17:34:16 GMT
Back to the Skywatcher Esprit 100 ED PRO scope upgrade. It arrived yesterday, and all I managed to do was unpack it and put it on the mount. Comes in a very substantial box and the OTA is surround by tennis balls for cushioning in transit. Spent some time on it today, set up the finderscope roughly with an eyepiece then put the Mallincam on the scope and managed to get it working on a distant electricity pylon, putting that in the middle of the screen I was able to line up the finder more accurately. First impressions of the SW Esprit is good, you can tell it's made in China though, but it is definately easier to focus with the Mallincam. Next stage, more distant objects. Cheers, Harry.
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 3, 2015 18:09:37 GMT
Great news Harry!
Looks like you're seeing about a 40'x26' field of view at its native f/5.5 thru the Extreme.
--Rick
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 4, 2015 8:30:58 GMT
Thanks for that info Rick, I've got a lot to do before our nights get really cold, as my PC is out in the viewing room of my obsy until I get everything sorted out so I can use the Mallincam & EQ6 mount remotely. My other PC screen is bolted to the wall in the warm room so the sooner I get my PC back in there the better, then I'll have 3 screens to use. A Startech Video grabber I bought works OK, but the software seems to be a bit unstable when used with Miloslick. Then I've got to learn my way around the software and the focal reducers/spacers on the Mallincam. Looking like clear skies early hours of Sunday morning, Orion will be up in a good position so I will have an easier DSO for my first target. (Cloud permitting) There is a Mallincam check list in this review - www.cloudynights.com/page/articles/cat/user-reviews/mallincam-xtreme-review-r2513 I've printed it off in a large font and stuck it on my obsy wall, it has helped me already. Just passing on info to help others as I probably wouldn't have tried Video Astronomy, or it would have taken much longer for me to to sort it out. Ken's videos and all your help has made things much easier to understand and set up, thank you. Cheers, Harry.
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 4, 2015 13:26:08 GMT
I tried to go the cheap route with my grabber and had all sort of problems, so I just broke down and got the Mallincam MCV-1-E. For S-Video output, it has a little knobby guy you can adjust and enhance the video. This allows me to get darker backgrounds and it helps make the objects pop out a little. It is a bit expensive, but what quality equipment in astronomy isn't?? www.mallincam.net/miscellaneous-accessories.html#ma15I have found that the default settings in the Mallincam control software are just ok. I recommend both tweaking yourself and asking broadcasters on NSN for their settings too... that way you can make your own profiles in the software. --Rick
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 6, 2015 8:57:52 GMT
As Rick says the third party grabbers are probably not worth it. If I run the Mallincam software with it the PC just freezes up as if both programs are trying to take over. However that did not spoil my first proper first light with the Mallincam. One word to the weather forecaster, when you forecast clear skies we are supposed to GET THEM!
I went for a kip in the evening and got up again around 10.30pm, my targets were not going to appear until after midnight anyway. For some strange reason the mount didn't want to align so I was faffing about with that for a while, serves me right for being lazy and just using the controller when I was only doing observing. It was the best way to make the most of my clear skies, poor excuse really and I'm still at the bottom of the EQ mount alignment class. Then I looked up and discovered the weatherman was having a giraffe, thin cloud cover with clear gaps, yes you have guessed it the gaps aren't big enough to do any stargazing. I'ts now past midnight and the Moon would be up soon, mount now sorted, (schoolboy error not telling you what I did wrong). A clear patch was coming so I popped into the warm room to get myself warm again & read the Mallincam manual that I've not fully absorbed (scratched the surface of) yet. So there I was with a nice picture of the Moon on my screen, with thin cloud going across it all the time so I played about with the Mallincam settings & gradually improving the picture. All the sky was clear except for where Orion was so I spent some more time on the moon and playing with/tweaking the software. The grabber just didn't want to work, I found 2 pictures from a previous session so it does work, though I was probably using Miloslick then, I'm sticking to the Mallincam software for now until I know what everything does. So I popped in my trusty Nirvana 28mm eyepiece and centered Orion nicely, then put the Mallincam back in and Orion was nicely in the middle of my screen. I'm still tweaking the alignment of my finderscope, (as I can hear you all saying why put in an eyepiece?). Not having used my Bahtinov mask yet I tried to focus Orion and it would just not come into focus, I'm getting the opposite of my experience with the Lyra 102mm F11, the focuser wants to be all the way in on the SW Esprit ED 100. A quick nosepiece/reducer change and I was focused on Orion. I just watched the picture come up and there was a faint red tinge to it. I messed about with it until it came up quite nice, not seen Orion in colour through my telescope before. So I carried on playing with the settings, then I thought I'd try the deep sky preset on the Basic tab, (you are laughing already) now I've got something that doesn't look like Orion at all, the whole page is red with half a dozen stars. My excuse for that error is that you always learn more by making mistakes! Anyway I've seen Orion for the first time in colour which was my aim for the night, job done.
Skywatcher Esprit 100ED - first impressions. Not the last word in quality, some features of the focuser are not well thought out. A small focus lock lever underneath that has to be gripped between your fingers and is very smooth, locking rings for the 2"/1.25" eyepiece adaptors have ridges all the way round but they are also smooth too, I didn't get any dew last night but the focus lock and the rings would be slippery with dew on them. There is some play somewhere in the focuser too. To be fair to Skywatcher the scope comes with much more accessories than for example the William Optics FLT 98 which doesn't even come with a dovetail bar. Most of the secondhand FLT 98's I came across had focuser upgrades so at this price range there are still improvements to be made. Dew shield has 2 screws to hold it in place but when tightened it skews it to one side, would have been better with 3 screws. The dew shield on the Lyra stayed in place without screws even when nearly vertical so what is your excuse Skywatcher? After having a Moonlite focuser on my Newt this one seems a touch on the sloppy side and not as positive or smooth. The focuser motor upgrade was worth having too. Finder scope rings have adjusting screws like proper scope rings but the threads are a bit on the coarse side making adjustment a bit hit and miss, I'm being a bit picky here but it is the details that make a product good.
At the end of the day I picked the Esprit for it's better quality optics and it's short focal length, the focuser can be upgraded at a later date and the Mallincam is working much better. My goal is to sit in the warm and observe and I'm certainly on my way to achieving that.
The only thing left to say now is a big THANK YOU to you all. I was only considering Video Astronomy a month ago and from what I'd read elsewhere it seemed like a lot of messing about. Ken's videos were the turning point, a well made video is worth a lot of books, it was then I realised that it wasn't as complicated as I'd thought, and there was a big advantage to tackling the learning curve (which it has to be said is a bit like starting stargazing all over again). Looking forward to sitting in the warm and touring round the universe. Cheers, Harry.
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Post by davy on Sept 6, 2015 9:55:25 GMT
Great write up harry.. fantastic that you are enjoying video astronomy
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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 6, 2015 12:00:54 GMT
Happy to help where I could Harry and yes, fantastic report. Yeah you are right about the quality level of Skywatcher telescopes. They aren't quite the Bee's Knee's but for their price they certainly fill a niche. Their rack & pinion focusers are woeful. I have replaced all mine. The best mod I have to a Skywatcher scope is to fit an Astro-Physics 2.7" focuser onto my 6" f5 Richfield Achromat. Starstuff Australia made the adaptor ring so it would fit. This focuser holds extremely heavy Imaging Cameras, so the Mallincam is a lightweight to it
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 7, 2015 15:41:58 GMT
Astro Physics stuff, now you are talking, I'm not bothering with another Skywatcher mount I'll have an Astro Physics one any day. You can split the mount and thread your cables through it, very neat.
Lottery win needed though... Cheers, Harry.
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 10, 2015 18:18:44 GMT
I've been looking at a heavier capacity mount, but I think I'm going to need to wait for an observatory.
I still have issues on a regular basis getting my AVX aligned. Even with StarSense. I dont know that I want to have a second GEM to have to align as well.
I'm considering an AltAz SCT, but field rotation and tracking concern me -- even with sensitive cameras that can take 15s exposures. Maybe AstroToaster enables better results thru "live imaging" with an AltAz SCT that is taking shorter exposures.
--Rick
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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 11, 2015 13:06:41 GMT
I am quite happy with my Skywatcher gear Harry. But none of it is stock standard.
I have a fantastic old black model EQ6 mount that gives dead accurate GoTo's (but it has the better bearings fitted) I have a 6" f/5 Achro but has the Astro-Physics focuser to make it better, I have a 120mm f/5 Achro but has a Crayford focuser to make it better, I have an ED80 but has the longer ED100 Crayford Focuser to make it better.
Skywatcher Optics (actually Synta) are fine, it's usually the focusers that let them down, and often they supply a mount too small for the scope. Upgrading to a better focuser and a larger mount helps with Skywatcher gear.
For serious Astrophotography Skywatcher is only just borderline, even with improvements. But I did OK with it when I did Astrophotography. However I never did it in a very serious way. For Video Astronomy, the improved Skywatcher gear is great.
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 12, 2015 10:00:29 GMT
I've been looking at a heavier capacity mount, but I think I'm going to need to wait for an observatory. I still have issues on a regular basis getting my AVX aligned. Even with StarSense. I dont know that I want to have a second GEM to have to align as well. I'm considering an AltAz SCT, but field rotation and tracking concern me -- even with sensitive cameras that can take 15s exposures. Maybe AstroToaster enables better results thru "live imaging" with an AltAz SCT that is taking shorter exposures. --Rick Two things Rick, 1 - I would have the observatory over the mount upgrade, the near instant obsy setup with power laid on and a solid pier takes some beating as a stargazing accessory. 2 - Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 GT should do the job, I'm very pleased with mine. As I've said above, a smaller mount on a solid pier will still be better until you can upgrade the mount. Cheers, Harry.
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Post by davy on Sept 12, 2015 12:36:22 GMT
hi harry,i was looking a the az-eq6 this morning,really like the loook of them,was talking to the mrs about it ,,,she just laughed how many thousands she asked,,1300 quid do i need one, answer of course has to be no,,would have went for it if she would let me have a shed out the back,,,just need to stay portable with my allview ive used once. davy
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 12, 2015 16:24:09 GMT
Like everybody else I built an obsy for quick setup, I didn't expect the pier to be the best part of it, I over-engineered mine, 200mm thick walled steel tube & thick rubber between it and the base. It still vibrated though, so I've filled it with kiln dried sand, now rock solid, it is easily the best part of my obsy setup. That is why I say that a smaller mount on a pier will manage a bit longer as what it is bolted down to is more solid. A pier with 4 posts and 4 fence panels will do for starters, solid mount and shelter from wind are good improvements. I don't miss tripping over tripod legs. I completely blew my astro kit budget on the AZ EQ6 GT secondhand at 7 months old (£900) and it was worth every penny. It was months before I could finish off my setup. Solid pier and mount is a real luxury, the obsy is the cherry on top of all of it. Review here - www.firstlightoptics.com/user/Sky-Watcher_AZ-EQ6_GT_part_1.pdfMy obsy build here - stargazerslounge.com/gallery/album/2984-obsy-shed-finishing-touches/Cheers, Harry.
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 12, 2015 16:39:17 GMT
I am quite happy with my Skywatcher gear Harry. But none of it is stock standard. I have a fantastic old black model EQ6 mount that gives dead accurate GoTo's (but it has the better bearings fitted) I have a 6" f/5 Achro but has the Astro-Physics focuser to make it better, I have a 120mm f/5 Achro but has a Crayford focuser to make it better, I have an ED80 but has the longer ED100 Crayford Focuser to make it better. Skywatcher Optics (actually Synta) are fine, it's usually the focusers that let them down, and often they supply a mount too small for the scope. Upgrading to a better focuser and a larger mount helps with Skywatcher gear. For serious Astrophotography Skywatcher is only just borderline, even with improvements. But I did OK with it when I did Astrophotography. However I never did it in a very serious way. For Video Astronomy, the improved Skywatcher gear is great. I will have to upgrade the focuser on my SW Esprit 100ED eventually, the SW scopes are good value, and the jump to a scope with a real improvement over them costs a fair bit more. Shame the Lyra 102mm F11 didn't work as for it's price the focuser was well above the average quality. Forecast is for a couple of hours clear sky tonight so hopefully I'll get some more time in with the Mallincam. Cheers, Harry.
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 13, 2015 18:27:51 GMT
Second light with the Mallincam, well second faffing about really, some things went right and some didn't. Set up and aligned the scope no problem then asked it to got to another object that was above the horizon on Stellarium and the mount went down instead. That was my first rookie mistake, mixing up park and home positions, so I had to do alignment again. Then I had to put right my rookie mistake from first light, clicking on a preset on the Mallincam software, so I had to tweak all the settings again. Anyway after messing about for a while I went round a few DSO's, didn't get any on screen though, really need Orion Nebula up again to practice on. I know there is a way to get mount alignment more accurate by realigning on a nearby star but I didn't have time to watch the video last night as the forecast was for approx 2.5 hours clear sky. Video for mount setup & Sharpcap with Philips webcam, one of Dion's Astronomy Shed videos - The Startech Video grabber worked a treat last night, I was expecting the freezing up nonsense but it worked very well. I didn't boot it up at the same time as the Mallincam software though, perhaps the setting up and communication with the camera causes the problem. However it will all fall into place in time, I'm hoping to get it all sorted by the time the clocks change at the end of October.
I had a go at solar today, well I bet you can guess what happened as soon as the Solar filter went through the obsy door, and the cloud has been up there ever since. Clear sky that was originally forecast for tonight has been replaced by cloud and then rain.
Clear skies, Fondofchips.
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 14, 2015 13:47:53 GMT
Two things Rick, 1 - I would have the observatory over the mount upgrade, the near instant obsy setup with power laid on and a solid pier takes some beating as a stargazing accessory. 2 - Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 GT should do the job, I'm very pleased with mine. As I've said above, a smaller mount on a solid pier will still be better until you can upgrade the mount. Cheers, Harry. Harry, Unfortunately, I'm a driveway astronomer. I have one specific place that I can setup scopes that sees Polaris thru a hole in the trees and over the house - but still lets me see SE, S, SW, and some W. Unfortunately, I cant put an obs there. I have, however, thought about installing a pier there in the grass next to the driveway. If done right, I would at least have it north and level.
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