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Post by davy on Aug 9, 2020 9:44:57 GMT
Bit of testing with the Panasonic toughbook last night and a mishmash of equipment,, az gti and parts of the star adventurer,, ended up a bad choice of a dark site,, with the pubs opening up now,, there was a party at the area I was in,, taxis coming and going and party was boisterous,, so rather wait and have to possibly have to deal with drunks I bailed out. But new site identified,, the dreaded Scottish midgie was out and was eaten alive,, gloves and woolly hat helped. Testing wise,, lessons learned for doing portable astronomy,, the lightest and easiest kit isn't always the best, I'm being fussy here,, the azgti and star adventurer are great grab n go,, but not what I'm after,, 1st time out,, I realised that the laptop is essential,, 2nd time out An eq mount was easier to use than alt az for me. Telescope is better than a camera and lens,, for my approach to the hobby. So what to do next, Eq3 Pro is getting brought a full circle and going to be used, This allows me to feel a bit happier sticking the esprit on it. I'm going to test the WiFi dongle on it and if it all still works it gets the hand controller out the equation and save some hassle.. Getting closer to something I can feel happier to use
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Post by Dragon Man on Aug 9, 2020 11:01:36 GMT
I know that this gear pictured has handicapped your efforts a bit, but did it really belong in a disability parking spot?
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Post by davy on Aug 9, 2020 11:54:23 GMT
I know that this gear pictured has handicapped your efforts a bit, but did it really belong in a disability parking spot? Don't even go there had a set to wae chap on astronomy Scotland about it,, bursting my chops,, Place was deserted, removed the animals months ago,, miles from the town,, and had empty spaces for disabled,, wasn't doing anybody any harm or grief,, if somebody had said anything I would have moved,, but as I said place was empty,, Keyboard warrior out to set the world straight,, bit my tongue bit,, got a slapped hand for being naughty, Won't be back there again so problem solved, Yeah kit was crap,, 😂
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2020 12:01:46 GMT
I agree Davy ,the EQ3 wins hands down with the esprit. For me the EQ3 is the ideal grab and go. There have been good reviews of the azgti with the star adventurer but I found it to be unstable as an eq mount. The azgti is said to have a pay load of 5kg. Not in my hands. The azgti is good for the very small scopes,alt/az and wide field but not for the esprit 80 and EQ. I notice you dont have the skywatcher tripod .
The ASIair pro, EQM35, esprit 80 is what I am banking on for grab and go.Looking forward to give it a go as soon as we are allowed of our houses. cheers Paul
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Post by davy on Aug 10, 2020 14:36:43 GMT
Hi Paul,, I used the azgti tripod on first test and,, I can concur with what others say,, it's pants,, only good for dslr to mount on,, in my opinion. I used the neewer video tripod I had recently bought. Yip I wasn't going to chance a £1000 scope on anything as flimsy,,
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Post by davy on Aug 10, 2020 19:19:27 GMT
Got my eq3 Pro out from it's hibernation and powered it up and to my surprise it still works,, well chuffed with that,, so bit of an experiment,, I plugged the skywatcher WiFi unit into the mount instead of the hand controller and it works brilliant,, so the portable kit is now the eq3 Pro mount,, Feels like stepping back in time using this mount.
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Post by davy on Aug 10, 2020 19:36:34 GMT
Stuck the esprit on the eq3 and it is sexy bit of kit,, actually looks like a decent setup
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2020 22:29:50 GMT
We have both had broken wrists in the last 12-18 months so the weight of the grab and go matters a lot. The EQ3 and esprit 80 combo is lightweight and sturdy Maybe you thought the sign meant "sit down here in this circle" cheers Paul
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Post by davy on Aug 10, 2020 22:44:38 GMT
Cleaned up the eq3 and put the esprit on it and balanced it,, really do look good together,, Found I have a large dust bunny on images I took,, so got camera cleaning sticks coming,, bit of testing tomorrow night in the flat then a strip down and load it into boot and hope for a clear night,, Will keep the mount in the car,, and take scope out when I need to
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Post by davy on Aug 10, 2020 22:45:40 GMT
No more grief over parking 😂😂😂 in a dubious spot 😁
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Post by Dragon Man on Aug 11, 2020 12:06:42 GMT
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Post by davy on Aug 11, 2020 12:08:34 GMT
Wow,, thanks mate,, very tempted to repost it,, saying I spoke to the council and they got rid of it,, for the sake of science,,
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Post by davy on Aug 11, 2020 18:58:57 GMT
OK need a good slapping,, two nights in a row things have went OK, Last night the eq3 worked and is now WiFi control Tonight I added an expree card with three USB 3 ports to the Panasonic toughbook,, and it,, is has 90% functionality,, The zwo asi178 mc isn't recognised in sharpcap or asi studio,, but not to worry still works on original usb2 ports. Installed the Philips spc9000 webcam drivers,, the windows 7 drivers work in windows 10 incase anyone has one lying around 😁 And it worked in the express card USB 3 port 🤔 So stuck my Canon 600d on and plugged into one of the express carb USB ports,, connected no problems and I took a picture just to be shure, So the toughbook has 5 functioning USB ports,, kinda,,, but good enough for me,, Need to buy a large capacity sd card and add it to the laptop as well. Definitely recommend a panasonic toughbook cf-19 mk4,, i5 processor laptop for portable astronomy. Be even better when I get the ram up to 8gb,, potty you can't go higher,, would have liked to have 16gb of ram www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274355180494This is the express card I got £18 delivered
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Post by davy on Aug 16, 2020 7:19:44 GMT
Crap weather over the weekend so no testing out the portable kit,, The mini star camp is next Saturday and it's going to be a hit and miss going by the weather, Might be worth the 100 mile round trip jut to give the gear a go,, Ordered the hydrogen beta filter so I can give narrow band a go,, been looking at mono cameras but will hold off a while to see how I get on,,
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Post by Dragon Man on Aug 16, 2020 14:31:41 GMT
Yeah, we've got crap weather too davy. Best sky of the year with Scorpio and Sagittarius directly overhead, and it's clouded out most nights, foggy on the others
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Post by davy on Aug 20, 2020 21:14:36 GMT
Cursed the weather gods,, me thinks,, My hydrogen beta filter came today,, and weather still,, pants,, Had arranged to go to Abernethy mini sar party,, weather looks iffy,, and no testing done lately so called it a day,, wanted some scope time before I headed to Perth in Scotland,, another time 😞
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Post by Dragon Man on Aug 21, 2020 13:26:28 GMT
Cursed the weather gods,, me thinks,, My hydrogen beta filter came today,, and weather still,, pants,, Had arranged to go to Abernethy mini sar party,, weather looks iffy,, and no testing done lately so called it a day,, wanted some scope time before I headed to Perth in Scotland,, another time 😞 We've got light snow! Supposed to be a bit heavier tomorrow, If this keeps up we might turn into Scotland
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Post by davy on Aug 21, 2020 14:49:24 GMT
Lol,, only rains in Scotland,, that's how we all look miserable sods 😂
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Post by fondofchips on Aug 21, 2020 16:21:07 GMT
Cursed the weather gods,, me thinks,, My hydrogen beta filter came today,, and weather still,, pants,, Had arranged to go to Abernethy mini sar party,, weather looks iffy,, and no testing done lately so called it a day,, wanted some scope time before I headed to Perth in Scotland,, another time 😞 We've got light snow! Supposed to be a bit heavier tomorrow, If this keeps up we might turn into Scotland Nooooooo! Bagpipes, Haggis & Highland games, I don't think any Aussies will be tossing the caber at 40+ degrees heat! Davy - you should know new equipment brings a large helping of cloud!
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