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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 25, 2023 12:29:37 GMT
Due to some circumstances, I have been able to have a MAJOR step-up in equipment. My new Astrophotography setup consists of: OUTSIDE:- Officina Stellare ‘Riccardi-Honders; design RH200 which has a focal length of 600mm and is F3. Clear aperture is 200mm. - FLI Atlas Electronic Focuser. - FLI ten position filter wheel CFW-3-10 with ten 50mm square filters. - Astrodon E series LRGB and HA, NII, SII and OIII 3nm NB and 5nm continuum filter. - FLI PL16803 camera which has a sensor size 36.8 X 36.8 mm giving a FOV of 3.5 x 3.5 degrees. - Software Bisque Paramount MX Computerised Mount. INSIDE:- PCCG Flux 6600 Gaming PC - 2 x Acer EI491CRS DFHD 120Hz FreeSync HDR Curved 49in Monitors Here's photos of the Pier set into the concrete with chemical bolts, and Mike (on the right of the photo) and myself (on the left) during assembly of the Mount, camera, scope, etc. Mike has been an enormous help to me in sorting out all this new gear. It was a case of the blind leading the blind but so far we've worked out most of it and here's a couple of photos of the new 49 inch curved Monitors I've only had a small play with it yet as the Computer had to go back due to a fault. Mike had a good go of the new gear using a laptop and got some good pics. Hopefully he might post them in here For the Tech-heads, this is what's in the new PC: - AMD Ryzen 5 5600 6 Core 12 Thread CPU, 3.5GHz Base Clock, 4.4GHz Boost, 65W TDP, 32MB L3 cache. Includes AMD Wraith Stealth cooler. - Gigabyte B550M DS3H motherboard supports 3rd gen AMD AM4 processors, features up to 4 x DDR4 memory slots, PCI-E 4.0, PCI-E 3.0, 2 x M.2 slots, 4 x SATA 6GB/s ports, 6 x USB 2.0 (2 front, 4 rear), 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (4 rear), 1 x HDMI, 1 x DVI-D, Realtek GbE LAN, Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec, and a m-ATX form factor. - Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8GB graphics card features a 8GB GDDR6 VRAM 128-bit memory interface, 14GB/s memory speed, AMD RDNA™ 2, PCI-E 4.0, 2 x HDMI, 2 x DisplayPort, Open GL 4.6 and DirectX 12 support, AMD FidelityFX and Radeon Image Sharpening. - Team T-Force Delta RGB TF3D416G3200HC16CDC01 16GB (2x8GB), 3200MHz DDR4, CL16-18-18-38, 1.35V. - Team Cardea Z44L M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD 1TB features a sequential read/write speed of up to 3,500/3,000MB/s, supports the latest NVMe 1.4 interface, 600TBW - Aerocool Aero Bronze 80 Plus 550W Power Supply is 80PLUS bronze certified with up to 90%+ efficiency, features premium 105°C Japanese capacitors, high-end solid state capacitors, DC-to-DC conversion circuit, 120mm high-pressure fan with optimised fan speeds for silent operation, - MetallicGear Neo Air D-RGB Mid Case Black features a tempered glass side panel, mesh front panel for optimal airflow and performance, supports ATX, m-ATX, m-ITX, e-ATX (up to 280mm wide motherboards, dust filters, includes 3 x 120mm DRGB MG fans - Windows 11 Home. - Logi MK470 wireless Keyboard and Mouse.
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Post by fondofchips on Sept 29, 2023 7:56:33 GMT
Nice gear Ken, I only bluff my way around my equipment anyway. Possibly going to be some serious cloud at your location! Some people have TV's smaller than 49 inches. Look forward to seeing your pictures, as always.
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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 29, 2023 15:00:15 GMT
Thanks Harry. Yep, the weather forecast has turned to crap again and no clear sky in the foreseeable future Astronomers Curse strikes again
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Post by jaybee on Oct 5, 2023 10:23:01 GMT
Wow Ken That is some upgrade. Really looking forward to your images. cheers Paul
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 5, 2023 15:19:15 GMT
Yes Paul, it is a dedicated Astrophotography outfit so it should give great results. I've seen fantastic work from it's previous owner. But the learning curve is verrryyyy steep. It's going to take a while to learn how to use the software to run it all, and the filters, and the darks and flats and biases etc. Good grief, what have I got myself into Here's some images taken by the previous owner: Antares Region including: Antares at centre, M4 Globular, NGC 6144 Globular, IC 4605 Nebula, and the edge of the Rho Ophiucus Cloud Complex at the top
Horsehead and Flame Nebulae in Orion
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Post by jaybee on Oct 7, 2023 9:56:56 GMT
The challenge will suite you Ken. You already have a wealth of background knowledge. Just a matter of honing your skills. Do you still have dark sky nights at Snake Valley? I would love to see your setup. When it is all up and running, The Snake Valley pub is a great spot to stay. cheers Paul
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 7, 2023 15:15:35 GMT
Paul, come down any time mate. Like you used to do when you dropped in on your way down south. It is already all up and running. As for our dark sky nights, a.k.a our 'Public Nights', we only hold 4 each year now, and maybe none next year. They are getting too hard to do. But members and friends of Members can drop in any time. Just come on down.
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Post by davy on Oct 14, 2023 19:39:11 GMT
Due to some circumstances, I have been able to have a MAJOR step-up in equipment. My new Astrophotography setup consists of: OUTSIDE:- Officina Stellare ‘Riccardi-Honders; design RH200 which has a focal length of 600mm and is F3. Clear aperture is 200mm. - FLI Atlas Electronic Focuser. - FLI ten position filter wheel CFW-3-10 with ten 50mm square filters. - Astrodon E series LRGB and HA, NII, SII and OIII 3nm NB and 5nm continuum filter. - FLI PL16803 camera which has a sensor size 36.8 X 36.8 mm giving a FOV of 3.5 x 3.5 degrees. - Software Bisque Paramount MX Computerised Mount. INSIDE:- PCCG Flux 6600 Gaming PC - 2 x Acer EI491CRS DFHD 120Hz FreeSync HDR Curved 49in Monitors Here's photos of the Pier set into the concrete with chemical bolts, and Mike (on the right of the photo) and myself (on the left) during assembly of the Mount, camera, scope, etc. Mike has been an enormous help to me in sorting out all this new gear. It was a case of the blind leading the blind but so far we've worked out most of it and here's a couple of photos of the new 49 inch curved Monitors I've only had a small play with it yet as the Computer had to go back due to a fault. Mike had a good go of the new gear using a laptop and got some good pics. Hopefully he might post them in here For the Tech-heads, this is what's in the new PC: - AMD Ryzen 5 5600 6 Core 12 Thread CPU, 3.5GHz Base Clock, 4.4GHz Boost, 65W TDP, 32MB L3 cache. Includes AMD Wraith Stealth cooler. - Gigabyte B550M DS3H motherboard supports 3rd gen AMD AM4 processors, features up to 4 x DDR4 memory slots, PCI-E 4.0, PCI-E 3.0, 2 x M.2 slots, 4 x SATA 6GB/s ports, 6 x USB 2.0 (2 front, 4 rear), 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (4 rear), 1 x HDMI, 1 x DVI-D, Realtek GbE LAN, Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec, and a m-ATX form factor. - Gigabyte Radeon RX 6600 Eagle 8GB graphics card features a 8GB GDDR6 VRAM 128-bit memory interface, 14GB/s memory speed, AMD RDNA™ 2, PCI-E 4.0, 2 x HDMI, 2 x DisplayPort, Open GL 4.6 and DirectX 12 support, AMD FidelityFX and Radeon Image Sharpening. - Team T-Force Delta RGB TF3D416G3200HC16CDC01 16GB (2x8GB), 3200MHz DDR4, CL16-18-18-38, 1.35V. - Team Cardea Z44L M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD 1TB features a sequential read/write speed of up to 3,500/3,000MB/s, supports the latest NVMe 1.4 interface, 600TBW - Aerocool Aero Bronze 80 Plus 550W Power Supply is 80PLUS bronze certified with up to 90%+ efficiency, features premium 105°C Japanese capacitors, high-end solid state capacitors, DC-to-DC conversion circuit, 120mm high-pressure fan with optimised fan speeds for silent operation, - MetallicGear Neo Air D-RGB Mid Case Black features a tempered glass side panel, mesh front panel for optimal airflow and performance, supports ATX, m-ATX, m-ITX, e-ATX (up to 280mm wide motherboards, dust filters, includes 3 x 120mm DRGB MG fans - Windows 11 Home. - Logi MK470 wireless Keyboard and Mouse. Nice kit Ken.. very professional looking
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Post by davy on Oct 14, 2023 19:53:19 GMT
Splashed out myself Today..lol. Was awake at 5am on sat morning was going to go away for the day and stay overnight at Burntisland on the Fife coast ..my wee getaway place but started the planning in my head..what do I still need to do in the scopemobile.. put in one new light last week marine style interior light 20 white and 10 red.. so I can switch to red for astronomy..waiting on 2nd getting delivered..so I thought what do I need astronomy wise lol..yeah have to laugh at that looking around the flat astronomy gear everywhere.. But I remembered I was after a zwo eaf..every time I looked for the last Year none in stock and saying due in ..45 days aye right..maybe I was just unlucky but luck changed this morning and they were in stock even the external temp sensor for it..granted was last one..didn't blink ordered both right then.. so by Thursday it should be delivered and I will stick this on my William optics zenithstar 61.. This is my portable set up to go in the scopemobile.. weather still crap but hoping I can get out before November 10th as this is when the Scottish starcamp is.. down in the Galloway forest at a campsite called dunroamin.. Getting close to finishing the scopemobile now,, uncle John would have loved this and how it's now a mobile observatory.
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Post by Dragon Man on Nov 6, 2023 17:08:12 GMT
UPDATE: Sadly the Paramount MX mount has major problems (mainly due to age) and the ballpark quote to fix it is over $5000. If that isn't bad enough, the age and condition of the mount means that even after these expensive fixes, more could go wrong, and parts for these mounts are super super costly. As an example, for just a single RA or Dec motor is $780. It's needs both! For each worm gear $1328. It needs the RA worm. The electronics have to be replaced. That's another $3070 for the upgrade kit! (these prices are all in Aussie dollars)So I have decided, in consultation with others, that the MX will be retired and replaced. I spat the dummy and tonight I ordered a brand new Skywatcher EQ8. It comes with a 5 year warranty and parts are cheap and plentiful. It might be here by the end of the week, hopefully
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Post by fondofchips on Nov 8, 2023 21:09:19 GMT
Ouch! The EQ8 is now well sorted, and plenty of suport on forums. You are not spitting the dummy out Ken, it is all common sense.
I've just replaced my AZEQ6GT with a Ioptron GEM45 mount, not completly sorted it yet but it looks promising.
Got to keep those pictures coming Ken!
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Post by davy on Nov 10, 2023 8:29:28 GMT
Can't go wrong with the eq8, as you know uncle John left me his.. and it is one serious bit of metal..the one I have is on an eq8 tripod,, honestly I could not believe how much of a monster it is.. I have mine running from the WiFi module.. but will eventually hard wire it to a computer.. I bought the new silicone power lead as I couldn't find the lead when I brought it home boxes of kit later I found it lol.. The 11" lx90 sitting on and it takes my breath away the sheer size.. Definitely a good move going for this mount
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Post by Dragon Man on Nov 27, 2023 12:05:47 GMT
Here's the new mount. Skywatcher EQ8 Pro (the original, not the R or RH). It runs excellent on the Synscan WiFi adapter and driven by Cartes du Ciel. I am well pleased
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Post by davy on Nov 28, 2023 17:59:47 GMT
Here's the new mount. Skywatcher EQ8 Pro (the original, not the R or RH). It runs excellent on the Synscan WiFi adapter and driven by Cartes du Ciel. I am well pleased Same one I have Ken,, bloody monster,,was knackered carrying it up four fights of stairs... got the wifi adapter on mine ,, some bit of kit
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Post by jaybee on Dec 4, 2023 22:41:20 GMT
I would love to have an EQ8 Ken, but I have to just settle into a bit of imaging with what I have got before I think of anything new
If I had an EQ8, I wouldnt be trying to carry it anywhere Davy. cheers Paul
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Post by Dragon Man on Dec 5, 2023 14:54:12 GMT
I would love to have an EQ8 Ken, but I have to just settle into a bit of imaging with what I have got before I think of anything new If I had an EQ8, I wouldn't be trying to carry it anywhere Davy.cheers Paul Unfortunately Davy doesn't have a choice. He lives up on the 3rd floor of a building media.giphy.com/media/xTiTnGPM6yLpfEvkpW/giphy.gif
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Post by fondofchips on Dec 5, 2023 20:01:11 GMT
I would love to have an EQ8 Ken, but I have to just settle into a bit of imaging with what I have got before I think of anything new If I had an EQ8, I wouldn't be trying to carry it anywhere Davy.cheers Paul Unfortunately Davy doesn't have a choice. He lives up on the 3rd floor of a building media.giphy.com/media/xTiTnGPM6yLpfEvkpW/giphy.gifThis is the UK opticians advert that I thought of when Davy described carrying his EQ8 up four flights of stairs: -
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Post by Dragon Man on Dec 6, 2023 17:13:51 GMT
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Post by davy on Dec 6, 2023 20:17:06 GMT
He had a wee light telly,, I near passed out wae the eq8 brute.. even trying to put the 12" lx90 on it one handed and tighten up the saddle,, Get myself a wee hobby looking at the stars no nearly passing out and seeing stars
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Post by Dragon Man on Dec 28, 2023 13:47:12 GMT
Well, I knew all this new gear would be a big learning curve, but until now I didn't quite know just how HUUUUUGE it would actually be!!! It has taken 3 months to get my first image and I have to say it is pretty bad At first, Mike and I have been at it for all of those 3 months just trying to get all the gear to work. It finally all came together a few nights ago so I quickly grabbed some images of M42 as a test. I grabbed 7 of each with Red, Green, and Blue filters, and 5 Luminance. And in the last few days I have spent many hours reading and watching tutorials on how to process the mono images captured. Tonight is the first time I got to combine them and Colour them. WOW! It is quite bizarre watching a Black and White stacked collection turn Colour!! Anyway, this first attempt is really bad, but I expected it to be a mess because I still have no idea what I am doing Here it is:
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