681 replies to this topic

[b16707]

hmm ill look into this. I am a heavy DIYer so setting that guidescope up and usingthat cam doesnt seem to be a big prob. Ill have to read more on guiding in general. The process with PHD still feels hazy to me. I used to have one of these cheap ones https://www.amazon.c...AHKADYNCMPDRAYD but china made and only $40. I assume that would work too.

 

Guiding would require me to bring a laptop around also. Anything that uses and ipad? Currently my setup is fully dslr (using a fuji XT3 + camranger2 to ipad).

 

Im wanting to move towards  the iexos because of go-to capabilities. I used to have an AVX but that was way too bulky for me and for a dslr setup. Had a Skywatcher 80 with that mount and the whole setup proved to be way too ungainly for me as a not-everyday-AP-person. Also wanting the iexos because i believe i can slew and adjust the mount remotely? Trying to go for a setup that allows me to control everything i need to control indoors after the initial setup. I shoot out of my backyard and it would be awesome to set it up outside, go inside to focus and slew and then hit the sack and wake in the morning to a couple hundred subs. =D

Edited by b16707, 26 September 2019 - 02:28 PM.

[asanmax]

hmm ill look into this. I am a heavy DIYer so setting that guidescope up and usingthat cam doesnt seem to be a big prob. Ill have to read more on guiding in general. The process with PHD still feels hazy to me. I used to have one of these cheap ones https://www.amazon.c...AHKADYNCMPDRAYD but china made and only $40. I assume that would work too.

 

Guiding would require me to bring a laptop around also. Anything that uses and ipad? Currently my setup is fully dslr (using a fuji XT3 + camranger2 to ipad).

 

Im wanting to move towards  the iexos because of go-to capabilities. I used to have an AVX but that was way too bulky for me and for a dslr setup. Had a Skywatcher 80 with that mount and the whole setup proved to be way too ungainly for me as a not-everyday-AP-person. Also wanting the iexos because i believe i can slew and adjust the mount remotely? Trying to go for a setup that allows me to control everything i need to control indoors after the initial setup. I shoot out of my backyard and it would be awesome to set it up outside, go inside to focus and slew and then hit the sack and wake in the morning to a couple hundred subs. =D

That cheap 50mm scope is almost exactly the one I just mounted on my Celestron C5 two days ago to do some testing. Although I don't think 190mm is necessary for a good guiding on iExos-100. I was getting pin point stars imaging at 1350mm with the 130mm guider.

You will need a computer by your mount to connect the equipment and use PHD2, you can just use any cheap laptop.

I normally set everything up in my backyard and then connect to the laptop from my desktop via TeamViewer. Basically with autoguiding you can set it a forget it for a couple or three hours.

 

As recommended by one of the PMC-Eight forum members, I just installed Astrotortilla and have yet to test it. But it looks like it's the perfect solution for a GoTo.

[b16707]

ah yes teamviewer, good call.

 

yea ill have to read up more on this all. Thanks for the info!

[wanthalf]

I am another beginner and a DIYer (a lighter one) here, fighting in a new field... ;-) I wonder if anyone has tried to use StellarMate (https://stellarmate.com/) or the more non-commercial AstroBerry (https://github.com/rkaczorek/astroberry-server/). That could replace the notebook, I guess.

[Jerry Hubbell]

ah yes teamviewer, good call.

 

yea ill have to read up more on this all. Thanks for the info!

I much prefer TightVNC, it is free and open-source and works pretty much the same as TeamViewer. The only thing with TightVNC is you have to open a port through your firewall to allow incoming connections from the Internet, but if you are only remotely accessing on your local LAN then there is no difference. TeamViewer turned me off due to the games they play with their licensing even when using the supposedly "free" version.

Edited by Jerry Hubbell, 26 September 2019 - 05:36 PM.

[b16707]

I much prefer TightVNC, it is free and open-source and works pretty much the same as TeamViewer. The only thing with TightVNC is you have to open a port through your firewall to allow incoming connections from the Internet, but if you are only remotely accessing on your local LAN then there is no difference. TeamViewer turned me off due to the games they play with their licensing even when using the supposedly "free" version.

Oh nice, ill check that out. TM also kicked me out with that stupid commercial license thing. Im not even using this in a commercial enviro!

 

 

I am another beginner and a DIYer (a lighter one) here, fighting in a new field... ;-) I wonder if anyone has tried to use StellarMate (https://stellarmate.com/) or the more non-commercial AstroBerry (https://github.com/rkaczorek/astroberry-server/). That could replace the notebook, I guess.

Mixed bag of reviews from what ive seen with the StellarMate. If im going to spend a couple hours on imaging, i rather not have it wasted. Seems like a hit or miss.

[Devonshire]

+1 for TightVNC.  Works well.

[Ethanwyh]

HI all, just got some first light form my QHY183M with an Optolong 6.5nm H-ALpha filter

 

All tracked and guided on an iExos-100

 

 

18x300s subs

 

https://flic.kr/p/2hn3h73

 

 

[Jerry Hubbell]

HI all, just got some first light form my QHY183M with an Optolong 6.5nm H-ALpha filter

 

All tracked and guided on an iExos-100

 

 

18x300s subs

 

https://flic.kr/p/2hn3h73

Thanks Ethan for sharing, I am glad the iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight mount is working well for you.

[asanmax]

HI all, just got some first light form my QHY183M with an Optolong 6.5nm H-ALpha filter

 

All tracked and guided on an iExos-100

 

 

18x300s subs

 

https://flic.kr/p/2hn3h73

Nice shot, what guider did you use?

[Ethanwyh]

Thanks Ethan for sharing, I am glad the iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight mount is working well for you.

It wouldn't have been possible without the help of you and many others here, Jerry  

The pleasure is mine!

 

 

Nice shot, what guider did you use?

Thanks mate, I'm currently using both Datyson 50mm guidescope with a T7C Guidecam.

I learnt that while brand plays a role in quality, its cables and drivers which causes most of my issues (maybe for others too)

[asanmax]

Thanks mate, I'm currently using both Datyson 50mm guidescope with a T7C Guidecam.

I learnt that while brand plays a role in quality, its cables and drivers which causes most of my issues (maybe for others too)

Thanks for the info. I'd always used a 130mm guider until I mounted a 50mm/183mm guider a few days ago. I haven't tried it yet and just wondering what RMS you are getting with your guider on average. The question for me is, is it worth it to use a longer FL guider as it adds additional 0.5 KG to the rig.

[Ethanwyh]

What is the FL you’re imaging at?
Mine was 600mm guided by that 50mm (190mm fl) guide scope. It’s 2am here so I’ll post my guide logs here first thing in the morning 👌🏻

And oh I did notice that when the loaded capacity is lighter, my RMS settle improved significantly (imo)
Maybe others can chime in here to share their experiences

[asanmax]

I was imaging at 1350mm with no star trailing, that's why I kind of question the use of a longer FL guide scope.

It would be interesting to look at your logs, thanks.

[Ethanwyh]

I was imaging at 1350mm with no star trailing, that's why I kind of question the use of a longer FL guide scope.

It would be interesting to look at your logs, thanks.

Here's my guide logs for 28th morning, where I imaged the Horsehead Nebula (B33)

 

Edit: oops I forgot to hit the 'add to post' icon

 PHD2_GuideLog_2019-09-28_021618.txt   447.29KB   12 downloads

Edited by Ethanwyh, 30 September 2019 - 08:40 PM.

[asanmax]

Just looked at the logs, very good on average. I don't usually look at the total RMS in the PHD log viewer as it doesn't show clear data.

I find it's more than enough to have +/- 2.5 arcsec for your imaging setup. Keep the images and reports coming!

[Jerry Hubbell]

Here's my guide logs for 28th morning, where I imaged the Horsehead Nebula (B33)

 

Edit: oops I forgot to hit the 'add to post' icon

PHD2_GuideLog_2019-09-28_021618.txt

Hi Ethan,

After taking a look at your log file in PECPrep it looks like the belt tension on your mount might be a little tight due to the pronounced peak at 13.3 seconds which is the tooth period on the pulleys. Here is the periodicity plot. 

The 13.3 period is because the worm period is 600 seconds and the pulley ratio is 4.5 to 1. The motor pulley turns once every 600 / 4.5 or 133.3 seconds. There are 10 teeth on the small pulley so that the teeth on the belt meshes into the pulley's gap every 13.3 seconds. If the belt is too tight, there can be some "resistance" in the mesh I think causing a slowing down of the mount probably. This is the source of the PE at 13.3 seconds. This PE added about 0.8 arc-seconds RMS to the total PE.

 

 

[asanmax]

I had some cloud-free skies last night and decided to do some testing.

First off, I was using APT plate solving tool for the first time and really liked it.

After some settings adjustments APT was able to plate solve and center the objects in under 1 minute, quite a time saver especially for the faint objects.

So for now the prep stage for imaging looks like this:

5-10 minutes to take the mount/scope outside and fire up the laptop, get everything connected and running.

2-3 minutes to focus the scope using APT live view.

5 minutes to slew to and frame the object.

3-4 minutes to calibrate PHD2.

I like how almost every step can be automated with not much effort using this mount.

 

I started imaging M31 and left the rig running just to realize that the scope went out of focus after about 10-15 frames because I didn't let it cool to the outside temperature, 6 Celsius. Unfortunately I figured it out too late, running at 100 frames into the session.

Not a big deal as M33 was already up and I just switched over to that galaxy.

I was able to shoot 59 frames before the fog came in, too bad, I wanted to have more of course.

I didn't see any improvement in guiding using a 50mm/183mm guide scope over my home brew 37mm/130mm one so I'll probably get rid of it as it adds 500g of weight to the setup.

By the way, I always thought I was living in the Bortle 7, but it turns out it's Bortle 8 according to the maps and the Clear Outside app.

Here is the final image quickly stacked in DSS and processed in PS:

Mount: iExos-100

Scope: ES ED80 Triplet at 480mm, no flattener.

Guide scope: 60mm/183mm with AR0130 sensor.

59x90sec exposures at ISO 1600.

Guiding in PHD2, imaging/plate solving in APT.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Edited by asanmax, 01 October 2019 - 12:31 PM.

[Ethanwyh]

Hi Ethan,

After taking a look at your log file in PECPrep it looks like the belt tension on your mount might be a little tight due to the pronounced peak at 13.3 seconds which is the tooth period on the pulleys. Here is the periodicity plot. 

The 13.3 period is because the worm period is 600 seconds and the pulley ratio is 4.5 to 1. The motor pulley turns once every 600 / 4.5 or 133.3 seconds. There are 10 teeth on the small pulley so that the teeth on the belt meshes into the pulley's gap every 13.3 seconds. If the belt is too tight, there can be some "resistance" in the mesh I think causing a slowing down of the mount probably. This is the source of the PE at 13.3 seconds. This PE added about 0.8 arc-seconds RMS to the total PE.

 

EXOS2_iEXOS100_PE_PeriodicityPlot1.png

 

EXOS2_iEXOS100_PE_PeriodicityPlot2.png

Hi Jerry,

 

thanks a bunch for running through my guide logs, i really appreciate that

Seems strange as it never occured before! Just to confirm (a noob question): are the belts the ones accessible through a simple cap-cover? (Black rectangles on the flipside of the motor housing.

If so, how would you recommend me to ‘loosen’ the belts?

 

Ethan

[Ethanwyh]

I had some cloud-free skies last night and decided to do some testing.

First off, I was using APT plate solving tool for the first time and really liked it.

After some settings adjustments APT was able to plate solve and center the objects in under 1 minute, quite a time saver especially for the faint objects.

So for now the prep stage for imaging looks like this:

5-10 minutes to take the mount/scope outside and fire up the laptop, get everything connected and running.

2-3 minutes to focus the scope using APT live view.

5 minutes to slew to and frame the object.

3-4 minutes to calibrate PHD2.

I like how almost every step can be automated with not much effort using this mount.

 

I started imaging M31 and left the rig running just to realize that the scope went out of focus after about 10-15 frames because I didn't let it cool to the outside temperature, 6 Celsius. Unfortunately I figured it out too late, running at 100 frames into the session.

Not a big deal as M33 was already up and I just switched over to that galaxy.

I was able to shoot 59 frames before the fog came in, too bad, I wanted to have more of course.

I didn't see any improvement in guiding using a 50mm/183mm guide scope over my home brew 37mm/130mm one so I'll probably get rid of it as it adds 500g of weight to the setup.

By the way, I always thought I was living in the Bortle 7, but it turns out it's Bortle 8 according to the maps and the Clear Outside app.

Here is the final image quickly stacked in DSS and processed in PS:

Mount: iExos-100

Scope: ES ED80 Triplet at 480mm, no flattener.

Guide scope: 60mm/183mm with AR0130 sensor.

59x90sec exposures at ISO 1600.

Guiding in PHD2, imaging/plate solving in APT.

This is a terrific picture! May I ask what skies are you under?

[asanmax]

This is a terrific picture! May I ask what skies are you under?

I'm in Vancouver under Bortle 8. Very poor seeing almost all the time. Here is an example of a single image at 90 seconds, very low signal to noise ratio.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[asanmax]

Hi Jerry,

 

thanks a bunch for running through my guide logs, i really appreciate that

Seems strange as it never occured before! Just to confirm (a noob question): are the belts the ones accessible through a simple cap-cover? (Black rectangles on the flipside of the motor housing.

If so, how would you recommend me to ‘loosen’ the belts?

 

Ethan

Allow me to answer this one. You would need to unscrew the hex screws on both motor compartment covers. The motors are held in place by 4 small screws, just loosen them up a bit and move the motor so that the belt is not over-tensioned, you'll figure it out. I had to take off both covers to get rid of backlash in both axes and adjust the worm gear pair and the belts. I should say, I now have close to none backlash and am very pleased with the results. I bet the delivery companies don't treat the mount boxes very well as the box that my mount came in had some torn cardboard.

Edited by asanmax, 02 October 2019 - 12:06 PM.

[Ethanwyh]

Allow me to answer this one. You would need to unscrew the hex screws on both motor compartment covers. The motors are held in place by 4 small screws, just loosen them up a bit and move the motor so that the belt is not over-tensioned, you'll figure it out. I had to take off both covers to get rid of backlash in both axes and adjust the worm gear pair and the belts. I should say, I now have close to none backlash and am very pleased with the results. I bet the delivery companies don't treat the mount boxes very well as the box that my mount came in had some torn cardboard.

Hey man,

 

Thanks for the speedy response! No wonder, and I was beginning to doubt "Could it be that simple?!" But yes, I shall try this over this weekend as weather's getitng real bd here *Fingers crossed*

 

Is there anything which I SHOULDN'T be doing while loosening the belt mod?

 

Cheers!

Ethan

[asanmax]

Hey man,

 

Thanks for the speedy response! No wonder, and I was beginning to doubt "Could it be that simple?!" But yes, I shall try this over this weekend as weather's getitng real bd here *Fingers crossed*

 

Is there anything which I SHOULDN'T be doing while loosening the belt mod?

 

Cheers!

Ethan

No worries, that's what the forum is for, I had many of my questions asked as well.

The mechanics of the mount is really simple, you'll see it yourself. There is literally noting to break and the belt adjustment is very simple. Make sure you have allen keys as all the screws have hex heads.

[JayScope]

Wow! -- I just got both the serial/USB & the wireless ASCOM working with my old Samsung netbook running Win XP sp3. Cartes du Ciel is working and tracking/slewing.

Since the Configuration Manager doesn't work with WinXP is used this procedure on ES's application note:

 

downloaded and installed the 3 apps to switch back and forth from TCP to UDP and serial to wifi

http://02d3287.netso...AN003_rev01.pdf