60 replies to this topic

[WheezyGod]

Yep that's the one I received, they said they had been holding it aside waiting for someone to place an order specifying that they will use it for astronomy purposes. I guess I called at the right time!

Wow that’s awesome! You could take that device to the equator (if there weren’t ITAR restrictions) at any point during the year where the nights are typically above the 72 degrees F where EBI is measured and get the best views.

I wonder how long ago that person asked for this device. When I was shopping around and talked to someone at TNVC, they had said they get a few pre-orders with extremely low EBI and high SNR requirements that they can fulfill within 6months - over a yr because these tubes are so rare.

[25585]

Awesome, thank you very much for the detailed response!  I think I worded my last question poorly.  I understand the specs are important, I was just curious if the specs would have an impact on which filter to use (for example if the 3.2nm Ha filter would be overkill if the SNR is above a certain level or something like that).

 

Here are the specs:

Resolution:  72

SNR: 36.9
FOM:  2656.8

EBI:  0.0

Halo:  0.7

Gain:  63,361

Photocathode Sensitivity:  2626

1 spot in zone 3

 

You mentioned viewing the planets with proper filters--is there any benefit to using night vision to observe the planets?  And if so, by "proper filters" do you mean the same ones previously mentioned or are there others that should be used for this purpose?

Finding Uranus, Neptune, Pluto would be cool.

[robcac26]

Wow that’s awesome! You could take that device to the equator (if there weren’t ITAR restrictions) at any point during the year where the nights are typically above the 72 degrees F where EBI is measured and get the best views.

I wonder how long ago that person asked for this device. When I was shopping around and talked to someone at TNVC, they had said they get a few pre-orders with extremely low EBI and high SNR requirements that they can fulfill within 6months - over a yr because these tubes are so rare.

Sorry, I worded that poorly.  It wasn't on hold for anyone in particular, when they got it in, they put it aside waiting for a customer to specifically mention that they wanted one good for astronomy.  I ordered it from Custom Night Vision, they said they are the supplier for most of the popular night vision vendors, so they have a much larger inventory than anyone else.

 

Finding Uranus, Neptune, Pluto would be cool.

I've never had much trouble finding Neptune or Uranus without night vision, but I've still yet to lay eyes on Pluto.

[robcac26]

After a handful of night vision observing sessions under my belt, a couple things have become obvious...

 

1.  A filter slide would really make life easier.  I've exchanged a few emails with Roger from Astrocrumb and we both shared some concern about how much intrusion I already have into the light path since my SIPS coma corrector extends 7/8" into the tube.  I have an 11" mirror inside a 12" tube, so there's a 0.5" gap between the tube and the mirror (although I'm not sure that matters since I'm assuming the concave shape of the mirror results in the light path inside the tube being conical and extending outwards further from the primary rather than linear throughout the tube).  He's going to send some measurements so I can try to use cardboard or something to replicate the additional obstruction that the filter slide would create.  If it's just a matter of some decreased light gathering ability, I'm willing to make that trade-off for the added convenience of having the filter slide.

2.  I'm totally missing something with trying to take cell phone pictures through the PVS-14.  Are you all using something to hold your phone in place?  I got the TeleVue Fonemate but so far every attempt has just yielded a photo of complete darkness.  My phone's camera is pretty bad compared to most phones, but I'm sure most of the problem is my lack of photography knowledge.  My phone has two camera lenses, when I go to attach it to the Fonemate, it appears to only be using one of them, so I let that be the one that lines up with the hole in the Fonemate.  I'm guessing when it goes to take the picture, for this particular purpose it tries to use the other lens which is blocked.  Next time I'll have to try blocking the other one and see if that makes a difference.  I did have some success taking a picture of the Andromeda galaxy by just holding my phone in my hand up to the PVS-14 while it was on my telescope.  It looks nowhere near as good as how it looked in person though, or even as good as other people's cell phone pics.  I wonder how much of that is because I had the phone adjust the settings automatically since I don't know what to set them to, and how much of it is just the limitations of what this camera is capable of.  Any advice on camera settings etc would be appreciated.

 

3.  So far, it seems like some objects appear better with the 6nm and some are better with the 3nm, but once I get the filter slide installed it will be much easier to compare.

 

4.  On one occasion, I was set up in the corner of my backyard and heard some rustling in the nearby leaves.  I leave some food out for a couple cats that frequent my backyard so I assumed that's what it was, and was going to try to get it to come over to me.  It was too dark to see it though, so I detached the PVS-14 from the scope, glanced back over there, and instead saw a skunk staring at me.  The PVS-14 may have saved me from being sprayed by a skunk haha.

[Jethro7]

After a handful of night vision observing sessions under my belt, a couple things have become obvious...

 

1.  A filter slide would really make life easier.  I've exchanged a few emails with Roger from Astrocrumb and we both shared some concern about how much intrusion I already have into the light path since my SIPS coma corrector extends 7/8" into the tube.  I have an 11" mirror inside a 12" tube, so there's a 0.5" gap between the tube and the mirror (although I'm not sure that matters since I'm assuming the concave shape of the mirror results in the light path inside the tube being conical and extending outwards further from the primary rather than linear throughout the tube).  He's going to send some measurements so I can try to use cardboard or something to replicate the additional obstruction that the filter slide would create.  If it's just a matter of some decreased light gathering ability, I'm willing to make that trade-off for the added convenience of having the filter slide.

I only use two filters and only one at a time. So it does not bother me to remove the device and swap a filter out. This is your game do what ever works for you.

2.  I'm totally missing something with trying to take cell phone pictures through the PVS-14.  Are you all using something to hold your phone in place?  I got the TeleVue Fonemate but so far every attempt has just yielded a photo of complete darkness.  My phone's camera is pretty bad compared to most phones, but I'm sure most of the problem is my lack of photography knowledge.  My phone has two camera lenses, when I go to attach it to the Fonemate, it appears to only be using one of them, so I let that be the one that lines up with the hole in the Fonemate.  I'm guessing when it goes to take the picture, for this particular purpose it tries to use the other lens which is blocked.  Next time I'll have to try blocking the other one and see if that makes a difference.  I did have some success taking a picture of the Andromeda galaxy by just holding my phone in my hand up to the PVS-14 while it was on my telescope.  It looks nowhere near as good as how it looked in person though, or even as good as other people's cell phone pics.  I wonder how much of that is because I had the phone adjust the settings automatically since I don't know what to set them to, and how much of it is just the limitations of what this camera is capable of.  Any advice on camera settings etc would be appreciated.

I've tried many different Types of phone holders and they all were PITA's. Some more than others. I learned how to hold the phones camera over the eyepiece. This is so much easier. My Android camera App  has a "Night Mode" setting and I set the exposure for 2 seconds. You must hold the camera steady. This just takes practice.

 

3.  So far, it seems like some objects appear better with the 6nm and some are better with the 3nm, but once I get the filter slide installed it will be much easier to compare.

yep

 

4.  On one occasion, I was set up in the corner of my backyard and heard some rustling in the nearby leaves.  I leave some food out for a couple cats that frequent my backyard so I assumed that's what it was, and was going to try to get it to come over to me.  It was too dark to see it though, so I detached the PVS-14 from the scope, glanced back over there, and instead saw a skunk staring at me.  The PVS-14 may have saved me from being sprayed by a skunk haha.

HAPPY SKIES AND KEEP LOOKING UP Jethro

 

A few hand held camera captures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Jethro7, 12 September 2024 - 10:18 AM.

[WheezyGod]

If you have an iPhone you can use the Astroshader app. It provides the ability to do untracked sub second exposure per exposure photos with alignment and stacking. Far from the quality of AP without a tracking mount but it’s still decent.

[RaulBloodworth]

Yep that's the one I received, they said they had been holding it aside waiting for someone to place an order specifying that they will use it for astronomy purposes.  I guess I called at the right time!

Those specs are insane  If you don't mind me asking.... what vendor did you go through for that device? and how much did it set you back?

[robcac26]

Those specs are insane  If you don't mind me asking.... what vendor did you go through for that device? and how much did it set you back?

I ordered it from Custom Night Vision.  Their website shows the specs for about 10-15 tubes, but they have way more than that in their inventory since they are the supplier for a lot of other vendors, so you can call them and ask for something better than what they have listed.  It's a little more expensive for the higher specs though, this one was just over $5000.

[RaulBloodworth]

I ordered it from Custom Night Vision.

Very cool, that is also where I ordered mine from. I went with an Elbit tube, but it makes me wonder if I should have called to ask if they had anything else with slightly better specs. I also wonder how many other "astro" tubes they have set aside 

 

I look forward to seeing some pictures once you figure out how to best take them! (I'm still trying to figure it out myself lol)

[daveb2022]

I don't know if what I'm doing is correct, but I've just used the TV Fone-Mate. Seems to work OK for my purposes. With my cell phone I've captured some objects, but in all honesty, I don't know what I'm doing. I enjoy Ha observing, but use my stuff for closer work on open and globular clusters most of the time. My average skies are 18.40 @ zenith with max darkness at 18.70.

 

Am I doing something wrong by using a 2" to 1.25 adapter with a filter threaded into it? I got tired of screwing filters on and off, plus putting back in their little cases at night seemed a bother, so I just used a few adapters I had. I only use a couple filters anyway. They are loaded with 610, 642, and 685 filters.  I never thought about distance from the EP.

 

 

Here are some of the NV pics. I just use photo shop to knock down the green to how I see it in the NVD. This site won't allow large file pics and they look poor, especially after being resized down to fit.

 

 

[robcac26]

Very cool, that is also where I ordered mine from. I went with an Elbit tube, but it makes me wonder if I should have called to ask if they had anything else with slightly better specs. I also wonder how many other "astro" tubes they have set aside 

 

I look forward to seeing some pictures once you figure out how to best take them! (I'm still trying to figure it out myself lol)

It might have just been this one that they set aside, he said they get I think like 1000 of these a year and of those maybe one or two will have specs like this.

 

So far, these are the only decent pictures I've taken, they're of M31.  I'm still using a 2018 BlackBerry, which had a pretty terrible camera even for back then, so next time I'm out there with one of my buddies I'll see if it comes out better on their phone.

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