Hello,

I posted 2 images from last night (early and late) in my bnd1430
folder. The shots are okay because seeing was only okay.

I'll collimate my OT tonight so I am hoping for better shots soon!

Best regards,

Brian Davis
Manila

Hello to all,

I joined the group about a week ago and have been "lurking" since
then and reading through the postings since Day One.  (Did you know
there are over 2100 postings to read?)

I've had an interest in astronomy since junior high school when I
ground and built my first 6" reflector, (thanks to Edmond
Scientific).  Since then, work hasn't allowed much access to the
skies but now that I'm retired I could justify a good telescope.
Wow!  I'm seeing things that I've only seen as a "smudge" before.

Now my interest is going towards lunar/planetary photography.  I have
done some prime focus shooting with my DSLR, but it has its
limitations on the planets so I have ordered the NI.  The Easter
holiday is slowing things down but I'm expecting it next week.

I'd like to thank everyone who has done such a good job in answering
the questions from others, I've learned a lot from you and it will
decrease my questions a lot.  Of course, I'm sure I'll be posting
some of my own.

I live in Central Florida now and really like it.  The turbulent
skies are somewhat offset by being able to wear shorts while
stargazing. <G> I have a CPC 1100 GPS XLT and have only used it in
the az-el mode.  I'm really looking forward to getting the camera.

One question still unresolved by my reading of the posts (I'm up to
June 2006), I've seen several references to the Celestron NexImage
Advanced page.  Each time I've tried to go to it, I'm kicked back to
the "standard" Neximage page.  Have they discontinued the page???

Finally, if there are other members in my area, I'd like to make
contact with you.

Thanks to all,

Ken in Central Florida
28 57 23N 81 16 38W

Hi Ken , I live in Burleson Texas just south Of Fort
Worth. I have the CPC 800 series XLT with gps. If you
want a good camera to go with your scope try this. I
use the DMK firewire monochrome camera from the
imaging source. Its fairly cheap $390. the detail on
the moon ( and planets) are excellent. ( see my web
site below) With your scope you should do better than
me. Ed Roach in this group also uses this camera nad
hes ahd better results than me, his sight is listed in
my links. welcome to the group! Clear Skies!
--- Ken Thorpe <kenthorpe@...> wrote:

> Hello to all,
>
> I joined the group about a week ago and have been
> "lurking" since
> then and reading through the postings since Day One.
>  (Did you know
> there are over 2100 postings to read?)
>
> I've had an interest in astronomy since junior high
> school when I
> ground and built my first 6" reflector, (thanks to
> Edmond
> Scientific).  Since then, work hasn't allowed much
> access to the
> skies but now that I'm retired I could justify a
> good telescope.
> Wow!  I'm seeing things that I've only seen as a
> "smudge" before.
>
> Now my interest is going towards lunar/planetary
> photography.  I have
> done some prime focus shooting with my DSLR, but it
> has its
> limitations on the planets so I have ordered the NI.
>  The Easter
> holiday is slowing things down but I'm expecting it
> next week.
>
> I'd like to thank everyone who has done such a good
> job in answering
> the questions from others, I've learned a lot from
> you and it will
> decrease my questions a lot.  Of course, I'm sure
> I'll be posting
> some of my own.
>
> I live in Central Florida now and really like it.
> The turbulent
> skies are somewhat offset by being able to wear
> shorts while
> stargazing. <G> I have a CPC 1100 GPS XLT and have
> only used it in
> the az-el mode.  I'm really looking forward to
> getting the camera.
>
> One question still unresolved by my reading of the
> posts (I'm up to
> June 2006), I've seen several references to the
> Celestron NexImage
> Advanced page.  Each time I've tried to go to it,
> I'm kicked back to
> the "standard" Neximage page.  Have they
> discontinued the page???
>
> Finally, if there are other members in my area, I'd
> like to make
> contact with you.
>
> Thanks to all,
>
> Ken in Central Florida
> 28 57 23N 81 16 38W
>
>
>


   Stargazertgh
   Burleson Texas 32.53N 97.31W
   http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/cape/7654







________________________________________________________________________________\
____
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Hi Tommy, thanks for the reply to my posting.  As a result of what
you told me, I looked at the DMK firewire camera and it looks real
good!  I also noticed your moon picture on the Imaging Source
website!  My problem is my (new) Compaq laptop doesn't support
firewire!  Also need to learn to walk (NexImage) before I run.

I like you site – great pictures - and I really liked some of your
links!

Does the NexImage Advanced page still exist???

Clear Skies

Ken
28 57 23N 81 16 38W


--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, Tommy Hartline <starman2010@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Ken , I live in Burleson Texas just south Of Fort
> Worth. I have the CPC 800 series XLT with gps. If you
> want a good camera to go with your scope try this. I
> use the DMK firewire monochrome camera from the
> imaging source. Its fairly cheap $390. the detail on
> the moon ( and planets) are excellent. ( see my web
> site below) With your scope you should do better than
> me. Ed Roach in this group also uses this camera nad
> hes ahd better results than me, his sight is listed in
> my links. welcome to the group! Clear Skies!

Hi Ken,
      I read your messages, and went to see Tommy's site. I
particularly liked the Moon-Saturn occultations shots. For those who
might be interested in mosaics, the NexImage yields a rather small FOV
(field of view), about 1/8 of the moon when equipped with its
Celestron focal Reducer. To get a larger FOV, I installed a
conventional Reducer (Antares f6.3)into my system. So that makes two
reducers in series, the Antares and the celestron NI reducer. And,to
my surprise,it wirks fine. Now I can get a FOV about 1/4 of the Moon.
I obtained a 44% Moon mosaic with 3 AMCAP captures. And a 74% Moon
mosaic with 5 captures. I am now working on a 89% Moon taken last
week.

By,       Monti.

--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, "Ken Thorpe" <kenthorpe@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tommy, thanks for the reply to my posting.  As a result of what
> you told me, I looked at the DMK firewire camera and it looks real
> good!  I also noticed your moon picture on the Imaging Source
> website!  My problem is my (new) Compaq laptop doesn't support
> firewire!  Also need to learn to walk (NexImage) before I run.
>
> I like you site – great pictures - and I really liked some of your
> links!
>
> Does the NexImage Advanced page still exist???
>
> Clear Skies
>
> Ken
> 28 57 23N 81 16 38W
>
>
> --- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, Tommy Hartline <starman2010@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Ken , I live in Burleson Texas just south Of Fort
> > Worth. I have the CPC 800 series XLT with gps. If you
> > want a good camera to go with your scope try this. I
> > use the DMK firewire monochrome camera from the
> > imaging source. Its fairly cheap $390. the detail on
> > the moon ( and planets) are excellent. ( see my web
> > site below) With your scope you should do better than
> > me. Ed Roach in this group also uses this camera nad
> > hes ahd better results than me, his sight is listed in
> > my links. welcome to the group! Clear Skies!
>

I'm using a Celestron CPC800 GPS. F.L.=2000mm,f/10. I added a JMI ev-
1 focuser to give me finer focusing but getting a sharp image on a
laptop screen is still a challenge. I am seeking to determine what is
reasonable planetary imaging with my setup compared with some of the
pictures I see posted on this group.

Saturn occupies an area of about 81 x 41 pixels on my 640 X 480
display. This means that all of the raw detail I can get is contained
in less than 400 pixels. Celestron says that the NextImage chip is
equavalent to a 5 mm eyepiece, giving a 400X magnification. This is
right at the 50X magnification per inch of aperature that all of my
astronomy books say is the practical limit. A 400 X 320 picture like
the one on the opening page would appear to require interpolating a
lot of extra pixels or using a 14 or 16 inch f/10 scope to get 700X
to 800X for "genuine" pixels containing something approaching fine
detail. Or maybe there are some really fantastic seeing conditions
that allow using a Barlow and blowing away the 50X per inch limit.

I have posted an early Saturn photo under rom101905 taken from
eastern Virginia around 23:00 on 3/30. RegiStax 4 used 97 of 193
frames.Image enlarged 200%, yielding 300% interpolated "new" pixels
containing no additional detail but making what is there somewhat
more visible.

Rom,

I routinely use a 1.6x Barlow (W.O. for Binoviewers) and a 2x Ultima
Barlow together with my C8. So If I do the math right it's about
1,300 magnification.

I have an aftermarket Feathertouch 10:1 focuser and admittedly I can
get a good focus when I use the W.O. 1.6x with a 2.5x Powermate
together. 1,600 magnification is just too much.

I think the main reason I can push my scope to these levels is
collimation. I spent 1 hour last year and really worked for an exact
collimation. It was time well spent and the improvement was
astounding visually and especially with imaging. The scope has
remained rock solid to this day even with traveling. I think you
should start here and take your time with it. After you collimate I
think you will be much happier with the results and yes use a Barlow.

Have a look in my bnd1430 folder for what I am able to get out of
this little imager. Also you may want to search on posts from me and
read some of the settings information.

These may help:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/neximage/message/1700

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/neximage/message/1704

Seeing does play a role and I live about 5 miles from Manila Bay so
maybe I am blessed with steady skies.

I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the Neximager, I do!


Best regards,

Brian Davis
Manila


--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, "rom101905" <rom101905@...> wrote:
>
> I'm using a Celestron CPC800 GPS. F.L.=2000mm,f/10. I added a JMI
ev-
> 1 focuser to give me finer focusing but getting a sharp image on a
> laptop screen is still a challenge. I am seeking to determine what
is
> reasonable planetary imaging with my setup compared with some of
the
> pictures I see posted on this group.
>
> Saturn occupies an area of about 81 x 41 pixels on my 640 X 480
> display. This means that all of the raw detail I can get is
contained
> in less than 400 pixels. Celestron says that the NextImage chip is
> equavalent to a 5 mm eyepiece, giving a 400X magnification. This is
> right at the 50X magnification per inch of aperature that all of my
> astronomy books say is the practical limit. A 400 X 320 picture
like
> the one on the opening page would appear to require interpolating a
> lot of extra pixels or using a 14 or 16 inch f/10 scope to get 700X
> to 800X for "genuine" pixels containing something approaching fine
> detail. Or maybe there are some really fantastic seeing conditions
> that allow using a Barlow and blowing away the 50X per inch limit.
>
> I have posted an early Saturn photo under rom101905 taken from
> eastern Virginia around 23:00 on 3/30. RegiStax 4 used 97 of 193
> frames.Image enlarged 200%, yielding 300% interpolated "new" pixels
> containing no additional detail but making what is there somewhat
> more visible.
>

-----Original Message-----
From: neximage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:neximage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Paul Ashley
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 8:03 AM
To: neximage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [neximage] CGE help needed.

I purchased an equatorial mount to learn on.  It is advertised as a Chinese made CGE 5.  I have it together. It did not come with instructions.  Any recourses on how to use an equatorial mount?

 

Paul Ashley
Los Angeles, CA
NexStar 130SLT
www.robo-works.net

Hi Rom,
     My telescope is exactly the same as yours, a 200mm Celestron SC
CPC GPS. I only use the laptop (sometimes)to zero-in on the focus as
I jump from one cofiguration to another (adding/removing reducer and
barlow), since the laptop allows me to be just beside the telescope.
The real focussing is done afterwards using the Meade zero-shift
microfocussor attached to the telescope, and for this I don't use the
laptop but rather my desk PC and monitor. They are inside, in my
office, connected to the telescope by 60 feet of USB extensions (the
system was devised for remote-indoor viewing and control... great in
20 below weather!). Using the NexImage alone at about 400-500
magnification, I get very fine focussing with the microfocusser on my
21 inch monitor with 1024 X 768 res. When I add the 2X Celestron
barlow, bringing the mag up to 1000, the image does get rather
grainy, but then I can enhance it somewhat with Registax and
Photoshop. The NexImage alone followed by Registax/Photoshop yields a
nice sharp image of Saturn. I am waiting for a clear night (about 60
miles east of Montreal, Canada), to try for an image of Saturn with
the NexImage and barlow. The image of Saturn on the opening page
looks like something taken with more than an 8 in telescope, maybe a
14 in?

Bye,          Monti.

Monti,

The image on the cover page is from my 8" C8S-GT scope taken on 13-
Feb-07 from my house in Manila.

Effectivily this is the same OTA that you have. Collimation is the
most important factor I think.

Best regards,
Brian Davis

ps, I posted to Rom earlier but for some reason it didn't make it to
my regular email address.

--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, "imontam" <monti@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Rom,
>     My telescope is exactly the same as yours, a 200mm Celestron SC
> CPC GPS. I only use the laptop (sometimes)to zero-in on the focus
as
> I jump from one cofiguration to another (adding/removing reducer
and
> barlow), since the laptop allows me to be just beside the
telescope.
> The real focussing is done afterwards using the Meade zero-shift
> microfocussor attached to the telescope, and for this I don't use
the
> laptop but rather my desk PC and monitor. They are inside, in my
> office, connected to the telescope by 60 feet of USB extensions
(the
> system was devised for remote-indoor viewing and control... great
in
> 20 below weather!). Using the NexImage alone at about 400-500
> magnification, I get very fine focussing with the microfocusser on
my
> 21 inch monitor with 1024 X 768 res. When I add the 2X Celestron
> barlow, bringing the mag up to 1000, the image does get rather
> grainy, but then I can enhance it somewhat with Registax and
> Photoshop. The NexImage alone followed by Registax/Photoshop yields
a
> nice sharp image of Saturn. I am waiting for a clear night (about
60
> miles east of Montreal, Canada), to try for an image of Saturn with
> the NexImage and barlow. The image of Saturn on the opening page
> looks like something taken with more than an 8 in telescope, maybe
a
> 14 in?
>
> Bye,          Monti.
>

Hi Brian,
      I'm a bit of a novice so I have to tread carefully. But that, to
me, seems very impressive coming from an 8 inch telescope. I just
recently saw an image of Saturn, on a local site, taken with a 14 inch
and yours is practically as good. Really great work! I'm anxious to see
what I will get with my NexImage/barlow combination.

Bye, Monti.

----- Original Message -----

From: Darryl Simmons

To: neximage@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 8:48 AM

Subject: RE: [neximage] CGE help needed.

The Orion EQ1 page has a PDF instruction that you can download.  Of course you do not have and EQ1, but many of the concepts are the same, especially the alignment and balancing.

 

http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=289

 

Darryl

-----Original Message-----
From: neximage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:neximage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Paul Ashley
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 8:03 AM
To: neximage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [neximage] CGE help needed.

I purchased an equatorial mount to learn on.  It is advertised as a Chinese made CGE 5.  I have it together. It did not come with instructions.  Any recourses on how to use an equatorial mount?

 

Paul Ashley
Los Angeles, CA
NexStar 130SLT
www.robo-works.net

Hello. I'm new to Neximage and Amcap and am wondering if anyone can
tell me how big to set the file size before taking an Avi. For example
if I wanted to take a 30sec avi at 5fps. I hope this is enough info,
obviously I have a lot to learn. Cheers. C.

Hello. I'm new to Neximage and Amcap and am wondering if anyone can
tell me how big to set the file size before taking an Avi. For example
if I wanted to take a 30sec avi at 5fps. I hope this is enough info,
obviously I have a lot to learn. Cheers. C.

I also found that the file size is unrelated to space
I allocate in advannce.
When I put in a big number (my avis can be 500mb) it
took time for the PC to assign a large blank space,
but seemingly nothing else changed.
Pictures are disappointing either way ;)
I just leave the size at 1mb and hit start capture.

--- Mauro Gnesa <wanda_mauro@...> wrote:

> Hello,
>   I've also not too much experience but I always put
> some "Big number" like 10 (or 11 to be faster on
> keyboard) as reserved space. The AVI will be saved
> with the real size it has.
>   Cheers
>   Mauro
>
> c52au <carfred@...> wrote:
>           Hello. I'm new to Neximage and Amcap and
> am wondering if anyone can
> tell me how big to set the file size before taking
> an Avi. For example
> if I wanted to take a 30sec avi at 5fps. I hope this
> is enough info,
> obviously I have a lot to learn. Cheers. C.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Bored stiff? Loosen up...
> Download and play hundreds of games for free on
> Yahoo! Games.




________________________________________________________________________________\
____
Never miss an email again!
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Hi,
      I guess the space allocated could depend on your HD limitations.
With a 250G disk I just went ahead and allocated 1G for AMCAP capture.
Many of my captures, say 30fps for 10 seconds, will yeld something
around 200Meg per capture, which I immediately save under a new name
since the capture file will be immediately overwritten during the next
capture. So 1G gives me a good safety margin. I have made up to 30 or
so such captures per session, especially when viewing the Moon. That's
about 6G of HD space, total. The next day I transfer it all to a DVD.

Bye,         Monti.

Hi,
     We enjoyed the first clear skies in ten days, yesterday, so out
came the telescope (Celestron 200mm SC, CPC GPS). While I was setting
it up, I saw ISS cross the sky from west to est, as bright as Venus.
Sky quality was not particularly good, but I nevertheless managed to
get several avi's of Saturn, for the first time at a 1000X
magnification, approximately. The NexImage camera plus the 2X barlow.
App speed at 1/5 sec, and transfer at 5 frames per second for 30
seconds. I processed one today, and obtained a fairly nice image of the
planet, though a bit fuzzy and nothing comparable to Brian's picture.
Midway in the session, though, the camera just went black. Sliding Gain
all the way to the right produced no effect whatsoever. Even with the
scope pointed toward a light, the image stayed black. Closing and
restarting AMCAP had no rffect. I've noticed the image go black before,
after avi captures and saving the files, but resetting parameters in
the Video Filter would bring it back. But not last night. Any ideas on
this?

Bye,         Monti.

I posted a message 18 hours ago but it hasn't shown up yet. This is a
test post only!

Brian

Monti,

My re-posting….

Try this download for diagnostics on the cam it may point out the
problem area: http://www.softlookup.com/download.asp?id=98617

Also, there is a newer version of Amcap available, you may want to
get it.

It may be possible that your 60' extensions are causing the problem.
Just connect it to the computer without the extensions for testing?

For imaging I use 23fps and set the Gamma and Gain about 50%, adding
to these if I need to lighten the image. I rarely take the Brightness
slider off 50%. On Saturn I shoot for 60 seconds or so. Jupiter a bit
less because of it rotation rate.

My systems max frame rate is 23fps on planets, if I go to 24fps it is
too grainy and the change is drastic. I suggest you test (indoors is
ok)and see what the max frame rate your system can take. Then use it
and adjust the Gamma and Gain only. If it looks a bit dim or bright
don't worry it will look better after stacking and processing. Make
loads of movies with different settings and see what works!

Best regards,

Brian Davis
Manila

--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, "imontam" <monti@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>     We enjoyed the first clear skies in ten days, yesterday, so out
> came the telescope (Celestron 200mm SC, CPC GPS). While I was
setting
> it up, I saw ISS cross the sky from west to est, as bright as
Venus.
> Sky quality was not particularly good, but I nevertheless managed
to
> get several avi's of Saturn, for the first time at a 1000X
> magnification, approximately. The NexImage camera plus the 2X
barlow.
> App speed at 1/5 sec, and transfer at 5 frames per second for 30
> seconds. I processed one today, and obtained a fairly nice image of
the
> planet, though a bit fuzzy and nothing comparable to Brian's
picture.
> Midway in the session, though, the camera just went black. Sliding
Gain
> all the way to the right produced no effect whatsoever. Even with
the
> scope pointed toward a light, the image stayed black. Closing and
> restarting AMCAP had no rffect. I've noticed the image go black
before,
> after avi captures and saving the files, but resetting parameters
in
> the Video Filter would bring it back. But not last night. Any ideas
on
> this?
>
> Bye,         Monti.
>

Hey, This is a perfect time to ask my question:

I can get Saturn in the Neximage screen when I do not use a barlow
(centered and all). Then when I insert the Barlow (with the image
still centered) I cannot find Saturn ever.  How do you all use the
barlow with the Neximage?  I always thought is was as simple as
centering the image with out the barlow, then insert and WOW, there
it is.

Thoughts?

Thanks, Grady


--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, "Brian" <bnd1430@...> wrote:
>
> Monti,
>
> My re-posting….
>
> Try this download for diagnostics on the cam it may point out the
> problem area: http://www.softlookup.com/download.asp?id=98617
>
> Also, there is a newer version of Amcap available, you may want to
> get it.
>
> It may be possible that your 60' extensions are causing the
problem.
> Just connect it to the computer without the extensions for
testing?
>
> For imaging I use 23fps and set the Gamma and Gain about 50%,
adding
> to these if I need to lighten the image. I rarely take the
Brightness
> slider off 50%. On Saturn I shoot for 60 seconds or so. Jupiter a
bit
> less because of it rotation rate.
>
> My systems max frame rate is 23fps on planets, if I go to 24fps it
is
> too grainy and the change is drastic. I suggest you test (indoors
is
> ok)and see what the max frame rate your system can take. Then use
it
> and adjust the Gamma and Gain only. If it looks a bit dim or
bright
> don't worry it will look better after stacking and processing.
Make
> loads of movies with different settings and see what works!
>
> Best regards,
>
> Brian Davis
> Manila
>
> --- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, "imontam" <monti@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >     We enjoyed the first clear skies in ten days, yesterday, so
out
> > came the telescope (Celestron 200mm SC, CPC GPS). While I was
> setting
> > it up, I saw ISS cross the sky from west to est, as bright as
> Venus.
> > Sky quality was not particularly good, but I nevertheless
managed
> to
> > get several avi's of Saturn, for the first time at a 1000X
> > magnification, approximately. The NexImage camera plus the 2X
> barlow.
> > App speed at 1/5 sec, and transfer at 5 frames per second for 30
> > seconds. I processed one today, and obtained a fairly nice image
of
> the
> > planet, though a bit fuzzy and nothing comparable to Brian's
> picture.
> > Midway in the session, though, the camera just went black.
Sliding
> Gain
> > all the way to the right produced no effect whatsoever. Even
with
> the
> > scope pointed toward a light, the image stayed black. Closing
and
> > restarting AMCAP had no rffect. I've noticed the image go black
> before,
> > after avi captures and saving the files, but resetting
parameters
> in
> > the Video Filter would bring it back. But not last night. Any
ideas
> on
> > this?
> >
> > Bye,         Monti.
> >
>

Thank you all for the advice. At least I have some kind of starting
point now. I am finding the capture software a little frustrating, but
that may be due to my inexperience.

I am very pleased to find a site like this and look forward to
browsing your gallery. My telescope is ony a 4 1/2" newtonian which
will probably limit what I can achieve, but I will give it a good go
all the same.

Cheers all
C.

Hi Grady,
     The problem arises because the field of view is much smaller when
you add on a Barlow. Saturn mays have been in the center of your FOV as
seen through the NexImage. If it is slightly off center, though, it may
fall completely outside the FOV when you switch to the Barlow. It wont
be far, but that doesn't help much. If it's outside the FOV, you wont
see it. Just moving the camera-barlow combination a bit might get it
back in the FOV. In my case, it falls in the field about half the time,
as I move up in magnification from reducer, to bare camera, to barlow.
Even when it is in the FOV after an upward switch, it will rarely be
right in the center. When it's not in the FOV at all, I have a problem.
I take a step down to a lower magnification and start over. You can
also pan the telescope a bit, using the hand control or in my case the
NexRemote virtual hand control, to try and find the object (at a very
slow rate, 3 or 4). That's tricky, sometimes you find it, sometimes you
dont. The other night I went through all three magnifications in 15
minutes (remote system)with Saturn staying in the FOV. Another time, I
spent an hour trying to finish the final step, unsuccessfully.

Bye,           Monti.

----- Original Message -----

From: imontam

To: neximage@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 11:59 AM

Subject: [neximage] Re: Saturn shots.

Hi Grady,
The problem arises because the field of view is much smaller when
you add on a Barlow. Saturn mays have been in the center of your FOV as
seen through the NexImage. If it is slightly off center, though, it may
fall completely outside the FOV when you switch to the Barlow. It wont
be far, but that doesn't help much. If it's outside the FOV, you wont
see it. Just moving the camera-barlow combination a bit might get it
back in the FOV. In my case, it falls in the field about half the time,
as I move up in magnification from reducer, to bare camera, to barlow.
Even when it is in the FOV after an upward switch, it will rarely be
right in the center. When it's not in the FOV at all, I have a problem.
I take a step down to a lower magnification and start over. You can
also pan the telescope a bit, using the hand control or in my case the
NexRemote virtual hand control, to try and find the object (at a very
slow rate, 3 or 4). That's tricky, sometimes you find it, sometimes you
dont. The other night I went through all three magnifications in 15
minutes (remote system)with Saturn staying in the FOV. Another time, I
spent an hour trying to finish the final step, unsuccessfully.

Bye, Monti.

Thanks everyone. Weather permitting,I'll be back out tonight trying
these techniques.

Thanks again, Grady


--- In neximage@yahoogroups.com, kkmonte@... wrote:
>
> Yea I was going to suggest the same thing, I always crank the
> brightness/gain all the way up, and usually i will see a faint
fuzzy thing, and  when i turn
> the focus knob carefully it gets bigger and brighter, then once
you  get
> pretty good focus, you can readjust the gain/brightness.  Good
idea  Jim. =)
>
>
>
>
> ************************************** See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.
>

Hi,
      A bit off topic now, but with regards to my NexImage camera that
went hopelessly black the other night in the middle of an imaging
session, well I finally got around to testing it today. I plugged it
directly into one of my computer's USB ports, and it worked fine. I
then plugged back into where it usually is, that is at the end of the
60 feet of USB extension and again it worked perfectly. A passing
glitch, mostlikely.

Bye,  Monti.

Jim Lafferty

jrlafferty@...
shogun000@...