Thanks. Those images look very very good.

As I look at the images without the reducer they have perfect stars to the
corner of the chip with the KAI-2020 chip and are awfully good even to the
corner of the KAI 11002 chip! Any elongation I may see at the extreme corners of
the 11002 chip is questionable.

I am probably a doofus but I can't find the link to the coma cluster images nor
FITS.

One more question:

It is essentially true that the tube of the C11 Edge HD is the same as the older
C11? For example will my old Losmandy Dovetails and risers and my old Astrozap
aluminum dew shield fit?

Drew Sullivan



--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "majikthyze" <andre@...> wrote:
>
> I posted here a while back with images that I took as a beta tester for
> the Edge HD -- not sure if that is "end user" enough or not.  I have
> them up on my Flickr site at the following links:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/26671216@N02/sets/72157618612316465/detail/
> and
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/26671216@N02/sets/72157618792310067/detail/
> To see full resolution you have to click on the "All Sizes" button at
> the top.
>
> There are a couple of images where I link to original FIT files in the
> comments (Coma Cluster for instance).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Andre
>
>
>
>
> --- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "ancient.sull" <ancient.sull@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Are there any end-user images taken with the Celestron EdgeHD out
> there yet (as opposed to images on the Celestron website)? Does anyone
> have FITS of images taken with these and/or CCDInspector data on those
> images?
> >
> > What sort of FWHM and aspect ratio are people getting with various
> size chips?
> >
> > Drew Sullivan
> >
>

I posted here a while back with images that I took as a beta tester for
the Edge HD -- not sure if that is "end user" enough or not.  I have
them up on my Flickr site at the following links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26671216@N02/sets/72157618612316465/detail/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26671216@N02/sets/72157618792310067/detail/
To see full resolution you have to click on the "All Sizes" button at
the top.

There are a couple of images where I link to original FIT files in the
comments (Coma Cluster for instance).

Cheers,

Andre




--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "ancient.sull" <ancient.sull@...>
wrote:
>
> Are there any end-user images taken with the Celestron EdgeHD out
there yet (as opposed to images on the Celestron website)? Does anyone
have FITS of images taken with these and/or CCDInspector data on those
images?
>
> What sort of FWHM and aspect ratio are people getting with various
size chips?
>
> Drew Sullivan
>

Are there any end-user images taken with the Celestron EdgeHD out there yet (as
opposed to images on the Celestron website)? Does anyone have FITS of images
taken with these and/or CCDInspector data on those images?

What sort of FWHM and aspect ratio are people getting with various size chips?

Drew Sullivan

----- Original Message ----

> From: Robert Piekiel <piekielrl@...>
>
> Regarding setup of the Meade 16, Lifting the OTA onto the forks is not a
> problem. I either use a helper or roll it up a set of lightweight aluminum
> ramps.
> What I want to know is if you remove a Meade OTA from the Dec saddles, then
> re-mount it, does it really affect the go-to accuracy?

If you mean detaching the dec saddle plates from the tube to remove the dec
hubs, then yes, this will affect pointing since it can change the angle between
the optical axis and the dec axis.

On the 16", the entire fork is made as one part, but the dec hubs are separate,
and attach to flat plates at the top on the fork arms.  If the 16" LX200R at our
local public obs is any indication, Meade did a good job on this, with the
plates at exactly the same height (and the dec hubs made the same), since on our
scope I haven't been able to detect any perpendicularity error between the RA
and dec axis.

But if you remove the dec hubs from the tube, then when replacing, you have to
make sure they're adjusted so the optical axis is perpendicular to the dec axis,
using the slot adjustment Roger mentioned.  This part is actually rather easy
(the fork height adjustment on the smaller models, to make the dec axis perp to
the RA axis, is normally the hard part of orthogonality).  Testing is easy:  you
use the same "rotate in RA while at 90 dec" test that's used at the start of
Meade's 1-star polar alignment.  Normally you just use this to make sure you're
starting the polar alignment method exactly at 90 dec, but this test can also
detect if the optical axis is not perp to the dec axis.  Accuracy will also
depend on the fork heights being the same (RA/dec perp), but as I said, that
seems to be practically perfect on our scope. Full details (including the fork
height RA/dec perp part) are at
<http://home.comcast.net/~jmmahony1/LX10/forkalign.html>
I wrote that page years ago when using an LX10, but the basic concepts apply to
any fork mounted scope.

-John


> --- On Thu, 11/12/09, R Hamlett wrote:
>
> > From: R Hamlett


> > > Robert Piekiel wrote:
> > >
> > >> I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from
> > their go-to fork mounts. Has anyone ever replaced them on
> > the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them in an out? How did
> > this affect the go-to accuracy?
> > >
> > > I've taken the 16" OTA off the forks at the
> > observatory a couple of times
> > > now.  While a re-alignment was needed afterwards,
> > the beast needs to be
> > > realigned every few sessions anyway and it doesn't
> > take long.
> > >
> > >> (still looking to find an easier way to set up my
> > 16" LX200)
> > >
> > > Good gravy...  I can't imagine disassembling the
> > beast on a regular basis.
> > If I remember correctly, the 16", is different from the
> > smaller models, in
> > that it retains the orthogonality when removed.
> > On the smaller scopes, the attachment of the mounts to the
> > OTA, are done
> > via slotted holes, and when fitting back into the OTA, you
> > need to
> > adjust the position in these slots, till the tube is
> > orthogonal to the
> > mount. Actually quite hard to get right.
> > However at the ends of the plate, there are small threaded
> > holes
> > designed to take adjustment screws to make this easier.
> > What you can do,
> > is fit longer screws with lock nuts into these holes, just
> > tightening
> > them till they touch the main bolts. Then lock the nust
> > down. You can
> > then refit the scope to the plates, and get it very close
> > to 'right', by
> > just ensuring the main bolts are pressing on these
> > adjusting bolts.
> >
> > Best Wishes

----- Original Message ----

> From: R Hamlett <ttelmah@...>
>
> > On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:15:45 -0800 (PST)
> > Robert Piekiel wrote:
> >
> >> I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from their go-to fork mounts.
Has
> anyone ever replaced them on the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them in an
> out? How did this affect the go-to accuracy?
> >
> > I've taken the 16" OTA off the forks at the observatory a couple of times
> > now.  While a re-alignment was needed afterwards, the beast needs to be
> > realigned every few sessions anyway and it doesn't take long.
> >
> >> (still looking to find an easier way to set up my 16" LX200)
>
>
> Good gravy...  I can't imagine disassembling the beast on a regular basis.
> If I remember correctly, the 16", is different from the smaller models, in
> that it retains the orthogonality when removed.

Right, if you only take it apart into the same parts that it's shipped as.

> On the smaller scopes, the attachment of the mounts to the OTA, are done
> via slotted holes, and when fitting back into the OTA, you need to
> adjust the position in these slots, till the tube is orthogonal to the
> mount. Actually quite hard to get right.

That affects the angle between the optical axis and the dec axis.  But on top of
that you also have to loosen a fork arm from the drive base to get the tube out,
and when reassembling that, getting the fork arm replaced so the dec hubs are
the same height affects the angle between the RA and dec axes.

-John

> However at the ends of the plate, there are small threaded holes
> designed to take adjustment screws to make this easier. What you can do,
> is fit longer screws with lock nuts into these holes, just tightening
> them till they touch the main bolts. Then lock the nust down. You can
> then refit the scope to the plates, and get it very close to 'right', by
> just ensuring the main bolts are pressing on these adjusting bolts.
>
> Best Wishes

Hi Kurt,

The image starts out as pure luminance – black and white. My SXV-H9 is a
monochrome camera.

I've tried to colorize my H-a images with Maxim DL 2.88 and Astroart 3.0. I find
Maxim DL impossibly complicated; AA 3.0 does a fair job when you select the
"flame" pallet.

By far the best and easiest is Noel Carboni's Actions for PhotoShop.
http://actions.home.att.net/Astronomy_Tools.html

You load them into PS, choose Astronomical Actions, then choose "B&W > Ha False
Color" and select the run button. In about 5 seconds (depending of processor
speed and file size) you will have a beautiful H-a false color. Nothing could be
faster or easier.

Clear skies,

Dennis

--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "kurt_friedrich" <kurt_friedrich@...> wrote:
>
> thanks for this post.  can you say just a bit more about the false color?  I
assume you do more than just feed this channel into an RGB composite and leave
the G and B channels blank?
> Kurt

thanks for this post.  can you say just a bit more about the false color?  I
assume you do more than just feed this channel into an RGB composite and leave
the G and B channels blank?
Kurt

--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "dennis_persyk" <dpersyk@...> wrote:
>
> Our skies are filled with nebulae. The nebulae of interest in this tutorial
are huge regions of gas – gas clouds. The nebulae I'll discuss here are called
emission nebulae. We image emission nebulae by means of the light from the
surrounding  gas cloud which is ionized by radiation from one or more nearby
stars.
>
> The most common emission nebulae are of the hydrogen emission type. They emit
a very narrow band of red light, and with the appropriate filter (Hydrogen
alpha, or H-a), the camera sees essentially only the nebula light, and moon
light and terrestrial light pollution is nearly completely eliminated.
>
> Imaging with H-a levels the imaging playing field. No matter where you are
imaging from, with an H-a filter you have the equivalent of magnitude 8 super
dark skies! Honest!
>
> Pros of H-a Imaging
> • Eliminates light pollution
> • Background is now inky black – backgrounds have a  zero or nearly zero black
point
> • Stars are much dimmer, minimizing star bloat, chromatic aberration and "fat"
stars.
>
> Cons of   H-a Imaging
> • Very little signal is passed by the filter, so imaging times have to be
fairly long – five minute subs are possible if your camera has very low readout
noise
> • Autoguiding is probably required
> • DLSRs without mods don't have much sensitivity to the H-a light
>
> Here's an example of 2 hours and 15 minutes in nine 15-minute subframes
> http://home.att.net/~dpersyk/new.htm
>
> The target is NGC 281, a/k/a the "Pac Man" nebula and Sharpless 2-184. I used
a Takahashi astrograph, f/3.3 and Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 camera. The filter was
a 6 nm FWHM H-a. Most processing was done with ImagesPlus.  The false color was
added in Photoshop with Noel Carboni's actions. The Hubble employes false color,
so I don't feel like I cheated.
>
> I recommend H-a imaging to everyone who is plagued by sky pollution. No longer
will you have to journey to a dark site to get good images.
>
> Clear skies,
>
> Dennis Persyk
> Igloo (Now Roll-Off) Observatory Home Page http://dpersyk.home.att.net
> Hampshire, IL
>

Regarding setup of the Meade 16, Lifting the OTA onto the forks is not a
problem. I either use a helper or roll it up a set of lightweight aluminum
ramps.
What I want to know is if you remove a Meade OTA from the Dec saddles, then
re-mount it, does it really affect the go-to accuracy?
Bob Piekiel

--- On Thu, 11/12/09, R Hamlett <ttelmah@...> wrote:

> From: R Hamlett <ttelmah@...>
> Subject: [sct-user] Re: Removal & re-mounting Meade OTAs from forks
> To: sct-user@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 11:10 AM
> > On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:15:45
> -0800 (PST)
> > Robert Piekiel <piekielrl@...>
> wrote:
> >
> >> I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from
> their go-to fork mounts. Has anyone ever replaced them on
> the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them in an out? How did
> this affect the go-to accuracy?
> >
> > I've taken the 16" OTA off the forks at the
> observatory a couple of times
> > now.  While a re-alignment was needed afterwards,
> the beast needs to be
> > realigned every few sessions anyway and it doesn't
> take long.
> >
> >> (still looking to find an easier way to set up my
> 16" LX200)
> >
> > Good gravy...  I can't imagine disassembling the
> beast on a regular basis.
> If I remember correctly, the 16", is different from the
> smaller models, in
> that it retains the orthogonality when removed.
> On the smaller scopes, the attachment of the mounts to the
> OTA, are done
> via slotted holes, and when fitting back into the OTA, you
> need to
> adjust the position in these slots, till the tube is
> orthogonal to the
> mount. Actually quite hard to get right.
> However at the ends of the plate, there are small threaded
> holes
> designed to take adjustment screws to make this easier.
> What you can do,
> is fit longer screws with lock nuts into these holes, just
> tightening
> them till they touch the main bolts. Then lock the nust
> down. You can
> then refit the scope to the plates, and get it very close
> to 'right', by
> just ensuring the main bolts are pressing on these
> adjusting bolts.
>
> Best Wishes
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit the sct-user home page at:
>
>
>
> http://skywatch.brainiac.com/SCThpYahoo!
> Groups Links
>
>
>     sct-user-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

> On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:15:45 -0800 (PST)
> Robert Piekiel <piekielrl@...> wrote:
>
>> I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from their go-to fork mounts. Has
anyone ever replaced them on the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them in an
out? How did this affect the go-to accuracy?
>
> I've taken the 16" OTA off the forks at the observatory a couple of times
> now.  While a re-alignment was needed afterwards, the beast needs to be
> realigned every few sessions anyway and it doesn't take long.
>
>> (still looking to find an easier way to set up my 16" LX200)
>
> Good gravy...  I can't imagine disassembling the beast on a regular basis.
If I remember correctly, the 16", is different from the smaller models, in
that it retains the orthogonality when removed.
On the smaller scopes, the attachment of the mounts to the OTA, are done
via slotted holes, and when fitting back into the OTA, you need to
adjust the position in these slots, till the tube is orthogonal to the
mount. Actually quite hard to get right.
However at the ends of the plate, there are small threaded holes
designed to take adjustment screws to make this easier. What you can do,
is fit longer screws with lock nuts into these holes, just tightening
them till they touch the main bolts. Then lock the nust down. You can
then refit the scope to the plates, and get it very close to 'right', by
just ensuring the main bolts are pressing on these adjusting bolts.

Best Wishes

Sorry, I sent the wrong commentary.  I was sleepy when I did the cut and paste.

*****
Condition was again excellent this evening.

Lots of things going on in Jupiter.  The STB has a series of dot like
features littered on it's northern edge.

The SEB is still fading.  Note the TWO SEDs that can be see in these
images.  One is at around CM2: 20 and the other is at around CM2: 90.

The EZ is very bright in Methane Band.  It is also interesting to
note that the SPR is bright in Methane while the NPR is dark.

The NEB continues to be dark and busy. There is an interesting dark
band on the northern edge of the NTB.  Note the dark red barge at the NNTB.


More info at:

http://jupiter.cstoneind.com

Regards,

Chris


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Condition was excellent this evening.

Oval BA's annulus ring is well resolved.  It is very faint now but
you can still see the orange ring.  It is interesting to note the the
southern temperate region has gone pale.  You can really see the
contrast between both hemispheres.

The SEB is very pale.  So the fading continues with not start of the revival.

The NEB is still very busy with a lot of rifts resolved.  Note the
dark ovals lining up on the NEBn.   A hint of the  NNTZ LRS's annular
ring can be seen in these images.

More info at:

http://jupiter.cstoneind.com

Regards,

Chris


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Our skies are filled with nebulae. The nebulae of interest in this tutorial are
huge regions of gas – gas clouds. The nebulae I'll discuss here are called
emission nebulae. We image emission nebulae by means of the light from the
surrounding  gas cloud which is ionized by radiation from one or more nearby
stars.

The most common emission nebulae are of the hydrogen emission type. They emit a
very narrow band of red light, and with the appropriate filter (Hydrogen alpha,
or H-a), the camera sees essentially only the nebula light, and moon light and
terrestrial light pollution is nearly completely eliminated.

Imaging with H-a levels the imaging playing field. No matter where you are
imaging from, with an H-a filter you have the equivalent of magnitude 8 super
dark skies! Honest!

Pros of H-a Imaging
• Eliminates light pollution
• Background is now inky black – backgrounds have a  zero or nearly zero black
point
• Stars are much dimmer, minimizing star bloat, chromatic aberration and "fat"
stars.

Cons of   H-a Imaging
• Very little signal is passed by the filter, so imaging times have to be fairly
long – five minute subs are possible if your camera has very low readout noise
• Autoguiding is probably required
• DLSRs without mods don't have much sensitivity to the H-a light

Here's an example of 2 hours and 15 minutes in nine 15-minute subframes
http://home.att.net/~dpersyk/new.htm

The target is NGC 281, a/k/a the "Pac Man" nebula and Sharpless 2-184. I used a
Takahashi astrograph, f/3.3 and Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 camera. The filter was a
6 nm FWHM H-a. Most processing was done with ImagesPlus.  The false color was
added in Photoshop with Noel Carboni's actions. The Hubble employes false color,
so I don't feel like I cheated.

I recommend H-a imaging to everyone who is plagued by sky pollution. No longer
will you have to journey to a dark site to get good images.

Clear skies,

Dennis Persyk
Igloo (Now Roll-Off) Observatory Home Page http://dpersyk.home.att.net
Hampshire, IL

Hello Bob:  Ted Agos presented me with the option of adapting a cradle-mount
for my spare 10" LX200 mount.  This allows me to use various OTA's with the
same mount.  Maybe you could adapt this to your 16" OTA.  Just a thought.
Bob R.  www.pvao.us

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Piekiel" <piekielrl@...>
To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 7:15 AM
Subject: [sct-user] Removal & re-mounting Meade OTAs from forks


> I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from their go-to fork mounts.
Has anyone ever replaced them on the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them
in an out? How did this affect the go-to accuracy?
>
> Thanks, Bob Piekiel
> (still looking to find an easier way to set up my 16" LX200)
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit the sct-user home page at:
>
>
>
> http://skywatch.brainiac.com/SCThpYahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:15:45 -0800 (PST)
Robert Piekiel <piekielrl@...> wrote:

> I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from their go-to fork mounts. Has
anyone ever replaced them on the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them in an
out? How did this affect the go-to accuracy?

I've taken the 16" OTA off the forks at the observatory a couple of times
now.  While a re-alignment was needed afterwards, the beast needs to be
realigned every few sessions anyway and it doesn't take long.

> (still looking to find an easier way to set up my 16" LX200)

Good gravy...  I can't imagine disassembling the beast on a regular basis.

--
======================================================================
        Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh@...
  Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa

I know some of you have removed Meade OTAs from their go-to fork mounts. Has
anyone ever replaced them on the fork mounts, or repeatedly taken them in an
out? How did this affect the go-to accuracy?

Thanks, Bob Piekiel
(still looking to find an easier way to set up my 16" LX200)

Condition was excellent this evening.

Oval BA's annulus ring is well resolved.  It is very faint now but
you can still see the orange ring.  It is interesting to note the the
southern temperate region has gone pale.  You can really see the
contrast between both hemispheres.

The SEB is very pale.  So the fading continues with not start of the revival.

The NEB is still very busy with a lot of rifts resolved.  Note the
dark ovals lining up on the NEBn.   A hint of the  NNTZ LRS's annular
ring can be seen in these images.



More info at:

http://jupiter.cstoneind.com

Regards,

Chris


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is common, usually just a result of mirror flop.  Usually it's not a big
change so it can be ignored for deep-sky observing, but if you're viewing
planets at high power on a night of good seeing, it's a good idea to check your
collimation on a star near the planet.

Jupiter's moons actually make good targets to test/adjust your collimation.  The
details are slightly different from star collimation, since the moons are large
enough that you won't see diffraction rings, but just look for the slightly out
of focus moon to stay concentric as you go to focus.  If you get a "ghost"
blurring the image to one side, always in the same direction, as you focus, the
collimation is probably off (thermal effects can give a similar result, but
there the blurring will be in the "up" or "down" direction, since warm air
rises).

-John




----- Original Message ----
> From: scopebloke48 <stonebloke@...>
>
> I have an astro buddy that owns a C-11 OTA (black tube on a German mount). He
> claims that he can collimate the OTA on a star, then flip over to another part
> of the sky and it slightly goes out of collimation. Is that possible? Anyone
> have a clue what might make this unit shift like that?
> Thanks...

Something is loose. Either the primary, as Don said, or the secondary adjustment
screws, or the secondary holder in the corrector.
Bob Piekiel

--- On Tue, 11/10/09, Don D'Egidio <djd521@...> wrote:

> From: Don D'Egidio <djd521@...>
> Subject: Re: [sct-user] SCT collimation problem?
> To: sct-user@yahooGroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 9:32 AM
> I had a similar problem with my 1995
> black tube C11 where the cork spacers at the top and bottom
> of
> the primary shrunk and allowed the primary to break free
> from the RTV cement used to secure the
> primary to the slider. It started out as a slight
> miscollimation as the scope was moved to various
> position around the sky and eventually became severe and I
> sent it back to Celestron for repair.
> That was in 1999 and the scope has been fine since.
>
> Don
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "scopebloke48" <stonebloke@...>
> To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 8:02 AM
> Subject: [sct-user] SCT collimation problem?
>
>
> >I have an astro buddy that owns a C-11 OTA (black tube
> on a German mount). He claims that he can
> >collimate the OTA on a star, then flip over to another
> part of the sky and it slightly goes out of
> >collimation. Is that possible? Anyone have a clue what
> might make this unit shift like that?
> > Thanks...
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Visit the sct-user home page at:
> >
> >
> >
> > http://skywatch.brainiac.com/SCThpYahoo!
> Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit the sct-user home page at:
>
>
>
> http://skywatch.brainiac.com/SCThpYahoo!
> Groups Links
>
>
>     sct-user-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>

I had a similar problem with my 1995 black tube C11 where the cork spacers at
the top and bottom of
the primary shrunk and allowed the primary to break free from the RTV cement
used to secure the
primary to the slider. It started out as a slight miscollimation as the scope
was moved to various
position around the sky and eventually became severe and I sent it back to
Celestron for repair.
That was in 1999 and the scope has been fine since.

Don

----- Original Message -----
From: "scopebloke48" <stonebloke@...>
To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 8:02 AM
Subject: [sct-user] SCT collimation problem?


>I have an astro buddy that owns a C-11 OTA (black tube on a German mount). He
claims that he can
>collimate the OTA on a star, then flip over to another part of the sky and it
slightly goes out of
>collimation. Is that possible? Anyone have a clue what might make this unit
shift like that?
> Thanks...
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit the sct-user home page at:
>
>
>
> http://skywatch.brainiac.com/SCThpYahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

scopebloke48 wrote:
> I have an astro buddy that owns a C-11 OTA (black tube on a German mount). He
claims that he can collimate the OTA on a star, then flip over to another part
of the sky and it slightly goes out of collimation. Is that possible? Anyone
have a clue what might make this unit shift like that?
It is easily possible.  The primary mirror's shifting on its support
probably is the cause.

Bud

It was mostly cloudy today.   I almost gave up on this evening but
there was some clearing at around 8pm which is 2 hours after I
normally image.  I went ahead and set up my system and was stunned to
see that seeing was excellent.  Sadly transparency was poor.

Here is an excellent vuew of the GRS.  The GRS is clearly detached
from the SEB.  The SEB has really become very pale.

The NEB is very busy.  Note that the dark red oval on the NEB on the
left side seem to be compressed by the outbreak.  Note also another
dark red oval right next to the NEBn  white oval on the center
right!  Will they merge?

More info at:

http://jupiter.cstoneind.com

Regards,

Chris


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have an astro buddy that owns a C-11 OTA (black tube on a German mount). He
claims that he can collimate the OTA on a star, then flip over to another part
of the sky and it slightly goes out of collimation. Is that possible? Anyone
have a clue what might make this unit shift like that?
Thanks...

To fill in the details- the scope won't go "over the top" past 90 degrees
dec/alt (or wherever the computer thinks that is, so as Chris said it depends on
whether the scope is correctly aligned).  And on the 12", there's also a
software stop at -45 dec/alt (depending again on correct alignment), to keep the
tube from hitting the base.  So the total range is 135 degrees.

If you're testing during the daytime and have no way to align, just start the
scope at 0 dec/alt, since that's where the computer expects to be at power-up.

-John




----- Original Message ----
> From: Chris Peterson <cpeterson@...>
> ...
> There is no specific limit on the amount you can move the declination, but
> the computer thinks it knows where the fork is, and will stop when it is
> going to hit. If you haven't initialized the scope properly, this can result
> in the motor stopping at unexpected positions, and may explain the behavior
> you are seeing.
>

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "chad_wagoner"
>
> > Does anyone know, is the Dec gear supposed to be limited to 100deg of
> > travel by the drive?

The grease should be on the entire worm, and the edge of the worm gear. It
doesn't need to be all over everything, even though that's kind of how Meade
seems to ship things. I used a synthetic grease called Super Lube, which you
can find in hardware stores. Besides being a better grease in general, it
also keeps a much more constant viscosity over a wide temperature range, so
the scope won't seize up when the temperature gets cold.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "chad_wagoner" <cwagoner1865@...>
To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 9:54 AM
Subject: [sct-user] Re: Lx200 Classic question


> Where should the grease be on the Dec drive?  I assume on the worm gear
> and spoked gear (?sproket).  It seems there is a lot of grease all over
> the main gear.  Is there a good supplier of quality lubricant out there?

Where should the grease be on the Dec drive?  I assume on the worm gear and
spoked gear (?sproket).  It seems there is a lot of grease all over the main
gear.  Is there a good supplier of quality lubricant out there?

-chad

--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Peterson" <cpeterson@...> wrote:
>
> The condition you found the dec drive in is, sadly, common. I found it
> necessary with my LX200 to disassemble both axes, clean out the old grease
> (which was full of metal shavings), re-tension the worm assemblies, and
> apply good quality grease. This made a huge difference in tracking
> performance.
>
> There is no specific limit on the amount you can move the declination, but
> the computer thinks it knows where the fork is, and will stop when it is
> going to hit. If you haven't initialized the scope properly, this can result
> in the motor stopping at unexpected positions, and may explain the behavior
> you are seeing.
>
> Chris
>
> *****************************************
> Chris L Peterson
> Cloudbait Observatory
> http://www.cloudbait.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "chad_wagoner" <cwagoner1865@...>
> To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 8:40 AM
> Subject: [sct-user] Lx200 Classic question
>
>
> > Does anyone know, is the Dec gear supposed to be limited to 100deg of
> > travel by the drive?  I ran into an issue during a training session with
> > Maxpoint and the dec drive stuttered.  Since that time, Dec movement North
> > (up) was very sloppy and sometimes resulted in a South (down) move.  I
> > took down the cover of the Dec drive and found crumbles of what looked
> > like green circuit board material and found metallic shavings in the
> > grease on the worm gear.  I inspected all of the teeth on both gears and
> > they seem fine.  While I had it open, I ran the drive to an end point in
> > North and South and found it only to travel approx 100 deg.  Is it
> > supposed to do it this way?  It seems to work ok now, but clouded out
> > until later this week.  I appreciate your input.
>

Where should the grease be on the Dec drive?  I assume on the worm gear and
spoked gear (?sproket).  It seems there is a lot of grease all over the main
gear.  Is there a good supplier of quality lubricant out there?

-chad

--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Peterson" <cpeterson@...> wrote:
>
> The condition you found the dec drive in is, sadly, common. I found it
> necessary with my LX200 to disassemble both axes, clean out the old grease
> (which was full of metal shavings), re-tension the worm assemblies, and
> apply good quality grease. This made a huge difference in tracking
> performance.
>
> There is no specific limit on the amount you can move the declination, but
> the computer thinks it knows where the fork is, and will stop when it is
> going to hit. If you haven't initialized the scope properly, this can result
> in the motor stopping at unexpected positions, and may explain the behavior
> you are seeing.
>
> Chris
>
> *****************************************
> Chris L Peterson
> Cloudbait Observatory
> http://www.cloudbait.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "chad_wagoner" <cwagoner1865@...>
> To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 8:40 AM
> Subject: [sct-user] Lx200 Classic question
>
>
> > Does anyone know, is the Dec gear supposed to be limited to 100deg of
> > travel by the drive?  I ran into an issue during a training session with
> > Maxpoint and the dec drive stuttered.  Since that time, Dec movement North
> > (up) was very sloppy and sometimes resulted in a South (down) move.  I
> > took down the cover of the Dec drive and found crumbles of what looked
> > like green circuit board material and found metallic shavings in the
> > grease on the worm gear.  I inspected all of the teeth on both gears and
> > they seem fine.  While I had it open, I ran the drive to an end point in
> > North and South and found it only to travel approx 100 deg.  Is it
> > supposed to do it this way?  It seems to work ok now, but clouded out
> > until later this week.  I appreciate your input.
>

Even the C14 Hyperstar has geometric distortion that would show up very easily
were you to shoot architectural stuff. For astro the main nuisance is that if
some of your frames had the main subject at center and then on another night you
mistakenly put the subject to one side, the two sets would not align with a
simple two-star translate/rotate/scale. You need multi-point alignment, like in
Registar.

--- In sct-user@yahoogroups.com, "Noel Carboni" <NCarboni@...> wrote:
>
> >So, large pixels? The 1.4x extender looks well worthy of a trial. Sub
5-micron pixels? Not.
>
> Makes sense.  Thanks for the detail.
>
> Did you evaluate whether the Telextender curves the field any?
>
> The Hyperstar 3 on a C11 curves the corners of an SXVF-M25C image a bit at the
corners, though the stars remain pretty round.  I've written an action to fix
that curvature on images my collaborator Greg Parker and I make.
>
> -Noel
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

The condition you found the dec drive in is, sadly, common. I found it
necessary with my LX200 to disassemble both axes, clean out the old grease
(which was full of metal shavings), re-tension the worm assemblies, and
apply good quality grease. This made a huge difference in tracking
performance.

There is no specific limit on the amount you can move the declination, but
the computer thinks it knows where the fork is, and will stop when it is
going to hit. If you haven't initialized the scope properly, this can result
in the motor stopping at unexpected positions, and may explain the behavior
you are seeing.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "chad_wagoner" <cwagoner1865@...>
To: <sct-user@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 8:40 AM
Subject: [sct-user] Lx200 Classic question


> Does anyone know, is the Dec gear supposed to be limited to 100deg of
> travel by the drive?  I ran into an issue during a training session with
> Maxpoint and the dec drive stuttered.  Since that time, Dec movement North
> (up) was very sloppy and sometimes resulted in a South (down) move.  I
> took down the cover of the Dec drive and found crumbles of what looked
> like green circuit board material and found metallic shavings in the
> grease on the worm gear.  I inspected all of the teeth on both gears and
> they seem fine.  While I had it open, I ran the drive to an end point in
> North and South and found it only to travel approx 100 deg.  Is it
> supposed to do it this way?  It seems to work ok now, but clouded out
> until later this week.  I appreciate your input.

Does anyone know, is the Dec gear supposed to be limited to 100deg of travel by
the drive?  I ran into an issue during a training session with Maxpoint and the
dec drive stuttered.  Since that time, Dec movement North (up) was very sloppy
and sometimes resulted in a South (down) move.  I took down the cover of the Dec
drive and found crumbles of what looked like green circuit board material and
found metallic shavings in the grease on the worm gear.  I inspected all of the
teeth on both gears and they seem fine.  While I had it open, I ran the drive to
an end point in North and South and found it only to travel approx 100 deg.  Is
it supposed to do it this way?  It seems to work ok now, but clouded out until
later this week.  I appreciate your input.

clear skies,
chad

http://uncle-rods.blogspot.com/


Peace,
Rod Mollise
Rod's new book:
_Choosing and Using a New CAT_
Available Now!

<http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland>