My first Saturn of the year under decent conditions. It is a tough object this year due to a maximum altitude of only 39 degrees!
Brian ?
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Re: Anyone using a CGEM-DX with C-14 satisfactorily?
I have the C-14/ CGEM-DX package which I use for visual.
I found the balance was much easier to dial in after I had
the mount Hypertuned. The Hypertuning made the RA and DEC
axes rotate very smoothly and freely, which aids alot in
balancing. I've also been advised by a knowledgeable
source to first balance in DEC and then balance in RA
after DEC is balanced. Of course, you want to make sure
you balance with all the accessories you intend to use
first attached to the scope (and the front OTA dust cover
removed).
Thank you all for your replies and tips.
I hadn't heard about balancing in DEC first. I will try this.
Hypertuning would be good I guess but that would still leave the C14
at the weight limits of the mount.
In any case, the combo works for me in my specific Jupiter
observations okay enough.
Clear skies,
Thomas
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Re: Anyone using a CGEM-DX with C-14 satisfactorily?
I have the C-14/ CGEM-DX package which I use for visual. I found the balance was much easier to dial in after I had the mount Hypertuned. The Hypertuning made the RA and DEC axes rotate very smoothly and freely, which aids alot in balancing. I've also been advised by a knowledgeable source to first balance in DEC and then balance in RA after DEC is balanced. Of course, you want to make sure you balance with all the accessories you intend to use first attached to the scope (and the front OTA dust cover removed).
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Re: Anyone using a CGEM-DX with C-14 satisfactorily?
Thomas,
This scope is at the limit of this mount and you describe an out of balance condition which must be fixed to get satisfactory operation .
Btw Re centering after 20
Minutes with a 14 inch F 11 telescope using a video camera with
A small camera chip is not in reasonable at all.
Scott
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 26, 2015, at 7:17 PM, Thomas Ashcraft ashcraft@... [C14_EdgeHD] <C14_EdgeHD@...> wrote:
Just curious: Is anyone using a CGEM-DX with C-14 satisfactorily?
Although I was aware that the C-14HD was considered possibly too heavy
for a CGEM-DX I still bought the package deal. I had a specific project
which was to track and monitor Jupiter. I have been able to accomplish
this okay enough for my purposes. Essentially I have the scope
permanently set up and polar aligned with a polar scope ( and tweaking).
All I do each session is turn the mount on, get Jupiter centered and
track it in video. Works okay but I usually have to recenter Jupiter
after about twenty minutes recording time..
But, I find that when I try to do computerized polar alignment the scope
struggles when it goes to a star on the other side of the meridian from
my first chosen star. I have the scope balanced okay enough but find
that the balance points are not the same for all positions the scope is
in. This is kind of a bummer.
The only extra weight I have on it is a ZWO ASI120mm camera and a simple
finderscope.
Anyway, that is my experience and wonder if anyone is using this sort of
combination of scope and mount successfully?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Thomas
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Anyone using a CGEM-DX with C-14 satisfactorily?
Just curious: Is anyone using a CGEM-DX with C-14 satisfactorily?
Although I was aware that the C-14HD was considered possibly too heavy for a CGEM-DX I still bought the package deal. I had a specific project which was to track and monitor Jupiter. I have been able to accomplish this okay enough for my purposes. Essentially I have the scope permanently set up and polar aligned with a polar scope ( and tweaking). All I do each session is turn the mount on, get Jupiter centered and track it in video. Works okay but I usually have to recenter Jupiter after about twenty minutes recording time..
But, I find that when I try to do computerized polar alignment the scope struggles when it goes to a star on the other side of the meridian from my first chosen star. I have the scope balanced okay enough but find that the balance points are not the same for all positions the scope is in. This is kind of a bummer.
The only extra weight I have on it is a ZWO ASI120mm camera and a simple finderscope.
Anyway, that is my experience and wonder if anyone is using this sort of combination of scope and mount successfully?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Thomas
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
I have been using a 1000mm fl guide scope with PHD autoguide software and had very good results.? I am just starting to use MetaGuide as my C14 OAG software.? Work in progress.?
I will try binning 2x2 or 3x3 and see if that helps.?
I also like the idea of a reducer for the autoguiding camera...will have to check that out.?
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
P.S.? The guider/software might be loosing the star because it is too oversampled.? Many?guide cams have very small pixels and some of them cannot even bin (CMOS is incapable of binning).? So the FWHM might be 8 pix or larger, in which case the star flux is seriously diluted by read noise and the software may not even be able to cope with a large PSF.? If you can't bin enough then you can get guide reducer lenses (e.g. Orion) that are placed in front of the guide cam?to condense the star's image.?Such reducers?change the guide focal distance, which may not be compatible with the rest of your rig?(and?they introduce terrible spherical aberration? but that's not especially detrimental to guiding).
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
" I have never been able to calibrate my autoguider due to seeing bouncing my guide star around too much."
Even the worst seeing will displace a star by no more than 1 arcsec so I seriously doubt that is the problem. Though possibly bad seeing may cause the autoguide software to loose the star, in which case the software may be inferior (i.e. try other software).?
A?more likely cause would be the mount. Perhaps the mount controller is set too fast or maybe there is too much gear-slop or too much reverse compensation. For most tiny guide-cams the C-14 prime FL?can be?difficult to handle and the mount must move slowly with limited range.? It can take awhile to figure out all the variables relating to the mount / guide-cam / and guider software.? It may be worthwhile to?practice?using a short refractor (e.g. piggy-back on the SCT) to learn the guide/mount?controls and limits of the components.?
In any case, if the seeing is so bad that you can't even get a lock on a guide star then imaging with C-14 at prime would be a complete waste of time.? Imaging with FL > 100" is difficult and requires very good seeing.? And needless to say, it also requires a very good mount and/or AO.
BTW, here is a C-14 prime FL shot I took not long ago: http://www.stanmooreastro.com/images/Trapezium_SM2015.JPG
Stan
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
I'm using a CGE Pro and currently guiding, using PHD.? The loadstar is on a 1000mm f10 russian MTO "telephoto lens".? This combination is perfect for? guiding BUT the shutter of my observatory is narrow enough to cut off full view of both scopes in certain positions.?
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
I am using f11 ( I just returned my reducer to celestron, and don't expect it back for a month or more).? I am concerned about it's utility at f11, due to seeing issues.? I have never been able to calibrate my autoguider due to seeing bouncing my guide star around too much.? I have only tried a handful of times, though.? My questions is mainly to evaluate how much more effort I should put into this.? I am more hopeful about f7 configuration.? I am using a Loadstar camera for autoguiding.
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
Hi Gary, I have a C14 EdgeHD @ f/11. I use a MMOAG and have in the past used a Loadstar as guider. I probably can successfully find a guide star 80% of the time without rotating. However, when I plan my target, I try to make sure that I place? guide stars on the guider FOV indicators (for?both?sides of the meridian)?in my planetarium software (TheSkyX)
Dale
On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 4:06 AM, "Gary Jarrette garyjarrette@... [C14_EdgeHD]" wrote:
?
Are you shooting at f10 or f7?
What type of mount are you using and what specifically seams to be the problem?
Gary
Carpe Noctem
Sent From My Spaceship via Nexus 5
?
Hi all.... I would like to autoguide my C14 using an OAG with a Loadstar camera.? I've tried a few times with pretty bad seeing and no success.? I am wondering how many of you have had success autoguiding your C14 this way.?
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Re: OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
Are you shooting at f10 or f7?
What type of mount are you using and what specifically seams to be the problem?
Gary
Carpe Noctem
Sent From My Spaceship via Nexus 5
?
Hi all.... I would like to autoguide my C14 using an OAG with a Loadstar camera.? I've tried a few times with pretty bad seeing and no success.? I am wondering how many of you have had success autoguiding your C14 this way.?
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OAG with the C14 - Too long a focal length?
Hi all.... I would like to autoguide my C14 using an OAG with a Loadstar camera.? I've tried a few times with pretty bad seeing and no success.? I am wondering how many of you have had success autoguiding your C14 this way.?
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Re: Problem with the celestron xo.7 reducer - help please
I guess, I was lucky enough not to have this problem. I did, however had a coma in one corner of the frame, but after I changed things around to get closer to the optimal BF distance, it went away. I do now all my astrophotography with EdgeHD14 using x0.7 reducer. Love it.
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Re: Problem with the celestron xo.7 reducer - help please
Hi George,
I have had the same problem with mine (on a Edge HD14). I have spent many months trying different combinations of adapters, thinking I was the one who did not understand. Until I came across another amateur astronomer who had one and offered to do a switch with mine. It was immediately obvious that mine was defective. Why did I wait all that time? I took it back to my astronomy equipment store, here in Montreal. He happened to have another one in stock and did the swap right away. He probably had no trouble returning it to Celestron considering the volume he sells for them. That's when dealers and distributors come in handy.
Anyhow, since then, I have zero coma and I am very happy. However I still wonder about the poor quality control at Celestron.
I hope you find a way to swap yours.
Roger
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Problem with the celestron xo.7 reducer - help please
Hi all.? I was able to do some AP with my Celestron EdgeHD reducer for
the first time since I got it a year and a half ago.? I've done very
precise work to put the sensor at 146mm from the surface of the lens
which is what I understand as the critical back focus distance.?? The
coma in my preliminary picts is unacceptable.? I remember seeing a
discussion of a number of these reducers needing to be replaced for some
manufacturing reasons.? Do I need to go down that road with celestron
or should I try different backfocus lengths on some other tweeks.? I am
worried celestron won't honor the warranty because of the time that has
passed since its purchase.? Any input here?? Thanks
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Re: C14 dust cover ( corrector end not e.p.) replacement.
Dean helped me out...one is on the way.
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This has been a very frustrating apparition, with lousy, cloudy weather beeing the norm. I finally caught some reasonable conditions when this image was taken:
? Brian
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Re: C14 dust cover ( corrector end not e.p.) replacement.
Try Dean at Starizona.
Gary
Carpe Noctem
Sent From My Spaceship via Nexus 5
?
Anyone know where I can find a replacement for my C14 edgehd dust cover ( corrector end, not an eyepiece cover)??
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C14 dust cover ( corrector end not e.p.) replacement.
Anyone know where I can find a replacement for my C14 edgehd dust cover ( corrector end, not an eyepiece cover)??
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George Dunham
Roger Menard