Re: Pointing Mount To Zenith To Take Flats
can you do hour angle? just enter HA = 0
On Wed, Dec 23, 2020 at 6:50 PM Jim Waters < jimwaters@...> wrote: [Edited Message Follows]
I should know how to do this, but....? At the end of an imaging session I need to tell NINA to move the RA and DEC to the zenith.? I will then place the flat panel on the OTA and take the necessary flats.? What¡¯s the best way to tell the Gemini-2 to move to DEC zenith and the necessary RA?? I would think DEC would be 90 degrees but what about the RA?? NINA has a slew to Alt/Az command.? Thx
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Pointing Mount To Zenith To Take Flats
I should know how to do this, but....? At the end of an imaging session I need to tell NINA to move the RA and DEC to the zenith.? I will then place the flat panel on the OTA and take the necessary flats.? What¡¯s the best way to tell the Gemini-2 to move to DEC zenith and the necessary RA?? I would think DEC would be 90 degrees but what about the RA?? NINA has a slew to Alt/Az command.? Thx
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Thanks a lot guys. Thin clouds made it challenging to get the moons on longer exposures. I got Titan and a hint of Rhea just above the noise level but not much more besides the big four around Jupiter.
You've got heaps around Saturn Brian.
You guys have a good Christmas break and all the best for 2021.
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Re: Great Conjunction from southern california
Great shot Brian. Really nice.
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Re: Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
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Re: What to ask/check when buying a used G11?
Hi Stephen
see my other response. i think you're a lot better off than you may think
On Wed, Dec 23, 2020 at 12:23 PM Stephen Leander < sleander1@...> wrote: On Monday we had a break from the winds, so I got the mount out and ran it thru the baseline document listed above.? First hour or so was just doing some alignments using the Gemini II hand controller, need practice more in that area.? Next, I performed a polar alignment using SharpCap. After that, I loaded up PHD2 and started the tests.? Things look basically OK, there is some excessive DEC backlash reported by PHD2. I also recorded about 30min without guiding input and can clearly see the RA warm periodic error, need to figure out how to process and load the mount with the corrections.? I did download the PECPrep tool and need to learn more about that.
I'll make a post on the PHD2 forum to get some feedback on the data as that's probably the right place for it rather than here.? I think I'll need to tackle getting the PEC working, and possibley adjusting the DEC backlash.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Re: What to ask/check when buying a used G11?
On Monday we had a break from the winds, so I got the mount out and ran it thru the baseline document listed above.? First hour or so was just doing some alignments using the Gemini II hand controller, need practice more in that area.? Next, I performed a polar alignment using SharpCap. After that, I loaded up PHD2 and started the tests.? Things look basically OK, there is some excessive DEC backlash reported by PHD2. I also recorded about 30min without guiding input and can clearly see the RA warm periodic error, need to figure out how to process and load the mount with the corrections.? I did download the PECPrep tool and need to learn more about that.
I'll make a post on the PHD2 forum to get some feedback on the data as that's probably the right place for it rather than here.? I think I'll need to tackle getting the PEC working, and possibley adjusting the DEC backlash.
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Hello all - I am planning to re-grease the worm gears on my G11 (which I purchased from new in 2009).?
I have seen a few websites where this is described, and on one I saw that someone had put grease all around the outside of the large worm wheel.?
I worked in the lubricants industry for almost 30 years, and I would have thought you only need to lubricate the worm.
The contact between the worm and the worm gear is what is known as an elastohydrodynamic contact - in practice the oil film thickness between the gear teeth will be less than 1 micron (in fact much less if the gears are heavily loaded).?
So let's say you put 5 ml of grease on the worm. That will be more than sufficient to coat all the worm wheel during operation.?
Do people generally think it necessary to grease the worm wheel? I would have thought this would be far too much grease and if it leaks into other parts of the mount (like the clutches) it could cause problems.
Synthetic grease would be a good choice, since this will definitely reduce friction (even if the synthetic and mineral grease seem to have the same viscosity at room temperature and pressure, the viscosity of the synthetic lubricant will be lower than that of the mineral oil when it is at the high pressure in the gears).?
Finally, do you have to dissamble the worm to regrease it? I would have thought you could use a toothbrush soaked in degreaser pressed against the worm when it is rotating at 16x (with no load on the mount) to remove the old grease, and then just apply a small amount of new grease on the worm. Do people think this would work OK?
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Re: Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
Very nice, Scott!
Astrophotography is a great undertaking! I'm DSO Nebula specific myself.
I'm currently using a GM811GHD.
--
SonnyE
(I suggest viewed in full screen)
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Re: Gemini 1 to Gemini 2 - should I?
I'm of the opinion that things like Updates and Upgrades, once proven, are a good thing to do.
I've been in BetaTest groups, but I prefer to set back a little bit and wait.
But once released, I like to be near the cutting edge, but not sprayed with the blood and guts.
If the option to upgrade to the Gemini II is affordable and attractive to you (Apparently it is, because these idea's are well thought out), I'd recommend you go ahead and take advantage of the offer.
If you don't for some reason, the mount you currently have will continue to slip gracefully into antiquity.
The only reason's I could think of not to upgrade would be finances, or the thought of a second mount, or possibly nostalgia. (or a 3rd of 4th mount like some have)
So if you are not one of those who insist on running Windows 98, or Windows 7, you should consider upgrading while the offer is available.
Hopefully others will weigh in on the advantages from their experience's.
--
SonnyE
(I suggest viewed in full screen)
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Gemini 1 to Gemini 2 - should I?
I've had my circa 2007 G-11 with Gemini 1 for about 5 years and it has worked flawlessly.? I haven't even had to change the battery in the hand controller!? But with the current rebate on the Gemini 2 upgrades, it seems like it might be now or never to upgrade.? Is there any compelling reason to do so or should I just stick with my trusty Gemini 1??
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Re: Degreaser / Cleaner..
Hi Derek
I just finished tearing both my AP1200 and G11 mounts down and cleaning off old grease and reapplying fresh lubricants. AP recommended mineral spirits followed by a rinse of denatured alcohol (the mineral spirits work well, but they leave a little film). This worked quite nicely. The mineral spirits are more benign than other degreasers on plastic and finishes and the denatured alcohol, while flammable, leaves no film. I found a couple tools were really valuable -- a chemical wash bottle for applying spirits and rinse right where they were needed without a ?lot of mess (), toothbrush, a handful of toothpicks to clean stubborn grime out of gear teeth, and a roll of paper towels.
Best, Ed
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Re: Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
Wow! Really beautiful....great job! ?Tom --- imagemover@... wrote: From: "imagemover via groups.io" <imagemover@...> To: [email protected]Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2020 13:55:40 -0800 Hi Everyone, Here's a shot from last night's "Great Conjunction".? Taken with a classic Celestron C-11 and ZWO ASI290MC mounted on a Losmandy G-11.? ?It's a composite of three exposures - one for Jupiter, one for Jupiter's moons, and one for Saturn.? ?I'm relatively new to astrophotography and I'm loving it!? Scott Popjes Sunland, CA?
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Re: Degreaser / Cleaner..
I have used brake cleaner for a long time.? Be careful not to get it on paint, anodizing or plastic.
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Re: Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
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Re: Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
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On Tue, Dec 22, 2020 at 5:00 PM, Michael Herman <mherman346@...> wrote: Nice work!? ? Hi Everyone,
Here's a shot from last night's "Great Conjunction".? Taken with a classic Celestron C-11 and ZWO ASI290MC mounted on a Losmandy G-11.? ?It's a composite of three exposures - one for Jupiter, one for Jupiter's moons, and one for Saturn.? ?I'm relatively new to astrophotography and I'm loving it!?
Scott Popjes
Sunland, CA?
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Re: Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Everyone,
Here's a shot from last night's "Great Conjunction".? Taken with a classic Celestron C-11 and ZWO ASI290MC mounted on a Losmandy G-11.? ?It's a composite of three exposures - one for Jupiter, one for Jupiter's moons, and one for Saturn.? ?I'm relatively new to astrophotography and I'm loving it!?
Scott Popjes
Sunland, CA?
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Another Great Conjunction shot from Los Angeles
Hi Everyone,
Here's a shot from last night's "Great Conjunction".? Taken with a classic Celestron C-11 and ZWO ASI290MC mounted on a Losmandy G-11.? ?It's a composite of three exposures - one for Jupiter, one for Jupiter's moons, and one for Saturn.? ?I'm relatively new to astrophotography and I'm loving it!?
Scott Popjes
Sunland, CA?
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Re: Great Conjunction from southern california
Great shots Brian!? Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Great Conjunction from southern california
Great shots Brian. My planetary scope a C9.25 was sadly on the bench. So I had to use my Stellarvue 105 F/7? Here blown up to 100% is what I got.
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Michael Herman