On Thu, May 7, 2020 at 07:35 AM, Brian Valente wrote:

lol

?

and what would 4. be Sonny?

Personally, I don't need help with PHD2, got that nailed my first year.

PEC is not a problem for my GM811G HD. Either I am blessed, or my methods have not called for dabbling with it.
I'm curious, I understand PEC and what it is for, But just have not required further deployment of it.

Plate Solving with SGP is fine. But is it a program that the majority buys into? I am on the fence still as to if I will buy into SGP because it has limitations to my method of image collection. So because it can ONLY collect fits files, it is a non-sequitur for me.
And the creators of SGP have as much stated "It's my way, or the Highway" about allowing for other formats to be introduced. Not everybody wants to be locked in a box, and forced to do things one way. I have to convert fits files to even begin to process them.
And I am far too casual an imager to want to spend days on end dabbling with 10's of hours of data.

4. Would be some offerings of the more popular, free or low cost programs available. In browsing the web, things like N.I.N.A. comes up, APT comes up, SharpCap comes up, to name a few. (I have actually bought into Sharp Cap)
Some of us like the quick and simple methods.
I consider my GM811G a high end mount. And certainly above my pay grade. But so was all of this when I began. Then, it forced me to grab my boot straps, put on some big boy pants, and figure it out no matter what the pain is learning was.
I made a commitment, and I am fulfilling it. Acquiring my Losmandy mount was a big step for me to cement my commitment for life to enjoying Astronomy, and the narrow notch of Astro Imaging. (Note: Not Astrophotography as it is today)
So #4 would be some items for the more commoner man. Those who enjoy the freedoms outside the box.

Incidentally, Scott and I agree on Long Exposure Astro Photography. My longest single exposure was 5400 seconds. I don't do that now that I have a camera that stacks for me. But I do "Stack with Time" to a degree to draw out detail and color. I'm still dabbling in 5 and 10 minute exposures for the fun of it.

So #4 implies free and low cost options. With the flavorings of today's optional formats that are web friendly. tif and png come to mind. But some web sites require (shudder) jpg formats.
So gathering days and nights of intense data is rather pointless for those venues. ;^)
?
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)

I have my system mounted in an observatory, and put velcro on all four sides of the pier, so I can put the controller on the nearest side I'm on while fiddling with the scope locally.

--
Doug Bock
Northern Cross Observatory

I'm interested in all three.
If you want to do one before the other that good with me.?
But I would like to see all three.
Thank you for asking.
I probably won't be able to see it on zoom but if you post it on you tub I will watch it.
The first one I liked a lot. It was very helpful.?

I have an older G11 for sale on Astromart for $1,100 plus shipping from New Orleans.

PM me for more info if interested.. thanks.

David Diaz
night.skywatcher@...

Nice to see all the different ways we have figured out how to keep our HCs off the ground and out of the way. I put a small aluminum tab on the mount below the Gemini 2.


David N. Hill

开云体育

开云体育

I just use Velcro in numerous places to hold stuff up. Celestron holder is nice but really unnecessary?

On Thu, May 7, 2020 at 02:34 PM, Sebastian Kotulski wrote:

I don't understand why Losmandy doesn't produce a holder for Gemini hand controller.?

Because then it would be like a Celestron.
And Lord Knows we don't want that!

I think it is invigorating to figure out your own solutions.
I use two Velcro dots and been happy with that.
The Gemini 2 mini Hand Controller fits right between the leg plates on my HD tripod.
The black Velcro dots blend in the the Tuxedo Black of the mount.

I think JohnS has a great solution, too.
?
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)

I don't understand why Losmandy doesn't produce a holder for Gemini hand controller.?

Yes

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Here is mine.

I choose #2

Hey Everyone,

I'm interested in #1.

- Jerry

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My preferences are in the order you suggested

Certainly not me, Arun.
I'm at the other end of the spectrum with a total weight of 15.6 pounds (IIRC)

But the more I learn my GM811G HD, the better and better I like it.
I don't get hung up in numbers and such. I go by my seat of the pants flying.
And look Ma, no stains!
And no problems I couldn't fix, with a little help from my friends.

On May 5 I went out with a freshly reloaded Gemini 2 because I boneheadedly formatted it, then had to figure out how to Ethernet it with my main box-O-rocks through my home router/LAN. Teddy Wang set me up with Paul K's tutorial, and it fixed my stupidity.

I usually let the sky just take me. And The Great Hercules Cluster was just ripe for my imaging. I bagged 8 Clusters and anomalies that one evening, most landed very close to centered after my elongated Model setting it up.
I enjoy alignment, Or Modeling, and pulled in stars East and West until the next victim was almost centered before I decided I was ready to move on.
But Clusters are a readily adjusted target and don't take a lot of time to say "I gottcha!"
But when my mount performs that well, it's easy to go hopping. Not my normal activity, but fun to put the mount through its paces.
I was just enjoying how well my GM811G was performing.
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)