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Date

Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 

I wrote to Michael personally as well, but i'd like to say for the record that i also hope you stay,?Michael

It would be a loss for all of us if you left.?


I've said plenty of dumb things and was grateful for the feedback and corrections.? I hope we can all learn from each other


And if you're gonna talk smack about me, you gotta keep those threads separate ;)


Brian


On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 12:58 PM crocco1250 via <crocco1250=[email protected]> wrote:
Michael

I concur with chip. The constitution guarantees we all have the right to be blithering idiots from time to time. Stay

Chuck


-----Original Message-----
From: Chip Louie <chiplouie@...>
To: Losmandy_users <[email protected]>
Sent: Fri, Aug 28, 2020 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!


Hi Michael,

DO NOT DROP OUT!? I say stupid stuff all the time, ask anybody!?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?



--
Brian?



Brian Valente
portfolio


Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 

Michael

I concur with chip. The constitution guarantees we all have the right to be blithering idiots from time to time. Stay

Chuck


-----Original Message-----
From: Chip Louie <chiplouie@...>
To: Losmandy_users <[email protected]>
Sent: Fri, Aug 28, 2020 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!


Hi Michael,

DO NOT DROP OUT!? I say stupid stuff all the time, ask anybody!?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?


Re: G11 Gemini 1 control over ethernet

 

Hi Dave

also FYI there's a great WiFi option called SkyFi, which is a very capable serial to wifi adapter

it's good for planetarium type applications such as Sky Safari, but less applicable for imaging or guiding

?


Re: G11 Gemini 1 control over ethernet

 

Thank you all.


Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 

Not this stupid.
Not rude...no need for this.
All the best to y'all.

Michael

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 11:47 AM Chip Louie <chiplouie@...> wrote:
Hi Michael,

DO NOT DROP OUT!? I say stupid stuff all the time, ask anybody!?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?


Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 

Hi Michael,

DO NOT DROP OUT!? I say stupid stuff all the time, ask anybody!?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?


Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 
Edited

I apologize.
I'll drop out if this group now.
?
Michael

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 11:38 AM Michael Herman via <mherman346=[email protected]> wrote:

It's very good, but beware of the 5.75 inch rear focal plane requirement.? You can go inside of that limit ok, but not past that else you get lots of coma and ...trouble.
?
It's a heavy monster.? I'm getting old!
?
[edited by moderator - personal references removed - PK]

All the best, and my best to your great family....
?
Michael
?
?

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 8:47 AM Chip Louie <chiplouie@...> wrote:
Love the EdgeHD14!? ?Michael, how's yours?? I have a C14 project out in the garage waiting for me to align the new tube and optics. Can't wait to load it in the G11G saddle and grab an XL dose of photons.?
--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

?

?


Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 
Edited

It's very good, but beware of the 5.75 inch rear focal plane requirement.? You can go inside of that limit ok, but not past that else you get lots of coma and ...trouble.
?
It's a heavy monster.? I'm getting old!
?
[edited by moderator: personal references removed - PK]

All the best, and my best to your great family....
?
Michael
?
?

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 8:47 AM Chip Louie <chiplouie@...> wrote:

Love the EdgeHD14!? ?Michael, how's yours?? I have a C14 project out in the garage waiting for me to align the new tube and optics. Can't wait to load it in the G11G saddle and grab an XL dose of photons.?
--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?

?

?


Re: Finding stars

 

Using the Handset you are limited to the initial Bright Star list for one first star, but after that you can use:? Object database, Stars, and pick your star...plenty there.

But if your Gemini is connected to a PC, you can try this... using Stellarium instead you can Model with any object whose center you can find (planets or deep sky too.? See attached PDF describing the way I use.

Best,
Michael


On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 10:44 AM jeff marston <jeffmarston@...> wrote:
Hi everybody. I had my gear out last night to get more familiar with my new Losmandy mount and to take a few videos. Because of all the bright lights, the moon, and huge trees, blocking nearly everything to the east, and some things to the west, I had some difficulty modeling. I think I could have done a little better If I could choose my own stars, but I didn¡¯t see any place on the menu that had named stars. I don¡¯t know stars by their numbers. How would I get named stars on the hand controller?

Jeff




Re: Finding stars

 

Hi Jeff

there is a bright stars list already in the hand controller

just choose

GoTo->Bright Stars

choose the star you want , the mount will slew to the star

Center the star in your finder or sensor, then to align choose

Menu->Align->alignment





On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 10:44 AM jeff marston <jeffmarston@...> wrote:
Hi everybody. I had my gear out last night to get more familiar with my new Losmandy mount and to take a few videos. Because of all the bright lights, the moon, and huge trees, blocking nearly everything to the east, and some things to the west, I had some difficulty modeling. I think I could have done a little better If I could choose my own stars, but I didn¡¯t see any place on the menu that had named stars. I don¡¯t know stars by their numbers. How would I get named stars on the hand controller?

Jeff



--
Brian?



Brian Valente
portfolio


Re: Balance and height

 

Hi Dave,

I believe you have it right...it's really the only way to mount a long Newtonian with a heavy rear mirror.

In that case, the eyepiece will be way out in front of the mount.
I mounted my 10" f/6 Newtonian on my G11 for quite?some time with good imaging results. ?
That had the conventional primary mirror with the flat back, so it could float on 9 tilting rear cell pads. ?
I know that US premier mirror maker Robert Royce also makes mirrors with a conical shape to reduce rear cell weight, and those have a single mounting bolt.? Mine was one of his mirrors with the usual flat back and is very heavy. ?

If you have a heavy camera, then this will tend to counterbalance the rear mirror weight.
If you do mount a camera, I found that putting the camera with the eyepiece facing downward helped eliminate side flex of the tube.
If you do not have a heavy front camera, then I guess you could mount some weights near the tube front to counteract the weight of the rear mirror. ?

The G11 should be able to autoguide and handle the scope with no problem.

The opposite case is also found: a heavy triplet refractor will have its front lens close to the DEC axis center, and the rear eyepiece will be way out in back.? Again, one can put weights toward the back in that case, to help get the scope closer to the midway point. ?

All the best,
Michael

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 10:15 AM Dave_Kentsbeer <david.kentsbeer47@...> wrote:
A double edged question if I can please, I balanced the telescope (250mm Newtonian)? in its tube rings while it was on its Dob mount, is this an ok method?
As the scope is rear heavy? the rings are closer to the rear of the scope so when it goes onto the G11 and is pointing upwards the eye piece is nearly 8 feet of the ground, no good for viewing..
Have I mounted the telescope correctly?? Thanks in advance



--
Michael Herman
mobile: 408 421-1239
email: mherman346@...


Finding stars

 

Hi everybody. I had my gear out last night to get more familiar with my new Losmandy mount and to take a few videos. Because of all the bright lights, the moon, and huge trees, blocking nearly everything to the east, and some things to the west, I had some difficulty modeling. I think I could have done a little better If I could choose my own stars, but I didn¡¯t see any place on the menu that had named stars. I don¡¯t know stars by their numbers. How would I get named stars on the hand controller?

Jeff


Balance and height

 

A double edged question if I can please, I balanced the telescope (250mm Newtonian)? in its tube rings while it was on its Dob mount, is this an ok method?
As the scope is rear heavy? the rings are closer to the rear of the scope so when it goes onto the G11 and is pointing upwards the eye piece is nearly 8 feet of the ground, no good for viewing..
Have I mounted the telescope correctly?? Thanks in advance


Moderated Re: First clear night to try out my new G11T, I hope!

 

Love the EdgeHD14!? ?Michael, how's yours?? I have a C14 project out in the garage waiting for me to align the new tube and optics. Can't wait to load it in the G11G saddle and grab an XL dose of photons.?
--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?


Re: worm turn with MUCH difficulty

 

Hi Tom,.?

I forgot to tell you not to order the high torque servo motors. Even the spring loaded worms work fine with them.?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?


Re: worm turn with MUCH difficulty

 

Hi Tom,

If you are up for it my advice is to determine what is causing the stiffness. Chances are the grease has melted and migrated all over the place and left behind the clay used in the grease which mucks up the works. I tell most people to simply.clean are reline the mount, it is not hard and you will gain a familiarity with you gear not possible any other way.? ?

Doing it yourself saves a huge bill for shipping and service and will have you back under the stars in a day or two depending on you free time. It only takes a few hours if you know what you are doing but if you have never cracked it open before you need to go slower. I suggest snapping phone photos as you go to capture correct order of parts assembly.?

The usual problems include stuck bearings due to contamination or old lube. The result is usually also that the clutches slip and you cannot get them to stop no matter how hard you crank down the adjusters. This is where the oil from the grease migrated to, your clutch discs. Once you get the mount apart you can see if you need new discs or not. Only order them if they are scratched up from contamination, the grease will wash off with soap and hog water.?

If you are game order a small tube or tub, of Synco Super Lube with Teflon, about $10 on Amazon. This is a pure synthetic based grease that won't melt or run off, it also never get hard or stiff in the hot or cold and the Teflon makes it outperform just about any commerical grease you can buy. It is also a food grader lube. Look at the data sheets for test results, nother can touch it for wear and low temperature starting torque, important for imagers in the cold.?

Once you decide if you are ge to DIY and have the grease in hand let us know and we will help walk you through it.?

--

Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?

? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?


Re: New user - newbie question

 

FYI if you use a computer, there is the Gemini Telescope.net ASCOM application which has a software version of the hand controller so you can save both sets of buttons

Brian


Re: First successful tryout of my G11T mount

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Isn't it amazing how many lights recently built structures have? Even single family houses out in a rural area where my sister lives, have 3 or more bright lights in the front and 2 or more
in the back and they are always on. They are all doing their very best to turn a decent dark site into downtown. When did so many people become afraid of the dark??

I don't have the filters and the types of cameras that can be set up with them without a lot of hassle. I use full frame, Sony mirrorless, cameras, I also take on vacation and hikes with me. The only
things I use a computer for are internet, email, processing photos, and autoguiding. Maybe I will get the automated urban astronomy kit, someday, but I haven't come close to getting the best images out of the equipment I have now.?

I am going to go get some paving bricks, or stones, or whatever they are called, for my tripod legs. I am going to have to buy a bigger pickup truck to haul all my stuff around.


From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sonny Edmonds <sonnyedmonds@...>
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 2:18 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] First successful tryout of my G11T mount
?
On Thu, Aug 27, 2020 at 09:28 AM, jeff marston wrote:
It would be nice to have a permanent observatory, where I could just turn everything on and image or view. I would much rather travel and do modeling every night than fight
the light of my neighborhood.
Well, you can add thickness to your plywood pads to help stiffen them.

Even with an observatory, there is the labor of love with Modeling (Alignment).
I'm a backyarder, and use a Light Pollution filter, because my entire thing is imaging.
I keep my Tripod set up much of the time, and cover it. That allows me to keep the tripod Polar orientated, but I still do a PA of sorts.
(everything above the tripod gets brought inside. Bosses orders.)
I think it is prudent because, after all, the Earth has moved, and the ground vibrations have some minor effect
I'm also in my habit of doing the Quick Start just to check my numbers. They're always right, but it's one of my habits.

Today a fence extension is being added to my back wall.?
It will replace the towering ivy plant that used to be growing there.
The ivy became a rat haven. My loverly Condoland neighbors. NOT!


?
--
SonnyE


(I suggest viewed in full screen)


Re: New user - newbie question

 
Edited

Smidsy

that HC is basically a set of switches that as low you to move the mount Ra & DEC directions at what ever rate had been set. It plugs into the top left ¡°Hand Control¡± port via a 6 pin RJ Jack. ?

The main HC (with display) plugs into the side DB15 serial port. ?Some people like to have and the extra ¡°dumb HC¡±. ? You kinda get used to the buttons like the main HC.

Anyway you need a straight through 6 pin RJ 11 (or RJ12 depends upon hour country) to connect this. It¡¯s not necessary but some users like it. ?You can make your own cable if you buy an RJ crumpet, 6 core flat cable and RJ plugs, easily. Or you can probably buy one.

The pin config is the same as the except on the Gemini 1 the 3.3V is 5V. ?As long as it¡¯s wired straight thru it¡¯s ok. ?The 5V is just for LED .

There used to be layout pics of it all in the files section. ?Cannot find it atm. I can send drawings etc if you want


Cheers
--
Brendan


Re: G11 Gemini 1 control over ethernet

 

Smidsy?


thst feature port is not an Ethernet port its a specula CB port wired IAW ? It just uses an RJ45 but is not Ethernet.?


Generally most people use USB/RS232 converter to connect to the serial port. But you can use BT or d sad mod of the new wifi compatible devices. ?BT is best as it is reasonable short range sturdy connection and reduced ground loops.?
--
Brendan