Posts Made By: Charles Hakes

I am using CCDSoft to try to make a variable star graph, which looks like it should be easy to do with CCDSoft when you have a folder of aligned images. When I try to "pre-analyze" the images (add the correct coordinate system to the image header?) I keep getting the error that "TheSky" must be running too. I just purchased the Pro version to do this, and it is indeed running. Software Bisque's web site says it could be 3-4 days for an email response, so I thought I would try here too. Thanks for any help.

Charlie

I have a green laser pointer (5mW) that is getting dimmer and dimmer. Unfortunately it is now out of waranty. Has this happened to anyone? It there some quick fix I should know about? (Yes it has new batteries that work fine in a friend's green laser.) It is now useless for sky pointing.

Thanks for any help,
Charlie

I am trying to insert WCS/AutoAstrometry on some images in CCDSoft. I can align the image in TheSky6 and get something like 47 star matches in the image. But when I try in CCDSoft, I get "Error code = 206 (0xce)". When I look on Bisques' site for code 206, it says it happens when activating night vision mode... (!?)

This site seems to be where the experts are, so can anyone help me with this?

thanks,
Charlie

By the way, I started this process quite a while ago, but have been sidetracked. It seems like there is some type of error at every step...

Someone must have discussed this, but searching "fork extensions" didn't turn up anything. Anyone ever modify SCT forks to clear a camera? (And no, I can't afford an nice GEM right now, even if that is the right thing to do.) It looks like there might be ways to do that, but I don't need to re-invent something.

Thanks,
Charlie

I have been happy with an SBIG ST-10XE for a couple of years now, but the "couple of years" is also the problem. I got some new filters and so want to put an external guide camera (outside the filters) instead of the one that is built in. Unfortunately, the older ST-10s do not have a port for that (without more $$ and time for an upgrade). Is there a lower cost (quick and easy?) solution that anyone has used? I do have one of those low-cost Meade cameras, but does it have a place to talk directly to the telescope? (LX200) Thanks for any help.

Charlie

Now that it is getting warmer outside, so is the camera (SBIG ST-10). What should be my target temperature? The SBIG manual says something like 40 below ambient, but that is rare for me. What are people on this forum getting? I don't have a water pump, but should I?

Also, while the camera is cooling, I see some VERY odd transient things on flat field images that I take. Are these ice crystals on the filters? (I live where there is no humidity to speak of.) I usually end up going below my target temperature by 5-10 degrees and then "warming" the camera to get these things to clear up faster. Late at night I have usually been able to get to -20C eventually, but that has been getting harder recently. The whole process usually takes close to an hour. Is this normal?

Thanks for any help,
Charlie

I finally recieved the dovetail mount and have the refractor mounted for autoguiding. It was suggested a while back that I could do this with the Meade DSI and PHD (push here dummy) Guiding program. Well, I guess I must be in that dummy category, as things are only partially working. It looks like I need some extra driver (?) since the program can't "see" or link to the LX200 mount. Right now, I have a line from the computer to the "RS232" plug on the mount that The Sky can control just fine. Are there conflicts with both programs trying to run the telescope at the same time? Or do I need to run a seperate line to the camera port on the telescope (like I do from the ST-10 camera)? I hope this is something easy.

Thanks for any help or suggestions anyone has.

Charlie

Help!

I have asked our local dealer to talk to his Meade contacts, but maybe this forum will be faster...

The issue is that the keypad (or internal computer) on a 16" LX200 now fails to finish booting. All keypad LEDs flash four times and then the word "Meade" appears in the display. The LED on the right side (by ALT) stays on. It stays like this. I tried this keypad on a 10" LX200 and everything worked fine. So it looks like something in the mount itself. (?) I checked the internal fuse and the small battery inside the base panel. (The battery still had voltage, but was it enough? Could that be the problem?)

Maybe or maybe not relevant - last week the power brick went out. No output voltage. It is really dead, so I ordered another (18V, 2A). Along the way, (because I had one) I tried a 12V battery pack (I later found out it was really putting out ~11V) and got that "Meade" startup freeze. So I used an 18V "brick" from the 10" scope because it showed the same specs (2A). It worked great, but for only one night. Now the power appears to be still working (puts out 18 volts and works fine on the 10" scope and makes lights come on for the 16"). But now I get that funny "Meade" message on the 16" when I try to start it.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Does anyone have any thoughts on other things to try? I don't want to really think about having to send this thing in to Meade for repairs. Please help!

Thanks,
Charlie

Instead of just admiring everyone else's artwork, I feel like I should at least post something, even if it isn't up to some of the great shots I see here. Here is my latest version on M57, shot during an almost full moon. I was really just testing diferent guide times on the PHDGuiding software, but took a bunch of 1 minute exposures of M57 along the way. I will have to verify, but ~12min L, and ~6 or 8min RGB through a 16" LX200. I definitely threw out a few frames along the way and just adjusted the color so it looked about right. There was much more depthl I could see in the raw frames, but there was an irritating gradient I suspect from the mostly full moon behind me that didn't subtract out with the flat frame. I just made things darker until the sky looked mostly black. I could see at least a half dozen galaxies in the background, so I think I might go back and get some more data that is hopefully flatter. Overall, I am getting happier with the guiding now, and would always appreciate any comments and/or processing hints.

Thanks,
Charlie

This is for anyone procuding those great narrow band pictures...

Besides Ha, OIII, and SII, which other two filters would you put on a wheel with 5 holes? Would the clear filter that came with my default SBIG RGB set be the right thickness? How critical is the focus difference between different thicknesses/manufacturers? Do I even need to worry about this? Do you even need a clear to get good focus? Would I rather have an IR blocking filter?

Thanks,
Charlie