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  2. Moon

    Radar replied to scorpius's topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography

    That's a great idea. Ray

  3. Moon

    scorpius replied to scorpius's topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography

    Its the only heating in the house as the gas heater has quit and no one wants to fix it. Only warmth is Heidi the cat and the lecky throw blanket. Have completed the. Mods to the 120/1000 refrac and the EQ3-2. Looks good, need to create a cloud dispersal App next ! Will post more pics soon. Dave
  4. I hadn't thought about that. Last thing I want is to evaporate my neighbour pool. Okay, I'll have to give this some serious thought. Ray

  5. Moon

    Radar replied to scorpius's topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography

    lol, creature of comfrot I see. Good shot guru. Ray
  6. Just pack bubble wrap around the gap where the dome rotates so you don't dehumidy the surrounding neighbourhood. When it is hot with little water vapour in the air the dehumidifier is off anyway, so it is hardly on during the summer. Greg
  7. scorpius started following Moon

  8. Moon

    scorpius posted a topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography

    Found an SD card with a few shots from the 10" / EOS 500D. And went thru them in PS. I think this one is worthy of pasting here. A rare occasion where the focus is reasonable and terminator clean. Currently its very hit and miss to find a break in the perishing cloud over W.A. Plus the temperature is not conducive to elevating myself off the electric blanket ! Cheers Dave.

  9. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) + NLCs

    Radar replied to Paramount's topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography

    Nice work mate. No Neowise down here yet. Ray
  10. I heard that comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was starting to fade so as the skies were forecast for clear last night I decided to have another crack at it while I can. I went to the same field as last week and shot a few time lapse clips of which I have selected a few stills as well. I was hoping for some Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) like I had last week but last night was even better, this is only the second time I've seen them (last week was the first) and early this morning (about 2am) they put on a really good display (all included in the video clip). I have joined last nights data with that of last week. I was particularly pleased that I got the blue ion trail last night, I was using a higher ISO as the comet was quite a bit higher up so light pollution was less of a problem than last week. I used a Sony A7iii with a Samyang 85mm f1.4 using exposures of 6 seconds at f2.8 and ISO between 800 and 6400 and a Sony A7Sii with a Samyang 24mm f1.4 using exposures of 20 seconds at f2.8 and ISO between 800 and 1600. The video can be seen at the link below in 4K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqBvk3s9klw
  11. poppasmurf started following New website, PI LRGB iconset, Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) + NLCs and and 4 others

  12. PI LRGB iconset

    poppasmurf posted a topic in Digital Image Processing

    Try this Ray as per message and phone conversation the other day. If you have trouble gimme a ring mate. Shane LRGB.xpsm

  13. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) + NLCs

    poppasmurf replied to Paramount's topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography

    Very cool Gordon. Shane
  14. Hi all I've managed to process the time lapse data that I shot of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) last night in the field above Nidd Gorge close by where I live. I managed to get some Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) as well which was nice. The only downside is that a small insect decided to land on my lens during the evening so there is a dark out of focus shape on some of the clips. This comet is visible to the naked eye but does show up better on camera. I have also enclosed a link to the full 4K version. The clips were shot with a Sony A7iii with a Samyang 85mm f1.4 with exposures of 5 seconds at f2.8 and ISO800 and a Sony A7Sii with a Samyang 24mm f1.4 with exposures of 10 seconds at f2.8 and ISO400 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjWbaFWnUA
  15. Greg even though I have sealed the motherboard and cards with circuit board lacquer, I am still thinking about doing something. Most of the year it is quite dry. Only three months a year I need to worry about. I found an easy to use thermostat that outputs twelve volts once a temperature (I set) is reach. This thermostat can also come with a moisture detector to detect dew. So I was thinking of using something like a simple dew heater or nichrome wire that kicks in once conditions near the PC become dangerous. It would be a pretty simple project and the PC I recently had built is 6 core and is the fastest thing I've ever seen, so I really want to look after it. I think this project would be worth the small amount of time and money. I'll checkout the dehumidifier option, could be even easier. Ray
  16. I run de-humidifiers in the observatories 24/7. Greg
  17. I found a product called circuit board lacquer. Also called circuit board varnish or clear coat. Dries super fast, does not conduct electricity. For anyone considering this, make sure not to spray it inside any open plugs for obvious reasons. Keep away from fans as well. Moisture proof your observatory electronics people. Ray

  18. Orchid

    poppasmurf replied to wingeing Pom's topic in Off Topic - Funny Videos - Interesting Concepts

    Not the type of orchid I’m used to seeing. Shane
  19. So far mate I’ve not had moisture issues with pc in obs that I’m aware of anyway. In the years I’ve had the obs the first pc died but it was nearly a decade old when it went in. These days I have a desiccant type stuff in there just as insurance. I think the Prof has a dehumidifier in each of his obs. He’ll chime in when he sees the post. Shane
  20. Just got my observatory PC out of the computer repair shop again, new motherboard, new processor, power supply, tower, etc. Computer guy showed me traces of moisture that had wreaked havoc on my previous PC for years. How do others here keep there computers, laptops, PC or other configs immune from dew / moisture / frost / dampness / etc. It is easy to ensure things don't get moist damaged when you are using them, but for PC's inside observatories permanently, there are challenges. I am thinking something like a dew heater on a thermostat that kicks in once it gets to eight degrees or similar could word. Desiccant would not really work because of the air flow that must happen for a PC tower pulling air in from outside the tower. Otherwise spraying the motherboard (front and back) with a lacquer to waterproof it could also work (but this could interfere with plugs etc). The challenge is certainly not beyond me, but I imagine others in colder climates must have already pioneered various paths. Please share. Regards Ray
  21. Orchid over the New Forest this morning. Greg

  22. Beauty

    Radar replied to wingeing Pom's topic in Off Topic - Funny Videos - Interesting Concepts

    Beautiful colours on it either way. Ray

  23. New filter

    Radar replied to poppasmurf's topic in Equipment Discussion

    I think you will love NB mate. Its quite a craft. Over the last new moon, I managed to get a few hours on The Swan in Ha. Bad weather since, but the first clear night I get I'll get the SII and OIII data. However the monochrome Ha data is great to look already. I really enjoy NB. Ray

  24. Beauty

    wingeing Pom replied to wingeing Pom's topic in Off Topic - Funny Videos - Interesting Concepts

    Just been told by Chris Packham that it is what we call a Rosechafer Greg

  25. Beauty

    poppasmurf replied to wingeing Pom's topic in Off Topic - Funny Videos - Interesting Concepts

    Looks like what we call a Christmas beetle.
  26. Just rescued this beauty from the greenhouse. Greg

  27. New filter

    poppasmurf posted a topic in Equipment Discussion

    Received my new filter today. First NB filter for me. Got the Baader 1.25” 7Nm Ha. Should add some good stuff to galaxy shots. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I should have gotten the 7 position external filter wheel instead of the 5 pos internal when I got my camera. Shane

  28. New website

    poppasmurf replied to Paramount's topic in General Astronomical Discussion

    Awesome Gordon. Painful to have to start from scratch but you’ve done a great job mate. Easy to navigate and well presented. That ME looks a beast wish I could afford one. Shane
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