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- Last week
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Mount is installed on pier in the observatory. Still need to polar align but weather needs to cooperate. Also need to tidy up cabling. So far I have noticed a couple of things. First: This mount is rather hard to balance due to its ultra smooth operation in both axis’. Not a gripe just an observation as I was used to the NEQ6 which was quite a bit stiffer(read, “a lot”), even with new bearings. Second: This is a small gripe. Considering very few, if any, modern pc’s have a serial port and the fact that mount manufacturers seem to want to stick with outdated RS232, then it would be nice if an RS232 to USB converter were included with the mount so that it can be connected to a pc. So now I need to get a converter to connect to my obs pc, this is partly my fault as I did know I would need one, and also that one isn’t provided, but I forgot. Above factors aside the mount seems very easy to operate with the hand box. Shane
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Got the pier plate home today, now waiting for the paint to dry. And guess what, the bloody rain is coming down and looks like it will be cloudy for the next week at least. I should have known all new astro gear comes with cloud, just been a while since I've made any new purchases.LOL. Will post more pics later as I get it all commissioned. Shane
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ja, ja, ja, geesuz! for some strange reason only known to the Universe I share your enjoyment. Send us some pics once it is setup on Monday or Tuesday my friend. Enjoyment in AP comes from a good mount, everything else is just trinkets (to an extent). Ray
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She has arrived. What a thing of beauty. Quite a nice PE curve of just over 4 arc seconds peak to peak. Wont be doing much till my pier plate is ready on Monday but I will have a bit of a play on the bench in the mean time. Shane
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Hurry up driver! Deliver the mount! Ray
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Excellent work Gordon Ray
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Nice one mate. good luck with the talk. Shane
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Decomissioned NEQ6 on Thursday and started prep for CEM60. I got confirmation of delivery for Wednesday next week yesterday. Getting excited now. Shane
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Next month, the Herefordshire Astronomical Society is holding a public open day to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. I have been invited to do a couple of talks on astrophotography and time lapse imaging. As part of the time lapse talk I have put together a video of my time lapse clips, animated star trails and holy grail time lapses that I have taken over the last 3 years. I have done a few calculations and the movie which lasts about 21 minutes was shot using over 31,000 images taken over a total period of 11 full 24 hour days which is then condensed into a total of 21 minutes. The time lapses were shot at several locations including Hereford Eardisley Hergest Ridge, Kington British Camp, Malvern Hills Grwyn Fawr Reservoir, Brecon Beacons National Park Nidd Gorge, Harrogate Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire Fewston Reservoir, North Yorkshire Ribblehead, Yorkshire Dales Thornwick Bay, Yorkshire Coast The video can be seen at the link below in HD and 4K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-aIRT5jTvQ&t=146s
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1. Power Unit Amp and foot Pedals
2. Power Unit
3. Foot pedals removed - Coated in muck
4. Pedal Frame cleaned and restored
5. Cleaning of Pedal boards and Volume control unit
6. This beast weighs a ton. Solid timber housing. Note the home made dolly to shift it around !
7. Partially restored Roller and top of housing.
8. Roller and part panels removed to access switches
9. Restored stool. Had been used as a "coffee table"
10. Quick shot of the Yamaha HC3W Fully restored to 100% working condition.
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Open that beer and prep that gear! First light is coming. I have no idea why I get excited when I see others buying nice kit. Ray
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Got an email from AstroShop letting me know the mount is on the way, still has to get to and clear customs and start heading to me. Not too long I hope. I'm really looking forward to through the mount cabling to avoid snags and look a lot neater. Shane
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1. Power Unit Amp and foot Pedals
2. Power Unit
3. Foot pedals removed - Coated in muck
4. Pedal Frame cleaned and restored
5. Cleaning of Pedal boards and Volume control unit
6. This beast weighs a ton. Solid timber housing. Note the home made dolly to shift it around !
7. Partially restored Roller and top of housing.
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Holy moly! What a great family addition. Congrats buddy. Ray
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Meet my latest grand child, Isabelle Rose Crabb. Shane
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Time Lapse and Star Trails on the Yorkshire Coast
Radar replied to Paramount's topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography
Awesome as usual mate. Ray -
I sent my Losmandy G11 to the U.S and imported my AP1600GTO from the U.S to Perth. Yeah shipping isn't cheap but there are good deals out there for slower air freight, just steer clear of the overnight express methods. Ray
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Time Lapse and Star Trails on the Yorkshire Coast
Paramount posted a topic in DSLR and CCD Astrophotography
Last week I went to a place called Thornwick Bay in Flamborough on the East Yorkshire Coast to shoot some time lapse and star trails. It wasn't the perfect night for it although the sky was clear as the moon was quite bright and high in the sky for the whole night. I set up two cameras, my Sony A7Sii and Samyang 24mm f1.4 lens to do a Holy Grail Time lapse and my Sony A7iii and Samyang 12mm f2.8 fisheye lens to do an ordinary time lapse and some star trails. I set both tripods up about 15 yards further in than the tide would go (worked out by deposited seaweed on the shore). I had a few people who showed interest and asked about what I was doing and there was also a couple of families out of camera shot on the right of the beach having a BBQ, they packed up just as the sun was sinking behind the cliff tops when it got quite chilly. Due to the moon being quite bright I had to use a much lower ISO than normal and even with this it looked as though the beach was bathed in sunlight even though it was midnight. Out of all the data I have done a selfie, a star trail image an animated star trail video, a normal time lapse and a holy grail time lapse so I still managed to get a fair bit done in the 4 hours of darkness. I have incorporated all this in the video clip below which can be seen in HD and 4K https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqUYNyVVmg- 1 reply
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No probs mate. On another note, I advertised the NEQ6 on another forum as well and had 1 nibble already. Although he may balk at cost of shipping to Brisvegas, my guess is it wont exactly be cheap shipping it anywhere due to the weight. Shane
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Epic mate. Keep us posted, we like to share in other's excitement. Ray
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I have just put in an order for a new mount and the old one will no longer be needed. It has done me great service in the time that I have owned it, about 10 years, it also has had quite a few modifications which I will list below. All mods done by myself except custom 5m synscan hand controller lead. I am asking $1000 ONO + p/h for the entire kit. NEQ6PRO Main bearings replaced April 2019, both RA and Dec Rowan belt mod hyertune spare PTFE spacers and end cap tool and old gears counterweight bar extension usb eq6 cables(FTDI chip) x2(both work one never used) scope mounting puck head x2, 1 Vixen style, 1x Losmandy style. Easily interchangeable tripod pier plate if required synscan hand control standard curly lead and custom 5m lead cigarette style power lead Shane
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I can thank Tony for the info he provided for making me look at this mount. The other alternative, buying a premium mount, was extremely unlikely. I have only seen good reviews no matter how hard I try to find a bad one, except perhaps for the early days of the mount. Having said that, by all accounts Ioptron after sales service seems to be exceptional. Now I can't wait for it to arrive, it's possible that I will get 2 new arrivals very close together, as my eldest daughter is due to have a baby soon as well, number 3 grandchild . Shane
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Geesuz! Nice toy mate. Can't wait for you to get it. Ray
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Organised to have a pier plate made by my brother today. That way I wont have to wait when the mount arrives. It's very handy having a brother that owns an engineering business . Even handier when you can take a cad drawing to him so he doesn't have to draw one up himself. Shane
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couple of stock pics from Ioptron website.
