AstroBill 19 Report post Posted September 18, 2007 [quote=BobbyC;7449 Hi Bobby, The dielectric...I'm still evaluating it.I used it last night,had beautiful cloud free skies.So far,I am pleased with it.It seems to reveal a little more nebulosity,and appears like it might be helping resolve clusters a little better.(notice the frequent use of the word 'little'.) . I guess a 'little' in astronomy is also 'a lot'. at least its giving you better views Tim. good to know that it is squeezing that little bit extra out of your setup. :thumbsupmate: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AstroBill 19 Report post Posted September 18, 2007 Hi Guys, Here is my setup. It's an N11GPS with a Skywatcher 80ED piggy backed. I've also got a HEQ5-PRO eq mount for the Skywatcher. I ended up getting the EQ mount so I could do more imaging of the southern sky. It gets very tight trying to get the camera, etc to turn though the fork arms so that the N11GPS is pointing south. Now hopefully with the HEQ5-PRO I've got all areas of the sky covered I've also done a bit of a write up on the pier design here for anyone that is interested. Regards, Stephen Nice little setup you have there Stephen, do you have much light pollution? :thumbsupmate: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timthelder 206 Report post Posted September 18, 2007 Wow,you guys have got some nice set ups,:thumbsupmate: which gives me an idea.... If I could get my little wifey on here,and show here all the nice equipment you guys have maybe she would understand how I need to have some more goodies....er'I mean equipment:Chessy_Smile: It could also give someone some ideas for birthdays and such.:eartoear: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whmacs 10 Report post Posted September 18, 2007 Hi Bobby, No, I'm pretty lucky at the moment. I'm on 1.5 acres backing onto farmland. The estate only has one street light every 200m so its reasonably dark. Unfortunately all the farm land is being sold off for residential development... Regards, Stephen Nice little setup you have there Stephen' date=' do you have much light pollution? :thumbsupmate:[/quote'] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radar 654 Report post Posted September 19, 2007 If I could get my little wifey on here,and show here all the nice equipment you guys have maybe she would understand how I need to have some more goodies....er'I mean equipment:Chessy_Smile: The trick is to keep things secret until the money is spent :Chessy_Smile: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timthelder 206 Report post Posted September 19, 2007 I have a Meade Pictor 201 stand alone guider, SBIG ST4 autoguider, PST and about to own a Meade DSI Pro II with filters. By the end of this year, I'm hoping to make a serious investment into a serious monochrome CCD. Hey Ray,keep me posted on the DS II Pro,for the moment that's the avenue I'm looking at for a CCD. I can pick up a DSI for $129.95,a DSI Pro for $249.95,but then I know I will want to upgrade.It doesn't make sense to waste money on something I am just going to try and sell at a loss. Another thing I am curious about is wether or not regular color filters will work in the filter rack,or do you have to buy theirs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radar 654 Report post Posted September 19, 2007 Hey Ray,keep me posted on the DS II Pro,for the moment that's the avenue I'm looking at for a CCD. Could have it by Friday, but most likely Monday Tim. Can't wait to start using it and experimenting with tri colour imaging. And yes you can interchange the filters on the filter 'thingy'. :Chessy_Smile: Ray Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beren 26 Report post Posted September 20, 2007 Couple of CATs :eartoear: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radar 654 Report post Posted September 21, 2007 A CAT lover? Nice toys Stu. :thumbsupmate: Without taking aperture into account, what yeilds better views, the SCT or the Mak? Cheers Ray Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beren 26 Report post Posted September 21, 2007 Hi Ray they are both the same design, Schmidt-cassegrains, but different apertures. Have never looked through a Mak-cassegrain type yet :hmm: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tenacious Del 10 Report post Posted September 22, 2007 is that refractor a borg? :hmm: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ithildin 10 Report post Posted September 24, 2007 Hi, Dellio No, my scope is a Meade LXD75 6" Achromatic Refractor.:Chessy_Smile: Ithildin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astrolounge 10 Report post Posted November 26, 2007 The scope has undergone a bit of an upgrade lately. l deceided to repaint it white to aid cooling and make it more visible at night. l've also made new motor cradles with a better tensioning system to achieve better meshing of the drive gears. Finally l've fitted a new Kendrick dew heater system and a flocked rigid dew shield. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radar 654 Report post Posted November 26, 2007 Awesome looking machine you got there Mick. What do you mean by meshing of the gears? You mean the teeth were grinding against each other? Ray Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astrolounge 10 Report post Posted November 26, 2007 no, just the way the worm wheel and drive gear engage. the original system had too much backlash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ibelieveinyou 10 Report post Posted January 20, 2008 my first telescope Meade ETX-60AT-BB BAckpack Observatory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A.S.I.G.N_Baz 19 Report post Posted April 6, 2008 I'm sure I already did this somewhere....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattwastell 10 Report post Posted April 7, 2008 Here are my scopes - I would love to put a pier in out front yard for my LX90 but Kate insists that it has another applications - sundial? Hey that may work! See ya My Jpeg images did not download - dimensions too large - how can I reduce the dimensions of a Jpeg image? Sorry for my computer knowledge, or lack of it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radar 654 Report post Posted April 7, 2008 My Jpeg images did not download - dimensions too large - how can I reduce the dimensions of a Jpeg image? Sorry for my computer knowledge' date=' or lack of it![/quote'] Do you have photoshop or paintshop pro Matt? Or any other imaging editing program? In photoshop, simply goto image>image size Edit the size of the image, then goto SaveForWeb> (give it a new name) and click Save (this keeps your original sized image, and gives you a new sized image for the web). Fire away if you have any questions. Ray Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattwastell 10 Report post Posted April 7, 2008 Thanks Ray My images were 3256 x 2448. Unfortunately I do not have the ability to reduce their dimensions - the only thing I could do was to crop and this then allowed 2/5 of bugger all left to see. I will keep playing, Thanks for the tips though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen 10 Report post Posted April 7, 2008 G'day Mat, go here.... http://www.getpaint.net/roadmap.html#v3_0 and download the free Paint Dot net. It's a very powerful image processing program, very user friendly, and was built as a runner up to Paint shop pro. I use it more than paintshop Pro and only do final tweaking in PSP. It's updated on a regular basis and gets better all the time..... and it's free Clear skies Stephen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattwastell 10 Report post Posted April 7, 2008 Hi Stephen Thanks heaps - but I am a Mac user and the programme appears to be for PC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tenacious Del 10 Report post Posted April 8, 2008 i would live in that obs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Erwin 10 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 yesterday the weather sayed it would be clear... so had the setup , up and rolling, but then when it got dark, clouds came up... sometimes i had a clear area, so took some pics of the setup. i am @ holiday adress now ( we got a caravan, in the south of the netherlands , less light pollution ! ) so its displayed on the back of the photo, next to that, i didn't turned of the streetlight, because i wasn't going to image something the name of the caravan is ''Sterwens'' in english it is ''starwish'' but it is not related to astronomy , because its the first letter of my name ( and my 2 brothers ) here the pics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radar 654 Report post Posted July 7, 2008 That is some awesome kit you have there mate. The APO looks like a nice toy. What is that thing hanging off the counter weight bar? Ray Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
