MarkS

Christer, Like Dani, I can only answer for the 10N - but I did have a case of loose mirror after I had collimated the primary and was too timid tightening the adjusting screws. During transport the screws loosened and the mirror bacame loose and rattled around in the housing! The plastic screws at the side were correctly set. So it is important to check that the pull and push screws ARE tight - obvious, I know, but..... Regards, Mark

Very nice! Mark

Very nice Antonio. Worth the 20+hours! Mark

This globular cluster is listed as 10.24 billion years old. At this time of the year it is high in the southern sky around midnight. It is a little distance off the densest area of the Milky Way, about 16,000 light years away from us. The image was shot with ASA10N at f/3.6 for a total of 90 min RGB and 90 min L. This image has only used the RGB data. Conditions wre fairly good: SQM 21.32, no cloud but high humidity (68%). Mark

Great result, Ron. Mark

NGC 2736 is part of the Vela supernova remnant. It is quite faint, and in RGB I found that the star field dominated the image even after my attempts at deconvolution. So this image is shot with 5nm Ha and OIII filters. ASA10N in f/3.6 configuration; STT8300M; DDM60. Total exposure time was 5hr 20min - half with each filter. Subframes were 10min each, and the maximum signal from the brightest part of the nebula was only 1500ADU - I clearly need more data! So I suppose it's a work in progress. Here is the result for the data so far. All processing in Pixinsight; preparation for the web image in Photoshop Mark

This image was shot from my home in Melbourne where heavy light pollution abounds. ASA10N at f/2.8; STT8300M camera; Astrodon 5nm filters. Total exposure 3hr. Processed in Pixinsight, finished in Photoshop. Hubble Colour Palette modified to taste (mine, that is ) Christmas Greetings to all Mark

Make sure you have the latest ASCOM - I think it is 6.something Which version of Autoslew do you have? My set-up uses AS 5205 (beta), MaximDL - which you do need - TSX, and Sequence 206 (beta). You need Sequence to run the DDM in MLPT mode. I have to set up PA every time, so I have had a lot of practice! Key points are; 1. The mount should be physically aligned to the celestial pole as accurately as possible. I use the noon sun to establish the Azimuth, and a digital inclinometer to set altitude. 2. Once you have done a Homefind and the system is synched to a star near the meridian and high in the south, run the Sequence Autogrid 3 star routine, and ask to solve the plates. 3. Go to AS, load the pointing file, and solve using 3 star same DE 4. AS will ask what type of mount - follow the instructions 5. I repeat until PA errors are Apologies if you already know all this, but it works very well. When PA is set as I've described, and I use MLPT, I have no problem whatever with 20min subs. Regards, Mark PS: Remote obsevatories are way out of my experience - there are others on the forum that mey be able to help!

Can you move the emblem if you don't connect the telescope, but run AS in simulation mode? I'm at a loss to help, as I can't reproduce your problem. Maybe someone else can shed some light??? Regards, Mark PS: What are the other problems?

Once you have set up the telescope in TSX using the Telescope Setup dialog box, you should not need to start via POTH. Whether you open AS via TSX, or open AS first and then TSX, you should only see the direct link - never an ASCOM dialog. Perhaps you need to examine the set up process again? Being a mobile set-up, my usual startup routine is to open AS first, then the camera and Maxim, and then TSX, after which I simply connect the scope to TSX via the Start Up dialog. POTH dialog doesn't enter into the situation at all. Regards, Mark

Hi Pelle, It's not a bug! Have you connected the telescope to TheSkyX? This is done initially in the Telescope Setup dialog. I presume you have ASCOM installed, which you need to enable TSX to see the DDM60. The procedure is detailed in the Autoslew Manual. If all is correct, you should be able to open TheSkyX, press 'Connect Telescope' to turn on Autoslew. You should then see the telescope emblem on the sky picture. Press 'Motors On' in Autoslew, and the direction buttons will move the emblem. If you have set things up correctly you can perform the above in Autoslew Simulation mode. Hope this helps. Mark

Thanks Antonio Mark

Very nice, Antonio! Interesting image- the more so because it is really out of reach from here. Regards, Mark

Congrats Ron! Mark

"i've played with the "Expansion %" variable, (which i don't believe actually does anything!!)" - Prefetch Just a side note to the main thread: I have found that when using Pinpoint to solve plates directly, it is possible to get severe position errors if you set the Expansion % too high - eg 40%. Mark

Thanks Luke. I suppose I was a bit lucky leaving all the L exposures till last, when the seeing had improved. Mark

Nice image, in spite of your problems! Mark

This one shot on 18 November at one of my dark sky sites. SQL reading of 21.44 was OK, but seeing was atrocious. FWHM at start of the run was 7.2(!), improving to a best of 2.7 at the end. Because of this, processing was difficult, and the final image is OK at small size, but won't stand the A2 print size I was looking for. ASA10N at f/6.8, DDM60, L 20X5min unbinned, RGB 8X5min each binX2, processed in Pixinsight with final touching in Photoshop.

Thanks Gerald, Regards, Mark

Hi All, Can anyone give advice on removal and remounting of ASA10N secondary mirror so as to have minimal effect on collimation. I assume there is more than one way to do this - what are the options, and how best to proceed? Mark

Hi Luke, I've had very heavy condensation, which caused me to terminate a session because the laptop had water running off the screen - potentially into the computer itself - and the refractor I was using(OS130) fogged completely...... There were no problems with the DDM60. Regards, Mark

Spectacular! Mark

Congrats, Ron! Mark

Terrific! Mark

Great detail, Luke. It was worth all the effort! Mark