Small Newt Owners

[patent spoke]

The dec axis just has plastic bushings which ain't great

I think there is a drop in kit for tapered roller bearings that isn't too hard to do

Then just tune backlash of the spur gears for both axes and then you have a pretty good mount. From factory they're kinda cheeks

[silent fox]

It's already been upgraded! I'm the mounts 3rd owner. The guy I bought it from said he replaced the bearings a while back

[solid moon]

I have a feeling my single arm Celestron goto isn’t going to cut it.

[solid moon]

Can you share the STL and plans for this? This is on my bucket list in the far distant future.

[patent spoke]

The design kinda sucks tbh so I've been wanting to redo it so I dunno maybe

[solid moon]

It’s a square scope. It’s gotta be round because reasons.

Would this work as a mount? https://www.printables.com/model/273812-keen-one-harmonic-drive-eq-mount

Here’s a 56mm one.

Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! $51.60 14％ Off | High-precision Short Axis Secondary Mirror 32-100mm for DIY Newtonian Reflection Astronomical Telescope Accessories 1pc
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqDxaLO

That price though….

[patent spoke]

Those are secondary mirrors, it gets hard to find anything below 76mm on aliexpress

https://vyoptics.en.made-in-china.com/product/tERYBqvZYnro/China-Custom-Optical-Grade-Glass-2-Inch-50-8mm-Aluminium-Coated-Plano-Concave-Mirror-for-Laser.html

concave laser mirrors, no info on FL though

[solid moon]

Sorry I was mentioning that for Ampere. Was looking for a proper secondary for Starblast.

[patent spoke]

O

my bad

[solid moon]

He was saying 58mm is the optimal.

[patent spoke]

I need to upgrade my secondary too at some point, mine is 48mm. Still larger than the standard starblast but not ideal

[solid moon]

I know 34 is mine right now and since I pushed the mirror forward, I can no longer see the entire primary mirror

So I think I’m losing light there.

[patent spoke]

speaking of aliexpress I am trying my best not to buy two of these https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805351416662.html

It's just a 30:1 reduction but if I just added a planetary or something oooo tiny mount tiny mount

probably just good for visual though

[solid moon]

I need to do more research on gearing. Ie what kind of resolution is needed for AP. Could you stack a planetary gear on top of whatever you have and call it done?!

(Also side note… I saw a c5 for $150 shipped for sale. Seller says electronics is broken….

Good deal?!?)

[solid moon]

But on that note you could do small mirror grinding and make your own. And since things are so small. A $100 pottery wheel would get it done?

[deep fog]

Yea wth is that price. Larger ones from agena are cheaper than that.

[solid moon]

I think the 11.11 sale is artificially inflating things so they can go “on sale”.

[deep fog]

Ill probably just get a 54mm from somewhere. I know i said 58mm is optimal, which it is given my parameters, but going with a 54mm results in an average field illumination loss of like 2-3% so its like whatever

Actually the light loss might be of a relative value, ill have to double check that later

[solid moon]

Yeah I’d be interested to know. I was on Mel’s site and didn’t understand the terms. Got a lot of googling to do.

Is an ADC in your consideration?

[deep fog]

an ADC? no? don't really see a use for one

[solid moon]

Or filter drawer? Just thinking about what to fill backspacing.

[deep fog]

ah, i just have spacers. the next time I update that part of my system, I'll probably just go full mono. aka a long time from now

[silent fox]

https://groversoptics.com/acuter-newtony-50-educational-telescope-discovery-set/

lol 50mm

[patent spoke]

That’s what I’m talkin about

There is a celestron version but it’s $40

Ain’t no way

[silent fox]

apparently the coma is bad even at F/8

[patent spoke]

It’s f/4

[silent fox]

is it?

I read wrong oof

[patent spoke]

200mm fl

Someone made a comment somewhere assuming it was f/8 asking about coma

[silent fox]

ah

[patent spoke]

I would like to make an f/4.5 or f/5 50mm. Totally useless but fun

I need to finish my T2 prism diagonal project so I can use my 50mm evoguide for visual

[zinc lake]

the secondary

crazy idea but hear me out

just hear me out okay

76mm cassegrain

[silent fox]

you wanna see something crazy

30mm schmidt cassegrain

He puts in INTO the eyepiece to use it

[zinc lake]

WHAT

[silent fox]

HAHAH

Heres the link

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/406276-a-solid-30-mm-f10-schmidt-cassegrain/

[zinc lake]

That cant be real

omg its real

[silent fox]

take a peak

[patent spoke]

https://youtu.be/HxwhCmO90UQ?si=agbaFI_GIYLWUPh5

https://youtu.be/A0bysBIj0FA?si=dA5a0xu7xvUco2O6

[eager quiver]

@deep fog @patent spoke were did you get the focuser

[patent spoke]

The one I used came from a lunt telescope, it's just a regular 2-speed crayford. designed and printed a solid mount for the focuser to attach to the OTA

[eager quiver]

I wana build one like it's pretty cheap

[patent spoke]

That's mostly why I did it. I got the imaging version of the starblast for $120, crayford for $80, coma corrector for $200

But it's also just pretty small which I like

Can go way cheaper if you can find a normal starblast locally but you'd need to upgrade the secondary mirror

[deep fog]

I bought mine new from Agena Astro

[eager quiver]

Cam you send the link@deep fog

[deep fog]

https://agenaastro.com/gso-crayford-focuser-reflector-telescope-dual-speed.html This is the exact one but going back, I'd probably get a better one, like the Linear Bearing version. Or even a low profile focuser.

[solid moon]

Can get on Ali; around $130USD maybe? Since they are out of stock

[solid moon]

What about using the OAM Astro tracker?

[patent spoke]

I think only a handful of people have finished and use a working OAM. It's pretty cool but I'd sooner just convert an EQ3-2 with onstep

Not sure how the payload capacity compares but it's definitely easier to just source a working mount and computerize it

[solid moon]

5-7kg based off the discord.

[solid moon]

I didn’t realize I had a 60mm secondary on my 8”. I could try it out to see how it works. The goal is to get the whole primary in the reflection right?

[deep fog]

Yes, and in theory more. If you're using something like a collimation cap, you're only checking for primary coverage at the center of the sensor, but obviously our sensors don't just exist at the center. By moving your eye laterally across the presumed focal plane, you can somewhat see how large of an area will recieve complete primary coverage.

[solid moon]

So the 1.25” stock focuser I currently have won’t make a difference to what I can see then?

I’m wondering if I can first get away with just upgrading the secondary and see how bad the coma is before I upgrade the focuser.

[deep fog]

putting in the 60mm may still help. If you look through now and can't see the whole primary but can see the tube around the secondary, then filling that space in with that larger secondary will still help. I would also still advise upgrading the focuser to a 2" simply because it allows for the use of a CC. The coma at f/4 wtih these newts is severe, even on a small sensor.

I should also just make an important note that you should only invest more money into stuff like this if you're confident you want to make this work as a main imaging scope

[solid moon]

Yeah it’s all I really have that’s fast enough for imaging. Unless some kind soul drops a super astrograph level refractor in my lap….

Other alternative is Celestron 5” SCT that I might buy.

I’ve never heard of anyone imagining on a 5” sct. Even with a focal reducer.

[deep fog]

neither have i, but you could probably find someone on astrobin

[solid moon]

Lol just searched through the forums for 5se. And the only one I saw was how it was the wrong scope and the svbony 80ed was better.

[deep fog]

lol what, i mean I guess

[solid moon]

I also have a small 5” mak. But that’s not gonna work except for planetary work.

I dunno. I like small scopes.

[deep fog]

tbh I like big scopes but big scopes cost so I'm sticking small for now

[solid moon]

Yes dobbby ftw

[deep fog]

My endgame scope would probably be something like what this guy uses: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Nauris.de/. He makes his own scopes called Vates-Astrographs and his 16" F4 only weighs 23kg / 50lbs which lets him mount it to his CEM 60.

https://nauris.de/index.php/en/telescopes/vates-astrograph#Kenndaten_Preise

heres his website

[solid moon]

That’s beautiful

[patent spoke]

I see truss tube, I want

[ionic plaza]

I want one in future

[patent spoke]

I think a 10" truss tube RC is the coolest looking telescope

these just look like scientific instruments

[silent fox]

they really do😩

I wonder if its possible to make a small one haha

[patent spoke]

I promise you I have considered this

There is no way to make a small cassegrain telescope without a corrector plate

[silent fox]

oof

[patent spoke]

Other than a second surface mangin mirror secondary but if that, kiss sharpness goodbye. That's a tactic used by mirror lenses

I am on the lookout for a meade 107D with the secondary in an optical window. If I get that, I could make a very bad truss tube cassegrain at 4"

[silent fox]

I thought RC's are two mirrors tho?

Sorry if I read your sentence wrong*

[patent spoke]

I think RCs and CDKs are the coolest kinds of telescopes but are not easy to make at all :(

RC especially with two hyberboloids smh

[solid moon]

Lol picked up another Starblast.

[deep fog]

ez, for how much, and is it the same kind as yours or is it the "older" version with the metal 4-vein spider

[solid moon]

It’s the older version with the 4 vane spider.

https://www.telescope.com/Orion-StarBlast-45-Astro-Reflector-Telescope/p/102010.uts

[deep fog]

metal or plastic?

[solid moon]

Metal

The spider or tube?

I’ll need to double check. Not with it right now.

[deep fog]

the spider

i didn't realize they made a 4-vein version with plastic

[solid moon]

Here’s the actual pic of it.

[deep fog]

oh ok, same one as mine, metal spider version

[solid moon]

Unlike the link, this one seems to have adjustment

So it’s f/4 too?

[deep fog]

maybe? my tube came from the equatorial version so I'm not sure about the tabletop version. i know they made an f/4.5 version which I think was only for the tabletops but at the same time, I feel like that was only for a limited time until they went back to f/4. It's whatever though, f/4, f/4.5, close enough

shouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things

[patent spoke]

I think every version except the 3-vane plastic spider version is f/4

The plastic one is f/4.5

[deep fog]

ah i see

[solid moon]

So when I used my camera did a reverse lookup for focal length… my f/4.5 is really f/3.9

[deep fog]

odd provided the labelling but better in some ways I guess.

I'd actually might prefer a slightly longer focal length, makes collimation and coma correction easier

[solid moon]

Yeah it’s weird. I’ll take it though.

[deep fog]

and the crew is building up, more and more people with fast 4.5" newts

[patent spoke]

very good yes

[past kite]

Bro you are always cooking something

[patent spoke]

Yea I'm always up to something

several things

[silent fox]

https://tenor.com/view/cooking-cook-chef-masterchef-lilb-gif-13910066

[solid moon]

I like the color and dovetail of my original Starblast. But the mirror cells and the placement of the focuser is better on the “library” Starblast to do more modifications….. looks like this will be a real frankenscope.

I think the library Starblast may be a longer tube. It’s hard to get exact measurements with a laser ruler when you’re measuring mirrors.

Or since I have two….. binoscope imaging Starblast!!!

[solid moon]

Uhhhh huh. The library Starblast has another lens in the focuser.

Is that a coma corrector?! Couldn’t be.

[silent fox]

It might be a bird-jones design

built in barlow

[solid moon]

Does that mean the mirror isn’t parabolic?

[silent fox]

yea

the built in barlow helps reduce spherical abberation

[patent spoke]

yea the three vane starblast isn't parabolic sadly

[solid moon]

It’s four.

[solid moon]

My blue Starblast is 3 vane and plastic. But it’s taking images at f/3.9

@_@

[solid moon]

Oh that’s hilarious…… I tried to collimate and the laser is just a red blob. Can’t even collimate. I stick my eyepiece in. Never could find focus. Stick another one in and still no focus. Had the focuser all the way out. No wonder they sold this thing……

Then as I’m pulling the eye piece out and calling it a night… the focuser ring comes out with the eyepiece and behold….. ORION SHORTY BARLOW!

The focuser is missing a ring so it can’t hold the Barlow in place. But this scope is def f/4. Previous owner just didn’t know how to use it.

[deep fog]

free barlow ez

[solid moon]

Right? The focuser now is missing the ring that holds the eyepiece

[deep fog]

sounds like time for a new focuser

[solid moon]

I think I had an STL for it. Because I modified my old one to be a tighter fit.

Last night imaging with old bluey was actually nice. I could pull off 10 sec subs. Collimation still wasn’t perfect and I’m starting to notice coma

[hot vortex]

Ehm so idk stuff about newtons and I was wondering if a small newt is a way around expensive refractors or is it just a pain cause collimation etc.?

[silent fox]

I think that heavily depends on your budget

imo, i like reflectors better (i've had much more experience using them)

however I think there are advantages a refractor has over a reflector

[patent spoke]

It's possible to put together something that ends up being cheaper than a refractor but it can often be a pain

For my small newt project, I had to cut into the OTA with a hole saw, print a bracket to hold a 2" focuser on, then buy a coma corrector. All in, it's definitely less than a good refractor but may not be worth the trouble

[silent fox]

I'm running a 20 year old mount rn with my 4.5" newt

Now that polar alignment is pretty good I'm getting decent 45 sec subs

[pastel hornet]

Newts are just small reflectors right? I just found this channel

[deep fog]

pretty much

[solid moon]

Starblasting!!!

[limber socket]

Hi

[past kite]

Yours is better

My stars are looking weird idk

[past kite]

Edited it a bit

[limber socket]

Take flats pls

[solid moon]

Still learning how to do processing. My imaging rig still needs a lot of work. namely collimation and coma correction. I was finally able to take a 10sec sub without too much drift. Star alignment is still a struggle.
Also learning how to do calibration frames.

[past kite]

I took flats i need bias

[limber socket]

Take them den

[past kite]

Yeah we both need to work on our skill

[past kite]

Clouds

[limber socket]

Bruh you don’t need clouds

I take them inside

[solid moon]

I'm sure temp will be a factor, but none of my callibration frames have been taken at the same temp (uncooled camera)

[past kite]

Dude wha, idk howww

[past kite]

Oh

[limber socket]

Lens cap, same iso, quickest exposure time possible 20-30 of them will be good y

[past kite]

Really, so just pure black screen will be fine?

[solid moon]

get a white tshirt or piece of paper and turn your cellphone to a white screen

[limber socket]

That’s flats

[past kite]

@limber socket ???

[limber socket]

Sure if idk set exposure quickest and same iso when imaging

[past kite]

K

[solid moon]

@deep fog Do you have a pic of your focuser/coma corrector arrangement? Im having trouble understanding how coma correctors work. I can see cameras can be at one back spacing but how does that work generally for visual use with different eye pieces.

[deep fog]

My coma corrector is directly attached to my camera and I just insert that entire assembly into the focuser. What function of CC's are you having trouble undersatnding exactly?

[solid moon]

Ah ok. Like my GSO one looks like a Barlow and is it just supposed to sit inside the focuser as a permanent home?

What spacer are you using for yours?

[deep fog]

It's usually that the camera and CC are permanently attatched to each other and that assembly can freely sit within the focuser in whatever way deemed appropriate. And as for spacers, i use 2 m48 extension tubes, which act as spacers, a thin 3D printed spacer, and an m42-m48 adapter so my camera can attach to it all

[solid moon]

Backfocus is 56mm for the sharpstar?

[deep fog]

yup

or 58mm depending on how you think about it

[solid moon]

How do I think about it? 😂

[deep fog]

it's 56mm if you leave the collar they include with the CC attached, but it's removable and is 2mm thick so if you remove the colar the backspacing technically extends to 58mm if you now start as the base of the threads of the CC

[solid moon]

Cool. I ordered a sharpstar from Ali. I hope it delivers the same performance.

[deep fog]

man I really got a bunch of people to get this Sharpstar CC

[solid moon]

lol. My GSO is a 1.1x. That’s the wrong way!

[solid moon]

Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! $193.00 | Sharpstar 2inch 0.95x MPCC Coma Corrector Reducer for 150mm-600mm F3-F6 Newtonian Telescope
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNFY0jw

[solid moon]

So where does the filter go in the imaging train? Does it go before the CC or right before the camera? Is there a way to thread the filter for both sides?

[deep fog]

If your talking like a UV/IR cut filter for a color cam, then most likely before the CC, meaning you'd need a 2" one. You can use a 1.25" one and utilize certain adapters to put it in between the CC and camera but I'd just advice getting a 2" one and sticking it to the front. Obviously if you're mono or utiliize something like a filter drawer with a DNB filter on color, then it'd most definitely go between the CC and camera

[solid moon]

Yeah Uv/ir cut. Any recommendations for the 2”?

[deep fog]

I use the SVBONY one and it seems to work completely fine

this one
https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Filter-Astrophotography-Telescope-Threads/dp/B07Y9HV927/ref=sr_1_2?crid=102KW2PLOZWKN&keywords=svbony%2B2%2Binch%2Buv%2Fir%2Bcut%2Bfilter&qid=1700297212&sprefix=svbony%2B2%2Binch%2B%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-2&th=1

[solid moon]

Huh wonder why it’s red?

My 1.25” is blue

[deep fog]

interesting... ones from other brands like optolong and ZWO appear red as well so idk

[solid moon]

I guess maybe at different angles. It almost doesn’t seem like it does anything.

Did you just get a set of m48 extended tubes from Amazon too?

[deep fog]

yup. I don't remember the exact set I got but it included a 30mm, 10mm, 8mm, and 5mm. Though in retrospect, I wish I got one that included more lengths

and I'd suggest it too, never know when you'll need to adjust your spacing to some exact measurement in the future

[solid moon]

Yeah. I like having the availability..

Also was thinking about filter drawer. If I wanted to do narrowband

I haven’t done enough research for how much it’d help in B8-9 skies

[deep fog]

I mean it'll no doubt help in imaging NB targets. Might even be preferable as imaging anything else in B8-9 might not produce the greatest results. And you can do alot with just a dual NB filter, lotta targets, lots of ways to process, etc

considering getting one myself as my B6-7 skies are a bit annoying to image in broadband

[solid moon]

Yeah if you look at the image I posted. Does it look like I’d benefit? I really didn’t put much total time on it. But one thing that bothered me most is the noise.

[deep fog]

Oh most definitely. Imaging with NB filters on a NB target will practically always produce better results than imaging without

[solid moon]

I was looking at the optolong Lenhance?

[deep fog]

that can work, I'd personally go for something a bit tighter on the bandpasses as the Lenhance has quite a large 24nm bandpass for the Oiii range which also lets in H-beta which I don't think people really care for at all so it's really just a wider bandpass for no obviously apparent reason. A tighter bandpass filter will produce better contrast and cut out more LP and considering your in B8-9, it could be to your benefit. Although you'll generally end up paying more for those tighter bandpass filters so the tradeoff is yours to make

what mount do you have btw?

[solid moon]

Celestron nexstar…. 😦

Looking for something better

[deep fog]

ahh i see

hopefully you can get a better mount cause you're definitely gonna need that if you plan on doing dual NB

[deep fog]

I'll share this here like most things I work on. I've been wanting to make a NN based denoiser for astro and as a first step, I made a simple denoiser that function on non-linear data. This was the results of one of the tests. Will continue to develop.

[zinc lake]

Looking great so far

[limber socket]

Slightly strong I’d say

[patent spoke]

Gotta team up with Vikram lol

[silent fox]

Any of you guys used this to image? It's a 100mm parabolic mirror

[silent fox]

Dude thats awesome

What kinda mods?

Also did you have to move the mirrors at all?

[patent spoke]

Custom focuser made from an M65-M65 camera lens helicoid, printed a new secondary mirror spider, and a custom collimating mirror cell

I never really got to image well with it bc everything is made of plastic and collimation wouldn't hold but it technically works

[silent fox]

dude thats awesome

My uni just had it in a box in a closet so I just pulled it out and was like "wow thats small" lol

apparently newtons first reflector was an inch in diameter

like

what

[patent spoke]

I briefly considered making a 2"/50mm f/5 newt but like.. binoculars exist so no real point there

I have a 50mm objective lens I need to use anyway but have been stalling on that project since last year

[silent fox]

True

[solid moon]

Coma corrector came in today.

Wohoo!

[past kite]

Yeeee buddyy!!!!

[solid moon]

I’m having too much fun imaging even though my collimation is bad, focus is off, and coma is prevalent.

[deep fog]

nice! have you got that focuser situation sorted out?

[solid moon]

Should I try the 60mm secondary first?

Still need to test that out.

[deep fog]

if you already have it then sure

[solid moon]

Just to test out the spacing.

[deep fog]

oh yea then sure, whatever can get you running/testing

[solid moon]

Yeah it was on my 8”. Still need to take it off the mount and attach to the spider. I like the blue of my original tube but the library scope tube has better mirror cells with adjustments.

I wish it was easier to pick this and that from the other.

[deep fog]

real

[solid moon]

Trivane preferred but 4 vane is easier to install. Primary cell is better on library but mine has the image plane correctly spaced.

What length of screws did you use for the primary to make it camera compatible?

[deep fog]

they're like 100mm long

[solid moon]

Is that why you’re losing collimation?

[deep fog]

no, at least I don't think so, after some thorough testing, I believe it was the secondary, the way I integrated it made a huge momonent arm out of it that swung the secondary around by like, probably less than a mm at most but that's obviously still enough to mess things up

[solid moon]

Oh that’s right.

For me I was noticing in some of my images the collimation was going wonky at certain altitudes

Zenith in particular it seems.

And I think it’s my primary that’s shifting. Maybe my mirror clips are too loose

[deep fog]

Update on the denoiser. It now operates on 32-bit floating point tif files and tiling has been implemented. It still operates on non-linear data. Since the network was trained on the noise profile of monochrome type data, it works best on that type of noise and lacks on debayered OSC noise profiles. Additionally, it has moderate performance in terms of preserving fine detail. Overall, I need to retrain the network with more types of data and may possibly restructure the architecture of the network so it preserves fine details better.
(The bottom images are a 200% zoom)

[solid moon]

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKwzhOM

It’s like it did all the work for me.

[solid moon]

@deep fog sorry for the elementary newb request, but do you have a pic of your image train? The extension tube came in and I'm working out the back focus. I think I have the wrong adapter from the Uranus-C to the extension tube

[deep fog]

From left to right: CC -> 30mm m48 -> 1.5mm shim -> 5mm m48 -> 7.5mm m42-m48 adapter

[solid moon]

Is that shim the 3d printed one?

[deep fog]

ye

[solid moon]

Would the sharpstar CC collar provide that spacing?

Do you adjust the whole train until everything comes into focus?

I’m silicone glueing the 60mm secondary tonight. I don’t think I’ll be able to test it until tomorrow.

[deep fog]

that's what i used previously but for my setup, it felt ever so slightly too far so that led me to replace the 2mm colar with a 1.5mm spacer.

abd by adjust, do you mean like the mirrors and stuff?

[solid moon]

No like how far the camera assembly goes into the focuser tube.

[deep fog]

oh, well i just make it so the bottom of the imaging train, so the end of the CC, reaches the bottom of my focusing tube. I mathed out the whole setup when it came to the mirrors and camera and stuff so I knew exactly where everything needed to sit before I assembled the whole thing.

[solid moon]

Stock secondary of the tri vane and 4-vane have different screw sizes, M4 and M3. Also trivane seems to be about HALF the length of 4-vane.

Anybody have any stls for a mirror mask for the starblast?

[deep fog]

This is the one I made for mine. tbh though, the little nubs need to be like twice as long

It ends up looking like this

[solid moon]

You mean to hold the mirror down?

[deep fog]

the nubs go between each pair of screws so when you screw it down, the metal plate squishes the mask into the rubber part holding it down. I think it needs to be a bit longer cause mine barely when in between the screws but it still worked, just a little finicky to install but holds its place afterwards

also, idk if your cell is designed like this

[solid moon]

Yeah somewhat. I copied an old Orion design, completely 3d printed. But the brackets nubs are the only thing that isn’t.

[solid moon]

Do you think silver screws would cause my image to be distorted?

[deep fog]

what does that mean exactly

[solid moon]

the screw on brackets of the primary cell. My screws are silver because tha'ts what I had. wondering if that was causing issues with my diffraction spikes

I've been chasing good collimation and focus. But now with the new 60mm secondary in there.. I'll have to start over again.

Also my primary didn't have a center spot before (just added one) so that's hopefully going to make a difference

[deep fog]

oh, I don't think it would. It'd probably have a higher chance of creating light artifacts than a diffraction artifact. Either way, you could probably just cover them with like a sliver of black electrical tape or something similar.

[solid moon]

Didn’t notice until after imaging last night. I was wondering why collimation wasn’t right.

[zinc lake]

nice jwst spikes

[solid moon]

They’re finally coming together. Now I have to tackle the coma and focus issues.

I may have to redo the secondary. Depending on how I get the focuser on. But the spikes are finally looking passable.

[pulsar umbra]

A mirror mask will clean those spikes up further.

Looking really nice though

[woeful gale]

Bought this just a month back. It's a Pie Matrix 130650EQ3.

Ridiculously new to this hobby lol.

[solid moon]

Thanks! I actually do have a mirror mask on it STL provided by Ampere.

I learned a few things on the secondary… I have to center and align it on the holder. I thought I needed to shift it a little for size or whatever. But it just ended up being off center a little bit and oblong on collimation testing. I tried to “center” it and the laser would be off.

Also notice how misshapen the primary mirror line is… I’m unsure how to adjust for that

[solid moon]

Any tips for drilling out the tube for the focuser?

I don’t have a drill press. Just regular power tools.

[deep fog]

ngl, i'd suggest getting something along the lines of a drill pess, or at the least find some way to use one, or a different method entirely. I actually went and bought a drill press for like $200 just to drill the focuser whole in my tube and it was still quite violent with the press. Maybe it the the bit we were using or how we where going about it but I can't imagine how it would be when using a handheld tool.\

[solid moon]

I was thinking of making/printing something to support the inside?

Did you just use the standard bi-metal hole saw from the big box?

[deep fog]

pretty much since that's what we had

[nimble dawn]

8in counts as small right??

[past kite]

Does 5 inch count as small, my friends say that its small (I MEAN THE TELESCOPE)

[silent fox]

Idk man a 5 inch telescope seems to work wonders for most

[past kite]

Cool

[naive barn]

Below 6" and it's considered "smol"

[nimble dawn]

bs there are 70in newts out there and youre saying that 8in isnt small

[naive barn]

Lol, the majority of people in this server own newts less than 12"

Amateur wise 8" is quite large

[twilit mango]

Guys, Im leaving this channel, just got a 12" dob XD, selling the 6" newt

[naive barn]

Nice!

[nimble dawn]

@wet lance just got his 6in f4

[deep fog]

@patent spoke I thought you'd find this interesting. I only just recently learned there's another type of cassegrain reflector beyond RC, CC, and DK/CDK, the Harmer Wynne. The reason I find this design interesting to me is that it doesn't require aspherical elements. It utilizes a parabolic primary and a spherical secondary. Then usually has a sub-aperture corrector. Maybe this is possible to make? This link is to a person who actually made one, a 14.5" Harmer Wynne with a 3-element corrector. Additionally, since it uses a parabolic primary, he made it so that he could replace the secondary with a diagonal and use it in a newtonian configuration. Allowing him to go from F/7 to F/4. I wonder if a configuration could be made to make it faster in the Cassegrain configuration, like F/5 or F/4. I know its possible since companies like Officina Stellare makes them and AG optical apparently made them, but is it within reach of an amateur? Anyway, here it is. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/662759-making-a-145-harmer-wynne-cassegrain/

[patent spoke]

I love alternative cassegrain designs. Definitely more possible than something like a Riccardi-Honders lol

[deep fog]

yup, also wish there was some more accessible software out there to simulate optical designs

[patent spoke]

The only one I can think of is Zemax and I bet that isn't cheap

my god it's stupidly expensive

[deep fog]

wait, i was about to say that the software I think most manufacturers use is this software called OSLO and that it's like a business software that needs a quote for pricing. But I just realized they have an EDU version of the software which is just a version of it with less features than the professional, and it's free to download, here's the link. It seems very complex to learn and I don't have the time right now to learn it but yea, maybe in week once i'm done with finals. https://lambdares.com/oslo-edu-download

[patent spoke]

Yea I have finals next week too. I just spent all of Friday and today messing around with this windows 11 phone project

Not too excited for this exam where the contents are "Everything we talked about"

[deep fog]

ok like what am I doing. i starting following their user guide and got this. This'll definitely take a while to learn

yea I'll spend my break learning how this works

[patent spoke]

I'd like to see how this goes. I always have lots of cassegrain dreams that end in the corrector stage lol

[deep fog]

lol, they include some premade designs and they have hubble

[wet lance]

[solid moon]

I need a proper mount for my starblast. 😦 Rotation's got me...

[solid moon]

Sorry this is a stupid question. I’ve made my bracket to mount the focuser. Pretty much straight duplicate of the GSO focuser dimensions. Then I realized I don’t have an imperial saw that fits this hole. Should I shrink it [bracket hole] down so the focuser tube doesn’t have that much space and match it with a 2.5” or 2.75” hole saw?

[deep fog]

Uh, I think you should be fine? if i understood what you said correctly. The hole I drilled in my tube was with a 2.5" diameter hole saw so....

[solid moon]

I just thought I would make that gap a little tighter for light and support purposes. I also wondering how to mark the hole center when the hole is already partially drilled. Maybe design a template.

[deep fog]

Oh ok I see your point. Yea if you can, then It'll probably help in both those regards. And yea a template will probably be good. I drilled my hole on the other side of the tube so I just marked center.

[solid moon]

What did you do with the existing focuser hole?

[deep fog]

covered it with tape

[deep fog]

completely done with everything, time to learn oslo

[patent spoke]

Hooray

[solid moon]

What’s an Oslo ?

[deep fog]

OSLO is a piece of software that allows you to simulate optical designs and measure their performance. Basically if you've ever seen charts like the one posted, this software can make those. The plan is if I can learn this, I can experiment with one-off optical designs for telescopes and hopefully help sym design some correctors for his cassegrains.

[solid moon]

Drill speed was too slow and really messed up the edge there.

I think it’ll still be ok.

[solid moon]

Mounting screw holes are pretty far off. 2/4 are where they need to be but makes the circle uneven. If I redrill the screw holes I’ll be making Swiss cheese; they are off enough that it shouldn’t open up a larger hole but I’m just worried about the integrity of the metal.

[lapis raft]

With such a big bracket you won’t have any problem, the bracket itself will provide structural integrity

[sullen terrace]

gday, just wondering if anyone has suggestions for an autofocuser for a skywatcher 150/750?

[deep fog]

@patent spoke I think I understand how it works now. I made the setup you briefly ran in the past, 100mm f4 skyscanner with the baader coma corrector (at least I think this was it). I got the CC measurements from that CN thread on how the MPCC mkIII is better for a hyperbolic newt. Units are at the bottom. The degrees at full field in this scenario goes to 8.17mm radius from center, so it should simulate the very corners of your 533.

[wet lance]

@zinc lake

What do you do about dew?

My primary secondary and cc dew up really easily

I saw you use a big dew heater, does that help a lot?

[zinc lake]

that combined with a dew shield keeps dew away

[patent spoke]

Awesome stuff. Not totally sure how to interpret this though

[wet lance]

Is a dew shield enough?

[zinc lake]

Depends where you live

Here in Michigan, its not

[deep fog]

yea its a bit odd, from what I understand, that small black circle you see under each plot is the airy disk, so you'd optimally want an optical system that can keep the focus of the light within that airy disk, aka black circle. But I don't think that's end all be all because a lot of scopes don't achieve this when looking at their charts, so I guess its just make it as small as possible across the field. Well anyway, if you got any designs in mind, I can maybe help you try em out.

[solid moon]

How do I tighten the nuts without flexing the tube?

[patent spoke]

No good way, that’s why I did an angled design for my mounting bolts

[solid moon]

Well that would be the smart way to do it.

[patent spoke]

May not be a huge deal though to leave it like that unless you can’t tighten it without bending

[solid moon]

I was thinking about 3d printing some “soft” washers.

[patent spoke]

Yea that'd probably work fine

[solid moon]

I dunno if I can angle them though.

[silent fox]

M33 with my 5 inch vixen

[eager quiver]

I wana build a 100mm one for my eqg

Eq5 not eqg

@patent spoke can you send the images taken with your 100mm scope

[signal yoke]

Pretty similar from a 130 pds, 4 hours on this one I believe

[onyx mortar]

Found out a way to properly polar align my telescope so I don’t have to worry about my newts long FL (650mm)
Test stack of 20 minutes 10s subs
Canon eos 4000d with orion spaceprobe 130st

I can finally join here

[solid moon]

One of us one of us

What kind of mount did you use?

[patent spoke]

Sorry could never get it in a good enough state to get any good imgs with it

collimation mixed with using an bad coma corrector

[onyx mortar]

It’s a normal manual mount with a motor on it. That’s one of the main reasons I had trouble polar aligning, it works like a star adventure tho

Also why do the stars look like this?

It’s only on the right side

[deep fog]

If you're not using a coma corrector, then this is likely just coma.

[solid moon]

Also could be sensor tilt?

[silent fox]

Looks good. I love M33 but you really need the data to pull out decent detail

[zinc lake]

4h from B7. 130PDS

[nimble narwhal]

please design a good off axis newt please lol

[signal yoke]

Great, what cam?

[zinc lake]

Uranus C

uncooled

[signal yoke]

Nice

Gotta get one too

[signal yoke]

Used filters ?

[zinc lake]

none

[signal yoke]

Ok

Good job man

Used Pixinsight?

[zinc lake]

yeah

[deep fog]

Made a design for a 114mm f/7.22 Harmer-Wynne derived Cassegrain. It uses a 114mm f/4 parabolic primary mirror, a spherical secondary, and a 2 element integrated corrector consisting of a plano-concave + plano-convex. I'd assume this only works well for small sensors as at 8.6mm from center (so like the corner of an imx533 sensor), coma becomes far more apparent relative to center field performance. Though, relative to the spot diagrams of other scopes, it would seem to perform relatively well within this field. Note, not entirely sure how the stuff in the charts compare to other scopes so there's that. Another note, all of the optics used here, except for the primary, were based of optics you can purchase, specifically from optics manufacturer Eksma optics. The there is no place to get a primary like the one used here since it has a 40mm hole cut through. Although I've heard it is possible to cut holes through these mirrors when done very carefully so yea. I'll just keep messing with more designs.

[solid moon]

Slow down I just finished Starblast cc/114…. Waiting for first light!

[signal yoke]

Hmm no doubt the Uranus c is better than the Nikon d5300 but keep thinking there's more hiding in my data then

This one is a bit more saturated though

[woven hound]

what is considered small for yall? like below 8 inches? (oh god this sounds weird)

[zinc lake]

5" and below is small

[woven hound]

okay

[zinc lake]

This applies to newts

Fracs are a little different

[silent fox]

I really do want a bigger scope later on but right now the smaller one is just easier to pack around lol

[solid moon]

I forgot about the distance of the new focuser. I can’t get focus. I’m pushed all the way in and I’m still getting the image of my spider. On the other hand my collimation looks dynamite!

Does this mean that my focal plane is too far in or out?

What size screws did you use for your primary mirror to push out the focal plane? (I know probably asked you this already. @deep fog I

[deep fog]

if your talking about the length they're like 100mm long

if it helps, the distance between the face of the primary and the bottom of the tube (of the actual tube, not the additional plastic which holds the primary cell and collimation stuff) is 52mm

[solid moon]

Hmmm I put a Barlow on the focuser and the camera can read focus. I have to take the lens piece off and put it directly on camera. No CC image train.

[solid moon]

Cool my diy mirror cell is about the same height. So how is the tension held? Did you find really long springs?

[deep fog]

The tension seems to hold well. For the sprjngs, i used some extra bolts and some washers to create an artifically lower plate, ill send a pick

So i could use the same springa

[solid moon]

Genius.

How far out are those bolts protruding? I’m rethinking my mirror cell design to have the screws facing outwards rather than inwards.

[deep fog]

A good bit, like 25-30mm maybe? Im not home right now so i cant check but i think going for 75mm long screws, or whatever was the next step down, would've been the better option just for the sake of cleanliness.

[patent spoke]

Paused astrophotography to complete my semester but I hope to resume it soon. I’d be nice to get a different mount capable of holding my 4.5” but that might need to wait

[deep fog]

Lol we're all on pause to either fix stuff, make stuff, or get new stuff

[solid moon]

Longest M5 I could get was 80mm. Guess it’ll have to do without a redesign/print of my mirror cell

[deep fog]

yea you should be good, I just measured mine and yea they total 100mm long. I also way overexaggerated how much stuck out beyond the collimation knobs, it's more like 10mm, but you should still have plenty of room with an 80mm

[summer mulch]

Hi

I own i orion spaceprobe 130st OTA on an EQ-35m

[onyx mortar]

Nice, I have the same scope

[summer mulch]

@onyx mortar original mount or different?

[onyx mortar]

I have the og mount but I have the motor for it, so it pretty much works like a normal goto mount without the goto.

[summer mulch]

Same, i hade it that way dor a bit

Its stupid i think personally because it doesn't have a polar finder

Like whats the point of all this if i cant align it...

Lol

[onyx mortar]

That’s true, I got around that buy using the nina polar alignment, sharpcap works to but it’s not free and I’m using a dslr so it can’t work for sharpcap

[summer mulch]

Cool

Definitely get a nice goto once you have the money 👍

Here are some unstacked pics i took with original

Used my phone

[solid moon]

I’m testing out the 80mm screw now. I think it could be closer to actually needing a 50-60mm screw. I notice my mirror cell was a little loose though. Now that there is no spring pushing against the mirror cell, the mirror cell is loose. I’m thinking I need another lock nut to pinch against the cell or use another spring between cell and washer.

[deep fog]

Thats what i have, another nut pressing against the back of the cell. My cell was also threaded so it was already fairly secure but i still added that nut

[solid moon]

Is there any way to test focus indoors? Nvm think I got it. This might actually work……

[solid moon]

Do I need to switch to ring clamps? The oem dovetail is just off enough to make it a little unbalanced since the focuser is now heavier than the primary…lol

[solid moon]

The primary’s reflection just fits inside the 60mm secondary. I don’t know if a 54mm would fit. Trade off isn’t it? Between central obstruction and light

[deep fog]

Been out for a bit travelling. But yea, id suggest rings for stability and convenience. And for the secondary, thats how i got the 56mm (or 58mm i cant remember) measurement, it best maximizes field illumination while minimizing obstruction. For a specific field size of course

[frank sable]

You could try having a counterweight dovetail clamp towards the primary mirror, I did a diy solution like that because my focuser is heavy. It's probably not the ideal situation to add weight but for me I like the convenience

pic of the counterweight which is just a bunch of fender washers

[marsh temple]

got myself a „little“ upgrade.

[zinc lake]

https://tenor.com/view/will-smith-thats-hot-cool-amazed-gif-13488740

[marsh temple]

just wait until I get a decent pic of it…

[lethal bolt]

cant wait to see some pics from it. i saw a lot of mixed reviews and i really want one.

[marsh temple]

I also saw some mixed reviews online but then I looked at the images on astrobin. In my opinion they are amazing. Yesterday I tried to collimate it for the first time, it was basically the only thing I was afraid of, but it turns out to collimate about as nice as my 150PD-S. Really exited to try it under the stars though!

[lethal bolt]

I think that’s what had me worried-the adjustments

[marsh temple]

From what I can tell right now, it works like a charm.

[lethal bolt]

How was collimating it?

[marsh temple]

Have you ever collimated an f/5 newtonian? It‘s pretty similar to that (in my opinion)

[lethal bolt]

I’ve never collimated any scope

[marsh temple]

If you use a laser collimator, its doable in under 2mins. At least after you get some experience. I‘d double check with the star-method though.

[lethal bolt]

Damn im intrigued. But i already have three scopes and i only started in September lol

[marsh temple]

I‘d wait, maybe something unexpected bad happens when I use the scope under the stars

And for the three scopes, I started last year and have already spent over 10k, so yeah… It‘s pretty bad

[lethal bolt]

lol i think im at 10. Even have a quark for solar.

[marsh temple]

Thinking of getting one of those too, or maybe even a solar dedicated setup… Hows the quark performing?

[lethal bolt]

Only had a chance to try it during my lunch break Friday. It’s been cloudy since lol

[marsh temple]

Yeah, clouds… a friend of mine aswell.

[lapis raft]

Star method doesn’t work for newts of f5 or faster since the defocused star will show the secondary offset

By making the doughnut concentric you are actually messing the collimation

Gotta rely on tools

[solid moon]

Laser?

[lapis raft]

Laser is useful for the secondary only, assuming the secondary is properly centered under the focuser

[lethal bolt]

https://tenor.com/view/ben-stiller-dodgeball-gif-25279767

[lapis raft]

For the primary a cheshire or an autocollimator

[lethal bolt]

Blazer, taser

[solid moon]

What’s it supposed to look like?

[lapis raft]

The defocused star?

[solid moon]

Collimation. If it’s offset?

[marsh temple]

really? somehow they recommend this method in the manual of the scope…

[lapis raft]

On your tools everything should be concentric, Cheshire/sight tube/ autocollimator. The defocused star will look concentric at f6 or slower, the faster the f ratio the more offset it will show

[solid moon]

Won’t that affect the diffraction spikes?

[lapis raft]

Really? I’m surprised, I’ve seen some defocused stars on a perfectly collimated tak epsilon and the defocused star wasn’t concentric at all due to the fast f ratio

[lapis raft]

It has nothing to do with diffraction spikes

[marsh temple]

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/Bilder/shop/ts-hypergraph/13028HNT-Collimation-Instruction.pdf

[lapis raft]

Offset is achieved by moving the secondary on its holder not the spider itself, barely all newts are designed with the offset secondary for proper field illumination, you don’t have to worry about the offset.

[solid moon]

I’ve basically rebuilt a Starblast with a new secondary.

So I was concerned about secondary placement. But I think I’ve got everything centered.

[solid moon]

What am I missing? 😦 I can’t achieve focus. Mirror is pushed all the way in with 80mm screws and nothing.

Should I take off that ring and just adjust until stars look right?

[solid moon]

I think that was it! I removed the ring and slid the assembly around until the stars looked right. I moved the mirror back out to where I had it. My stars are finally de-comafied. Nice pin point triangles..... argghh not collimated

[lapis raft]

Triangles mean pinched optics, not necessarily collimation issues

Check your primary retaining clips

[simple echo]

zhumell z100

dob is newt

[patent spoke]

I love me a 4" newt

As small as they get while still being good optically

[solid moon]

Interesting. I’ll check into that. I thought it would be hard to pinch at 4.5” i was more impressed I was able to shift my mirror in and out an inch and still get collimated. I’m loving the dual speed focuser and I’m finally seeing rounder stars across the field.

[solid moon]

It’s parabolic?

[patent spoke]

Yea it's the same telescope as my Skyscanner 100

[solid moon]

Could I put a Barlow on the Starblast/SharpstarCC/Uranus-C imaging train for planetary nebula?

[patent spoke]

I'd say yes but the secondary mirror would have to be sorta big then you're just losing out on sharpness and it kinda stops making sense

I put so much effort into mine lol and I haven't gotten a good image yet

[solid moon]

Just thinking ahead. I’m not there yet. Lol. But last night my image train was pretty much all the way in to get focus. I thought was supposed to stop at the ring. Or is the ring moved to where it will focus?

My image above was the best I could get as I was running out of power.

Stars were triangles… but at least they were consistent triangles.

[patent spoke]

aw man triangle stars :(

Did you get a starblast with an adjustable cell or is it fixed

[solid moon]

I made it adjustable.

Do you want the STL?

[patent spoke]

Just trying to see why you'd have those stars. Do you have mirror clips or is it double-sided taped on

[solid moon]

Mirror clips.

[patent spoke]

Loosen the clips a smidge I think

[solid moon]

Yeah. Was going to look into that. The mirror is sitting on a folded paper towel; which might be too thick. I tried the insert business card spacing but it was too loose.

[patent spoke]

That optical funiness is usually a result of pinched optics so give that a shot maybe

That was the main issue, more or less, in the most recent astrobiscuit vid

[solid moon]

Since I removed that ring would incorrect backspacing cause issues?

[lapis raft]

As long as the ring wasn’t adding backspace it shouldn’t cause any issue

[solid moon]

Getting better stars. Loosened the mirror clips; so no pinched optics. Getting really bad dust somewhere so had to take flats. LTA still not quite where I like it. All in all I’m very happy with this and look forward to tuning even more.

[deep fog]

@patent spoke I'm designing the new spider for my starblast and I need to come up with a spider thickness, what thickness do you think would be good? The material will be PLA+. I'm thinking 3mm but wdyt

[patent spoke]

The only spider I printed was for my 4” newt with a relatively small secondary, what side secondary are you using?

[deep fog]

a 60mm most likely

my current design reuses the parts of the original secondary, primarily the secondary base and the adjustment block. My idea was I could 3d print a housing which simply holds/repositions these components to align with my optical system, that way I don't need to deal with threading and such on a 3d printed component, I'll send a preview pick of what it looks like

[zinc lake]

Is PLA+ good enough for a spider?

[deep fog]

not sure tbh, it felt pretty sturdy for other stuff and the components aren't too terribly heavy, but we'll see!

[zinc lake]

It's definitely strong enough, id be more concerned about warping

Temp changes would be rough

[deep fog]

tru

dont got anything else rn so, it'll have to do

[crude axle]

You got a thing in which you could possibly cast? I've seen people (not for astro tho) make 3d prints, bury it deep in clay and leave a hole on top, the fill it in with liquid metal and you can make a metal piece. Don't know if it would be too heavy however

[crude axle]

If I remember right, sreetips on YouTube should have stuff similar. If not pretty sure a search of casting could give results

[deep fog]

That's an interesting thing to try. The only thing is that right now, I am definitely not at the skill level right now to try that out, let alone the equipment required. Albeit the equipment and process doesn't seem that complex overall. Maybe in the future.

[onyx mortar]

Does anyone know how much the Orion spaceprobe 130st weighs without the mount? The only weight listed is the mount and the telescope.

[deep fog]

says its about 7.4 lbs

[onyx mortar]

Really? I thought it’d be more lol

[crude axle]

Yeah, it is surprisingly not that complex. (I gave good advice yayayayay)

[solid moon]

@deep fog What if you reinforced the tube and made a wire spider?

grommet the screw holes and guitar tuners on the outside

[solid moon]

Perfect case….

[solid moon]

There’s a significant amount of dust and junk somewhere in my image train. As far as I can see the sensor is clean. The CC and uv/ir cut is new. The primary is clean which leaves the secondary….. can the secondary cause this? Visibly it’s scratched at the edges. But I thought it’s fairly clean.

[deep fog]

I guess I could. I just don't fee like getting that complex with the design though, it's fairly small anyways

[solid moon]

If you want I can take measurements of my trivane. It’s plastic.

[deep fog]

yea how thick is that?

[solid moon]

I’m in the car. I don’t have a ruler. But it looks to 3-4mm.

[deep fog]

ok, my quad veins are 3mm thick so that should be good enough

[onyx mortar]

I wanna replace the focuser on the orion spaceprobe 130st I have because it’s made for visual so it’s hard to focus sometimes. Is there another focuser that can fit in it?

[solid moon]

Usually it’s an issue of focal plane not focuser; this involves moving your mirror inwards to push the focal plane outwards.

For testing purposes the Barlow+camera may be able to reach that point.

[onyx mortar]

It’s the focuser, it doesn’t have enough inward movement to focus most cameras because it’s made for visual

[solid moon]

So are you buying a low profile focuser?

🤦🏻‍♂️The focuser doesn’t have enough inward movement because the focal plane is too far inwards. If you move the mirror inwards your focuser will have enough movement inwards because your focal plane will move outwards.

[onyx mortar]

I rather not touch the mirror anyway, if I change the focuser the one I change to will have enough movement to reach focus idk what you or I’m not understanding

[solid moon]

The focal plane is the specific place in your focuser where the optics of your mirror focuses. The focuser moves the eyepiece so that it lines up to the focal plane. This focal plane will not change with your focuser because it’s tied to your primary mirror. So the options are either to shorten your focuser with a low profile one. Or move your entire secondary mirror and focuser towards the center of the tube 10-20 mm. Or to move your primary mirror. Or some combination of the above. Changing your focuser from the stock to any other focuser besides a low profile one will not work. (Even the low profile may not work)

Does that make sense?

For example. Your mirror is 650mm focal length; this will not change. So you measure out from your primary mirror to your secondary. That’s one distance. And then from your secondary to your focuser. Those two numbers is your total focal length 650mm.

Changing your mirror screws is a whole lot cheaper than changing your focuser. With a new focuser you may need to drill new screw holes or even a focuser tube hole. You’ll need a proper bracket for the focuser to fit as well unless it’s made for it.

[deep fog]

How deep are the veins?

[solid moon]

Like how far in?

[deep fog]

yea

[solid moon]

about 10.72mm

though my scope tube is shorter than library scope.

[deep fog]

I just realized i may have miscommunicated my mesasage, Im ean like the depth of the veins itself, like how thick they are along the optical axis

[deep fog]

nvm i just went for it, its printing now

[solid moon]

lol.

It’s around a cm

[deep fog]

oh ok, i adjusted it from 20mm to 15mm, it should still be good

[solid moon]

10-12 if you count the fillet

[deep fog]

9h print, my ender 3 v2 is starting to feel old, makes me wanna get a new printer

[solid moon]

lol. Slow and steady wins the race. Mine is ender3pro.

[zinc lake]

i also have e3 pro

its modded into an ender 3 s1 i should've just gotten that

[deep fog]

the bambu lab p1s looks really nice

[crude axle]

same

[solid moon]

I think a larger bed and the kind where the bed lowers to print might be better. Doesn’t have to be fast.

[deep fog]

Part complete, now for some sanding so it actually fits everything

[solid moon]

Looking good! Won’t be too shiny will it?

[deep fog]

dont think so, if so, I bought some felt to line the inside of the tube, I could just use some of that on the spider if i really want

[solid moon]

I’m super paranoid of reflective surfaces now. Since I’m unsure where all my artifacts are coming from.

[deep fog]

yea i haven't have much problems with reflections so I'm not that keen on them

[zinc lake]

try matte black spray paint

it works really well!

[deep fog]

Got the whole thing installed, after some fairly intense sanding to get the original secondary base installed into the new spider, everything else fit snuggly and into spec. I tested it with the original 32mm secondary installed, as i still need to go order the larger one, and preliminary collimation testing shows zero signs of flexing. If this keeps up with the larger secondary, i'll be genuinely impressed and pleased

[solid moon]

First light when?

[deep fog]

At some point, still need to order a mirror which i'll likley do tomorrow. Then i need to wait for my cloudly weather to roll by. In the meantime, I can install the flocking which I'll also do tomorrow

[solid moon]

60 ?

[deep fog]

yea, probably from like ebay

[solid moon]

I think we can do smaller. Idk. I’m looking at defocused stars with it and there’s so much CO.

[deep fog]

you definitely can, and again the technical optimal is 58mm if you're aiming for aps-c coverage but is still 56mm for m4/3 and even 1-inch sensor sizes. Though mirrors of these sizes are particularly difficult to find. The only other solution is to move the focal plane closer to the secondary which would allow you to use a small secondary without sacrificing illumination. The only problem is that all commercially available coma correctors are so long that, unless you want it protruding into the tube, the focal plane has to be pretty far out. The only low profile coma correctors I know of are the Baader MKIII MPCC and Skywatcher's 0.9x CC. There aren't great reviews about the MPCC, Sym could tell you about that, and I haven't heard much from the Skywatcher corrector. If the Skywatcher is good up to aps-c, then I can go and figure out the optimal distance for that.

[solid moon]

I have the same Uranus C as yours.

I need to double check to see if the CC extends out or not. I changed out the primary mirror screws to 60mm. Seems more stable but still getting a little mirror floppy. As I move the OTA around the primary goes out of collimation according to my laser.

[deep fog]

just did some research, it seems that the Skywatcher corrector is a Ross corrector like the Baader, aka it uses 2-elements unlike the larger 3-element and 4-element correctors. Although considering since the Skywatcher has a reducing effect, the figure is likely different to that of the Baader which maintains focal length, meaning the performance on the Skywatcher is likely different, though I'd still need to see results

[solid moon]

I was happy with the sharpstar. At least the 2-3 times I finally got it working.

[deep fog]

same, and i'm hesitant to just go and buy another corrector just for the hell of it

[solid moon]

Ok. So the only reason I feel like I need more aperture/light is with my limited attempt at rosette.

This was about 15 -20 min I think. And I’m wondering if I can get more contrast or better SNR.

Living in B9 skies. Also if I were to get a better mount. And do longer than 10s would I just be flooding my sensor with LP rather than signal.

[deep fog]

uh maybe? it depends. I do comparatively short exposres, like on the range of 45s to 90s but I'm in bortle 6/7 so its fine for me. From what I understand, it's more of a diminishing returns type of deal. The more light polluted you are, taking longer exposures won't really increase your SNR by that much. It's why when you're in a very dark location, the math works out that you actually want to take significantly longer exposures to maximize SNR per shot. While for me, the math works out that I shouln't be taking exposures longer than like 30s, that ends up being so many images to process that I just take longer exposures so the stacking and such doesn't take as long.

[solid moon]

Right. In B9 it should be quite short. But I also like the fact that longer exposures is less hard drive space.

[deep fog]

exactly

[solid moon]

Oh and field rotation is a thing.

I didn’t think I’d be bothered by it. But after 5 minutes I was getting anxious

[solid moon]

I was thinking about switching to tube rings. What diameter is the stock one? I’m looking on Ali and I see 140 and 142mm. It might be insignificant, but just wanted to double check. My old DS-114 mount was also a 4.5” scope but the Starblast seems to be pinched in there.

Also wondering how the rings are mounted. Should I get the losmandy or just a regular bar

Seems like losmandy has the options to mount more stuff.

[deep fog]

The orion starblast is rated for 140mm tube rings and given that my measurements put my starblast at almost exactly 140mm in diameter, that sounds about right. You could get the 142mm ones and just add some extra felt if you're worried about cutting it close. For the bar, losmandy is nice and it's what i use. I'm able to mount my mini pc on the bar between the bar and the tube, keeping it fairly compact. The only ting to worry about is the fact that you'll need a mount which can hold a losmandy plate, which will pretty much put you up to 40lb class mounts and up. Otherwise, you'll need to put a new head for lower class mounts.

[solid moon]

What size losmandy or do they only come in one size?

Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! $36.05 30％ Off | Angeleyes Losmandy Guide Mirror Dovetail Plate 32cm
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKKYLIg

[deep fog]

they should only come in one size, the only difference being in length

[marsh temple]

Should I buy a cheshire eyepiece from a branded company or could I go for one from china?

for example, I found this: (I could save about 30.- by buying this instead of the other (if it works))
https://www.fruugoschweiz.com/125-zoll-cheshire-kollimationsokular-fur-newton-refraktor-teleskope-metallstruktur-astronomisches-teleskop-zubehor-hauptkalibrierung-eyepiec/p-201136610-427875102?language=de&ac=bing&msclkid=1a3beb4b597c18fdb54a8ede8ecb03c5&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=All_190785_CH&utm_term=4575274048654658&utm_content=Ad group %231

I need to buy the cheshire because of my f/2.8 newton, as the laser is not accurate enough

[lapis raft]

I have that one

Is pretty good

[deep fog]

Flocking complete

[crude axle]

nice

[zinc lake]

I want to flock, what material did you use?

[deep fog]

tbh i just used some adhesive felt sheets from like amazon

[zinc lake]

Did you have to take everything out of the scope? I would assume so

[deep fog]

yea i did

[zinc lake]

I'll probably flock when I either print or buy a new spider

I don't mind removing the primary mirror, but I'm not gonna remove the secondary just so I can flock

[patent spoke]

Hey looks great! excited to see results

[solid moon]

I was looking at Agenastro’s sketch of the sharpstar CC. It looks like the collar ring that comes with it adds an additional distance of 2mm from the shoulder. So from the shoulder have the CC is 58mm?

[deep fog]

yup, thats how i measured mine out

[solid moon]

I was looking at yours and it only adds up to 56.5.

My extension rings don’t make it all the way down to the shoulder. So I’m doing a lot of head scratching to figure out what I need to do

It’s short 3mm between the shoulder and the first 30mm extension.

So I guess it’s actually a 33mm extension? lol

[deep fog]

damn yours don't reach all the way, that's rough. well hopefully you can still reach it

[solid moon]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VF7Z772/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1KTPYXLG45C22&psc=1 This might make life easier

[deep fog]

Update the 114mm HW. Now it's a bit longer at f/7.56 but now corrects up to aps-c fairly well provided the spot diagrams.

[patent spoke]

what kind of optical configuration?

[deep fog]

Harmer Wynne with a 2-element corrector. However the corrector here is actually more suited for a Dall-Kirkham and it's where I derived it from. The appropriate corrector design meant for this HW would be a 3-element corrector where the two curvatures of the first two elements are almost identical and the 3rd element sits much farther back, very close to the focal plane and has a very shallow convex surface. I found that while removing the 3rd elements and making the first two curvatures the same did decrease performance, it still seems acceptable enough in this configuration given the spot diagrams.

[patent spoke]

Are the corrector elements based on available glass or would it be custom grind?

[deep fog]

Available glass, it's why I designed it the way that it is

[patent spoke]

I figured but that’s good to hear veri nice

[deep fog]

I've now ordered the secondary, specifically the 62.5mm from agena. A bit larger than necessary but atleast it's a good mirror. After installation, I will have essentially done everything I can to the newt, bar maybe wrapping it in CF. If I now compile the total cost of everything it comes out to:

4.5" F/4 Starblast: $75
2" DS Focuser: $150
62.5mm Secondary: $75
3D Prints: $5
Flocking: $8
Extra Parts: $15
Total: $328 USD

Some of these costs have been roughly estimated as exacting cost would by annoying to find. The cost of the newt will obviously vary depending on how much you can get one for. The 3D prints includes a new secondary spider assembly, a mirror mask, and an adapter plate/spacer for the focuser. Flocking was rated for the cost of 10 8.3" x 11.8" sheets but only 3 were used in total. Extra parts accounts for things like screws, nuts, and bolts.

Provided that a new 6" F/4 newt costs roughly $400 USD and something like a 130pds costs roughly $300 usd, it is definitely not worth the cost proportional to the size, and I didn't even include the work involved in making the conversion. This is definitely for those who either really want a small newtonian or want to endeavor on a relatively easy project for performing custom newtonian modifications.

[solid moon]

CC?

[fierce python]

Coma Corrector

[deep fog]

$200 but i left that out since thats practically needed for all cases of newt buying

[patent spoke]

Barely used my sharpstar CC yet. Need a decent mount first

[fierce python]

Ahhh, like that sorry misunderstood x)

[crude axle]

Lol

[ionic plaza]

Which cc will work on star blast

[deep fog]

Realistically, any will work. Around here, most of us seem to be using the 0.95x Sharpstar CC, and that's what I use too. It's about the cheapest you can go while still getting good quality.

[deep fog]

Complete forgot to mention, this is the case if you install a 2" focuser to your starblast, otherwise there are currently no 1.25" CC on the market. Atleast ones that are easily accessible.

[ionic plaza]

@deep fog yup I know that

There is an tasco one it's the same as the star blast one same specs same spider etc

[deep fog]

Im not completely familiar with tasco versions so i can't help here unless i do some research

[ionic plaza]

It's a tasco 114 galaxy telescope

Or I will look at a skywatcher nighthawk 114 it's available for 30

[naive barn]

PLA doesn't like moisture too much, hopefully it holds up.

[solid moon]

What’s the focal length on that? There’s a few versions of 114mm aperture with various focal length including one of a bird jones variant.

@deep fog I originally had 80mm screws for your primary mirror by your recommendation. And I thought (stupidly) that was too long and swapped them with 60mm. Turns out only way to get focus was CC to be in nearly touching secondary didn’t even notice. So now swapped back and waiting for first light…. Again.

[solid moon]

Did some testing... the gso focuser has a light leak; somewhere between the drawtube and the base. anyone have any good ideas?

[ionic plaza]

@solid moon it's focal length is 500 but its sold now

[lethal bolt]

you could flock it

[deep fog]

New mirror has arrived

[solid moon]

YAY!

[onyx mortar]

Idk if this is just with newts but there’s always weird halos around the stars it’s easier to see in starless but the bright star on the top has it. I didn’t use any filters for this so idk

Crop version of it, it has a weird red color around it to

[solid moon]

Regarding the diffraction spikes. Collimation? Or possibly some obstruction.

Do you have Uv/ir cut filter?

[solid moon]

Why aren’t there any black losmandy plates on aliexpress ? It’s all zwo red

[signal yoke]

Single 90 sec exposure, happy there is finally a break in the clouds

[solid moon]

Did some more testing with finding focal plane. I need 90mm bolts. At 80mm the CC is JUST barely poking into the tube. It’s kinda catch 22, defocus inwards to try to see how round and collimated and I have an obstruction. But in focus I can’t quite tell.

[signal yoke]

About one hour on this one, horse head is up next 🌚

[deep fog]

@naive barn what has been the total cost of you converting to mono?

[signal yoke]

Too tired to properly edit but had a clear night yesterday

[naive barn]

Around 12-1300 USD for 1600mm + mini EFW w/ZWO LRGB + ZWO EAF.

Around 1500 USD for LRGBSHO

[deep fog]

Secondary installment now complete. Ended up using silicone glue for attachment instead of a double sided adhesive (and i'd recommend doing the same). Also reprinted the spider but instead of the veins being 3mm thick by 20mm deep, they're 2mm thick by 16mm deep, seems to hold up just as well. The flexture problem is also essentially gone. Everything is pretty much done with the scope, all that's left is to do is an imaging test but clouds have decided that won't happen any time soon.

[onyx mortar]

Just gotta wait for my camera then I’m set. No it’s not overweight btw, people keep saying that lol.

[ionic plaza]

@patent spoke have you made an diy eq mount

[patent spoke]

Not yet but I briefly worked on a basic design for a budget harmonic drive star tracker type mount. Never got it to a completed stage

[ionic plaza]

I wanted to buil one'

[patent spoke]

Do you have an idea of what you'd like to do?

[ionic plaza]

Harmonic drive

[abstract carbon]

What tracking mount should I get for my 5 incher

[crude axle]

I use an eqm 35 for a 6 inch. You should be able to with the eqm 35 but heq5 could be better

[zinc lake]

EQ5 Pro

[solid moon]

Haven't tried it yet, but I was thinking about this design for the autofocuser
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5345531

[onyx mortar]

A week now and I’m still waiting for my camera to come in so I’m doing lunar now

[onyx mortar]

Final image from last night

[solid moon]

I think I’m asking for problems…. I’m falling out of focus every time I slew.

[twilit mango]

Why don’t you cut the tube so you don’t have the long screws? The collimation would be more stable I think

[solid moon]

It did cross my mind. But cutting into steel like what I had to do with the focuser wasn’t fun and I didn’t even have to be that precise. If I cut the tube it’s gotta be square or the back plate won’t fit flush.

[solid moon]

So I “cut” the tube with a redesign of my primary mirror cell. I’m using 80mm screws. And it seems to still be slightly out of collimation and out of focus as I move the scope around. I am going to try for stiffer springs next.

[kindred patrol]

Outside with my 5 inch newt i got a 2x barlow and a ton of lenses what’s the best combo for jupiter

[silent fox]

probably a 10mm, but be careful with the smaller eyepieces

[deep fog]

Star shapes looking good tho

besides the collimation

[solid moon]

lol that rosette was using a set of partly cloudy night stars from a previous session.

Ironically after I fixed my scope I thought I had good focus or maybe I just plain forgot.

This one also looks like pinched optics.

[deep fog]

oh

well damn

[solid moon]

Tonight ran sv220 dual narrow band for the first time. 30x120s.

[pulsar umbra]

That looks great, been thinking about getting that filter. Were the ones you took previously without any filter at all?

[sharp hearth]

Day 0, before the mods began.

Orion Observer 134mm Newt

Untracked

[solid moon]

I just started using lpro. So the previous picture had that

[pulsar umbra]

Nice. Star colour looks slightly better with the l-pro imo but everything else looks much better with the sv220.

[solid moon]

Yeah. The previous picture was a mess so it’s not apples to apples. I had someone fix my blurry stars. With this one. 105min integration with l-pro and blurX

These two rosette pics with the filters are pretty much my first images for greater than 30sec subs as I finally have a decent EQ mount. The sv220 one needs a pre/post processing pass. And I need to play around with DNB channels

[patent spoke]

tri-spider lookin sweet

[solid moon]

Thanks!!

[deep leaf]

5inch newt

[ionic plaza]

@solid moon should I get a starblast 4.5 table top ota with eq5 for 150 do visual for some get a focusor upgrade and onstep the eq5 is it a good plan and is the scope good

[ionic plaza]

@solid moon what's your opinion

[solid moon]

The scope is a good scope. It’s a 4.5 parabolic mirror. Really depends on what you’re gonna do with it.

[solid moon]

@ionic plaza All other things being equal, the 3 greatest issues for making the Starblast an astrograph are: the primary mirror’s location, coma, and the secondary mirror. I am new to astronomy and even more new to telescope making and those issues which seem small on paper become the greatest challenge.

The primary mirror needs to be moved in. The simplest way is to replace the primary mounting screws with longer ones. Scroll up to see our conversations there. I ultimately ended up using 80mm with my custom 3d printed mirror cell (it’s hybrid design of the original cell which came without any collimation knobs just 3M double sided taped to the back and another 114mm scope’s design).

Secondary mirror - if you can find an astrograph version of the Starblast, the secondary is 47mm. Normally 34mm. Ampere2019 calculated out that the optimal size is 62mm which is a huge central obstruction. I used an old 60mm one, which I’m happy with. Ancillary to that, some have reprinted or made their own spiders. I kept mine a tri-vane since I like the diffraction pattern.

Finally the focuser assembly. I thought I’d be okay with coma but coupled with a poor mount, my stars looked terrible. (See above for some pics). We used the Sharpstar 0.95x CC. Seemed to be better than the BaaderMPCC according to Sym. Replacing the focuser, I used a GSO 2in dual speed focuser. (Side note: if planning on using an EAF, you may not need a dual speed depending on how you’re implementing?!??!?) I’m still figuring out what’s best -I’m planning on using Onstep here. Myfocuserpro2 or something like that might be another solution).

The hardest part about this is cutting into the tube to make it fit and the screw holes to get everything to line up. Drill press and a way to brace the OTA tube is highly recommended.

I would love to say this was an easy build. But this has been for me more about learning and the challenge (read:fighting/struggling/despairing) to build a small fun little scope.

[lime agate]

For those newt users, do you guys ever worry about thermal equilibrium of the scope, if I wanted to use the scope, but I don't have a fan with it, I will just have to let it sit in the outside temp for some time right?

[zinc lake]

yes

my 5" takes about an hour and a half to cool, going from my house to the freezing outdoors

without a fan

[solid moon]

I don’t worry about it at 4.5”.

[lime agate]

Wonder how long an 8 inch is gonna take

I plan to just put it outside for about 2 hours before I start imaging

or just put it out there for the whole, you guys leave the tube open, and mirror face sit vertically on the ground?

was wondering if horizontally place would be better

[solid moon]

Most things I’ve seen takes 1hr for an 8”. Open tube for heat to rise. Fans are there to agitate the air and have ambient air mix and remove heat. Depending on type of glass some retain heat more than others. The main thing is to get airflow for it to reach equilibrium as quickly as possible.

[lime agate]

Thanks!

[fallow zephyr]

Thoughts on this cheap newt used for ap? Would be first time using one also.
https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/skywatcher-telescope-n-130-650-explorer-130pds-ota/p,25455

[fallow zephyr]

This one?
https://www.astroart-store.com/product/2133/uranus-c-imx585

[zinc lake]

This https://player-one-astronomy.com/product/uranus-c-usb3-0-color-camera-imx585/

[fallow zephyr]

Thanks

[onyx mortar]

First hour of light from my new modded dslr

[proud hamlet]

Jupiter thru my 4.5in scope and webcam

[solid moon]

I’ve never been able to image the planet and get the moons. Pretty cool

[proud hamlet]

well..

i captured the moons and planet saparately using the same equipment

[solid moon]

https://tenor.com/view/tom-hanks-forrest-gump-not-a-smart-man-not-smart-gif-4495828

I should have known that

[silent fox]

I finished my pvc refractor finally (its good for visual, def not for imaging) and after running how much it cost me I realized reflectors (small ones at least) are so much more cheaper to make

[ionic plaza]

Send photo's @silent fox @silent fox

[silent fox]

I will once I am back in my room!

[solid moon]

8+hrs integration (2min x 245) in B9
Starblast 114/450 with Sharpstar 0.95x CC
Uranus-C (uncooled)
SV220 7nm Ha/Oiii Filter
Meowstar Umi17 Mount
SVBony 60mm / SV905C (PHD2)
Processed with Siril, GraXpert, GIMP

Edited: Supposed to be 245 exposures for a total of 490 minutes. oops

[lime agate]

if I did the math correctly, 2 min x 470= 940 mins, if 60 min is a hour that is about 15 hours of integration time not 8 hours

[fallow zephyr]

"If 60 min is an hour"

[fierce python]

The detail seems very good, but something seems off with the signal to noise on that image?
If it is 15h, but even 8h, I would expect waaaaay more signal?
Horsehead and flame are very bright
Might be the filters I guess

[solid moon]

I dunno it’s my first time. I need to double check my math lol… it was late last night.

[fierce python]

Ok
You should check the stacking, make sure everything, or most was stacked

[solid moon]

It's 8hrs I put total minutes not # of exposures.

I just have really crummy skies and I threw everything I had from when I got my mount.

[deep fog]

damn its been a while since i've been here. Looks like you got urself a proper mount now, nice! with guiding and all that stuff, really nice.

[solid moon]

@deep fog thanks for all your help to make it happen for the Starblast. I love this thing….. (but I feel like I’m coming down with something…... A fever. Aperture fever. 😂) Seriously though, I think if I had a larger sensor I could capture a wider field.

There are still some flexure issues in the focuser that I’ve got to figure out. And the Alnitak halo is a little weird in all my stacks. I’m not sure if it’s because of the focuser or the primary collimation.

[deep fog]

Np dud. and yea that fever can come down quick lol, had to come off mine a while ago. Anyway, i'm sure you can get those issues sorted out with the scope. I wish I could go image with mine and it's new secondary and spidy but I've been clouded off for weeks meaning its just been collection dust this whole time. Partly the reason I haven't been active here for a bit. That and uni.

[solid moon]

Hopefully you can still catch a little bit nebulae season. One thing that has been sobering for me is dual narrow band. I thought it was going to solve everything. In a sense it has. My last few hours of exposure were with near full moon. Bortle 8-9 just really drowns the signal.

[deep fog]

yea... i can see that... cuz the image definitely seems a lot noiser than I would've expected it to be provided the integration time and speed of the scope, odd. Have you imaged with the whole rig near newmoon yet?

Also, now that I think we have identical rigs? at least in pixel scale, we could definitely do like collaborative projects in ur down, i got rgb and u got narrowband, could be interesting.

[solid moon]

Oh yeah that’d be cool. Btw if someone wants to try processing my stack lmk. I don’t know what I’m doing and I might have introduced a bunch of noise

I’ll need to look up the dates of when I did image. But I know the 2-3 were with a pretty full moon.

And yes if you want to combine data I’d be up for that. Ooh but mine is trivane.

[deep fog]

I can take a look at the data.

and for combination, you could just do some star extraction and choose whichever stars look better

[solid moon]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q2VX6tYmy1Q6S_JgAsrSg-ByJMF3CHqq/view?usp=drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t4GBClt8ZFL_9ky4aP6QPN_8sc0VR1tY/view?usp=sharing

That's an attempt at HaRGB pallet

[deep fog]

This wasn't much of an edit, I just wanted to see how clean I could get the image to look so not much was done in terms of color or detail. I essentially binned the image and then ran it through my denoiser, did some light editing and got this. Could maybe do a proper edit later but yea.

The noise is quite prevalent though, maybe just a case of sky condition and integration time and making the best of it.

[solid moon]

I only started dithering the last two sessions. So about 80% is not dithered. Lots of walking noise.

I’m wondering how much we should dither on Nina

[proud hamlet]

how are your spikes so thin

[solid moon]

I noticed that too. I’m unsure. But the smaller stars are kinda blobby. I need to run deconvolution on it or something. I don’t know how to process.

[proud hamlet]

oki

[signal yoke]

2.5 hours. 130pds and D5300

Any thoughts on this? I'd say I'm not really a beginner anymore but like to get better at editing.

Was shot under full moon though

[alpine juniper]

What do you use to denoise?

[deep fog]

I use a custom NN based denoiser i built in python. It's extremely rudimentary and is very touchy on what u give it but considering it's my first NN, it works pretty ok. I'll probably make a better version in the future when i have the time.

[solid moon]

Looks great to me but I’m new.

[solid moon]

@deep fog If you get a chance I was wondering what your dithering settings are.

[deep fog]

iirc i think i have it setup to dither every 15m when using 90s light frames

[solid moon]

I have it setup for either every 3rd frame for 120s subs.

[eager quiver]

@silent fox send photos

[fierce python]

So...when are manufacturers gonna make 130/520 newts?

Ive been waiting for it for a while...thinking I need to make one myself lmao

Oh, seems like some chinese mirrors are available at that size...

[past kite]

Yeah that extra FOV would come in handy with my small ASI224MC sensor

[lime agate]

Arriving soon, somehow shipping of this from US took two months already

[lime agate]

since this is my first time using a newt for imaging, any general tips?

[fierce python]

Dont stress about collimation, but before doing it, research how to do it first, and get as many tips and see as many videos/ schematics of how it should look. That way you will be more familiar with it.
My general reccomendation, is to not try and make it perfect with the tool you use (cheshire, laser etc), because those tools are not perfect anyways, just try and get it 90% there. As long as your secondary is well aligned, thats what matters. For the primary, a star collimation will make it spot on.

[lime agate]

I have actually purchased the ocal electric collimator along with it, but I do not know how it work

https://ontariotelescope.com/ocal-electronic-collimator-pro/

more specifically this one

[fierce python]

Never used one of those, but afaik a great tool

[high grotto]

Are you supposed to collimate the secondary every time you set up your scope?

[fierce python]

Not necessarily, depends how well your scope holds its collimation.
Most times its just the primary mirror

[ionic plaza]

@lime agate which model is it which company

[lime agate]

a custome modified quattro f4

basically everything is swapped to newer part

except for the mirror

like new focuser, new spider web, new carbon tube and ....

[ionic plaza]

8" one

[lime agate]

yes

[high grotto]

alright because in my chesire it keeps showing that my secondary is out of alignment a couple minutes after i collimated it

[summer mulch]

Anyone looking for a EQM-35 Pro? I also have a 5" newt.

Im just looking for someone to buy my stuff so i can buy a new scope ok

[past kite]

How much?

Im just asking since i dont know if i have that kind of money

[onyx mortar]

Haven’t been able to take much pictures with the newt because I got a new telescope and I’m in the testing phase, but here’s a sunspots image I got with my newt

[fierce python]

Im answering a bit late, but keep in mind the cheshire doesnt connect perfectly in the same way to the telescope every time, and most times when it seems that collimation moves, that is why. A star test is the best way to make sure everything is aligned well.
For the other things that require tools, I wouldnt try and get it perfect all the time, since the tools are not perfect, they just allow you to get 90% of the way there

[fallow zephyr]

Where are you located?

[summer mulch]

@fallow zephyr here is the post, i live near Charlotte in North Carolina (USA)

Actually just DM me

I'll tell you the price

I was intending to sell it all together but I'll sell them separately

[fallow zephyr]

I'm in europe, so I don't know if that would work

:/

[summer mulch]

Oh lol yeah sorry

If you cover shipping i would give you a little discount

[fallow zephyr]

What scope are you selling?

Rather what tube*

[summer mulch]

Orion Spaceprobe 130st (5" newt)@fallow zephyr

[onyx mortar]

Collimation problems in the stars, didn’t check it after traveling.
This channel need to come back

[zinc lake]

pinched optics

[onyx mortar]

I thought that was refractors

[zinc lake]

rarely on refractors, reflectors get it worse

this typically happens from the mirror clips being too tight

[onyx mortar]

Oh

That’s makes sense

[zinc lake]

did you uh

do anything to the mirror clips

[onyx mortar]

Yea, I didn’t know tighting them a lot did anything

[zinc lake]

yes you don't want them to be tight

[onyx mortar]

Alr thanks

[zinc lake]

the way i would test it is

make sure the mirror can freely rotate in the mirror cell

like, you can try to rotate it yourself and it will rotate

[onyx mortar]

the primary mirror?

[zinc lake]

yes

[onyx mortar]

Ok

I’ll check that out

[zinc lake]

remember that too loose can be bad too

i would recommend loosening the clips, and then tightening them until you reach the point where it won't rotate anymore. from that point, loosen them until it can rotate again, and leave it there

[onyx mortar]

Alright

[loud rose]

1$ newt inbound😭

[onyx mortar]

It worked!! Imaging m51 rn with pin point stars with 1 minute exposures, thank you.

[zinc lake]

happy to help

[silent fox]

how

[onyx mortar]

First 2 hours of whirlpool With the orion spaceprobe 130st and canon eos 4000d.
getting more data tomorrow then switching to coma or needle.

[onyx mortar]

That was the wrong version, ignore that one

[loud rose]

crappy pic of the 1$ newt

[silent fox]

truly was a $1

how tho

[loud rose]

1$ newt is up and ready to go

[silent fox]

you know what

for a dollar

not bad

[zinc lake]

is the mount also $1

[loud rose]

mount came with it

shame its not motorised

[high grotto]

dont think you can complain for a dollar 💀

[onyx mortar]

Took a picture of the moon close up while I was waiting for m51

[proud hamlet]

Now that's what I call a truly budget scope

[lime agate]

Urgently need some help here

The newt arrived and the backplate is smashed during transportation

Fu** me man

I think primary mirror fell off during transportation

And it smash through the bottom backplate, but I am not sure if the primary mirror is damaged

[zinc lake]

Wtf

[lime agate]

Any solution to what I should do here to prevent futhur damage? I am thinking of taking all parts out first, including the bottom fractured parts, and all the screws that fell off

Yeah wtaf

[zinc lake]

I would send that back honestly

Assuming you bought new

[lime agate]

It's entirely on the shipping

Shipping company

Also I bought it second hand

[fierce python]

The shipping company would be responsible, gotta contact them I guess, because that is some very serious damage, imo it lost all of it's value

[deep fog]

That's very unfortunate. If you still want to image with the newt, as you said, carefully take everything apart, or everything you think needs to be taken apart, assess what's damaged, figure out how ur gonna fix it, fix it (if it's worth it), test it, and hopefully get into imaging. As for if the mirror has been damaged, ur likely gonna have to just test it out and see if anything is up with the images. Again, very unfortunate but hopefully you can make what you can out of it.

[lime agate]

what I suspect happened is that during the transportation this ring broke off, which is used to hold the primary mirror, and the primary mirror then smashed through the bottom backplate, I am thinking of 3d printing this black ring and then mounting the mirror back on, how doable is this 3d printing strat?

[deep fog]

Probably well doable. Your newt (hopefully) wont experience anything as extreme as what it did during shipping so making a simple 3d printed ring should work fine

what is the size of this newt btw?

[lime agate]

It is a 8 inch f4 mirror

I still can't understand the usage of that black ring, does it help to stabilize the mirror and keep it in place?

[deep fog]

i mean if that ring is the only thing keeping the mirror from falling out of it's holder then yea, probably. Although in most cases that I've seen, mounting a ring above the mirror, is usually done to mask both the mirror clips and hard edges of the mirror to create a clean circular profile for the incoming light to bounce off of. If you don't, you can get some undesirable artifacts/aberrations.

[naive barn]

What the hell kind of packaging was it in? Also who the hell delivered that?

That's madness

[lime agate]

It was actually wrapped in these, but they still mamage to break it through all this cover

[lime agate]

I am still kinda of confused how the mirror stays on top of the cell, I will take a better look when I get home

[zinc lake]

That looks like a mirror mask

Potentially?

[zinc lake]

It was already said mb

[eager quiver]

@lime agate wtf dhit is this should get it replaced

[lime agate]

They probably just threw this shit around

[eager quiver]

Dude they don't know about the complexity of a telescope

[lime agate]

I dont think they know this is a telescope

even if they did, its not like if they will ever care

[lime agate]

Just find out something that makes me fumes, like wtaf, the mirror fell off and probably moved around within the tube, it moved to the front and likely crack and scratch the secondary, and then during some stage of the transportation the thing is straight up standing again, and the mirror probably fell down from the height of the secondary mirror and hit the bottom, which is what broke the backplate

Holy s I am angry, what the f did they do to my package

[zinc lake]

yeah thats unusable

refund

[lime agate]

I said it how many time no refund

only option is claim from shipping company

I could buy a gso secondary from agenastro to replace it probably would work

[zinc lake]

do it, this is unacceptable

[lime agate]

they better pay me full

[eager quiver]

What will you do if you get the guy who did this

[fierce python]

A bit late on answering, but I actually replaced my original mirror clips with a 3d printed ring like that, didn't cause any issues, and is still holding fine to this day, more than 2 years later. Was just normal PLA aswell.

Oof, just saw about the secondary....I really hope the shipping company fixes that, really really bad service from their part

[lime agate]

yeah I guess it is just the shipping company fault

what material did you used for 3 d printing

[fierce python]

Oh definitely, they really did a bad job

Just regular PLA

But you could maybe use PCTG or PETG, and that is less brittle

[lime agate]

I am not familiar with how 3d printing works

but do you have a print

like does it need a blueprint?

[fierce python]

You need to make a 3d model of what you want to print, then find a person to print it for you.
There could be a 3d model available on thingiverse for your scope already, Ill check

Is it a TS-Optics scope?

Cant seem to find the exact one, if you really want, I can make a quick one for you if you give me the dimensions

Or try to at least, I dont know how to use fusion 360 yet XD

[lime agate]

hmm I am not really sure

I am talking to someone tonight, and they say they will measure the broken part

[lime agate]

its custom made

[fierce python]

Ahhh, ok

Hopefully you can find a way to fix it, must be frustrating to no be able to use your new scope :/

[signal yoke]

Found some motivation again to go outside last night. Tried m13 but guiding was terrible, happy with it after all!

[grim mica]

Nice

[fierce python]

I am so tempted....

If I get a skywatcher 130pds, change the tube length, replace the mirror with this, and change the spider to a cnc cut one, I could have a 600 ish euro high quality(maybe) 5" f/4 newt

sounds like a lot of fun and pain

[signal yoke]

maybe haha

you think the 130 pds mirror isn't good?

this is 130pds and stock d5300. how did they do guys?

[fierce python]

it is an f/5 mirror, that is an f/4

There are no 5" f/4 dobs on the market afaik

so I need to make one

[signal yoke]

oh idk, fun to fiddle with though

[fierce python]

Yeah
The 130pds is a great scope anyways, just gonna use it as a base for my diy'ing
For a stock d5300 that is decent

[signal yoke]

im so curious how it would do in a proper dark sky

just under 2 hours this one, going to collect some more data soon

[grim mica]

Can anyone reccomend me a good cheap mirror to buy for a little diy reflector

[signal yoke]

I don't think good and cheap really go together. Second hand is probably your best option

Wat kind of budget do you have?

[past kite]

With coma corrector or without

[signal yoke]

Baadr Mark III

This one is cropped due to bad flat frames. There is some tilt though

[past kite]

Thx

[grim mica]

Not sure because nobody gives me a realistic number

Like I have no clue how much I can save relative to just buying a scope

[past kite]

If you want for visual use then buy a second hand 8 inch dob. If ur budget is lower than buy a 6 inch

[grim mica]

imaging is preferable for me :)

[signal yoke]

Already have a camera and stuff like that? Also for a reflector you will probably need a coma corrector and they're not cheap imo

[past kite]

Then get a skywatcher 6-8inch dobson goto. Will be perfect for begginer astrophotography

[fierce python]

I disagree, and it also depends which type of photography, if it is planetary, then yeah, if it is deep space, I wouldnt recommend a goto dob, better would either be a tracker and dslr, or a goto eq mount and newtonian or smth, but that is very expensive.
Goto dob can work, but it isnt beginner friendly imo, you can get much better results for cheaper, and more room for progression

[past kite]

Yeah, maybe a star adventurer and a dslr would be perfect

[grim mica]

I'm looking for a small ultralight newt I can put ok my existing DIY mount

The mount usually operates at around 3kg with no problem

So maybe an ultralight 114mm scope might be good

[past kite]

Then it would be great to find a 114/300 mirror

[grim mica]

Yeah

But which ones are of quality

Wow 114/300 is at f2.6

Very fast

[grim mica]

Hm I can't find 114/300

I can find plenty of 114/450

[grim mica]

Like for example is this kind of mirror prices sketchy or ok?

[grim mica]

How far should the distance be between the secondary mirror and the focal point

For a 114 scope

[fierce python]

would be very hard to find a coma corrector that goes down to f2.6, most dont go under f/4

[grim mica]

It's f3.9

[fierce python]

Thay one yeah, but earlier you were talking about a 114/300