Ritchey–Chrétien enjoyers thread

[harsh matrix]

it's so annoying

😭

so close yet so far away

[digital nexus]

Focus has been reached @harsh matrix

Without reducer

That’ll be a problem for another time

[harsh matrix]

@frosty shard I did stack without registering, this is how that looked

it doesnt quite look like a crater yet but it will after flats

and only at native

wait

this was reduced

and i still got a crater

this is just after ABE

this was with the good imaging train too, btw

my 533 + ZWO EFW and askar OAG

the one I definitively know doesnt have problems

this is what it looked like at native before i started making any changes

and to prove my point even more

this was first light with this scope

there it is

there's the crater

this was at native as well

like i said

its nothing new

this was sky flats too btw

cause that is all i did for flats back then, i didnt trust other methods and did not understand the isse had nothing to do with flats and never did

this is how it looks without exaggerating it heavily

subtle but you can tell it's there

without registering and without flats there's so many other problems that it is buried but it is there

[digital nexus]

ok I’m imaging

[harsh matrix]

looks nearly identical to the full stack with flats

[harsh matrix]

good luck

[digital nexus]

No guiding or calibration

We just goin in

Good luck guiding

No Collimation, barely any focus. Oh yea

[harsh matrix]

[frosty shard]

Hold up

https://www.dehilster.info/astronomy/imaging_artefacts.php

Look below figure 24

Could it be ice formation on the camera

[harsh matrix]

oh and this would be why i was seeing on axis astigmatism

[harsh matrix]

except it is consistently repeatable session after session with the dew heater set to max before cooling with 2 different cameras and it is always located at the optical center of the system?

I am highly skeptical, I think that's a major stretch.

[frosty shard]

Did the reducer shrink the artifact?

[harsh matrix]

yes

collimation moves it too

native/reduced

doesnt shrink by much on the 533 but it shrinks

the difference is much larger with the 571

i dont know why

[frosty shard]

Well, that indicates to me at least that it's not due to the OTA's baffling. If it was, the artifact size would be consistently smaller by the same amount with the reducer

[harsh matrix]

if you mean they should be the same size with the reducer between both cameras, I think they are

the most confusing aspect is that it isn't always present

like in this example

but there's like 20 other issues going on that are unrelated

[harsh matrix]

another thing to consider is I inverted the crater by adding knife edge baffles inside of the baffle tube

so if it was unrelated to the baffling, why would it change after adding new baffles?

wouldn't it remain the same if that was the case?

that's what's so dumbfounding about the entire problem

there's still a bright ring around a darker spot there but it's much smaller after adding knife edge baffles

I have a theory as to why this looks the way that it does

rn i have the baffles set in such a way that the top most one entirely obscures the inside walls of the baffle tube from being visible to the camera, which creates the dark region just outside of the center and inside of the bright ring on the outside

I think this bright ring on the outside is because those pixels can see the inside of the baffle tube in some places, and therefore are registering more light

I think that's why that looks the way it does, and why im getting weird and predictable reflection behavior

What I don't understand is the image in the very center

that should be gone in theory but in practice, there's something leftover

[harsh matrix]

[digital nexus]

ok chat

we moving up

[harsh matrix]

[harsh matrix]

I think im going to ditch the apex

Next clear night, whenever that is, we will be back at native to discover once and for all if my remaining troubles are caused by it or not.

[runic violet]

I mean I have it in the flats but this corrects out for me

Ditching the apex is a good data point but I don't know about ditching reduction altogether

At that point I would just switch to a newt so I can have some crumb of speed lol

[harsh matrix]

How

The other option is to pull the knife edge baffles out since they don't seem to accomplish what I had hoped.

[crisp flower]

Im using a zwo eaf

[frosty shard]

Not EAF sorry

is it the GSO Crayford or R&P

[crisp flower]

I think its a gso crayford

[harsh matrix]

fairly early lum images do not have the crater

interesting

I wonder why it started not to calibrate out

it is present in the flats

this was the first time it didnt calibrate out

[crisp flower]

I think its in the lower left is it Not?

[harsh matrix]

i wouldnt say so

[crisp flower]

Hmmm

[harsh matrix]

it's always going to be close to the center

[crisp flower]

Idk, Mine is pretty Low in the Image
Tho that might be due to Sensor size..

[harsh matrix]

its location changes either due to physical sensor location or collimation so it won't deviate significantly from the middle like it would have to in that image

[crisp flower]

Got it

[blissful marlin]

holy. What region is this?

[harsh matrix]

abell 2151

[blissful marlin]

thx

[digital nexus]

@harsh matrix So how can I use my reducer

Cause I’m pissed about that

[runic violet]

What about the really long baffle

[harsh matrix]

That was with the really long baffle

[harsh matrix]

That reducer doesnt have a fixed back focus so what you can do is use it at a roughly 0.8x reduction.

There's obviously 2 issues with this, for one you arent getting the speed you paid for, and 2 you aren't getting the full FoV, but it means you can use it and you wont encounter the artifact I warned about.

If you use the reducer with the extension piece on the back, that puts you at a 0.8x reduction factor and you can probably run your rig in its present configuration and still reach focus no problem.

I think the RC6 is a bit sharper and performs a bit better at this reduction anyway and I wasn't a huge fan of how bloated the stars got at the full 0.67x reduction of that reducer.

[digital nexus]

remember i couldnt even get focus with the extension 50mm

so a 20mm will be fine?

[harsh matrix]

25 mm will work

[digital nexus]

oh thats what it is

[harsh matrix]

Well the point of focus for 0.8x reduction is different from the point of focus for 0.67x reduction.

Much different.

It's still almost at where the point of focus for no reducer is.

[harsh matrix]

Yes

[vapid patio]

@harsh matrix My friend has an issue with his spider veins and he did flats but they still show. Any fix?

[slate falcon]

JESUS

[vapid patio]

I know right

[slate falcon]

thats not their only ossue

[vapid patio]

That their alignment is also off

[slate falcon]

double stars across the whole field exept center

[vapid patio]

It’s still working progress. This was just a start and he wanted to fix the spider veins.

[harsh matrix]

That's a huge light leak is what that is.

Track down the source and it should fix itself.

That looks to be a light leak from the focuser or something.

[slate falcon]

moon wont let me do 5 min subs

in infrared

[frosty shard]

I believe this is expected.

[slate falcon]

it is

but i had to make sure

[frosty shard]

@sinful sapphire I know you'd betray the glorious RC cult for a Mak, so this might make you happy

[sinful sapphire]

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

[frosty shard]

tbf I would totally buy a 6" Mak as a planet killer, those things are fire

[sinful sapphire]

Svbony really nails their maks

[frosty shard]

Especially with SVBONY using a Rumak design and including a dual speed focuser

[sinful sapphire]

yep

though if you find an intes mak.. definitely go for that one

[slate falcon]

@frosty shard i got iho m82 coming up soon

heres the unedit

i accidentally made it like 8k when cropped in

full image was 14k or something

[desert locust]

you want some ha data?

[slate falcon]

maybe later

[desert locust]

wait, if the innercicle is offcenter, does it mean the secondary is off

[slate falcon]

wha

have you messed something up

[desert locust]

idk how to star collimate

[desert locust]

huge

[digital nexus]

@harsh matrix thoughts?

focus wasnt great i think

only ok sub

[desert locust]

I think ur out of focus

[digital nexus]

well i barely focused

but its close enough that i will know when i get my EAF

[desert locust]

hell you mean close enough

why do you need an eaf, I have a 1 speed foucuser and I make no exuse

[digital nexus]

i hate focusing

so i dont care

[desert locust]

fair

[digital nexus]

it arrives this week

[desert locust]

nice

[harsh matrix]

Could be worse

That's not as out as I was expecting.

[slate falcon]

split spikeys!! (not focused)

[digital nexus]

or maybe the star mask not being on

[harsh matrix]

No

That's just not focused lol

[slate falcon]

no

[harsh matrix]

Even if it was in focus, you'd still have split spikes due to the bad collimation.

[slate falcon]

bob

[digital nexus]

can u tell how bad collimation is from that?

like out of 10 how bad

[frosty shard]

Like a 5/10 or so

Definitely some coma, but not an egregious configuration

[digital nexus]

is it ok to collimate with an EAF

[frosty shard]

Absolutely

[digital nexus]

Does the eaf care if it’s out of Collimation? 🤔

[frosty shard]

It does not

You want to be a little out of focus anyway to collimate

[harsh matrix]

[digital nexus]

So could be wors ok

[tidal hearth]

hoi

perfect for @tight lodge

something big ending on m48

[slate falcon]

iho m82

[desert locust]

did you incorporate my data

[slate falcon]

no

i forgot

[desert locust]

can you

[slate falcon]

too lazy :/

[digital nexus]

@harsh matrix @frosty shard what should I collimate on? Polaris?

[harsh matrix]

I've been using Capella

[digital nexus]

What do you use to collimate again?

I probably asked but i forgot

[harsh matrix]

Sharpcap

[digital nexus]

free version?

Any specific tools inside it?

What’s your process for Collimation

I’m gonna try tonight

[harsh matrix]

Yes

[harsh matrix]

They have crosshairs you can use.

[harsh matrix]

Adjust the secondary to correct on axis coma

[digital nexus]

k secondary first got it

[harsh matrix]

Secondary ONLY.

[digital nexus]

o

[harsh matrix]

You do not want to touch the primary because of the primary and focuser being coupled.

An adjustment of the primary can throw the alignment of the entire optical system way off.

It makes it exponentially harder to get proper collimation.

[digital nexus]

i already touched it a while ago remember

[tidal hearth]

sirius

[digital nexus]

It sets early tho

[frosty shard]

To judge the full field, you can use the Beehive Cluster

[tight lodge]

Castor, Pollux... it doesn't really matter. Just a bright star in general😅

[haughty steppe]

Trying to figure out flat issue on the RC10. But heres 55x60s Lum with ASI294mm and the RC10 with .75x reducer. Color from Canon 80D paired with 8" Lx200 with .63x reducer, 3Hrs of 60s subs. Color taken back in 3/25/25

[frosty shard]

Have you checked for reflective materials in your imaging train? I forgot if the solid tube 10" RCs use a 2" focuser like the 8", but if they do the M56 adapters I've seen are all internally reflective

I think the truss tube versions have a larger focuser though

[haughty steppe]

this is a picture of when I cleaned the primary. It is a truss tube rc and the focuser is 3". The tube in the center is taken out for this image

[digital nexus]

I cant find the crosshairs

I see the collimation tool though. im not sure if thats good for RCs

[harsh matrix]

It is this button right here on the tool bar

[harsh matrix]

Ive never used it

[haughty steppe]

@digital nexus Wheres the collimation image

[haughty steppe]

this before any adjustments?

[harsh matrix]

TLDR: to correct this, look at the faint dot that is currently biased towards the bottom rim of this defocused star, and look at how that part of the rim is brighter than the top part of the rim of the defocused star. Whatever adjustments you make to the secondary mirror you want to push the star in the direction of the faintest part of the rim, or away from the direction that central dot is biased in

sometimes seeing can do weird stuff and it can make the dot appear to move around, that just means you need to take your time with the adjustments and analyze how long that central dot remains centered once you are near finished

[digital nexus]

Ive been fixing it with the primary

it’s better now almost

[harsh matrix]

[digital nexus]

Super has been helping me

it got better

Seeing was poor. My main problem is keeping the star in frame, I collimate, it moves. I can’t plate solve to find it again cause I’m out focus

I need my EAF to quickly focus and unfocus

[harsh matrix]

that's why i do it in sharp cap, you can keep track of its location and you know how much of a change you make with each movement of the collimation screws

[digital nexus]

Il have to try it it

Well tonight I learned more about collimating it. I know you guys say not to collimate the primary, but I think I had to because it was so bad.

[frosty shard]

The screws are really sensitive and you will lose your position if you don't make careful adjustments

[frosty shard]

technically what you did here was correct though

If you see coma on-axis, you need to adjust the primary

[frosty shard]

and that definitely looks like a defocused comatic star

Just to explain this in more detail: each mirror contributes both some amount of astigmatism and coma when out of collimation. Adjusting the primary changes coma more, and adjusting the secondary changes astigmatism more

In the DSI method you have to iterate between adjusting the primary to remove on-axis coma and adjusting the secondary to remove unbalanced astigmatism

Once you dial it in though, the primary holds position better than the secondary, so usually you can just adjust the secondary to make most collimation tweaks once it's all aligned.

Relevant part of the manual

[crisp flower]

@harsh matrix i just noticed a bright donut crossing the dark one..

[harsh matrix]

oh god it got worse

[blissful marlin]

Almost an Rc ;) (Rc51)

no sharpening btw

[slate falcon]

eew

[tight lodge]

Nah uuuh, you did not just did what I think you did. Did you?

[crisp flower]

Noticed that i Had massive tilt in my system because my focusser got loose
I fixed that now, maybe i'll be able to Test how it is tonight

[blissful marlin]

What do you mean?

[tight lodge]

You compared a redcat to an rct...

[quartz meadow]

aperture is king and you know that, riiight?

[frosty shard]

REEEEEEEEEEE

[blissful marlin]

Ah, yeah

cmon, rez comes close to some newtons

And also its only 5h

[blissful marlin]

and under full moon

[tight lodge]

Don't challenge us mate

[blissful marlin]

And I dont even have guiding

[blissful marlin]

It would be funny tho…

[slate falcon]

[tight lodge]

Show me your sharpest image

[slate falcon]

pickle do you enjoy 3x drizzle

or do you not dither enough

[tight lodge]

I don't drizzle my data

[slate falcon]

im sure if you did you could squeeze some more detail out

[tight lodge]

But loose SNR😂

[slate falcon]

hey, the loss isnt visible if you have enough int time

even if the data says it is

[tight lodge]

This is me VS Vel. I want to see a redcat pulling out those details

[slate falcon]

vel only has marginally more detail tbh

[tight lodge]

Yeah... because is an 8" vs 5"

[slate falcon]

im thinking seeing is playing a bigger role here

[tight lodge]

Also 60h vs 5h

[slate falcon]

maybe that too

[blissful marlin]

I have no autofocus, no Guiding and no clear skies. There is nothing sharp about my images

[tight lodge]

I had pretty decent seeing. 2.1" on the stack and 1.9" best sub

[slate falcon]

[blissful marlin]

I would consider this my sharpest image so far

I have to get more integration tho

And I am imaging osc not mono

[slate falcon]

would a 6" rc work for portrait photography

@frosty shard ive found something out potentially

it looks like bxt makes up data

[crisp flower]

is that nir?

[slate falcon]

yea

its 3x drizzle in ir

[crisp flower]

wannt my data for comparison?

[slate falcon]

up to u

[crisp flower]

sending

[harsh matrix]

@tight lodge I am starting to consider the possibility of 3D printing a rugged dew shield for the RC for a couple of reasons

similar to the "tube extension" you made for your noot

[tight lodge]

Similar to mine?

[harsh matrix]

but I want to put my DSD flat panel on the front

[harsh matrix]

ye

is what you made tough enough to not flex or move if you put something like a flat panel on the front?

[tight lodge]

It can hold the weight of the OTA without flexing. The wall thickness is 5mm and is 100% infill. And the fact that is bolted on the steel tube makes it a structural part rather than a dew shield

[harsh matrix]

so you're saying there's a chance

not quite sure how I'd bolt it onto the tube yet since there's nowhere to mount such a thing

making it sit flush on the front of the scope is going to be another challenge

[tight lodge]

Is the spider attached to the front ring that I marked in blue?

[harsh matrix]

yes

[tight lodge]

Ok... that might add a lot of complexity

[harsh matrix]

yes

another challenge

the reason i wanted to attempt this in the first place

this little lip

makes it so that my flat panel cannot sit flush/perfectly parallel to the primary mirror

quite possibly the source of my flats issues

i found that sky flats or flat panel flats with the huge tracing panel did work much better than flats with this very expensive flat panel

and considering dew is a huge problem for my scope rn, solving this issue would be a huge milestone

[tight lodge]

I might have an idea. But it requires to drill 4 holes and design the tube extension to fit in that countersunk area inside the ring

[harsh matrix]

I had a different idea

I thought about using the pre drilled holes in the top and bottom dovetails and mounting it like that

but that might mean i can install it at an angle which reintroduces the same issue

luckily the metal on this OTA is cast aluminum, it isn't too hard, but for whatever reason, our power tools struggle with it

I found that out the hard way when i decoupled this thing

😩

what if instead of mounting on the outside, I used spring loaded compression clamps, to press up against the inner rim of that front ring

and they press down along the same part the spider is attached to

[tight lodge]

It is similar to my idea, the only difference being that you don't have to drill holes

[harsh matrix]

I use the front of the ring as a reference surface to prevent tilt

[harsh matrix]

yeah which is the goal

my tools dont like aluminum

i dont really want to try it either because i wont get a clean hole

😭

[tight lodge]

Having it bolted is gonna be perfect

[tight lodge]

What drill bits are you using?

[harsh matrix]

ik

that's the downside of it

[harsh matrix]

hardened steel i believe

it wasnt the bit

it was the drill

it's underpowered for this sort of application

[tight lodge]

HSS treated with Titanium nitrate goes very well.

[harsh matrix]

im sure it does but we dont have any on hand

ill have to think about it some more before i give it any more consideration

i need to confirm that my suspicions are correct

@crisp flower I saw your message about the loose focuser earlier, that could be the issue for sure, but I wanted to ask how you are taking your flats

[quartz meadow]

I would never drill a hole into my scope

[harsh matrix]

I drilled 3 into mine

[tight lodge]

I drilled 2 into mine and chopped the focuser draw tube with a hacksaw

[crisp flower]

I have a Tracking Panel which i have Set on the lowest brightness about 30-50cms away from the tube and then White cloth over the telescope and the Screen itself

[quartz meadow]

I mean yours looks like a DIY scope at this point

[tight lodge]

Hard work makes it better

[harsh matrix]

interesting

is this ring of death the first time youve had calibration troubles?

and what bortle are you in?

[crisp flower]

It is Not
Ive Had other issues due to reflective surfaces within the tube

The Ring of death appeared after i got rid of them

Im at bortle 4-5

Wait now that i think about it i dont think ive Had it in earlier moon phases

[harsh matrix]

the moon will artificially raise your bortle which makes sense why you would see it now but not without a moon

I didn't see calibration issues in my dark sky data with mine until I was 30 hours into a project

the dark skies conceal issues for longer but the moon will always pull them out

[crisp flower]

Interesting

[harsh matrix]

what surfaces did you get rid of, specifically?

and did you flock them or paint them?

[crisp flower]

Pretty much every extention tube Leasing to the camera

I flocked them with felt tape

[harsh matrix]

but nothing within the OTA itself?

[crisp flower]

Nope

[harsh matrix]

huh weird

ive basically done the same thing, with an extra step

[crisp flower]

The surfaces within the ota we're fine

[harsh matrix]

i flocked the drawtube

[crisp flower]

Were*

[harsh matrix]

really?

[crisp flower]

Hmmm

[harsh matrix]

they weren't for me

[crisp flower]

Jup

[crisp flower]

Xd

[harsh matrix]

flocking the drawtube made things a lot better

i flocked the extension tubes too

including ones you would thread onto the front of the filter wheel

the ring reappeared and didnt go away with calibration AFTER I started flocking stuff

which is why I am asking

[crisp flower]

Same

[harsh matrix]

it seems like by trying to make the scope better, you actually make it worse

and this makes no sense to me

[crisp flower]

I wouldnt really say so, compared to what the scope delivered before flocking, my results got alot better

[harsh matrix]

I know that but in the specific context of calibration troubles

in my experience it's like you trade for things to calibrate out

im assuming you flocked everything because you were seeing ringing in your lights

the same reason i flocked everything

but by doing that the ring of death appeared

hopefully it was just the focuser in your case though

because if it was, i might have a workaround in my case as well

[crisp flower]

hopefully

[harsh matrix]

https://app.astrobin.com/i/o1xyyj

new revision of M 33 is uploaded

this one was robbed of any awards to what I'm going to do this year is add a bunch of narrowband data, and then upload a new one and submit that

im about out of revisions on this one and the data acquisition is more or less set in stone

[digital nexus]

Collimation setup

[oblique sun]

is that a surface

[digital nexus]

Surface of what

Grass? Yes

[oblique sun]

the device you had, i thought it looked like a Microsoft surface

[digital nexus]

No lol

iPad Air

[oblique sun]

oh youre streaming a pc screen to it?

[digital nexus]

Windows Remote Desktop. Thru portable router wifi

[oblique sun]

I never got that to work

Just gave up and used rustdesk

works fine tho

[tight lodge]

@harsh matrix Check this out

[harsh matrix]

lucky

got clear skies before me

[tight lodge]

Did I? I haven't had a clear day since December

[slate falcon]

@frosty shard can i have the laser collimation of rct copypasta

[frosty shard]

@slate falcon

[slate falcon]

can i have the stsr collimation guide on the side too pls

[slate falcon]

@tight lodge i seperate the fishhesd stars

[tight lodge]

Give me a broader image because idk what I'm looking at😂

[slate falcon]

yk those stars that look like one

[tight lodge]

These?

[slate falcon]

yes!

[slate falcon]

@tight lodge do i try a 30 min expose

before the moon gets me

[tight lodge]

Yes

[slate falcon]

should i try an hour after that

[slate falcon]

i think i will have some trailing :(

[slate falcon]

😭

istg its returned back to normal

scope just wanted to mess it up

nahhh

and cloud too???

that sub is gone

100%

@tight lodge sorry for the ping

sensor squiggle!

[frosty shard]

Well well well, what do we have here

@harsh matrix don't you specifically have an AT8RC?

I did comment to ask if this person has a baffle tube extension

[harsh matrix]

no

i have the TPO RC8

[frosty shard]

Oh oops I'm confuzzling you with my local astronomy club member who has the AT8RC

[harsh matrix]

you could tell this guy that ive tried fixing it with knife edge baffles which only had the effect of increasing the thickness of the ring

man the more i see it the more it does look like the circular halo i saw with the apertura reducer

i bet it's the exact same thing

I still don't know what the cause of it is

because if it was as simple as a baffling issue, knife edge baffles would have fixed it, one would think

[crisp flower]

prolly wrong but might it be possible that its caused by the black ring in the middle of the secondary?

[harsh matrix]

I've had that thought too actually.

You're not crazy for suggesting it.

Proving that will be a challenge.

[crisp flower]

trueeee

but it would make sence considering that the one from the forum-guy is centered and mine might be as well if my ccollimation would be better

[slate falcon]

processed tf out a single sub

i think i may need help

[crisp flower]

i like the hint of blue

[harsh matrix]

Mine was centered when my collimation was perfect.

[crisp flower]

idk if rubbing alcohol would be a viable option to try and remove it🤔

[harsh matrix]

Most likely not.

Im pretty sure it is etched into the mirror.

[crisp flower]

thatd be the worst-case

[slate falcon]

okay yea this is how it looks on my monitor kinda

[haughty steppe]

Did some little integration on Thors Helmet while it was clear out Monday night. Not the greatest becuase lack of time but I combined it with my 135mm data for a zoom pan video

[tight lodge]

@harsh matrix I think it did very well. We should plan on a next one

[slate falcon]

[digital nexus]

@harsh matrix Somebody on CN has the same donut issue

[digital nexus]

He made a CN post

Nobody responded yet but id keep an eye on it for those of u with the issue

[crisp flower]

I have contacted the company i got my telescope from

They have confirmed that this is Most likely an issue caused by the secondary mirror

They think its an issue with flat-callibration but i am still in contact with them trying to solve the issue

[digital nexus]

Is that u who made the post ?

[crisp flower]

No

I Just have the Same issue

[tight lodge]

GSO issue afaik

[slate falcon]

[crisp flower]

@harsh matrix i am now exactly where u are with the issue Xdddd

[harsh matrix]

oh fuq

😭

[crisp flower]

Im gonna send an e-mail with the Data attached to the retailer, lets See what they say

Guy i spoke with was fairly confused as they switched Out the baffle already a few years ago

[harsh matrix]

cause switching the baffle isnt enough to fix the problem on its own

[crisp flower]

Looks Like it

[harsh matrix]

yo

are you using the compression ring on the focuser to hold the imaging train on?

[crisp flower]

Yes

[harsh matrix]

this guy in the facebook post Brandon linked is using a baader click lock and so am i

but I didnt have problems back when i threaded my imaging train directly to the focuser

im thinking the issue is compression vs threaded connections

possibly

[crisp flower]

Hmmm

[harsh matrix]

because the miscalibration is so very slight

not enough to cause obvious problems outside of that

a heavy enough imaging train might cause the baader to flex slightly

it definitely will be a problem with a standard compression ring

even more so with the stock GSO focuser

i might have to try to get an esatto or something because i dont know how else im going to use my reducer

😭

[harsh matrix]

or i get an m 56 x 0.75 female to m 48 x 0.75 male adapter with M 42 threads inside the M 48 ring type adapter custom made

this might be my only option

agena has no adapters of this kind

and no other m 56 x 0.75 type adapters available

[haughty steppe]

I need a 74x.75 to m48x.75 for my IAFS 3" focuser and thats not an adapter I can find.

[crisp flower]

@harsh matrix have you tried calibrating with skyflats?

[slate falcon]

i need to get an image of pleebees before i die

[crisp flower]

Interesting result with the First Iteration of skyflats

[slate falcon]

its a O

[crisp flower]

Yeaa
Im starting to lose Hope tbh

[slate falcon]

try use dimmer light source

[crisp flower]

Im waiting for Dusk so i can Take longer exposures

[slate falcon]

what about same lenth exposure but daeker?

[crisp flower]

For Flats?

[slate falcon]

yea!

[crisp flower]

N...no

[slate falcon]

why not :(

i dont mean like no light

i mean like low light

middle lifht

bright but not too bright

that it causes the bump

[crisp flower]

Well thats why i am waiting for Dusk..

[slate falcon]

but why shoot lomger exposures?

[crisp flower]

So the Flats are properly exposrc

[slate falcon]

sory im a lil sleeby

[crisp flower]

No worries

[slate falcon]

but wont the problem stay?

bc you still getting the same amount of light

[crisp flower]

Maybe

Thats what i want to find out

But its interesting that skyflats Changed it that much already

Because this was with the flat panel

And compared to that the skyflats already Made quite a difference

[slate falcon]

skyflat overcorrect

[crisp flower]

Yea

Lets See how that goes in about an hour

[slate falcon]

take neighbours house flats

[slate falcon]

yea

[crisp flower]

Lmaooo

Cant unfortunately

[slate falcon]

i personally take hallway wall flats

[crisp flower]

I took flat panel Flats and now i am trying skyflats

[slate falcon]

[crisp flower]

And If that wont Work i Take tear-flats

[slate falcon]

😭

[crisp flower]

Me If that wont Work lol

[harsh matrix]

Many times

[crisp flower]

Xd

[crisp flower]

Didnt get Mine to calibrate that artifact Out either xd

[slate falcon]

[harsh matrix]

yeah last I tried it only changed the direction of the gradient within the crater

but did not influence the degree to which it calibrated out

[haughty steppe]

What's your exposure length on flats? I've found for my 10" rc I need 1 sec or longer exposures and I need a ton of them so it averages properly

Every other setup I've done less than 1 second flats and only 10 flats total for a good result. With the rc I need like 100 at longer exposure length

[harsh matrix]

hmmmm

I do 1 second flats with 25 flats

i thought about trying more before but didnt give it a go yet

[crisp flower]

I tried about 50 subs ranging from a length of 0.03 to 6 Seconds today

Didnt make a difference

[frosty shard]

Maybe that explains why I've only seen a similar artifact once

I don't use a compression ring at all and have removed mine from the stock focuser

[frosty shard]

I tale 1/100 second flats in broadband with no problems lol (I stack 32)

[frosty shard]

Also when I saw this artifact, my flats were just really bad, period

And I took the data on a full moon + didn't dither

(it was a photometric dataset)

[digital nexus]

How’d you remove it?

I’m using compression rings, and don’t wanna

[crisp flower]

Okay maybe the artifact was caused by the full-moon for me as Well?

Because this is a Dataset i captured during the full-moon vs one from Last night

Both Not the best ones But the one from Last night is lacking the artifact i think

[tight lodge]

@frosty shard FIX THE PANELS!!!!!

[slate falcon]

🤤

[harsh matrix]

it's very possible

[slate falcon]

okay im stuck in a situation

idk if i should go for a cooled 585 mono or get a cooled 294colour

[runic violet]

Don't buy the 294 color

It's a very not good camera

[frosty flicker]

bro doesnt know what @atomic otter went through

[slate falcon]

i dont no

[slate falcon]

olay so hard no

i was hoping there would be some sort of cheap cam thats bigger than these tiny ones

[runic violet]

Cheap = tiny

[slate falcon]

ya

or ig medium size bad qe

also wtf

1000 usd is like just over 750 gbp

[slate falcon]

they had an svbony one?????

[digital nexus]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/859175854431928371/1480328215699525824/79470094412__C6E7D986-94CC-4D3A-89E0-509A281692B6.mov?ex=69af4695&is=69adf515&hm=4fa93971fe68e4bb993a475ad41e7bae9d725e99cebe8fcee81d3f02f0be2ae0&

[slate falcon]

svbony cams are like known to have major issues

[digital nexus]

help

[slate falcon]

wiggle wiggle

[digital nexus]

I hate compression rings

[frosty flicker]

zwo i believe

[slate falcon]

i would advise you to not give it the shakey wakey

[digital nexus]

i dont want it to be shakey shakey

[frosty flicker]

oh

[slate falcon]

yeaaa

i cant blame them for hating it so much

[atomic otter]

It was shit LOL

[slate falcon]

did you have intense banding?

bc afaik most sv cams have it

[quartz meadow]

Those are notorious for their banding

[slate falcon]

[ripe crystal]

https://media.discordapp.net/stickers/1310685142775496755.gif?size=160&name=sog+shake

[digital nexus]

@harsh matrix

i couldnt get focus with the reducer using the 25mm spacer

i got it'

i added the tilt plate

and can attach the focuser with none of the 25mm or 50mm spacers

[harsh matrix]

interesting

[crisp flower]

Not me Being stupid and Messing Up collimation whilst trying to fix it

[frosty flicker]

what are we looking at

[slate falcon]

fish

[slate falcon]

it looks like ic 10 to me but idk

[crisp flower]

Caldwell 21

Another cute little galaxy

Unfortunately i introduced quite a Bit of tilt in the system

[slate falcon]

[harsh matrix]

why is the galaxy resolved so well though

[crisp flower]

Right?

Caught me by surprise as Well ngl

[slate falcon]

its scary

[crisp flower]

Maybe

At First i was so hyped because Autofocus came down to 0.7

Then i saw the sub and was sad xd

[slate falcon]

[crisp flower]

I think If i can, i'll try and have a Tablet next to me whilst adjusting it, so i can have the tilt calculated as i go

[slate falcon]

smar

[crisp flower]

If it wörks

[ripe crystal]

Holy seeing

Very nice

[crisp flower]

It couldve been so much better If i didnt mess it up

But i Like it nontheless

[tight lodge]

@harsh matrix can i see the doughnut of death from your Quattro?

[slate falcon]

cirbcle

[tight lodge]

You think this will correct out nicely?
It doesn't look as bad as yours iirc

@waxen mountain

[waxen mountain]

Hi

This is my first light with my quattro150p and the Poseidon (571mono)

[tight lodge]

Wait, you have it reduced, right?

[waxen mountain]

Yee

600 to 520

[tight lodge]

Uuuhm.... the sensor is very well illuminated ngl.

[waxen mountain]

Nice

But I hope I get this donut thingy away

https://tenor.com/view/hopium-half-life-critical-hopium-hopium-levels-critical-gordon-freeman-gif-9669139738936544681

[harsh matrix]

no

[waxen mountain]

Damn

[harsh matrix]

painting the edges and rear of the secondary eliminated it

and I mean, with the darkest paint I could buy

it was painted by the previous owner, and it was a very dark grey

but it wasn't dark enough

it has to be extremely dark and/or wrapping in an opaque material

[waxen mountain]

OK Thanks for the tipp

[harsh matrix]

theres no other way around it unfortunately

[harsh matrix]

I would say congratulations except this will be the beginning of a long line of work on the scope

welcome to being the owner of a skywatcher quattro newtonian

[waxen mountain]

ok

[waxen mountain]

Thanks i guess

[slate falcon]

ha!

imagine not having the much superior f5 version of the scope

[tight lodge]

Hey! Skywatcher doesn't give you a working telescope. They give you a lesson on how to perfect one

What? Is a nice quote😭

[slate falcon]

yes

[harsh matrix]

@frosty shard

[frosty shard]

Okay this is epic

[harsh matrix]

Yeah

So I sent my first ever model in to get CNC'd

It's the adapter ive been working on for my micro 4/3 rokinon lens

And then this came to mind

Low and behold, someone has done it but with a 6

[slate falcon]

its like what i will do to a 6" cc

[waxen mountain]

my flats have worked quit good

The black dots are from the stars that were already visible

[harsh matrix]

I would say that is mostly true however you need to understand the reason why

this is bortle 3 luminance from my redcat

I shot this nearly a year ago now

not everything in your image is IFN but the vast majority is

but

given enough exposure time at your location, eventually more issues will manifest

you will effectively get punished for getting more exposure time

sky glow is the sole reason you do not have issues so obvious that your data is unusable

it's the sole reason my bortle 3 data from my quattro just 2 weeks ago is usable in any capacity

you definitely have reflections going on and while theyre just barely above the noise floor, enough exposure time will bring them out above the IFN, effectively drowning out the good signal

[waxen mountain]

Oh damn

That sucks

[harsh matrix]

there's some sensor variation stuff going on in your photo too but that's nothing to worry about

my 571 does the same thing

[waxen mountain]

Ok, I'll dive deeper into this theme bit by bit

But for now I'm quit happy that the flats at least did the rough job

[harsh matrix]

it seems you are lucky for the time being but when issues start to show themselves, don't say you weren't warned

[waxen mountain]

Yea yea

[harsh matrix]

but I'm not one to make empty claims without supporting evidence

here's my prime example

bortle 3 data on the left, bortle 8 (home) on the right

M 33 is 14 hours of lum

NGC 891 is 6 - 8 hours

that bortle 3 site historically had perfect calibration

i honestly thought there'd be no issues

this is data from my RC8

where i have dust motes that dont want to calibrate out and harsh vignetting caused by the reducer

[waxen mountain]

I think both look very clean

[harsh matrix]

at this bortle 3 site, there was no vignetting previously

but at 14 hours, you can see it in the corners

dust motes also calibrated out with a 100% success rate

[waxen mountain]

Yee

[harsh matrix]

but a mote started to rise above the noise floor

hard to see

here it is now

[waxen mountain]

I worked with an IMX178 before the IMX 571

[harsh matrix]

the NGC 891 data has quite a few motes that didnt calibrate, some on the filters, some on the camera, TLDR, there's always something hiding and low bortle conceals it, but does not prevent it

[waxen mountain]

I've never had any calibration problems.

But of course that's something that can be expected

[harsh matrix]

these are some of the motes in the NGC 891 image

ive since tracked the source down to possibly being the filter itself but im still not 100% convinced

[harsh matrix]

well, you will with a quattro

[waxen mountain]

Oh yee

[harsh matrix]

i dont know any examples of a perfect out of the box quattro

[waxen mountain]

Now I see more in your picture

[harsh matrix]

the only times ive ever had perfect calibration was with my redcat 51

not even with my other refractor which i owned before the redcat

and not with either of my reflectors

higher bortle will always exaggerate existing issues, but low bortle won't save you from them either.

it's the unfortunate, grim reality of this hobby

[waxen mountain]

Telezooms are an disaster to calibrate

At that time I still produced very bad flats

But this reflection is so annoying

[crisp flower]

Getting there

[crisp flower]

Still Not perfect but definetely better than the subs i took yesterday

[harsh matrix]

Yummy

[crisp flower]

Theres still some tilt left but i cannot be bothered to temper more with the scope tonight 😅

[crisp flower]

I think the RC is cooked 😐

[harsh matrix]

dang

i honestly expected it to go away after the moon went away for you

[slate falcon]

looking yummy

[harsh matrix]

It looks so vibrant on my PC and so bland on my phone.

I cant figure out what's going on.

[slate falcon]

hapens

i have to crunch the blacks on my pc to see the contrast on my phone

[quartz meadow]

why did it get worse 😭

[crisp flower]

Same

[crisp flower]

Its Not worse, i applied next and then stf, thats why it appears so strong

[harsh matrix]

Its crazy that it looks exactly the same for both of us.

[crisp flower]

I find it extremely irritating tbh

The retailer i got it from has also stopped responding after i tried Skyflats which didnt Work and i asked If they have any Suggestion about how to get rid of it

[harsh matrix]

yeah no surprise there

when I talked to HPS about this they also stopped responding after I told them their recommendations didn't work

[crisp flower]

So i am honestly conisidering to Switch to a newt ngl

[crisp flower]

Great...

[harsh matrix]

they didn't offer to work through the issue with me or offer any suggestions of what else to try either

[harsh matrix]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering that option

Ive already been looking

[crisp flower]

Same tbh

Thing is that i really Love the RC, but that Ring is Messing it Up so badly xd

[harsh matrix]

this or converting my dob to an imaging newt

[harsh matrix]

yeah exactly

it's so irritating

a deal breaker, really

the biggest problem for me is all of the modifications I made

would anybody want to bother purchasing this at this point

if i sold it, can I even make back what I spent, enough to recoup what I'd spend on a new noot

I would really like a bigger quattro, gut the thing, modify it all at once, and then get first light on it once the work is done

probably would get a 8" f/5 tbh

i want a 10" f/5 but theyre more pricey and rarer to come across, used

[crisp flower]

I get that
Its a lot of Work u spent on it as Well, and thats somewhat demoralizing seeing to Go to waste

[crisp flower]

Same tbf

Ive been thinking about a 10 or 12" atm

[harsh matrix]

or grab this, get a custom made tube, and make it all from scratch

[crisp flower]

Tho i think the 12" might be a Bit of a Overkill for the eq6

[harsh matrix]

except Agena has no stock and id really rather not buy straight from GSO with the tariffs

that'll cost like 1k USD minimum to ship here

[harsh matrix]

well that and people might look at it and go, why modify it if it's supposed to work?

might scare potential buyers off

or the stigma around dealing with someone else's work might make people hesitant as well

[crisp flower]

Not If u explain to them exactly what u did and why imo

[crisp flower]

Oh yea fair

[harsh matrix]

if the why means they won't use it either, then it compounds the problem

[crisp flower]

Truuuu

[harsh matrix]

naaaaaahhhh probably not

the EQ6R is a beast

[crisp flower]

Idk payload is Something i would be Kind of scared to Play too much with tbh

Tho i technically do have replacement Motors for it already, so im already prepared for the worst-case xD

[harsh matrix]

hmmmmm

i dunno

the motors arent doing the work i dont think

unless your mount has a bunch of resistance in it, which mine doesnt

[crisp flower]

Mine does neither

[slate falcon]

grab da miror from oouk!!!

[harsh matrix]

ive heard theyre worse than GSO

i dont think i will

[slate falcon]

wat

oouk the 1/10strehl mirrors???

worse than gso????

the company that sells newtonian astrographs for more than 3k???

thats insane

[harsh matrix]

some folks suggested the numbers they claim are false

GSO actually does produce mirrors of the strehl that they claim, they're just not terribly smooth

[slate falcon]

i think like 3 people got 1/9 instead of 1/10 due to manufacturer problems 😭

[harsh matrix]

but the only really bad ones they produce are the 6" f/4 mirrors

[slate falcon]

they do good 6" f3 mirrors tho

so thats weird

[harsh matrix]

yeah i dont know what the specifics are

even if i did want to get OOUK, id have to import im sure

so still not going to be an option

[slate falcon]

afaik they fixed the manufacturer issues

[slate falcon]

true

[harsh matrix]

it cost roughly 50% of what it is to make a part im getting CNC'd and imported in from China

[slate falcon]

why does gso do good 6" f3 but not 6" f4

[harsh matrix]

so put that sort of price on a premium set of mirrors

that would be utterly unreasonable

[slate falcon]

buh

[slate falcon]

yeaaaa

[harsh matrix]

I am going to test the RC8 in one more configuration tonight

I honestly don't expect it to go well

im just hoping for sky flats to do the trick

i swapped the extension I made out for the stock one since that did actually work at one point in time

im hoping the loose filter was the only problem (probably isn't/wasn't)

[crisp flower]

Im Not having too much expectations for that to Work but i Hope that it will!

[harsh matrix]

anyone want a cheap RC8?

[harsh matrix]

real

hmmmm

there's an 8" Quattro up in the realm of a price im willing to pay

ruh roh

lol wtf

there's this one without a secondary

i have a solution for the spider but not the secondary

[slate falcon]

just make it prime focus

[harsh matrix]

nvm

i do but it's out of stock until late next month

[slate falcon]

[harsh matrix]

i will wait to see what happens with the RC tonight/tomorrow before i make any offers

[slate falcon]

@tight lodge what gain do you use for bb?

im clipping stars at 150 gain

[tight lodge]

211 (Unity)

[slate falcon]

a

do you have clipped stars then?

[slate falcon]

also what does unity gain do?

[desert locust]

I think it’s where 1 electron is 1 adu

[tight lodge]

It enables HGC

[slate falcon]

a

zwo cams have it at 252 strange

i am annoyed about no lcg mode

its annoying

[tight lodge]

It's impossible not to clip stars. However, one thing that i notices is that P1 is trying to prevent pixel clipinb by capping the ADU value somewhere around 64,000 or max 65,000. Ok, if you really force it, then you will cap the max ADU

[slate falcon]

bah

its so annoying

bc i want colourful stars

not horribly clipped ones

[slate falcon]

what if i use gain 0?

[tight lodge]

Like these?... 300s subs at unity gain?

[slate falcon]

ya!

im shooting bb christmas when the clouds clear

[slate falcon]

like here too

ir stars dont clip

[tight lodge]

High rejection reduces the stars a bit as well

[slate falcon]

okay

[tight lodge]

But, if you can clearly see stars in the linear image... then those stars are clipped

[slate falcon]

ohh

should i just give up

and deal with it

[tight lodge]

JWST simply doesn't care XD

[slate falcon]

ikr 😭

i wanna shoot christmas for the staas

[desert locust]

They don’t care about quality, they care about signal and signal only

[slate falcon]

i know xD

[tight lodge]

You will always clip the stars, no matter how much you try not to

[harsh matrix]

As long as its just the cores and not the full extent of the star that is clipped, it's fine.

[frosty shard]

What phone do you have

[frosty shard]

is your sensor never saturating?

If so, you may be at a suboptimal gain

[slate falcon]

tbh m44 looks cool asf

spikey

and pretty

my extra set of spikes looks so nice

so i dont think i will cut my tube

[harsh matrix]

Samsung Galaxy S23

[slate falcon]

light leaks in darks

also @tight lodge the coloursss!!!

[harsh matrix]

Honestly if this doesnt work, I might end up selling it all and getting an Esprit.

[crisp flower]

At least try and Stick with a reflector :/

[harsh matrix]

I would if I could but I start uni in the fall, maybe even the summer if my advisor says I should.

That puts a tight constraint on my budget moving forward, which I need to at the very least get a rig that works without issues.

Plus I still have my quattro

That actually works.

It's not totally flawless but I have a couple ideas as to what is causing the remaining issue and I plan to do the necessary deeds to fix it soon.

The thing is, with this RC, it has issues that I cant fix, I don't know the origin of the issues, I dont have any more options left to try, and nothing is panning out.

If you've also done everything you can, that makes us 2 for 2 as far as solving this goes.

We're at our wits end with nothing left to try.

To the point that even the suppliers have left us out to dry.

It's done.

The next reflector I get, I'd rather build from the ground up. I want to make it something where I can solve every problem in advance because I anticipated the issues I was going to face, instead of being locked into a pre-made piece of junk thats going to waste more of my time.

[harsh matrix]

This would give me very strong motivation to succeed in uni as well.

I think it's a good idea.

[crisp flower]

Sounds Like a pretty good one as Well
Building my own newt has also been Something i have been conisidering but i dont think that i can spare the time to actually Go and do it, so itll probably be a prebuilt one for me

[crisp flower]

Got it
Refracs are pretty Low maintainance so theyre very straight forward

[harsh matrix]

Which is another aspect I havent even considered.

My RC can hold collimation for months on end but once it's lost, it takes me a couple hours for a few nights to fix it because the decoupler is so hard for me to work around.

[frosty shard]

Would you consider reusing the mirrors from the RC in a custom build?

[harsh matrix]

Hard to say.

Because Im not able to eliminate the mirrors as a potential cause for the issue we're having, Im not sure i would.

Plus if a custom build is what i do for the RC, I need money for a rig to use in the meantime, something that's not going to happen without moving gear out.

I also need money to do the build, something I also dont have much of on hand right now.

Not having to worry about collimation or having collimation that isnt difficult, which is fortunately the case with my quattro now, would be most preferable while im at uni.

[digital nexus]

have you tried a different camera

What about with/without filters

what happened with that compression ring idea?

I’m just throwing ideas out here

[harsh matrix]

Ive tried it all

[harsh matrix]

This isn't an option without getting an adapter custom made so

Also not really an option.

[digital nexus]

Your focuser is compression ringed? So you haven’t tried a new focuser?

i get that’s expensive

[harsh matrix]

This is a new focuser and I took the stock compression ring off, replaced it with a baader click lock

The click lock supposedly tightens concentrically

[digital nexus]

oh

[harsh matrix]

Its an incredibly tight hold too and theres a reference surface to stop any flexture.

So if that's the issue, id be surprised.

[digital nexus]

the compression rings are a worry of mine with my reducer

[harsh matrix]

I think there's the tiniest possibility that is the problem, but im also far from certain that it's the only issue. Considering I have a bunch of miscellaneous reflections going on with no known source.

[digital nexus]

Maybe try to cover the entire inner tube in something?

Near the secondary especially, maybe that’s where the reflections at

[harsh matrix]

Uhhhhhhh

I just realized ive been using the click lock the whole time.

Ive not had an adapter since like, June

[digital nexus]

try without

[harsh matrix]

And this crater problem showed up in December, ish.

So that's most likely NOT the issue.

[digital nexus]

what adapter

[harsh matrix]

I have by using knife edge baffles.

[harsh matrix]

One that comes with the carbon stars

[digital nexus]

I mean for what Idk what adapter ur talking about

[harsh matrix]

Also im at the point with this scope that I dont think throwing more money at it will fix the problem, im already too far in and the more I throw at it, the more im going to waste my time and money. I don't think a focuser this late into the game, when this one has done well previously, will fix anything.

[harsh matrix]

To thread the reducer directly onto the drawtube of the focuser

[digital nexus]

oh so what I use my compression rings for

[harsh matrix]

It's a very uncommon m 56 x 0.75 female to m 48 x 0.75 male adapter.

[harsh matrix]

Yes it gets around doing that.

A much more secure connection, at the cost of being able to change rotation without changing the tilt of the focuser.

[digital nexus]

should i get knife edge baffles?

idk how pricey they are

[harsh matrix]

Absolutely not

They made everything worse

[digital nexus]

oh

[harsh matrix]

I painted them yet I believe theyre the source of the reflections.

[digital nexus]

why haven’t you removed them

[harsh matrix]

Because I feel like they have to be doing something?

I will after tonight.

There's really no point in keeping them there if things dont work out tonight.

@frosty shard that guy who converted his RC6 to a truss RC offered to convert mine if I lived closer.

It's... rather unfortunate, that I may be moving on from this.

[digital nexus]

where’s he at

lemme get mine converted

[harsh matrix]

Australia.

[digital nexus]

[frosty flicker]

[frosty shard]

Well...now I'm wondering if I should just buy a second RC and have that converted when I visit Australia.

[haughty steppe]

So like, what's the benefit to it being a truss setup vs just a stiff tube like carbon fiber.

Like, my guess is it's the thicker plates that help keep the scope sturdy. So, couldn't you mill out some plates and get some carbon tube for it? Then you would t need to mill out a third plate and get carbon trusses with the retainers.

[runic violet]

Whats the current standing of the problem

Last thing I heard was there was indeed a filter problem involved

Also did you ever try covering the whole back of the scope including the camera with a black enclosure like a blanket or anything of that sort

[harsh matrix]

Whatever this is.

Haven't had good weather since this test.

I set up right now but we have very high wind gusts