Looking for some help

User images created with StarTools.
decay
Posts: 433
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:28 pm
Location: Germany, NRW

Re: Looking for some help

Post by decay »

Hi Troy, BAU means 'business as usual'. At first I asked myself the same question ;)
Best regards, Dietmar.
Troy Galebach
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:31 pm
Location: South Central Missouri, USA
Contact:

Re: Looking for some help

Post by Troy Galebach »

Well, you don't know till you ask :lol: I'm a bit more informed now. I don't have business as usual, I'm retired.
:thumbsup: Thank you for the illumination Dietmar.
Regards,
Troy
decay wrote: Fri Jul 22, 2022 7:13 pm Hi Troy, BAU means 'business as usual'. At first I asked myself the same question ;)
Best regards, Dietmar.
hixx
Posts: 250
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:36 pm

Re: Looking for some help

Post by hixx »

Hi Troy,
First of all best wishes for Your health. I suffered 3 minor strokes 1 year ago as well, and I know exactly what You are talking regarding mounting screws and setting up a telescope. I currently still have to retrain and exercise all steps time and again, with a higher rate of mistakes unfortunately. Especially precision tasks like polar alignment are really hard to do. I have to completely setup tripod, mount and scope each session (except we see a series of clear nights which is very rare here in Germany).
I use to prepare the full optical train (107/700mm TS APO, Reducer/Flattener, IDAS Filters and modded Sony A7III camera at daytime in the house including cleaning sensor & optics. In the afternoon/evening I set the optical train on my mount and prepare weight balancing in RA and ∂. I also will program the MGEN autoguider. In the dusk I'll take flats using a white nylon diffusor cap (basically T-shirt method) and Flatdarks. I also will program the MGEN autoguider. Once Polaris starts to come out I use to set Zero Position and set focus using a Bahtinov mask, perform polar alignment and one star alignment. 2 hours after sunset I just have to start the recording session and in 1 night I just shoot 1 stack (e.g. the NB-1 Luminance stack). I'll use another night for Color shots using the IDAS Clear filter. I'll enjoy watching the darkness or just go to bed, let the scope do its thing overnight. This way I have minimized the steps I have to do in darkness. Also I do not need to work non-stop for hours and have some hoursIn the morning hours after the session I'll take Darks.
Troy Galebach
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:31 pm
Location: South Central Missouri, USA
Contact:

Re: Looking for some help

Post by Troy Galebach »

Hello hixx,
Yes, you've described my current issues precisely. I would love to set up, and program several sequences into N.I.N.A. and go to bed when I get tired. Unfortunately, I live in the country, and we have all sorts of critters which might damage my beloved FSQ-106 and the mount. Recently we've had bears showing up in broad daylight, and at night.
Image
A pic of Ursa Minor...the big one I haven't captured on my game camera yet. Couple the bears with 10 to 20 raccoons and I hate to think the damage they might do to cables and equipment. I stay with the equipment while imaging. That' s why I usually quit my imaging before 1am; I run out of energy. I'm looking forward to longer nights.

I do much as you are, getting things connected and ready to go while at the house. Unfortunately my observing location is about 200 yards from the house, in a pasture. It is rough going to get to it so I use a 4x4 to haul the equipment out. Due to the uneven terrain I have to have everything in cases, which precludes me doing almost anything at the house. I haul it in pieces, then set up after I get to the storage shed. I try to set up 2 hours before dusk because I'll screw it up at least 1 time. I've even printed out a list of what to do and in the correct order. Otherwise I screw something up, and have to redo.

If it weren't for Siril and StarTools, I'd have given up imaging. I'm not very good at it, but like you I enjoy watching the night sky while my OSC images are being captured. Thank you for your advice and Clear Skies!
Regards,
Troy
Post Reply