|
Re: Mach2 transport case?
Greg McCall
I have previously used pelican cases for mounts but space in my car just was too tight (even with a Toyota Prado which is a large SUV diesel in Australia).
I have the OTA with image train intact (camera/filter wheel etc) so that flats remain valid. Protecting the OTA and image train is much more important. I save space by wrapping mount (and tripod) in their own beach towels with straps to hold towels in place. The mount is more robust than you might imagine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Mach2 transport case?
Andrea Lucchetti
I am using a Maxcase MAX 540H245. It is an air tight case, Pelican style. but I don't fit the saddle, you can try but it would be just enough.(it depends on your latitude) they have a bigger one (640mm) but too big for my car and my back. Andrea
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Mach2 transport case?
Sébastien Doré
You might want to take a look at mycasebuilder.com to « virtually try » several case brands/models.
They have a tool allowing you to custom design foam inserts based on your own pictures of equipment so you can figure out easily how whatever you plan to store in the selected model will fit or not. Clear skies, Sébastien
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: APCC model like Mach2
Ray Gralak
Am I correct that this feature is the same functionality Roland used via the keypad on the Mach2 to build a modelThe implementations are independent of each other, but the concept is similar. APCC's Declination Arc Tracking is an idea I first had over 15 years ago. The feature does not use the typical model that you would find in TPoint or other premium mounts. It uses hybrid modeling: pointing correction is handled with a full-sky model, but tracking rate correction is dealt with via a different mathematical model that is optimized for localized tracking accuracy. The tracking rate modeling accounts for mechanical terms that the full-sky pointing model does not and thus produces higher tracking rate accuracy than a full-sky model. -Ray -----Original Message-----
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Slide Rules and Slipsticks - in the 1960's B.C. - i.e. (Before Computers)
Oh the memories! Post a pic of the Dietzn. Don Anderson
On Thursday, March 18, 2021, 12:27:51 p.m. MDT, weems@... <weems@...> wrote:
Through most of middle and high school I used a circular slide rule. In senior year I used money from my grocery store job to buy an HP45. When I got to engineering school, one professor insisted that pocket calculators were a fad, that circular rules were not good enough, and that I had to buy a straight rule. The local engineering supply had, for a while, taken top-quality rules in trade for calculators. So I was able to pick up a used Dietzgen 1734, with a mahogany core and teflon bearings, very cheaply. I still use it in my CS classes, as an example of 0th generation computing technology. It is still in its orange box and leather holster, with the manual wrapped around it. Early computers I've used and/or programmed include: IBM 360/20, 360/40, 1130, 1620, PDP 8/L, 8/E, 8/I, 12, VAX 11/780, CDC 3300, Cyber 74, Cyber 180. Also a research machine using a glass delay line associative memory in combination with surplus core memory units from the IBM 7030 (I still have some of the core planes, drivers, and manuals). The 3300 had the coolest console of any of them, with rows of projected octal digits. The research machine had the weirdest instruction (skip on sunny Sundays). Chip
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Pier for 1100GTO
#Guiding
Steve C. Mitchell, Sr., O.D.
You’ve been given some good points to consider already. But don’t forget about your wall/pier heights ratio. You don’t want your pier to be to short or you’ll lose those sometimes low objects you might want to capture cause you can’t see over the wall. I actually made an adapter to make the mount higher for my existing 12” pier, I had made for my previous “other brand” mount that was of no comparison to my AP1100, so that when parked my new setup clears the rolling roof with about 5” to spare. A little scary the first few times you open or close the roof when the rafters go passing by, but actually a good distance for safety once you get used to it and “know” it’s not going to hit your camera or telrad or whatever sticks up. I can see all the sky I can see at my location with this height.
Steve
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io]
On Behalf Of dbrannan0523@...
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2021 7:05 PM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Subject: [ap-gto] Pier for 1100GTO #Guiding
I have an 1100GTO mount on order and plan to house it in an observatory on permanent pier with imaging in mind. I own an old AP 8" diameter portable pier. Would anchoring this in concrete and filling the tube with sand be sufficiently stable or is there clear benefit in purchasing a heavier thicker permanent pier for best performance. Any thoughts?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Mach2 transport case?
Jeffc
Thx Bill. I was also considering the 1615… if anything I heard it is a good case for the AP130GT.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
I feel like the “9.4 inch” dimension is a bit short. But I just measured the mount with foam underneath and it looks doable. The extra space is nice…. I would prefer keeping the contents as light as possible, but a place to stash cables and other small lightweight parts would work. Thx
On Mar 18, 2021, at 6:02 PM, WMarton via groups.io <WMarton@...> wrote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Pier for 1100GTO
#Guiding
Donald Brannan
Thanks for your advice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Mach2 transport case?
Eduardo Oliveira
Hi I brought my Mach1 from the US back to Brazil in a Pelican iM2720 Storm Trak Case with foam. It arrived safe and unharmed. Regards E. Oliveira Em qui., 18 de mar. de 2021 às 22:02, WMarton via groups.io <WMarton=verizon.net@groups.io> escreveu:
I have my Mach1GTO in a Pelican Air 1615. The interior dimensions are 29.6" x 15.5" x 9.4", so it is a somewhat tall and narrow Pelican case. However, I can't rotate the DOVEDV10 of the Mach1 under the RA axis either because it will strike the altitude knob too. But there is plenty of length to the case to accommodate the height of the "untucked" mount. In fact there is enough room for the CW shaft, CP4, and other accessories. I just put the Mach2 in the case and it also fits, but barely. There is about one inch of space around the mount in the long dimension. I am either going to use the 1615 case or buy a larger, cheaper case like the DeWalt ToughSystem 2.0 24" Mobile Tool Box. There is plenty of room for the Mach2 and there are DeWalt accessory boxes that are stackable that can carry my telescope rings, CWs and other accessories.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Mach2 transport case?
WMarton@...
I have my Mach1GTO in a Pelican Air 1615. The interior dimensions are 29.6" x 15.5" x 9.4", so it is a somewhat tall and narrow Pelican case. However, I can't rotate the DOVEDV10 of the Mach1 under the RA axis either because it will strike the altitude knob too. But there is plenty of length to the case to accommodate the height of the "untucked" mount. In fact there is enough room for the CW shaft, CP4, and other accessories. I just put the Mach2 in the case and it also fits, but barely. There is about one inch of space around the mount in the long dimension. I am either going to use the 1615 case or buy a larger, cheaper case like the DeWalt ToughSystem 2.0 24" Mobile Tool Box. There is plenty of room for the Mach2 and there are DeWalt accessory boxes that are stackable that can carry my telescope rings, CWs and other accessories.
Bill
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mach2 transport case?
Jeffc
(Apologies in advance for the mundane topic... but I just want to check my options before spending the $$...) What are you using to transport the Mach2? Caveat: I don't want to remove the saddle to transport the Mach2 (unless someone can give me a good reason to remove it.) I do know about the iM2875, but I'm not sure the mount will fit in the iM2875 with the saddle attached. (more info below on why) First.. I will note I'm a new Mach2 user since about 2 weeks... and let me say this mount is fantastic... I thought it might be "too big", but it seems to be just the right size... (fwiw, I also use an AP1200, and also an AP1100 for "portable work" as the AP1200 won't fit (easily) in the preferred vehicle i'm currently driving.) I can see the Mach2 is going to be a great "portable" mount, and not take up a bunch of space in the car. Plus with the Encoders and no need for PEM I'm finding unguided imaging is a joy... (Tho, yes, the AP1200 w/ PEM also seems to do fine with unguided imaging.) Now.. the question.. I know the Mach2 will fit in the Pelican iM2875 case using the original packing foam (plus a bit more). However , it seems the RA needs to be "rotated downward" for the mount to fit. My problem is I have the 10" saddle on the mount and with the current saddle position the DEC cannot rotate "flat" -- the saddle will collide with the altitude knob at my latitude.. I could move the saddle up a hole, tho the saddle will then stick out a bit further and I'm not sure it will fit in the case. So.. other than the iM2875 what are you all using to transport your mount? I'm currently transporting the AP1100 in a 17-gallon "Commander" storage bin from Lowes and it works great for the AP1100 (I have foam in the bottom)... I could repurpose this for the Mach2 easily, but it is overkill and I would really like to free up some space in the car. The iM2875 looks almost the right size -- except for the saddle issue. I'm thinking a slightly longer Pelican case with the same depth and possibly narrower width might be more appropriate, but I'll need to do more research / measurements to figure out which case that is. (Fwiw, i don't need airline transport -- just from the house, to the car, and unpack at the site, and I'm looking to keep the "unpacking" time-efficient.) thx for any suggestions. -jeff
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Help Parking AP 900 in TheSky
#ASCOM_V2_Driver
Bob Gillette
Don, Ray, thanks for your continuing advice. Soon as it stops raining I'll go at it again. I use a single monitor, but the warning window might have popped up under something else. I have seen it before.
Thx, Bob
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: ISS Tracking with APCC & Horizons plus using handbox buttons ??
drgert1
Hello Ray,
On Thu, Mar 18, 2021 at 07:24 AM, Ray Gralak wrote: I'll try to work in a way to detect relative moves and add them in. Yes, that would be great. At high magnifications it is required to have additional relative corrections on top of the tracking. Maybe these corrections could even come from a guiding tool (like Firecapture centering a planet). Thanks & Clear Skies,
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Slide Rules and Slipsticks - in the 1960's B.C. - i.e. (Before Computers)
weems@...
Through most of middle and high school I used a circular slide rule. In senior year I used money from my grocery store job to buy an HP45. When I got to engineering school, one professor insisted that pocket calculators were a fad, that circular rules were not good enough, and that I had to buy a straight rule. The local engineering supply had, for a while, taken top-quality rules in trade for calculators. So I was able to pick up a used Dietzgen 1734, with a mahogany core and teflon bearings, very cheaply. I still use it in my CS classes, as an example of 0th generation computing technology. It is still in its orange box and leather holster, with the manual wrapped around it.
Early computers I've used and/or programmed include: IBM 360/20, 360/40, 1130, 1620, PDP 8/L, 8/E, 8/I, 12, VAX 11/780, CDC 3300, Cyber 74, Cyber 180. Also a research machine using a glass delay line associative memory in combination with surplus core memory units from the IBM 7030 (I still have some of the core planes, drivers, and manuals). The 3300 had the coolest console of any of them, with rows of projected octal digits. The research machine had the weirdest instruction (skip on sunny Sundays). Chip
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: APCC model like Mach2
skester@...
Am I correct that this feature is the same functionality Roland used via the keypad on the Mach2 to build a model only along the path of the target to be imaged? If so that sounds like a big win for mobile imagers like myself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Celestial Fireworks
Jeff B
Impressive side-by-side Mike. Thanks! Jeff
On Thu, Mar 18, 2021 at 11:18 AM Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote: On 3/18/2021 10:33 AM, Ron Kramer wrote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Help Parking AP 900 in TheSky
#ASCOM_V2_Driver
Bob
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
The pop up warning window may be off your monitor. Do you have a dual monitor setup? Sometimes if you happen to be using only one of the screens in a dual monitor setup, some pop ups won’t show because windows is still trying to place them on the inactive screen. I had that problem in Maxim. The park features in the driver have always been there and have worked.
On Thursday, March 18, 2021, 8:28 AM, Ray Gralak <iogroups@...> wrote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Celestial Fireworks
On 3/18/2021 10:33 AM, Ron Kramer wrote:
the STUFF is there - I couldn't resist cleaning it up a bit. Before andIn the "cleaning up" domain.... Back in October during the Mars opposition, a friend told me about Topaz Labs DeNoise AI that removes noise and sharpens images. <https://www.topazlabs.com/denoise-ai> It works really great! I've attached a slit-screen grab showing a portion of your image and a preview of what it would look like after DeNoise AI did its magic. Your image doesn't have much noise to start with, but DeNoise AI would have slightly sharpened it and brought out a bit more detail. I've seen it remove a LOT of noise in some of my images, and it always improves the details. It greatly improved my pathetic Mars images last fall. Topaz Labs also sells Gigapixel AI to resize images, and Sharpen AI to sharpen them. I have Gigapixel, but don't use it much because it takes a LONG time. Just reducing a 4500x3500 image to 800x600 takes 10-15 minutes! I suspect it runs faster on "normal" (non-astro) photos. Sharpen AI appears to be a new product, and I don't know anything more than what's on the website. Clear skies. --- Mike
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Celestial Fireworks
Quite the striking image you have there, Ron. Karen AP
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
On Behalf Of Ron Kramer
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2021 9:15 AM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Celestial Fireworks
REALLY NICE ROLAND
On Tue, Feb 23, 2021 at 12:14 PM Peter Nagy <topboxman@...> wrote:
-- Ron Kramer -- Karen Christen Astro-Physics
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Celestial Fireworks
the STUFF is there - I couldn't resist cleaning it up a bit. Before and After.
On Thu, Mar 18, 2021 at 10:14 AM Ron Kramer via groups.io <ronkramer1957=gmail.com@groups.io> wrote:
--
Ron Kramer
|
|
|
|