Testing last night and I got the same results...I am not sure where to go next. The plot is nearly identical to the one the night before. This is after I backed off the dec motor to allow the gear in

Just got back from working on the scope. The large spur gear was too tight (thought I had checked it before finishing up yesterday...), took some force to turn. Loosened the bolts on the motor and re-

Hi, I have an AP900 that I have had for 15 years. It has worked flawlessly. A couple weeks ago I noticed what I thought was a minor DEC backlash issue, so printed out the instructions and went to work

Thanks to everyone for their comments and pointers to many videos and tutorials. I am working through the image again, and will post a new version in the coming week. Tom C

Hi all, Been a long time since I posted here. Been way too busy getting used to retirement and getting set up at Sierra Remote Observatory. Also spending lots of time learning PixInsight. This image i

This time with the link to the M65/M66 NGC3628 image! http://ccdargo.com/ngc3628_lrgb_rha_stl.html

HI all, Been a while since I posted, had some miserable weathers and icky problems with my nose and knee that required attention. All is better now, yay. The first image is my mostly first light of my

Thanks all for your responses. The most prominent theory is pinched optics due to the extreme cold. Is there anything that can be done about that? Also, some folks asked if the telescope was in a dome

Hi Out here in Corvallis, OR we have had the coldest winter in 40 years. Our low was 2F on Saturday and 6F on Sunday. Of course it was amazingly clear and reasonably steady so I began imaging. I have

Hi all, Finished up a couple more images from the AP RH scope in New Mexico. These are the first images I have processed using the new version 4 of Excalibrator from Bob Franke. What a fine piece of s

Hi all, Here in the pacific northwet we have been under clouds since the end of September, no astrophotography at all for almost 6 months! Fortunately I have had the opportunity to use an AP 305mm Ric

I highly recommend the Scope Guard cases - http://www.scopeguard.com/index.html

Hi Roland, Thanks for the advice, especially after hours! It looks like it was either a power supply or a connector. I unplugged everything and plugged it back in, using a different power supply (both

Hi, Went out to get started tonight. Powered up the mount and the hand controller was hung at the point where it is asking for a location. It would not accept inputs and occasionally beeped. I am goin

Hi all, We had a break in the rain and snow here in the pacific northwet, so it was time for my yearly attempt at objects in Orion. Naturally, the moon was full, but that is just plain not allowed to

Hi all, I captured these photons back in August and have been fiddling with it off and on since then. The seeing was okay over the two nights of imaging, usually 2.0" to 2.5" FWHM stars, but I never c

Hi Stuart, I have used the wireless (and ethernet wired) route with a laptop local to the telescope. That has worked and my only real issue is that the screen updates are always slower than direct con

There are issues with USB that have bit me in this hobby. The first is the length limitation. I image while sitting in my house and that is too far for USB, but no problem for serial (or ethernet). I

Hi Chris,. I had a similar problem with my Robofocus. There was a problem in the control box, so I sent that in for repair. They were great about this, sending me a loaner while it was being repaired.

Hi Bryon, I have two AP900s, one from Nov 2002, and one from May 2006. The newer mount is quite a bit quieter than the old mount in both tracking and slewing. It is hard to hear the new mount when it