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The struggle is real - or "getting used to a new telescope" - here's M51 in mono L-Pro


Bob Dobber

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Just 1h42m of L-Pro on M51 using new (to me) Edge HD8 and ZWO 183MM-Pro. Cannot shift those nasty round things despite attempting three sets of flats. It's been a bit of a demoralising couple of weeks after feeling like I was bossing my old set up, this is a whole new saga, and I don't think it's going to be over any time soon!

 

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Could it be bob your flats are too bright , what light source do you use , what Adu do you aim for , can you see the dust bunnies on your flat frames , 

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6 hours ago, Bottletopburly said:

Could it be bob your flats are too bright , what light source do you use , what Adu do you aim for , can you see the dust bunnies on your flat frames , 

It's possible. I used to aim for a certain ADU but I've recently just been letting NINA get on with it. Maybe I should go back to my old method with APT. They do look pretty bright and yes can see the dust bunnies on the flats.

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1 hour ago, Clive said:

What's the result like with no flats applied?

Pretty much the same. I did try without. It's almost like they're having no effect at all 

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I’d be inclined to try a set of flats of around 22000 Adu but dimming the panel so you get an exposure time of 1-1.5sec , what exposure length are the flats that aren’t working, and what are you using as a light source bob 

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20 minutes ago, Bottletopburly said:

I’d be inclined to try a set of flats of around 22000 Adu but dimming the panel so you get an exposure time of 1-1.5sec , what exposure length are the flats that aren’t working, and what are you using as a light source bob 

 

Yeah I might give it a go. I don't use a panel, this was sky flats. I don't have a panel big enough for the Edge 🙄

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17 minutes ago, Bob Dobber said:

 

Yeah I might give it a go. I don't use a panel, this was sky flats. I don't have a panel big enough for the Edge 🙄

Flats give the biggest headache , never really a problem with my small refractor using an ipad but for my 8” Newtonian different story I think it’s purely because its a light bucket, so I use a EL panel but you need to dim it so for me using a zwo533mc an Adu value of around 25k but dimming light source so using no filter exposure is about 1.3sec for duoband about 3.5 sec and that seems to work, if using El panels it’s recommended exposure above 1 sec due to the refresh rate , took a long time working that out fairly happy with it now .

Edited by Bottletopburly
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Just now, Bottletopburly said:

Flats give the biggest headache , never really a problem with my small refractor using an ipad but for my 8” Newtonian different story I think it’s purely because bits a light bucket so I use a EL panel but you need to dim it so for me using a zwo533mc an Adu value of around 25k but dimming light source so using no filter exposure is about 1.3sec for duoband about 3.5 sec and that seems to work, if using El panels it’s recommended exposure above 1 sec due to the refresh rate , took a long time working that out fairly happy with it now .

 

Yeah I was just getting the hang of flats finally on the 200PDS then of course I go and change my scope 🙄

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Maybe due to the new setup being slower than an F5 , I’d recommend buying an El panel off eBay  and making a frame to fit it and dimming to suit works off 12v .

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33 minutes ago, Bottletopburly said:

Maybe due to the new setup being slower than an F5 , I’d recommend buying an El panel off eBay  and making a frame to fit it and dimming to suit works off 12v .

 

Not _really_ sure what you mean by an EI panel... Like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Q372FY5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Some do use those ,I had one though you need one that is evenly lit a lot are only lit one edge and found the face marked to easy , just looked on EBay at El panels and they’ve jumped in price a lot , https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152146004508?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=AwCqhhiqTHG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=xQsxeo45SGa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY 

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16 minutes ago, Bottletopburly said:

Some do use those ,I had one though you need one that is evenly lit a lot are only lit one edge and found the face marked to easy , just looked on EBay at El panels and they’ve jumped in price a lot , https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152146004508?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=AwCqhhiqTHG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=xQsxeo45SGa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY 

 

Hmmm, £65 "without driver", would that run off a 2.1mm 12V cable coming off my PowerBox then?

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9 hours ago, Bob Dobber said:

 

Hmmm, £65 "without driver", would that run off a 2.1mm 12V cable coming off my PowerBox then? 

Yes I think so if memory serves me right I got the driver then thought damn I didn’t really need that I only paid £40 with the driver for a 250mm sq panel so big jump had it a few years now .

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2 hours ago, Bottletopburly said:

Yes I think so if memory serves me right I got the driver then thought damn I didn’t really need that I only paid £40 with the driver for a 250mm sq panel so big jump had it a few years now .

 

Great thanks. I'll investigate. Are these panels typically rigid for putting on the the of a scope or do they need bracing? Cheers!

 

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59 minutes ago, Bob Dobber said:

 

Great thanks. I'll investigate. Are these panels typically rigid for putting on the the of a scope or do they need bracing? Cheers!

 

They’re 1mm thick and flexible make a frame and cover with frosted Perspex and use multiple layers of tracing paper between el panel and perspex to get the illumination you require. 

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On 29/04/2022 at 08:23, Bottletopburly said:

They’re 1mm thick and flexible make a frame and cover with frosted Perspex and use multiple layers of tracing paper between el panel and perspex to get the illumination you require. 

I actually bought one of these to put on the garage ceiling. Do you think a smaller version of this would work? Only thing is you can't dim it I guess.

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On 01/05/2022 at 13:53, Bob Dobber said:

I actually bought one of these to put on the garage ceiling. Do you think a smaller version of this would work? Only thing is you can't dim it I guess.

Yes you could but you need to dim it using tracing paper or a T-shirt also depends how it’s illuminated, you need even illumination , also unless your in an observatory you’ll be connected to 240v and outside and dew don’t mix , best to stick to 12v outside if you can , I bought one of these in my quest for a flat panel lol 😆 it was about 400mm square it lit the neighbourhood up like a football stadium unbelievably bright , I was originally having problems with my El panel which I nailed down eventually to the refresh rate of the panel , hence the advice to use exposures over 1sec so for my 200pds I use the El panel and for my refractor I use an old Galaxy tab2 

note found this bob may be useful 

 

 

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9 minutes ago, Bottletopburly said:

Yes you could but you need to dim it using tracing paper or a T-shirt also depends how it’s illuminated, you need even illumination , also unless your in an observatory you’ll be connected to 240v and outside and dew don’t mix , best to stick to 12v outside if you can , I bought one of these in my quest for a flat panel lol 😆 it was about 400mm square it lit the neighbourhood up like a football stadium unbelievably bright , I was originally having problems with my El panel which I nailed down eventually to the refresh rate of the panel , hence the advice to use exposures over 1sec so for my 200pds I use the El panel and for my refractor I use an old Galaxy tab2 

note found this bob may be useful 

 

 

 

I'm afraid I chickened out and bought a secondhand Geoptik panel... Hopefully that'll take the guesswork out of it.

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