It’s good to learn from your mistakes.  Even better is to learn from someone else's mistakes.  So I thought I would note the mistakes I made the last night at ECVAR to hopefully help others avoid them.  This is sort of like an engineer's confession.  I'll claim it was because we had such a good week of viewing that I was really tired the last night.

Anyway, here is my list.   Some of you might be able to relate to some of these items. I was using my CG-5 Equatorial mount with my 8" Celestron and the SkyRaider DSc camera.  Let me say up front that none of the problems were due to the equipment. It was strictly pilot cockpit error on my part.

1.  I started my StarSense AutoAlign, and immediately saw the message “Too few stars” after the first acquired image.  I looked up. Yep, the stars were still there.  Then I realized I forgot to take the lens cap off the StarSense camera.  Duh.

2.  I took the lens cap off the StarSense, slewed to Home Position and started an AutoAlign again.  Part way through I noticed something looked odd at my video finder scope.  The MC Micro that was supposed to be in the 50mm finder scope was not there.  It was swinging back and forth on its cable from the strain release!!  I stopped the alignment and inspected the Micro.  It had not hit anything and fortunately was OK.  Evidently I didn't tighten the screws down quite enough after focusing it earlier in the week and somehow it had worked itself loose.  As I was putting it back into the finder scope I made a mental note to do a quick check of all screws, etc. at the beginning of each evening. 

3.  So I slewed back to Home Position and started my AutoAlign again!  As it went through its paces, I noticed the mount seemed to be moving very slowly at times and the alignment failed.  This was really odd.  The StarSense was seeing plenty of stars.  Then it hit me what was wrong.  I had initially set up my CG-5 mount and 8" telescope with the MallinCam X2 early in the week.  This night I swapped the X2 out with my SkyRaider DSc. The X2 plus its fans and cables put more weight on the mount than the DSc camera with its single USB cable. So I checked and found my setup was out of balance and it put a real strain on some of the slews.  I stopped, adjusted my weights, and moved my telescope position a little on the mount until all was balanced properly for the DSc camera, and was ready to try again.

4.  So I went back to Home Position and started my AutoAlign yet again.  It finished OK like it almost always does, so I selected Polar Align on the hand controller to check how much Polar Align error it indicated.  The first night I had used my polar scope to do a rough polar align, then did an AutoAlign followed by a StarSense Polar Align to fine tune my equatorial mount's Polar Align position. At the end of each night I went back to home and selected Hibernate on my CG-5 mount. At the beginning of an evening I just turned it on and accepted the prompt to take it out of hibernate mode and was ready to go.  Now you might be wondering why I just didn't take it out of hibernate mode for this last night.  I wanted to do a new AutoAlign to see just how good my Polar Align remained at the end of the week. So that's why I was performing a new Alignment, and why I afterwards selected Polar Align to check if the amount of error shown was OK for the short exposure times I was using for Video Astronomy - mostly 10-30 seconds.  I was pleased to find it was good and I didn't need to perform another Polar Align. Yay!  And I pressed Enter ... instead of Back. Pressing Enter started performing another Polar Align!  I didn't need or want to do that at this point, so I pressed one of the arrow buttons and the back button trying to stop it.  I managed to stop it all right ... and lost the alignment.  Arg.
Like I said, I was kinda tired and not paying attention as I should.   

5. There had been clouds at Sunset, then it cleared and we had about a 2 hour window of good viewing.  I thought about giving up at this point, but this was my last night.  So, yes, I started another AutoAlign. I got another good alignment and was ready to start viewing. I checked out a couple of targets and after some slight image adjustments was pleased with the images I was getting.  I tried some additional adjustments and the image became unexpectedly poorer.  I had been using the DSc on my 5" Celestron earlier in the week and was pleased with the results. But the images I began to see now looked washed out.  I tried some more adjustments that seemed to help, then it got worse again. I did this for a while before I realized what the problem was.  I looked up ... and clouds had begun to move back in again!  The good viewing nights this week had been clear all evening - no clouds to worry about. But I knew about the prediction of clouds coming back in and should have been watching for changing conditions.  I am usually good at persevering and working past problems I run into.  But the better part of wisdom is knowing when to quit as well. The clouds were only going to get worse.


I really had a great week of viewing at ECVAR, and decided to not let this evening's adventures spoil it for me. Live and Learn. So I quit for the evening, and as I got ready for bed I thought about all the amazing things I was able to see earlier this week under sky conditions I never see back home!

I then adjusted the JMI MotoFocus that I have on my C5 scope to remotely change the focus using their PCFC application on my laptop.  The image on the left is how it looked as I got close to focus.  The middle image shows how I went a little bit past focus.  It is so easy to know you have arrived at good focus when the third spike is right in the middle of the X as shown on the image on the right. 

After seeing the two video clips of my main RVA setup and my small portable RVA setup (see my 9/7/15 post), someone asked me which setup am I taking to ECVAR.

My Answer: Just for fun I'm bringing both :-)

The weather has been really poor this year in my area, so I hope to get some "quality" time on both setups at the star party.

I plan to also bring my MCR-80 ED which mounts nicely on my small portable RVA setup.  I'm bringing my SkyRaider DSc too which will work well with both my main and small portable setups.  I'm still learning how to use the DSc and hope to get some good tips while there.

One other thing I'm bringing is a prototype focus mask flipper (how is that for a name) that a long time friend of mine made for me and brought over to my house tonight.  It allows me to remotely flip a focus mask in position over the end of my 5" dew shield for adjusting the focus as needed, and then flip it back out of the way, all from my laptop. (I have a JMI Motofocus installed on my Celestron 5" telescope so I can focus it remotely). He and I have also discussed how to add moving a dark cover in place to be able to easily take dark frames whenever you want.

Your portable telescope has to be outside, but what do you do if you would like to be inside where it is opposite of outside?  Inside is warm in the winter and cool in the summer (and no bugs).  This is one of the many reasons I like Remote Video Astronomy, and particularly so when using our camper to get away from city lights.  In my 1/20/2015 post I describe using one of my portable RVA setups and show a picture of how I ran the single USB cable from the telescope in through the storage compartment of our small pull behind camper so I could operate my equipment from inside the camper.

Recently we decided to get a bigger camper.  It all started with getting a bigger truck, and then deciding to go with a fifth wheel travel trailer (the type that attach to a hitch in the center of the bed of the truck for more stability, better maneuvering, etc.).  This camper was much better sealed and there was no easy way to run the USB cable inside.  So I took a page from my book “Beginning Remote Video Astronomy … So, what’s the matter”, question 42, to make a pass through port in the back of the new camper like I have done at my house. 

I purchased two waterproof outlet covers with gaskets and a short piece of 1” diameter PVC pipe.  I decided to use 1” pipe in case I ever want to run multiple cables inside.  After checking with my local dealer where I have my camper serviced to find a “safe” place on the back of my camper, I had them drill a 1” hole though the back wall.  They then cut a short length of the 1” PVC pipe that matched the wall thickness and inserted it in the hole.  They also mounted the outlet covers over the hole on the outside and inside of the camper for me.

There is plenty of room to run one or more cables inside. I use a short piece of foam that came out of one of my eyepiece cases to insert inside the pipe when it’s not in use.

When I set up out in the wild, I just open up the outside outlet, pull out the foam and insert the USB cable into the pipe letting the spring loaded cover down to hold it in place.  I then go inside, open up the outlet and pull the USB cable on into the camper and attach it to my laptop.  I am then all set for my RVA operation in the comfort of the camper.

LightSail launched to low Earth orbit May 20 aboard the same rocket that lofted the U.S. Air Force's robotic X-37B space plane on its fourth mystery mission. The cubesat was tasked with proving the viability of some key components of solar-sailing technology, which allows spacecraft to harness the momentum imparted by photons streaming from the sun. On this first flight, mission managers wanted to see how LightSail's core systems work — especially the gear designed to deploy its 344-square-foot solar sail. The overall goal was to pave the way for a true orbital solar-sailing trial by another LightSail cubesat, which is due to launch next year. (Fox News)

There are 4 days left to be a backer.  I am a backer and here is the link if you are interested.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theplanetarysociety/lightsail-a-revolutionary-solar-sailing-spacecraft

What do you do with the finder scope of a Celestron 8SE if you have to remove it to install a StarSense AutoAlign?  Do you have to drill new holes if you want to use a Mallincam Micro for a video finder scope?  These were a couple of questions asked by one of the readers of my book "Beginning Video Astronomy...So, what's the matter?".
Let me first say don't drill! You can make use of existing screw holes by first removing the telescope's small plastic Star Pointer with a Phillips head screwdriver.

 I then installed an Orion 07215 Schmidt-Cassegrain Finder Scope Base which fits the factory drilled holes where the Star Pointer was located (it is also compatible with Meade and Orion Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes). It attaches directly to the SCT optical tube with included mounting screws that are slightly longer than the screws you remove from the SCT optical tube.  The extra length is needed to be able to attach the Orion base to the telescope.  It actually comes with two pairs of screws.  You have to examine them closely to group the pairs.  You will only use the pair that matches the threads of your factory drilled holes.  Carefully try one of the screws in one of the screw holes, turning it by hand to make sure it goes in without stopping. If so, that is the pair to use.  If not, try the other pair.  Here is the Orion base mounted to the SCT optical tube.

The StarSense AutoAlign comes with two types of brackets. You can use the larger bracket on the Celestron 8SE telescope, but if you use the smaller bracket you will be able to easily switch between the StarSense and the Video Finder Scope. Follow the StarSense instructions to replace the large bracket with its small bracket. The small bracket is compatible with the Orion finder scope base so you can just slip the StarSense into this base and tighten the hand screw.

I am currently using the Mallincam Micro-Super with the Orion 13022 Deluxe Mini 50mm Guide Scope for my Video Finder scope.

The video finder scope will also easily slide into the Orion bracket base.

The MallinCam Micro-Super has more sensitivity than the original Micro-EX, but both will work fine as a video finder. If you are purchasing a Micro, I recommend spending the little extra to get the Micro-Super for the extra sensitivity, and it has virtually zero amp glow! I also recommend getting the wired Micro version which has a single lightweight cable that comes out of the back of the camera.  The other end of the cable has video out, power in, a serial camera control socket and a small button control that you use instead of pressing buttons on the back of the video camera.  This reduces the possibility of affecting the alignment of your video finder scope due to heavy cables or trying to press buttons on the back of the camera. Of course I also recommend connecting the serial camera control to your computer and using my free MallinCam Micro Extended Control software to control the Micro from your computer so you can easily select presets for various targets (see my Download tab).

I also installed an Orion finder scope base on my Celestron C5 telescope so I can use the StarSense AutoAlign or Video Finder Scope on it as well.  If you have trouble mounting a finder base on your telescope (e.g. the screws are not long enough), you can take a screw you remove from the telescope to a local hardware store to get a longer screw.  Be sure you match it properly, especially if the telescope screw is metric.  Also take care when screwing the base onto your telescope to insert the screws at right angles to the telescope.  Since the telescope is round, the two screws will not be completely parallel to one another.

So what do you do if you miss having your simple red dot Star Pointer?  I highly recommend getting a TELRAD reflex sight, which is much easier to use.  The red TELRAD rings are continuously adjustable from off to full on.  It is lightweight and requires no mounting screws. You use the supplied double stick tape to mount its base directly to the side of your telescope tube.

You can easily take the TELRAD on and off. It does look somewhat large, but it is very lightweight.  If you buy the dew cover accessory that also contains a small mirror, in addition to looking straight through the TELRAD you can also view from a 90 degree angle as needed.

What if you want to use both the StarSense AutoAlign for aligning and the Video Finder Scope to assist finding and centering your faint fuzzy objects?  After you complete your StarSense AutoAlign, you can remove it and slide the Video Finder Scope in its place.  Or if you prefer to have both of them mounted on a Celestron C8, you can use the other mounting screw locations and either add an additional Orion finder scope base or install the StarSense AutoAlign large base (and keep the large bracket on the StarSense AutoAlign) since there is no need to swap it with anything.  Be sure to use the holes for mounting finders – do not remove the smaller telescope assembly screws!

Here is a picture of the TELRAD finder, the Video Finder Scope and the StarSense AutoAlign all mounted on my Celestron 8” telescope which is now on a CG-5 Equatorial mount.

This works fine with the C8 on my Equatorial mount, but on the SE mount this puts the StarSense AutoAlign somewhat on the underside of the Telescope since the C8 is side mounted on the SE mount.  It should still work OK as long as the StarSense AutoAlign “sees” the sky OK.  Be sure to calibrate the StarSense Camera wherever you mount it by selecting the StarSense Camera from the hand controller menu, choosing Calibrate, and then follow the prompts.

Here is another picture that better shows the various mounting techniques.

Do you have a telescope with an Equatorial mount?  If so, you know the importance of starting with a good basic polar alignment. I have published a Polar Align Watchface for the Pebble Watch to assist in performing a Polar Alignment on an Equatorial Mount with a Polar Finder Scope installed. 

When I got my new Celestron 8se in January over 3 years ago, I had night after night of wonderful clear skies.  I immersed myself in getting back into Astronomy and quickly got a German Equatorial Mount and then moved into Video Astronomy.  This year it has been cloudy with possible rain today with predictions of cloudy with possible rain week after week.   If the skies then had been like they have been this year in my area, I might have given up.  Glad it was good back then, and I'm trying to be patient now.  Video Astronomy lets you see more than you could ever see looking through an eyepiece.  But even Video Astronomy has trouble seeing through clouds!

So I decided to make myself useful and do some programming to help with my setup process when the skies actually are clear again!  I keep my telescope on my mount covered in my garage and roll it out for viewing.  I ran into an issue though trying to use the Polar Finder Scope with all my equipment already in place.  I found I could rotate the telescope OK to be able to see through the Polar Finder Scope installed in the RA axis of the telescope.

 


Normally you also need to rotate the mount around its RA axis to align the image etched inside the Finder Scope to match what you see in the sky in order to know where to position Polaris on the Finder Scope’s circle. 

To install the Polar Align Watch on a pebble watch, tap the Pebble app on your phone and select Get Watchfaces.  Tap Search and select Watchfaces, and then enter “Polar Align”.  Tap the screen for the Polar Align Watch and Add it to your Pebble watch.  That’s it!

Oh, if you have a lot of cloudy skies, don’t give up.  It will be clear again someday, and it will be worth the wait!

Do you sometimes get frustrated trying to fine tune your focus because the video image jiggles every time you touch the focuser?  I found adding an electric focus motor that attaches to the shaft of a focuser knob and connects to a hand held control provides me with vibration-free focusing without the need to actually touch the telescope at all.

I purchased my first JMI Motofocus in January 2012 for my Celestron C8 telescope for $180.  It can focus at 3 different speeds and has electronic braking.  When stopped, it holds the focus knob secure so you can’t accidently bump it out of focus.  Combining this with a Bahtinov Focus Mask enables you to easily nail the focus!

 I also purchased the JMI PC Focus Control (PCFC) so I could control the focus from my laptop. I have been using Motofocus and PCFC for 3 years and love being able to easily focus at the scope with the hand control or inside for Remote Video Astronomy using the PCFC (I plug the PCFC USB cable into a powered USB hub at the scope when I am remote inside).  The PCFC price is also $180, but you can purchase a similar PC control called PCUSB for $80 from Shoestring Astronomy that also works with the JMI Motofocus.   

JMI makes electric focus devices for many types and brands of telescopes in addition to Celestron, and this focusing technique works with any Video Astronomy camera.

Last year I bought a Celestron C5 for a portable scope setup, and recently also got a Motofocus for it too.  I can use the PCFC to control the focus of either scope now. You will need to make sure you get the right Motofocus that works with your particular telescope.  I purchased the one for the NexStar 6SE, which is compatible with the Celestron 5 SE, 6 SE and 8 SE.


So how hard is it to install?  Mine took less than 10 minutes.  I removed two of the three screws that hold the focus knob, slid the Motofocus over the focus knob and put the two screws back in place.

You connect the hand controller to the focus motor using the supplied coiled cable for jiggle free focusing.  The hand controller has two buttons for focusing in or out. A slide switch selects either the slowest speed or a slightly faster speed.  Holding either button down for over a couple seconds will begin to run the motor much faster for coarse focusing. 

I attached Velcro to the back of my hand controller to be able to stick it to the mount when not holding it.  Below shows the Motofocus connected to the PCFC controller in place of the hand control.

Here is the PCFC plugged into my laptop running the free software you download from their website. 

When you click on the icon for the focus software it reports it found the PCFC. 

Click OK to bring up the PCFC control panel.

You can click on buttons for a single Motor Forward Pulse, Motor Forward using Click/Hold or Motor Forward Full (or reverse).  After clicking Motor Forward Full it will run in that direction until you click on Motor Off, which is useful if you have just added a focal reducer and will need to change the focus a good bit.  You can fine tune the PWM Frequency, Motor Speed and Pulse Time for best operation with your setup.  When I plug the PCFC into a powered hub instead of directly to the computer I find it works best to have the Motor Speed set higher to supply ample voltage to the motor.

The Motor Time Accumulator gives you an approximate idea of how far you have moved the focus and you can reset the counter to zero.  This is just based on run time since this model of the Motofocus does not provide feedback of its position to the software.  (JMI makes more expensive models that include digital readouts and feedback of their position to the software).  You can download ASCOM drivers for the PCFC that enable it to be controlled by other software that is ASCOM compliant as well.


This setup has been very good for my needs so far. To me it has been well worth the price for its usefulness over these last few years.