Equipment

In my last M57 image taken with the 130PDS, there is a strong ghost reflection diffraction spike in the lower right area. There are a few more, but they are mainly ultra faint and only visible in 100% resolution. So far I could not explain what causes them. New Try Yesterday I did M57 again, […]

After weeks of searching and reading I finally found a way to reproduce collimation of my 130PDS with my Baader Laser Colli Mark III (*) collimator. The solution is to attach the laser every time the same way, even if it’s tilted. At least it’s tilted every time the same amount. Most likely later the […]

Time has already come to improve my Sky-Watcher Explorer 130PDS 🙂 After using the 130PDS for 3 weeks it turned out that there are some things that could be better. So far I have equipped my 130PDS with the following improvements: 2″ Adapter with Compression Ring T-2 Fine Adjustment Rings Dust / Stray Light Protection […]

The edge of the primary mirror of a Newtonian telescope creates strong halos around bright stars. The mirror holder pads create additional shadows in these halos. A primary mirror mask ring prevents, or at least reduces this effect. I purchased a Wega primary mirror mask ring. It’s made of PLA, stable up to 110°C. Gradually […]

Finally I got my first photographical telescope, the Sky-Watcher Explorer 130PDS (*). Focal length: 650mm Aperture: 130mm Focal ratio: f/5 (33% more light than my 400mm f/5.6) Weight: 4kg Focuser: 2″ crayford dual speed First Light M 101 Pinwheel Galaxy What a luck… A few hours of clear sky, just 3 days after receiving my […]

I own the iOptron GEM28 now for more than a half year. The first 3 months were horrible in terms of guided DEC performance, until I found the proper gear meshing and axis stiction by try-and-error. Now I’m satisfied with the guiding 🙂 Read more about my attempts here: Latest Update Part I Sept. 12, 2021 […]

Basically, I could stop testing… finally! After 3 1/2 months reading manuals, forum exchange, adjusting almost everything, buying new equipment I reach now 100% sub exposures utilization. And after initial reluctance, I also adjusted the DEC axis stiction, which increased the DEC performance again. Only the occasional dropouts/freezes/crashes are still happen sometimes! Even with the […]

Go to GEM28 – Latest Update Part VI And the show must go on 😉 Here are the results of my last two tests. On Saturday it started and ended cloudy, Sunday was a perfect night! Thats great, because I was able to adjust parameters right after the first sessions data analysis and test it […]

Go to GEM28 – Latest Update Part V Finally I get acceptable results with my GEM28. Even if I have to adjust the DEC axis a little bit more, the performance yesterday was outstanding. My new setup seems to work fine. After the recordings I started a regular session (IC 1805 – Heart Nebula). Surprisingly […]

Update April 11, 2022: Sky-Watcher Explorer 130PDS My latest setup, a Sky-Watcher Explorer 130PDS. Finally an upgrade after years of using my 400mm Canon lens 🙂 To be honest, my new setup was a “happy accident”. A few days ago I ordered a new guide scope with metal tube rings to replace the current one, […]