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Old 07-09-2019, 11:29 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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NGC300 Galaxy in Sydney with 6” newt

I was probably stupid or desperate last night trying to Image a dim Galaxy with my little 6” f6 newt under a 50% waxing moon and Sydney Bortle 8 skies plus a 35km/hr westerly wind but here it is anyway
NGC300
32 x 2 minute dithered guided subs
15 x darks
6” f6 Bintel newt on a HEQ5 mount
Canon 600D with Baader coma corrector
Had my little home made DSLR cooling fan running and sensor temperature went from 22 deg C at the start down to 16 deg C , stayed around 16 to 18 all night ( hopefully it will help during summer nights )
PHD2 guiding ( 1.50 to 1.80 arc sec error , dithering was knocking the guiding around a lot and took up to 1 minute to fully recover even increasing the Dither settle to 0.65 )
Stacked in DSS
Processed in Startools
Subs didn’t even show anything , just a bit of the core
Heaps of noise
Focus was out to blazes
Larger stars hex looking probably due to focus
Lucky to get any sort of image at all !!
Thanks for looking , bad comments welcome
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Old 07-09-2019, 11:55 AM
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ChrisV (Chris)
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Nice. Me had madness last night also and did some imaging in Sydney. Pretty bouncy
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Old 07-09-2019, 12:29 PM
RyanJones
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I think we all have nights like that where everything is saying don’t bother and yet we still do. I guess that’s the fun of the addiction. I’m interested in this DSLR cooing fan you speak of. Care to share your idea ? Now that the weather is on the up, I’m sure it will be a hot topic ( pardon the pun ) again.
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Old 07-09-2019, 01:48 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Ryan
Photos attached of my 6” f6 newt and DSLR with Cooling Fan
60mm high efficiency mini axial fan on aluminium bracket with rubber bushes to dampen vibration. Runs quite well minimum vibration and noise
It’s only been tested twice in cooler nights and reduced the sensor temperature up to 5 deg C ( outside air temp around 13 to 15 deg C )
Don’t know if it will perform the same during the summer months
Time will tell
Martin
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Old 07-09-2019, 02:04 PM
RyanJones
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Ryan
Photos attached of my 6” f6 newt and DSLR with Cooling Fan
60mm high efficiency mini axial fan on aluminium bracket with rubber bushes to dampen vibration. Runs quite well minimum vibration and noise
It’s only been tested twice in cooler nights and reduced the sensor temperature up to 5 deg C ( outside air temp around 13 to 15 deg C )
Don’t know if it will perform the same during the summer months
Time will tell
Martin
Nice Martin. I’ve been thinking about doing a similar thing but my camera doesn’t have an articulated screen so the screen is in the way of getting the cooling close to the sensor. I’m assuming the fan blows toward the camera and hence the air gap ? I’m wondering if in my situation I may be best to mount a fan closer and have it moving air away from the camera to extract heat ? 5 degrees is 5 degrees though so well done, it will certainly help you go deeper into spring if nothing else.
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Old 07-09-2019, 02:31 PM
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xelasnave
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Great work Martin and nice to have something to take my mind off things.
I have a Peltier device that you can have if it is of any help. Basically you put the camera in a little box..I was going to make one ( I have made a couple in the past) but I have given up on the idea hence my offer.
You can make a platform of ply and use foam for the rest. I think if you have all the camera in a box that is cooled you may get a small advantage as opposed to just bolting the Peltier unit to the base of the camera. They are energy hungry however.
Anyways you did well and desperate and stupid can have you doing things many won't try..sometimes you get a good outcome others nothing more than a realisation that you have been desperate and stupid...
Thanks for providing something to look at to fill my rest period.
Alex
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Old 07-09-2019, 02:42 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Yes the fan is blowing into the sensor area, you wouldn’t achieve anything extracting air
I was going to use an 80mm fan but chose the 60mm to start with. If it works during the summer months , I might fit an 80mm and see if there’s any improvement

Alex
Thanks for the offer of the peltier cooler but I’m maxed out with weight on my 6” that’s why I went for just a fan , it only weighs ( including bracket , bushes and fixings about 90 to 100gms

If I can reduce up to 5deg C then I have achieved a lot with such a simple light weight solution

Glad you like the set up , I like tinkering with stuff, been like that since I was a 10 year old kid with my first toy electronics kit ( made a crystal radio set )

Martin
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Old 07-09-2019, 03:12 PM
RyanJones
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Ryan

Glad you like the set up , I like tinkering with stuff, been like that since I was a 10 year old kid with my first toy electronics kit ( made a crystal radio set )

Martin
Me too Martin. I made this distribution box for my scopes to reduce the cabling that’s dangling down from the OTA. There’s only 2 cables ( power and guide ) that go to the box. It then has 2x 7.6v regulated ports for my DSLR and Guider. 2x USB ports that I use for my dew straps. 1 x 12v port for my mirror fan. RJ12 and RJ45 ports for guide controller and guiding cable. All of the OTA wiring can then be nice and short and tidy and can be left connected even when I remove the OTA from the mount. It makes setup quick and easy in the dark too.
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Old 07-09-2019, 04:22 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Great idea Ryan !

I made outdoor workstations for my 6” F6 newt ( Sydney)and 8” f5 newt ( Narrawallee South coast ) to house my laptop complete with 2 x 12v power supplies, mains power board, USB hub etc..
I use a drum stool to sit and power up, Goto , frame , focus and set my capture plan , set my guiding etc.. and then go inside and have a beer
Laptop table was $30
Plastic tub was $ 50
Drum stool was $30
Bits and pieces $ 40
Weather Cover $20
I got the idea from Trevor Jones Astrobackyard
Cheers
Martin
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Old 07-09-2019, 04:45 PM
RyanJones
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Nice clean setup Martin . I’m also a big fan of Trevor’s work.

If I might suggest something ? You can get a short counterweight extension bar from Astroanarchy. That way you can put a counterweight right down the end of the bar and probably get away with just one reducing the overall weight of your setup. I used to used just one and not all the way down on my R130sf and it balanced perfectly. Now with the 8” Newt and the C9.25, I’m back to using both.
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Old 07-09-2019, 05:24 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Ryan
Thanks for the advice
Those photos are 5 months old
I’ve already used my extension bar from the EQ6-R mount to test the HEQ5 mount and its balanced much better now , guiding better too
So I ordered one for the HEQ5 from Bintel
Arrives in a month
Cheers
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Old 08-09-2019, 07:20 AM
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mynameiscd (Andy)
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Great image Martin especially in adverse conditions.
Good to see that again you can get really dim objects in suburban light pollution areas.
I seem to get those nights here lately but because of my setup time i choose the couch over facing the wind, cloud, dew, and fog (usually in one night).
Great workstation you have, its something I've thought of but never got around to.
I normally setup about 80 metres from the house over rough ground so its backward and forward to the house many times to get everthing out there.
Looks like a good idea to simplify my setup and and make some sort of trolley workstation with tyres.
Also like the cooling fan idea. Probably not an issue at the moment as nights are are normally under 7 degrees but for summer it be handy.
Keep those images coming, its keeps my enthusiasm up.
Cheers
Andy
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Old 08-09-2019, 08:04 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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Ryan
I noticed you mentioned about removing a counterweight to lessen the overall weight. As far as I’m aware Sky-Watcher mount payload ratings do not include the counterweights.Also reading a lot of threads on CN, having your counterweights closer to the mount is better for tracking due to moment of inertia and improving the centre of mass when balancing, pushing them down the end of a long extension bar and removing one is not recommended unless your payload is maxed out
Only reading lots of posts about it

Andy
Thanks so much
There’s good nights , great nights and tough nights
This image was a tough night , that’s what makes the hobby so challenging
And yes I love my little workstation ( my engine room )

Thanks All !!
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Old 08-09-2019, 08:34 AM
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Good effort Martin. I walked outside at 7 and it was calm and clear so i started setting up only for the wind to pick up again so i packed up.
I love the fan on the back of the camera. Ive removed all the rubber grips and image with the usb/cable port covers unplugged, but was curious if it would be worth actively cooling somehow. Going by your 5* drop i might give it a go.
Ryan, that distribution box is great, i might look into making one myself.

I try keep the counterweights as close to the top of the bar as possible, the extra counterweight weight doesnt matter since you are balancing weight either side of the pivot point and it should be more or less equal, so its no extra effort for the mount. A longer bar can flex bounce and sway more though. Does this make much difference? Who knows? Not me!
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Old 08-09-2019, 04:53 PM
RyanJones
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Startrek View Post
Ryan
I noticed you mentioned about removing a counterweight to lessen the overall weight. As far as I’m aware Sky-Watcher mount payload ratings do not include the counterweights.Also reading a lot of threads on CN, having your counterweights closer to the mount is better for tracking due to moment of inertia and improving the centre of mass when balancing, pushing them down the end of a long extension bar and removing one is not recommended unless your payload is maxed out
Only reading lots of posts about it
Thanks All !!
I understand what you’re saying and for the most part I agree with both Nathan and yourself. Both arguments I would have thought deal just with rotational balance and inertia. My argument would then be that at the fulcrum there is gravity acting as a downward force the bearing surfaces. This causes friction. Surely the least overall mass you can apply is this direction the better ? I could be talking a load of tripe but that’s just how I thought about it and I’m happy to be corrected.
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Old 08-09-2019, 05:52 PM
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Outcast (Carlton)
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Originally Posted by Startrek View Post
Had my little home made DSLR cooling fan running and sensor temperature went from 22 deg C at the start down to 16 deg C , stayed around 16 to 18 all night
Nice result considering what you were up against

I'm intrigued by your home made DSLR cooling fan, can you share details please?

Edit: disregard Martin, just saw the pics... hadn't got that far... reading whilst doing my job...lol

Is that just a CPU fan?

Cheers

Last edited by Outcast; 08-09-2019 at 06:15 PM.
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Old 08-09-2019, 08:54 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Carlton
Thanks for your comments
I bought the 60mm fan from Jaycar Electronics so I guess it’s a fan for a PC
I soldered a 2m 12v cigarette plug cord to the fan wires and slipped some pvc tubing over the joint
It’s plugged into one end of a 2 way 12v cigarette plug adapter below my mount
I’ll see how it performs during warmer nights and based on that I may upgrade to an 80mm fan
Cheers
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Old 09-09-2019, 11:12 AM
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Outcast (Carlton)
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Carlton
Thanks for your comments
I bought the 60mm fan from Jaycar Electronics so I guess it’s a fan for a PC
I soldered a 2m 12v cigarette plug cord to the fan wires and slipped some pvc tubing over the joint
It’s plugged into one end of a 2 way 12v cigarette plug adapter below my mount
I’ll see how it performs during warmer nights and based on that I may upgrade to an 80mm fan
Cheers
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Old 11-09-2019, 01:37 AM
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Ant0nio (Tony)
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Not stupid Alex, just a little bit addicted like the rest of us. My defence would be the testing of your cooling apparatus
Cheers,
Tony
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