PEC Convert

[TheDecepticon]

I can't afford a new mount at the moment, and I want to improve my images by a little bit so I was thinking about PEC. I have a friend who has PemPro on his lap top so we did a couple of PE runs on my EQ6 and wrote a file for me to load into my PC for EQMOD. I have to say, I am certainly a PE convert now. The difference in the stars is amazing. Along with the PEC, I have had some focusing issues with my 110 and have had to do some painstaking slow refocusing of every filter and target re-acquisition. Coupled with MaxIm that would not re-guide, I had to resort to PHD and its inability to guide from where it starts to calibrate so lost a bit of the field of view.

One image is of Eta Carinae/Keyhole in RGB(no L, have the data but think it looks better without it) of 6x5mins, bin 1x, ea channel.

http://tinyurl.com/3zrl5jd

The other is just a 6x5mins, bin 1x, luminance test shot of Omega Centauri, which could be more detailed, however, I was pleased with the stars. (Oh, and maybe a galaxy or two in the background.)

http://tinyurl.com/4xq76kb

All taken with a QHY9M, QHY filter wheel and filters on an EQ6 Pro with EQMOD through a Megrez 110. Captured in MaxIm and giuded with MaxIm and PHD. Images calibrated, stacked and aligned in MaxIm. PixInsight and PS CS3 for processing.

Thanks for looking and constructive criticism welcome.

[TheDecepticon]

Sorry for the long link, but try this for Omega.

http://public.sn2.livefilestore.com/...9_L.JPG?psid=1

[multiweb (Marc)]

Looks pretty good. Another way to improve your mount is to get an AO. That's a bit fiddly to get into but once it works it's bullet proof and sometime cheaper than getting a mount of similar performance. Plus you can move it around to other scope. Think about it as money in the bank, if there's such a thing in astrophotography.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Very nice eta. Still looks to be a bit of movement (welcome to the club) but your focus looks spot on and nice stars to the core in Omega.


money in the bank & astrophotography That's an oxymoron Marc Just doesn't happen.

[CoolhandJo (Paul)]

Congrats on you're pempro fix. Squeezing the most out of existing gear shows determination and adds to the enjoyment of astroimaging IMHO. Did you guide with pec on? I found that pempro did improve my guiding but only slightly. The pe went from 15 down to 7 but in reality my star shapes didn't improve by 50% on my eq6. Because guiding compensates anyway. I agree with Marc re AO and will go that way before upgrading my mount. Once again taking increments in my upgrade plan mainly to keep myself interested in this great hobby.

[TheDecepticon]

Thanks guys,

I've often looked at the AO units and wondered about their ability. I suppose with good PEC and AO you could compensate for a better mount. I must admit that from where I am at the moment, I don't really see a G11 as step up, and would think about an AP900 or the new Paramount Mini.

I'm pretty happy with the star shapes and guiding has improved a measurable amount, however I do realize it still could be better. I am going to invest in a nice moonlite focuser and robofocus and ditch the guide scope and go to an OAG. We will see what results those changes brings as I do not think that I have yet got the most out of the gear I have at the moment.

Cheers!