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Log Book Home | Astrophotography | Observatory | equipment | Software | Links | Contact
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| Date | Category |
Log entry |
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| 6/14/05 | Equipment update | The DLSR has arrived. It is a beautiful thing and I can't wait to try it out in the observatory. It is a 24X jump in resolution over the DSI so I am expecting great shots. Now if the sky would just clear off for a night or two. | |
| 6/10/05 | Equipment update | The weather has been nasty over the last week or so and I haven't been in the shed at all. Although I had planned on waiting a few months I have ordered the new camera. The Cannon Digital Rebel is being discontinued by Canon and I started to notice that the on-line stores were running out of them. I looked into the newer 8.0 mega pixel model but early reports said that it wasn't as good as the 6.3 model. So, I put it on order today, I have the Body, 18-55mm zoom lens, 2GB compact flash, and the DC power converter on its way. I also got the 3 year extended warranty and a soft bag for the camera. Grand total = $948.83 | |
| 6/7/05 | Equipment update | I have the laptop in the observatory now and have re-run all the control cables to the new box. After playing around with the settings I have GuideDog working (mostly) on the laptop. For some reason I have no problems guiding with ASCOM control but when I try to use the relay box it isn't working. I was able to image M20 before the clouds rolled in and am very happy with the results. It seems that the current setup will work but I am not happy because while GuideDog is sending ASCOM control signals to the mount, I cant control it with NexRemote and am back to using the hand controller. I am sure this is due to settings in GuideDog and will have to work on it next outing. | |
| 5/30/05 | Equipment update | The equipment detailed below has all arrived and all on the same day! I mounted and aligned the guide scope on its rings last night and re-balanced the the whole rig. I think I am getting close to the published weight limit of my G-5 GEM but it still seems to track/slew just fine. I do however have some issues with the software. The Autostar suite and GuideDog don't seem to like running on the same machine. I am not sure if it is processor/memory issues on the computer or USB throughput issues but when I fire them both up everything slows to a crawl to the point where it looks like the machine is locked up. I have an old laptop that I will move one of the processes to the next time I am out. | |
| 5/25/05 | Site Info |
I have decided to keep this log book in an attempt to keep a record of the
changes over time to the observatory and associated equipment, techniques,
and observations. Things seem to be changing quickly now and my memory isn't
what it used to be so here it is. I have ordered the equipment and software that I think I will need to go Auto-guided. After much consideration I have chosen to go with a separate guide scope, an Orion 80mm refractor, a webcam for the guide scope, the Meade LPI, Shoestring astronomy's relay box, and Guidedog auto-guiding software from barkoSoftware. I ordered everything yesterday. Grand total = $328.00 |
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