gpowers

Folks , as another thing I thought i would mention is that in discussion with the NINA discord folks they alerted me to the options in the New Sequencer that will stop and/or Start the imaging depending on whether you are below or above this Custom Horizon, so it is more than a simple graphical addition it seems. have not tried it yet

done, software worked a treat to provide the numbers i needed, i generally went with every 2° unless a long straight roof line.

update : having researched a little and not having an 'android' phone or other android device I have gone with an application for IOS called 'Theodolite' which i think will capture the AZ-ALT values i need to define my horizon for NINA. I need to do two separate runs for both the back of my house and the front, whichever .hrz i set will depend where i set up each night. i'll let you know how it goes .. clouds are persistent !

Hi Paul, ? - are there any apps that you know of that can help gather the ALt Az values to assist this horizon generation

that's a real good point on the fact there are many things protruding on the skywatcher, I tend to hang stuff off some of the 'sticky out' bits but it is certainly something to keep in mind when the rig is slewing and flipping, having seen the comment above I guess I do sub consciously keep an eye on the AZ-EQ6GT activities far more than the the GEM45 which i feel more relaxed about when controlling from indoors.

HI Paul, I have both the AZ-EQ6GT and the GEM45, both under 6 months old, and I use them both with equal satisfaction. I initially went with the Skywatcher as a brand due to large number of folks who had them and my lack of real product/brand knowledge or experience ( having been in the hobby now for about 12 months ). I also went with the AZ-EQ6GT model because it had the capacity I wanted and also the flexibility (I wasn't really sure if i would ever use the ALT/AZ Mode, and to date i have not) . To be honest I am still very very pleased with it (.. although it ain't light ) and use it

I take a look at https://en.sat24.com/ to get some idea of what is coming down the tracks , mostly clouds of course.

that looks really neat, you need to get some black plastic, probably match the rest of your equipment, what printer did you use, I am interested in this stuff as i used to run a 3D Printing centre ( metal and all ) at an aerospace company. Sadly all that resource has gone now i have retired .... but still interested in the topic. nice to see those creative juices flowing Gary ( Lead Design Engineer, Retired).

I found a use for the Red dot finder, to balance out the focus cube on the opposite side. onwards ......

Success I think, did a bit of Maths to determine my Step size, established 'in-focus' as best I could by eye then final clamp of the Focuser. I then used NINA autofocus and let it run through its routine to state I was 600 Steps off (which i think equates to about 19° on the coarse focus knob). Image looked good so i will resist the temptation to tinker any further.

HI, I need to plug at least one hole in my knowledge ... and a whole lot more eventually I have a general question on DARKS. If i have a DARK library taken with a particular setup, and due to Framing an Object I rotate the camera, ? - does that invalidate my DARK library and hence have to create another. I guess the same would go for FLATS also ... any wisdom appreciated gary