A Planetary Imagers Life is NOT a Happy One

[Carole]

I say every year I am not going to do this again, but every year I end up giving it "one more bash".

This is long and technical, and very frustrating.

Decided to try using a mono camera and filters.  I obtained an adapter a while back for fitting the DMK21 onto the back of the filterwheel, but have always been a bit concerned about the fact that my planetary scope only has a 1.25" draw tube and worried about the stability of this to hold the weight of a filterwheel and camera.  So everything lashed on with safety cords.  Nervous about putting on a Barlow as this adds to the worry about the 1.25" drawtube and safety of my kit not falling out.

Scope = ETX125 (Micks old scope)
Camera = DMK21
Atik EFW2
Vista laptop and W7 laptop
Vista laptop (mousepad and left and right clicks pretty much had it, so need mouse, but not enough USBs)
so add the Startech hub I have that seems to work when it feels like it.

Day 1: Polar align with Polemaster (have to use W7 laptop as Polemaster can't be installed on Vista (something missing in the operating system).

Swap back to Vista as no Sharpcap on W7 laptop. Startech hub seems to be working OK. . so can use mouse.

Problems:
Finderscope is not aligned with imaging scope, need to do this on a land object (too late now). 
Camera not recognised in Sharpcap. Check all USBs, STILL NOT WORKING (N.B. camera NOT on Hub) so hunt round the house for an alternative USB2 cable, and pilfer the one from the DBK camera.  Plug it in, and the camera is recognised. 

Find Jupiter by using the eyepiece and flip mirror - Eyepiece is in a very awkward position, so scrabble around boxes for diagonal.
Start up guiding, guiding keeps freezing, but can't use W7 laptop as that doesn't have Sharpcap on it. 
I want to guide just to keep Jupiter on the chip.  Mess about with PHD for ages, eventually get it working!!! 
Attempt to get Jupiter in focus but with not seeing stars can't focus on anything, and the Moons are too blurry.
After all this faffing around Jupiter has now gone behind a tree, which has branches with gaps – now you see it now you don't scenario, so guiding very iffy.

Sharpcap is not downloading any AVIs only text settings files. Never had this problem before.  Take screen shots ready to send to the author of Sharpcap and pack up for the night.

Mail Robin the author of Sharpcap and send screen shots.

Day 2: 
Robin has replied very promptly, and suggests that I "upgrade Sharpcap to a later version compatible with vista "SharpCap 3.0.4017" and also "has the advantage that it should talk direct to your DMK camera rather than you needing to use the DirectShow driver for the camera" I would also have to  install the 'SharpCap Prerequisites Installer' from the SharpCap 3.0 downloads page to get the DMK camera working - that installs various Microsoft bits and pieces that are a bit big to go in the main installer. You can leave your current version installed - both can be used on the same machine (even run both at once if you really want)."  . 
Decide that instead of doing that to install Sharpcap on the W7 laptop, and install the latest version.  Did that, but didn't have a clue what I was doing with the new version. Gamma, exposure and Gain adjustments seem to have disappeared, so can't adjust for live view.

Got exactly the same problem on the W7 laptop!!! 
Can't remember at what stage it happened, but eventually managed to get an output file on the W7 version of Sharpcap, but since I can't control the gamma, gain and exposure I can't see how I can use it.

Evening:
Hub not working at all!!! 
Decided to try an old hub I have not used for years and to my amazement, this much cheaper hub worked. 
PHD crashed twice.
Back to the Vista machine, and install the 'SharpCap Prerequisites Installer'  this takes almost an hour (meanwhile Jupiter has gone behind the trees again.  Install fails.
Decided to pack up but leave the 'SharpCap Prerequisites Installer'  installing overnight.

Day 3:  (N.B. Still no capture files yet despite 2 nights efforts)
'SharpCap Prerequisites Installer'  has installed overnight.

Re-boot vista laptop and try to connect camera, STILL DOESN'T SHOW the camera to be installed via Celestron Imaging Source Cameras rather than Direct source as Robin suggested, but then I didn't update the software.

Decide to hunt for alternative capture software and also try to align the finderguider and imaging scope.  During the day time.

Find Firecapture – watch video on how it works, will operate the EFW as well.

Download Firecapture onto Vista laptop.  Check camera connects and also manage to connect to the EFW and calibrate the filters.  Also manage a dummy output file.

Late afternoon try to align the finder and imaging scope, but its too bright for the finderscope.  Try to fashion a cardboard lens cap with a smaller hole for the finderguider to let in less light but it doesn't work.

Evening, it is STILL TOO BRIGHT to see anything through the finderscope, so decide to use QGvideo instead, and eventually manage to align the finderguider and imaging scope.

Phew!!

Are we all set for tonight?

Evening day 3
Start up software – align, PHD keeps crashing again!!!  Never normally have this problem.   N.B. NOT BEING USED ON THE HUB.  Eventually get that working but wastes time.

Find Jupiter a bit earlier than previous nights (so more time before it goes behind the tree), need to focus, but Moons too dim for Bahtinov Mask so have to do it by eye.  Fiddle with Firecapture, downloaded AVIs do not record which filter is being used, (so fetch pad and paper to record file numbers). 

Can't work out how to set the length of the recording, as all AVIs seems to appear in the capture folder much sooner than time asked for. I try two different methods, and the one I finally settle for is in the settings where it says limits.  But I selected time rather than frames, and it still downloads too soon. 

In the middle of all this, a reasonably large spider crosses the roof of the POD Bay where I am sitting with laptop, well you know how I like spiders, so go to get my spider grabber in the other bay, Spider has disappeared.  Sit down again, and 2 minutes later it reappears, go to get spider grabber, its gone again.  thought I was pretty brave carrying on pretending it wasn't there!!!!

Well got some files, no idea if they are any good.  Could not hear the EFW changing filters but it did seem to affect the live view of the image, so presume it was working OK.  Would feel happier with using the Atik software as I know it has worked then.

Day 4:
Plans:
1. Download an upgrade for Sharpcap on the vista (as old hub seems to be holding out).  Although might consider using two laptops one for guiding and the other for imaging, might stop PHD from keep crashing and save USBs.
2. Download Firecapture on W7 laptop too.  But wont attach the EFW so I can use the Atik software.
3. Check last night subs and see if I got anything useable. 
4. See if now I am pretty much in focus and the finderscope and imaging scope are aligned if I can SEE an alignment star for focussing the planetary camera.
5. Might also try with the Barlow tonight. 

Watch this space.

If after all this effort I get nothing decent at the end of it, I will be definitely giving up planetary imaging.

Carole

[Carole]

Spent a 4th Night trying to image Jupiter.  All the software I finally got working on both laptops, but STILL can't see a star to tweak the focus despite Arcturus being bang in the middle of the FOV.

Messed about for a couple of hours.

During the day I looked at the data from last night, and the best of what I got wasn't much cop.

GIVING UP PLANETARY IMAGING.

For sale:

DBK21  - £75  (ex Mick's)
DMK21  - £75
Deforked ETX 105 - £120
Deforked ETX125 (with hand held motorised focusser) - £80 (Ex Micks = what I paid for it)
Small adapter for fitting an imaging source camera to an Atik filter wheel.  = offers?

Carole

[doug]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but your description of events would make a terrific comedy on stage .... Jupiter has now gone behind a tree ... priceless!!

Keep up the good work, Carole. You`ll get there in the end.

Doug.

[doug]

Nah.... don`t give up. You can do it; you`ve done it in the past.

[Carole]

Too much hard work for little or NO reward Doug, wasting 4 nights in a row is the PITS and the limit.

Carole