Yeah it really takes all the complication out of using the NINA advanced sequencer. Building and adjusting exposure plans is very eay and knowing what you captured if you have to image a target across multiple night really helps.

👏👏👏 😉

Here is the link to my sequence Mark. Let me know if you have issues accessing it. I will release a short video today stepping through the sequence and identifying which plugins I use other than Target Scheduler that are part of the sequence. drive.google.com/file/d/1L6AduLHCKKFT9NtwEhy3dltAEOdAdK_e/view?usp=sharing

Thank you Bill, appreciate it. Looking forward to your next video.

You are welcome. I did released one where I walkthrough my squence and point out the other plugins I use as part of the sequence.

Thank you Robin! Here is the link to the Image Grader documentation. I'm not certain as to the anser for your question #2 since I always evaluate each exposure in PixInsight. tcpalmer.github.io/nina-scheduler/post-acquisition/image-grader.html As to question #1 I do not think so. I'll did deeper when I get back from my trip to Utah to see if I can provide better answers.

You are welcome Andy! It's been a game changer for me. Let me know what you think once you start using it. If you want a link to the sequence template I use let me know.

@@AstroVagabond I'd love to have the template! You still have my contact info?

Hi Andy let me know if this link does not work for you: drive.google.com/file/d/1L6AduLHCKKFT9NtwEhy3dltAEOdAdK_e/view?usp=sharing

I do run a calibration on the first night I arrive at a site. Here is a link to the calibration plot I generated on 9/30/2024 which was the first of 3 night at Blue Canyon airport: drive.google.com/file/d/1VF72_fIj7rt_PgPCmaiP7TnsJQIrdIzU/view?usp=sharing I always dither. The way my exposure plan was set up for that target called for 5 minute HA, SII, OIII exposures 50 each, and 1 minute R,G,B 20 exposures each. I take 2 exposures in a row for each filter R, R, G, G, B, B, Ha, Ha, SII, SII, OIII, OIII then a DIther. So that is a dither every 36 minutes. When Target Scheduler knows I've captured all the RGB exposures my plan calls for that just leaves the NB which mean I then dither every 30 minutes. As to some sections not having a dither it might be because Target Scheduler was imaging two targets that night and there may have been a wait period between the first target ending and the second target starting. Also there was a meridian flip somewhere along the night. Thanks for viewing the video and taking a moment to comment. Much appreciated. 👍

@@AstroVagabond I have to to break down my rig every time so I have to focus (sometimes), do a PA, and a guider calibration every night. Recently I discovered I was slightly over the weight limit for my AM3 and I was stalling in some severe orientations. I managed to fix my problem with a counterweight and my guiding improved significantly. I used to be just over 1.00 arc sec total rms, but now I’m more in the 0.75 arc sec rms.

Glad you found your issue. At the end of the day if our stars look good then I feel we are good but my standards may be different then yours. Now that I sold my EQ6-R Pro yesterday I was thinking about the AM3 to run my RedCat 51 freeing up my AM5 to run my EdgeHD 8. I'll make my decision in the next couple of months.

Thank you for taking time to view and provide feedback. Much appreciated! 👍

You bet!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks if there is somethig in particular you'd like to see on the Eagle5 let me know. Congratulations on you purchase!

Thanks Patrick! I'm glad I got down there to experience the fun in a very cool setting. Yes we should do an AZ trip for sure.

Good to know about Kanab and sorry to hear about your equipment problems. I've run into plenty of those myself from time to time. 😉 For the Zion trip it will just be a no imaging spend time with 4 of our friends type of trip. Leaving imaging gear at home. I will be down in Landers, CA at GMARS weather permitting for the upcoming new moon November 1. What's it like to image up in Marin? Are you setup to do it in your backyard or do you travel to a site?

@@AstroVagabond I have Bortle 5 in the back yard, so yeah, I get pretty good stuff at home.

Yeah I try to get 3 seconds minimum for my 294MM flats and the Giotto combined with the NINA flat wizard dynamic brightness option makes alot easier than going the tracing panel route. I took a look at the Alto and decided not a priority right now.

You are welcome and thank you for checking out the video and taking a moment to comment. Much appreciated! 👍

I don't know if there are many. I got my information via the NINA discord server. I'm going to make a few including one on how to build the sequence, add projects and targets to the projects. If you want to do a Google Meet I'd be happy to give you an hour and step through it to answer any questions you may have. Let me know if you are interested. ~ Bill

I'm fine with this setup having tested with a counter weight and without. Did not see any detectable difference in guiding performance allowing for changes in seeing during the test duration. Agreed the purpose is to counter balance the load. Everyone should do what makes them comfortable. The profile of my EdgeHd is like a sail when the winds come up in the desert where I typically image. Wind can be calm and then out of nowhere 20 knot wind gusts show up right when I'm catching a nap in my campervan. Wind gusts strong enough to rock the van and wake me up. 😉 The counter weight gives me piece of mind for about $130.00 including the cost of the bar.

Great tip!

I went with the EQ6-R Pro because I knew it would help counter-act the effects of desert winds where I normally image on my EdgeHD 8. Subsequently through testing I've built confidence the AM5 with counter weight and sand bags on the legs will be stable enough for my EdgeHD 8 in the desert. I knew at the time of purchase of the EQ6-R Pro the ZWO AM5 was due to be released and overtime I'd gain information about the experiences other imagers were having who decided to pair the AM5 with their EdgeHD 8. What I've been hearing is mostly favorable so it was time to make a move. I had to sell the EQ6-R Pro to build the cash to probably purchase the ZWO AM3 for my RedCat 51 freeing up my AM5 for my EdgeHD. This has been my roadmap for sometime. Clear skies!

I use my photography studio sand bags which serve a similar purpose. 👍

Good tip!

True but 23.5 lbs does not seem to give me the challenge of the 39 lbs EQ6-R Pro head unit. So I'm comfortable lifting the EdgeHD for now.

Yes very stable which was important given the geometry of my EdgeHD 8 when desert wind come up. 👍

Thank you great to be back in the field. Pickleball is now second in priority where is should be! 😉

Thank you, much appreciated. Would love to find out more about what is like to image from there! Clear skies!

Yes Sonny, I do think it would be fine per the AM3 specifications. I actually may purchase the AM3 for my RedCat 51 if I find my AM5 performs well with my EdgeHD 8 since I have put my Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro up for sale.

Well I looked at it but I did not like the price 😉 which is why I went with the WandererBox Pro V3.

@@AstroVagabond great choice, the Pegasus kit is way overpriced…👍🏻

@@Astro_Shed Hey, Stewart. How are you doing?! I looked on your AstroBin site. You are using Pegasus ultimate powerbox and Pegasus focuser. If you don’t like it, then farking sell it and buy this cheaper item.

@@AstroVagabond Let’s see where you will be with this “overpriced for quality item” idea in 2-3 years.

@@Astro_Shed Did you remove my post? F*** p****. Cannot handle truth!

Thank you! Amazing landscapes. A car drove up to our camp and the passenger was a geologist. He gave me a quick tutorial about the immediate area including Rainbow Canyon,

@AstroVagabond wow you should do a quick video about that . From the Arabian great desert 🏜 to the Death Valley desert, we love you from Saudia Arabia. You should visit area in Saudia called alaula ❤️

More to come! Great idea!

Yeah the EQ6-R Pro weight finally caught with me but it is what it is. Thanks for the tip on the iOptron HAE69 which is now on my radar Jonny! Tips like yours is one reason I want to take my time to do the research before I purchase. While I'm getting good performance with the ZWO AM5 when my EdgeHD is mounted on it I'm not wed to the ZWO brand. Thanks again and much appreciated. 👍

@@AstroVagabond if you're going to look at any of the iOptron HAE mounts, make sure to get the "C" version. The "B" version comes with iMate... and it's absolutely awful.

You know I've never tried capturing an image of a planet so can't beof any help here. But great question which just gave me an idea for a video where I ask the viewers your question. I've been wondering about the same thing, stay tuned and thank you for the idea!

Not stopping, just lightening the load on my back! 👍

@AstroVagabond we love you you from Saudi Arabia and kuwait 🏜

Not quitting, just lightening the load on my back!

Thanks for the tip!

Will do! Clear skies.!

So true. But everything I said about the Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro is true. It's a good, reliable, stable mount. No joking around about that. Thanks for taking time to drop a comment. Much appreciated. 👍

I have a good workflow to process it's just that I push the processing down in priority compared to other events and activities in my life. PixInsight makes it easy enough if I just focus. Thank yoou for taking a moment to view and comment. Much appreciated. 👍

@@AstroVagabond Nothing about Pixinsight is easy!

Yes I think come spring time I probably will. The ZWO AM5-N looks interesting and may be the one. I'm not in a hurry to make a decision. Thasks for taking time to view and comment. Much appreciated. 👍

Thanks! Yes if I had it setup in an observatory I'd keep and be happy to have it.

😊 Thank you for recognizing my feeble attempt at humor! Clear skies!

@@ronlundgren4391 yeah almost 🥲

True on the precious memories and happy early birthday. 👍

Not really sure but it's fun to explore so give it a shot.

Thanks! Up until this trip I did not have issues with the Samsung staying connected to my GL.iNet Beryl wireless router. I use the Microsoft Remote Desktop app on the tablet. This trip I used a newer GL.iNet Beryl AX and experienced some intermittant connection isses while monitoring to my Beelink SER 5 AMD Ryzen 7 mini computer. I then used the Samsung to connect to my Eagle5 which manages my EdgeHD and had no connection issues for the remainder of my night with my Samsung tablet. I'm heading out tomorrow for a few nights of imaging in Death Valley and I will use my older Beryl and see what behavior I experience. I'll provide an update in one of the videos I record while in Death Valley. Thanks for viewing and taking time to comment. Also let me know if you tested out Target Scheduler and if yes what was the experience. And if you need help let me know. The NINA Discord has a target scheduler channel which Tom Palmer and others are present to answer questions and help.

@AstroVagabond I connect through a Beryl AX also, as well as their 2.4G mini router when I travel. I use Mele Q2 & Q3C mini PCs, and it doesn't seem to matter what the configuration, the tablet drops connection at least a few times during setup. If I have time to get the process container in my sequence, I'll give the Target Planner a shot tonight. I'll let you know what I think!

Well I need a bit better cable management on my RedCat 51 setup. I'll clean up the cables once I get the rotator in action. For me being up at times during the night lets me sit outside and gaze at the beautiful stars! If I slept all night I'd miss that enjoyment. 😉

@@AstroVagabond Sure! I recall guarding meridian flip, just like you. Reason was simple, I just knew that mount can misbehave one way or another. It did misbehaved! You know that it will be no mercy situation, if your rig at a remote location 😀.

It was a successful trip. So good I'm heading out tomorrow for some imaging in Death Valley. I'm meeting two fellow astrophotograhers and will make a video or two around the trip. 👍

Thanks! I'm heading back out tomorrow down to Death Valley. Will capture some video of the drive, the site, and interaction with two fellow astrophotographers who I'll be meeting.

I got lucky, the weather was excellent and clear skies too.

Thanks Mike! It's good to be back at it. I'm heading out tomorrow down to Death Valley where I will meet up with Patrick and Christian Ralph for a night or two of imaging.

Since it is just profiling the sensor I did it without any filter. At the time I did it I did not find anything about using a filter.

Great feedback! There is an appropriate solution for everyone and people should pick the one that best fits their needs. I'm really happy with N.I.N.A. which has been trouble free and the Target Scheduler plugin fits my needs perfectly so I'm sticking with N.I.N.A. But I always give praise to the ASIAir because based upon a person's needs if it fits them it is a great value. Thanks for taking time to view and share a comment. Much appreciated. 👍

Thanks!