I appreciate the positive feedback.

I appreciate your feedback. While I can afford some higher priced equipment, I realize that is not the case for everyone. And, while I have a tech background, I also realize that not everyone interested in astronomy has the same. So I try to be cognizant of that, while at the same time offering something for those who are more like me.

Yes, that is a good power bank. Remember it only has 6Ah of capacity so, the useable time will depend on how many other things you are powering beside the mount. The mount uses less than 1Ahr.

Actually you caught my mistake. Thank you for pointing that out. We could replace the ASIAIR mini with a mini-pc for about the same price and use Sharpcap. But your point is well taken.

Thanks for the input.

Yes. I believe I said that in the video. This is a nice feature which allows post processing of the images like traditional astrophotograpy. But, the strength of the Seestar is simple but effective EAA.

How about a security camera. They are designed for low light, can record in video directly to your computer with a video card. Good luck with that!

But a book is not a scope and if you watched the whole video you know that there is a lot one needs to and can do to capture great views of DSOs. But to each their own.

Thank you, Curtis for your excellent videos. Astronomy can be enjoyed at so many different levels. Yes, reading a book is great. One can even participate in exciting citizen science projects, such as ESA’s Euclid galaxy zoo, and see things that no one has seen before. There is something special about peering into an eyepiece and seeing something amazing with one’s own eyes, especially if it took some work to hunt it down. Many have the Astro photography bug and take great pleasure in a combination of technical mastery, object hunting, and artistry. These inexpensive, smart telescopes seem to offer an entrée into seeing and photographing amazing things with much built-in assistance while maintaining a sense of real time discovery and participation. As much as I love my tablet, I kind of wish that we could view the output of these devices through some sort of eyepiece like device. There is just something about the physical act of “looking through a telescope.“

There is a link below the video to all of the components used in this modification. Here is the link to the high vacuum Krytox grease Krytox LVP Lubricant: www.zoro.com/krytox-vacuum-gr...

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 thank you. This will teach me to read descriptions under the video... :)

1000W continuous with 2000W surge

Correct. You want a laminar flow of air across the mirror if you can get it. Same with the upper atmosphere.

I don't see an SCT at f/2 as "like" a Dob. Two completely different setups. f/2 is 4x the speed of f/4 so the Hyperstar has a much wider FOV for the same aperture and is significantly faster for photography. Once you get the hang of it there is little work to put on the Hyperstar. A few minutes. I'm glad you like Dobs, but for me, I will stick with my SCTs and Hyperstar.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 Actually by mechanical design removing the second magnifying mirrorle and only bouncing the light once the SCT is no longer and it becomes a Reflector/Newtonian/Dob design by default. The dob is simply a Newt with a cheap easy mount system that can carry the large load. The ONLY difference in removing the second mirror on the SCT over a Newt is you're eliminating the flat mirror that projects the image sideways. As for F stop? You can have the primary mirror cut to an F2 in a reflector however F4 is a common trade off between speed and magnification and purity. F2 or faster mirrors also get more expressive as they require a greater curve. and produce a shorter scope However the large curve angles light at the sensor creating distortion and requires more correction. The Hyperstar is the corrector, it does not lower the f stop. As you go up in f stop the mirrors become optically better. Newtonian scopes are great for photography however like the SCT require an expensive mount for large scopes.

@@DanWipper With all due respect, I would never call an SCT with Hyperstar a Dob. The optics is completely different. The Hyperstar is a compound lens designed to bring the light to focus, reduce chromatic aberration, flatten the field, etc. This is a far cry from what a mirror in a Dob does. But I won't argue the point with you. If you want to call it a Dob that is your prerogative. As for focal ratio, I believe that you will be hard pressed to find a Newtonian mirror figured below ~f/3.5 as it gets extremely difficult to keep collimation and hard to figure. But nothing is impossible. Again, if you like the Dob analogy I won't argue but for others out there I think I made my point.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 The sct uses two mirrors to multiply the focal length typically a main f2 and then an f5, if you take the f5 away you have one mirror the same as a reflector/newt/dob. OR, it becomes the SAME and reflectors can be an F2. This is done with a deep dish primary mirror like your SCTs and or with the help of a reducing lense. F2 on the SCT is the same as F2 on a reflector. Reflectors use coma correcting lenses for deep mirrors which do the same thing as the Hyperstar. HOWEVER the reflector/newt/dob can NOT revert back into a high focal length planetary scope. The benefit to the SCT is it can be two scopes a low f with a low focal length or high f with a high focal length if you add back the other half of the scope that makes the SCT a focal length monster. However again you can't use the SCT with hyperstar for direct viewing nor with a filter wheel. The Hyperstar does not drop the magnification on your SCT taking away the second mirror does. NOW the interesting part, the really fast scope requires less tracking abilities and people are getting away with cheep dob bases where the real cost in an SCT or Newt is in the massive and expensive mount required. Another big leap forward for colored cameras is also coming, it will effectively lower a lens 2 F stops. Camera sensors have had more to do with photography than the scopes/lenses. Back in the day of film none of what we do was possible. NOTE too, while speed is great it also comes with its own draw backs, large refractors with good mounts and longer exposures still produce the cleanest and most detailed images.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 It will also be noted that highly convex primary mirrors create a lot of distortion and all require corrective lenses, SCTs have that built in while most newts its purchased separately as a coma corrector which can also be a reducer. While s corrective lens can do a great job at correcting a flatter primary to start with creates less distortion and might win the quality game IF the tracking is flawless.

Glad you got it working and it only cost you some headache.

Glad I was able to help. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask. You might check out my web site for more EAA stuff as well californiaskys.com. And, if you use the links in my videos or on my web site to navigate to either HighPoint Scientific or Agena Astro you will be helping to support my channel. I just bought a Smart Telescope which I will use to make some more interesting videos on EAA and astrophotography in the near future.

Yep!

You are welcome!

Indeed it has. If you don't know how to take off the secondary, I suggest you don't try a complete disassembly.

Here is the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJWkdZx-oqx_ptk

Thank you for the link.

It won't be disastrous. I cannot say whether you will see any difference at all. Sorry I have no more expertise on this point.

The fans are kept on even while imaging. The objective of the fans is to try and get a laminar flow across the face of the mirror, not so much for cooling. Anyway, it is not clear if the fans actually help in that regard.

Thanks for noticing the effort involved.

Glad I was able to help. If you want to support my efforts you can use my Amazon, Agena Astro and/or HIgh Point Scientic affiliate links for your purchases. It won't cost you any more and I will get a small commission from your purchases, even non-astronomy ones.

The camera I used in that video is an ASI1600MC uncooled color camera which originally cost $699 but is no longer available new. You may be thinking of the cooled version of this camera , ASI1600MC Pro, which is also discontinued but cost $999 when it was available. You can find this one used for about $700. I am not sure if you have a point you are trying to make but for anyone wanting to know which of the currently available cameras are a good choice for EAA they can check out my video on cameras kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXfYln57qqp_hcU

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 Not a point at all my friend, just saying it was expensive. But you are right, the one you just mention for 999$ is the one I thought you have. And they do still have it, I couldn’t find the 700$ tho. Any suggestions on any other solid one for cheaper?

@@Astro_Ash_Jeremy Several suggestions. Check the video and you will get more information than I can type here.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 Got chu ! Thank you 👍🏻

As more frames are added to the stack the image will improve greatly. The background sky will show less noise and the object will show more detail. If you use dark frame subtraction and flat frames while live stacking you will get an even better image. Live stacking can provide great images to share with other later but with all of the other post processing techniques used by astro imagers I would not say the live image will be as good.

That's high praise and I very much appreciate it although I won't let it go to my head. I do my best. The hardest part is figuring out how to reach more people who might be interested in my videos.

The two are very different devices with different purposes. The ASIAIR is a Raspberry Pi computer designed to control you equipment with the ASI software package. It also includes both USB and Power hub capability along with integrated WiFi. The Pegasus is not a computer. It is designed to be a Power and USB Hub to minimize cabling and allow control of the power settings via an included SW App. The Pegasus will work with any devices. The ASIAIR can control all ZWO devices but not other suppliers cameras, focusers, etc. It will control a wide range, but not all, of other suppliers mounts. I much prefer a mini-pc over the ASIAIR as it has much more computing power, storage, etc. and use the Pegasus to do the power and USB distributiion.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 what is the difference between a mini-pc and the ASIAir/Pegasus?

@@kevinashley478 The ASIAIR and Mini-PC are computers and the Pegasus is not. They can run astronomy software to control your camera focuser, mount, etc. Pegasus cannot. Pegasus is a hub which routes power from one source to each piece of equipment. It also routes USB inputs from your computer, mount, focuser, etc. to whatever computer you are using. You would use a Pegasus, if you like, together with a mini-pc, if you like, as I do to simplify cabling and connections from both the computer and your power supply to all of your equipment. The ASIAIR does all of those things combined, but not as well as the mini-pc/Pegasus combination. Hope this is clear now.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 yes. The so the ASIAir is an all in one and the pegasus is just a hub. Easy peasy. Last question: what qualifies as a mini-pc? Or is that just a descriptive term vs a category?

@@kevinashley478 I suggest you Google the term to get a comprehensive answers.

One simple thing to try is to use a single focal reducer but space the camera further back from it than the manufacturer's spec. This will give additional reduction but at the cost of some distortions at the edge of the field of view. With 2 focal reducers try adjusting the spacing between the two of them and the spacing to the camera and see what you can get.

@@astronomytipsreviewswithcu740 thank you for getting back to me. I will definitely give that a try today, you are the most knowledgeable person I’ve ever come across regarding the RI2,

You are welcome. Backfocus on an SE or Evo mount can be a big challenge which is why I made this video. You might like to take a look at my video on cameras to help you figure out which one would be best for you.

I think only slightly.

I am at a loss to explain why you cannot connect with Team Viewer and no internet. I use router mode and have no trouble connecting at star parties all the time using Team Viewer. Maybe post this question on the Cloudy Nights SW & Computer Forum

Happy to hear that!

Good luck!

The router is connected directly to the mini pc by ethernet so they talk naturally - nothing else to explain there. Team Viewer doesn't actually require a subscription. You can sign up for one as a non-commercial user for free but do not need it. I have been using it for 3 years with no problems along those lines. But there are other Apps that let you share between computers that you can try, I feed the battery power directly to my Pegasus Power Box Advanced which distributes it to the mini-pc and my other equipment. The router gets power from the mini pc via the USB cable that comes with the router. I made, but you can buy, a short cable with ring terminals on one end and Anderson power pole connectors on the other end which connects to a commercially available Anderson power pole to 5.5 x 2.5mm DC connector which goes into the Pegasus. I think that covers everything you mentioned.

I appreciate the feedback. And, as you can tell from the video, I too like to see all of the details laid out so that I can understand.

I really do appreciate the positive feedback. Hope you subscribed.

In the video I do mention that the LCD display accurately tracks with my external measurements of voltage, current and SOC during a full discharge cycle. Since the BT will use the same data from the BMS that the LCD does, the answer is yes. If you decide to order one of these batteries use the link below my video and the coupon code which could get you $20 off the price if it is still valid.

Thanks!!