Easy $10 DIY Telescope Flat Panels!

[@AstroKungfu]

"In astronomy terms, that's basically free." Thanks for the chuckle! Great DIY too!

[@AnthonySchmitt]

Thanks, Mrs. AstroBlender!!

[@sonnyedmonds2212]

I went shopping at Hobby Lobby, but there weren't any between 6" and 8". I found some plastic 7" which the ID was perfect (130mm refractor). So I got 2, white like my telescope. And some remnant white poly cloth for my medium. Came out perfectly following your directions. I have two, a single layer, and a double layer that fit really nice over my telescope. Going to go do some test flats. (Mid day here.) Thanks for your video!

[@Psychaotix2001]

I've just started on the journey for astrophotography and my mum also came up with the idea when I mentioned about them. Also you've been a great resource to reference with how to do things, so thank you so much!

[@AstroBlender]

Ha, that’s hilarious. Perhaps not as clever as I originally thought!

[@Psychaotix2001]

@@AstroBlender Oh it's actually VERY clever. And when people come up with an idea independently it usually means it's a great idea.

[@dr8964]

I immediately went for white shower caps instead of t-shirts since the elastic is already in them (obviously wetting and drying flat to get wrinkles out before first time use) - but the embroidery hoop will make those even better!

[@AstroBlender]

Great, glad you found it useful!

[@jimtaylor5802]

Been using these rings for some time, glad you’ve shared this post…

[@cherylwilcox9648]

Looking forward to giving this a try - need to head to Michaels today anyway so I'll add the hoop and shirt to my list!

[@NoahsAstrophotography]

That's a genius idea Cody...'s wife 😄! 😂 Seams really easy to do! Definitely will give it a shot! Thanks for sharing Cody!

[@richardshagam8608]

Glad I saw this. I had been using one of those LED tracing panels and was getting horrible results--probably because they aren't spectrally balanced. It was also a nuisance balancing the thing over the front end while managing the USB power cable/source. Now, in the morning, I just hang up the hoop over the aperture, run the Flat Aid tool in APT, and on to flat capture. Spent all of $7 at the local craft store for the hoop and t-shirt. Best astro purchase. Thanks!

[@AstroBlender]

Great to hear it’s saving you time!

[@blaircolliver5194]

What a very smart (and cheap) idea! This will be one astrophotography investment that won't require a lot of explanation. :)

[@AstroBlender]

Always good to please the household CFO!

[@perry3928]

What a great idea. Kudos to your wife.

[@AstroBlender]

Thanks, I agree!

[@shorty1474]

Been using one for years!

[@NorthwesternOntarioAstronomy]

I kept asking myself why the heck you were making that while you had a huge black smear on your white shirt, then I realized the smear was on my Ipad screen.😂😂

[@2badger2]

Good idea! I wonder if putting a little hot glue on the back where you can see the 2 wooden circles, help keep it together if it accidentally gets bumped.

[@stefanschneider3681]

Thanks for that one! Next stop tomorrow: Bau und Hobby as is called the largest ones here in Switzerland 🤩! Nice Lagoon, Trifid and Omega btw 👍😆

[@jameswoods1939]

What a great idea!

[@condensermike]

I have been using one of these things as a aperture covering for my homemade 6" for years. Nice.

[@comm2005]

Thank you wife on my behalf. What a creative idea.

[@svenop]

Spray on some ironing starch might help keep them wrinkle free. May also want to just brush off any saw dust after sanding

[@miguelmorales9667]

I have been doing that for years, and to the truth, I thought I came up with the idea. I would like to add that when done the panel it should be put in something like a ziplock baggie for protection from any dirt and/or debris.

[@lnlarxg]

That is so good! Thanks for sharing :)

[@mikelockwood2104]

nice video - amazing how ideas have helped humanity over the decades, your wife can join that elite group

[@davidaylsworth8964]

Your wife is a clever reinventer, but I’ve seen this a few times now. I am using these same materials for my scopes. Instead of using the sky, I use a step less tracing panel that has a memory function. Using the scope masks and the tracing panel I’ve been getting really consistent flats. I highly recommend these embroidery loops for all astrophotographers. I can just imagine the rush to Michael’s of all these guys who are buying out the loops but none of the other embroidery supplies. 😀

[@AstroBlender]

Too funny! You’re like the 3rd person that has used this method. Apparently I’m “out of the loop”! Sounds like a good method and does the job well for you.

[@davidaylsworth8964]

@@AstroBlenderyour Mrs. is surely an inventive soul and I’m glad you shared this with the crowd so that we can all benefit. Cheers!

[@selfworthy]

@David Aylsworth Those tracing panels have the light from the side, i send mine right back when i saw how you could see the light patches from outside to the middle. How did you get yours to work?

[@davidaylsworth8964]

@@selfworthy honestly, I just use a hoop mask like the ones in this video, except that I use 4 layers of t-shirt material, and then place the AGPTEK A4 panel on top of the dew shield. I use the CCD Flats wizard in APT with my ASI533MC Pro and set it to ADU 25,000 +/- 5%. I’ve used this method successfully with my 80mm apochromatic and 150mm achromatic refractors. The results for the images are satisfactory. Your comment made me think, so I took a couple of these flat images into Photoshop and pushed the exposure by a couple stops to see if there’s an increased illumination around the perimeter as compared to the centre of the image. Visually I couldn’t see any difference in the pushed images so I’m given to believe that if there is any side illumination from the panel I’m using that it’s effect is not significant. I also wonder if the dew shield material could be a factor, in that some materials may not be as opaque therefore allowing some light from the overhanging part of the light panel to enter the optical train.

[@selfworthy]

@@davidaylsworth8964 Thanks for checking, the pad i got was only illuminated from one side, which was unuseable. I thought they are all made like this and didnt looked any more into it, because there is no way to know before ordering. ill give it a shot, clear skys!

[@saucenotgravy1]

What is it used for? Im new to this

[@jimpollard5920]

FYI...I use the same method of using the hoops, but I use a light panel at night when I'm finished imaging. I use NINA and set the flats wizard to a minimum of 3.5 seconds and it works like a champ.

[@AstroBlender]

Awesome, I'm glad to hear it works for you! Funny how you can come to the same conclusion without knowing.

[@Paul-fs1fk]

I have a light panel on order. Do you attached the light panel to the hoop somehow?

[@jimpollard5920]

@@Paul-fs1fkYou put a white t-shirt in the hoop. Then put the hoop over the scope lens and the light panel on top of that.

[@Paul-fs1fk]

Thanks, Jim. So do you just point the scope up and lay the light panel over it, or do you try to attach the light panel to the hoop? Or maybe just hold the light panel in place, since flats are fairly short exposures?

[@briankotak403]

Brilliant Cody! Just wish most of our other 🔭 gear was that price! Great videos. Dr B from Manitoba 🇨🇦

[@lancecheslock6756]

Your videos are geared nicely for those of us just getting started. Thanks! Can you say more about getting the light / flat frames using the evening or morning sky? Is the light hitting the hoop direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, or is the lens aimed upward anywhere? Also, for those viewers who are using a DSLR, is the exposure time the same as our night exposures? I generally do 25 second exposures. Lastly, some places insist the flats are freshly done each time you have an astrophotography outing. When is / isn't it possible to use / reuse a file of flat exposures when going to Deep Sky Stacker?

[@AstroBlender]

Always take new flats. The dust and particles on your lens/correctors change from night to to night. You want your flats to expose about 1/3 of the histogram and they should work well. They also need to be at the same focus or close to same focus as your images, so don’t change the focus before you take your flats. You wouldn’t want to point your telescope directly at the sun. Early morning or twilight just point straight up and if you have a nice neutral sky, your flats should work really well. Good luck!

[@user-pi5xu7qs7n]

Great video. Just got back from hobby lobby with one. :-)

[@THICKSPICK]

Thank u from the Bronx NY

[@AstroBlender]

You're welcome!

[@celestromel]

Brilliant! Thanks heaps.

[@AstroBlender]

Anytime!

[@brinkoo7]

I know you cover a lot of RASA stuff.. I have an 11" RASA V2, but anytime I have ever tried to use a t-shirt with flats be it sky flats, or with light panels, I swear I get the fabric pattern and tons of noise once calibrated. I am still using the stock adapters so have nightmarish vignetting I deal with regularly (stock adapters can leave a donut like vignette, they are kinda trash lol) . Have you found that t-shirt methods like this are not a good fit for fast optical systems? I have a large spike-a-flat and it seems to be a flickering lemon so I am looking at other options.. great video btw

[@markmayer9290]

Got mine at Michaels today

[@marvinwhisman3333]

I have the 9.25 EdgeHD also with the Celestron dew shield. What size hoop did you use? Thanks for the well done video.

[@davidaylsworth8964]

If you measure the outer diameter of your dew shield and pick the next larger hoop size you'll do okay. Cheers!

[@AstroBlender]

My local store was out of both 10 and 11” hoops so I just got a 12”.

[@itaialter]

Oh, I thought this is going to be about a powered led panel (which is what 'flat panel' usually means, in my experience). Still a very nice solution for the t-shirt method. Keep it up.

[@AstroBlender]

Yeah, I wasn’t really sure what to call them.

[@Nick-we7lf]

What are flat panels for ?

[@carolsantulis1990]

Taking "flats" photos for removing vignetting and dust spots.

[@rpk5568]

When did "flat panel" start to mean this?

[@Westlake]

That’s pretty easy! Great DIY project. (Just don’t use one of your wife’s fave t-shirt)

[@milllworks]

Best, bar none.

[@selfworthy]

If you change your setup in the night you will need a LED lightbox if you dont want to wait until dawn.

[@AstroBlender]

That or take night flats, which aren’t as efficient as a flat box but they do work.

[@hael8680]

Why cut the t-shirt? Just use a coat hanger to hang them in your closer. Easy storage ;-)

[@AstroBlender]

I mean you could! Haha

[@richardmiller1340]

Hi. New to your channel..really learning alot. Would you be interested in answering some questions? How to contact? I am a science teacher in china currently.

[@GalileoUAS]

Thats funny "its a $1.50 each which in astronony terms means its pretty much free" so true lol!

[@AstroBlender]

You know when anything under $50 seems affordable that you have a problem, lol.

[@GalileoUAS]

@Astro you are not alone there Cody . Glad to see a local dishing out great content btw or at least I think your Cali local . I bought my first scope at OC Telescopes with Mike he was awesome man gave me a great deal and lots of info. He was just as excited as I was when he sold me my first c6 roughly this time last year Thanks again Cody great video

[@figzastro-photography]

Wow. If you would of put your wife’s name on it and sold it on the Astro web sites you would of been a millionaire. Lol

[@AstroBlender]

That would have been nice!