Making a Telescope Light Panel for Flat Frames

[@getoutsidewithmiguel]

Mark, you did an amazing job on this project. Looks great.

[@marksastrojourney]

Thanks for the feedback Miguel! I’m using the light panel for flats on every imaging session and it’s working out great! Clear skies1

[@lumenlarry6197]

Nice diy project! I'm new to astroimaging and will be making one of these for my 115mm EON. Thanks for the great tips...

[@marksastrojourney]

I’m glad to hear the video was helpful Larry! Clear skies!

[@framinash]

Is there a link for the cover from the HW store? The description part is out of focus and hard to see. Thanks in advance for making this video.

[@marksastrojourney]

Hi Framinash, I’m glad the video was helpful! Here’s a link to the grate cover I used: www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-7-3-4-in-L-x-7-3-4-in-W-x-8-in-dia-Round-Grate/3132547

[@carolsantulis1990]

Home Depot has them too.

[@carolsantulis1990]

I had problems figuring out which side of the EL panel lit up and had to contact Ellumiglow support 3x. They do need better instructions. I used a thin piece of black dense foam for the first layer, so the light would not come out the top of the grate. I got the 9V battery inverter and it turned out to not be a good choice. The light level varies as I run a set of flats. I tried a $20 Lithium 9V but that did not help. Ellumiglow recommended to me today to try the USB inverter and dimmer that you have. How is it working for you? Since it dims to only 30%, can you get it dim enough to get 2-5 second flats at 50% ADU on histogram? Does the Pulse Width Modulation of the dimmer cause and issues with getting proper flats? Is there memory when you turn it on to recall the same light brightness as you used last time? Thanks.

[@marksastrojourney]

Ive had no problems at all with their usb inverter. The flats have turned out very good. I don’t worry about whether or not it remembers the last brightness setting. I just adjust the gain to achieve a proper histogram. Usually 1 sec exposure and around 45 gain works well for me. I hope that helps!

[@carolsantulis1990]

@@marksastrojourney Are you talking about the gain of your camera? Camera gain/ISO should be the same as your Lights for Flats.

[@marksastrojourney]

I'm using a dedicated astro camera. The documentation indicates gain and exposure must be the same between lights and darks. However, it indicates that for flats only the capture area, focus and camera orientation need to remain the same; while gain/exposure can be adjusted to achieve a proper flats histogram. Of course, you may be using a DSO camera or some other equipment I'm unfamiliar with and the requirements are different.

[@carolsantulis1990]

@@marksastrojourney Thanks. I will research this further.