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Hi everybody, I own an epsilon 160ED with a moonlite focuser (yes, I should have baught the LEO). I’m trying to solve my backfcus & tilt issues. I noticed that in addition to having tilt on my cam sensor, I also have tilt on my focuser. (After centering the collimation cross on the secondary mirror mark, when I turn the focuser, the cross circles on the secondary surface, it does not stay fixed on the secondary mark). So I want to go through all the epsilon adjustment steps. I have listed them below and indicated with which method make the adjustment 1. Orthogonality of the saddle with the telescope – method = ?? how to ensure the correct adjustment? 2. Orthogonality of the focuser with the saddle – method = 3 screws in the focuser that press against the saddle. And check the alignement with a laser (multiple iteration of “adjustments / collimation ») 3. Parallelism of the drawtube in the focuser: factory set with the screws on the body of the moonlite – I don’t touch this 4. Orthogonality of the eyepiece plan with the secondary and primary mirrors - method = classic collimation Am I right ? How can I make asily these settings (especially the first one) ? Thanks for your help ! |
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Julien Dufour: You dont need to perfectly mount the focuser, you just need to make sure it is in axial alignment with the secondary. So collimation of the telescope after focuser installation takes care of this. The main problem with not centering the focuser is that it will slightly offset your chip from the axis, which if it is only a tiny bit not a problem. if you are using a very large camera chip, it might be a problem. You will not be able to rotate the focuser on the flange and retain orthogonality. The dovetail rotator is very poor. Dont even bother. Dont bother adjusting tilt with the flange, dont bother rotating the focuser. It's not precisely enough built for this purpose. Certainly not with an Epsilon. This is a significant downside to the moonlite crayford. You need to install it and forget about it. Rotation not an option. Again, you dont need to worry about the drawtube collimation too much, unless its really off. Just collimate the scope to the drawtube axis and it will be ok. |
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Somebody know there is space fir an Falcon rotator on the optec? I mean can be screwed on the focusser because of the external motor? thx |
11.02
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Kaptas Attila: There is a different cap you can get for the motor housing that will allow it to work. Contact Pegasus and they can send you it, or send you the 3D print file for it. |
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Kaptas Attila: |
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Julien Dufour: Hi Chris, Thanks for your answer. I understand that, with my 2600mm, not centering the focuser on the secondary mark (slightly offsets the chip from the axis) is not such a problem. For the focuser rotation, is the problem coming from the epsilon ot from the moonlite saddle ? It would have been the same issue with the LEO ? Ok I can just collimate the scope to the drawtube axis. But if it's off and I don't touch the spider it will generate an offset of the chip ? Is That right ? |
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Julien Dufour: Honestly, I'm not sure how a decentered drawtube would look with the Tak Tools. You might not be able to achieve perfect collimation result, but I'd have to test this and I'm not willing to do this with my system. In theory, if it is perfectly collimated, but the focuser is not centered on the optical axis, it would still produce a flat coma-free field... but I'm just not confident in describing how it would look with the collimation tools. Most likely you will be close enough that if you were off-center at all it would simply result in a slightly tilted drawtube, which is fixed in collimation by adjusting the secondary. See next paragraph though, as any tilt in your drawtube is a problem for rotation. The problem with rotating the entire focuser, is that the flange is not machined precisely enough COMBINED with the fact that the drawtube might be slightly decollimated. Ron uses a laser with an 8 foot projection to the target. To me, this is just not precise enough for collimating. If you have any tilt in the drawtube, and then collimate the scope so that the secondary is aligned with that drawtube (which is part of the process of collimation), if you rotate the entire focuser you have now invalidated collimation. The difference between this and the LEO is that you are not rotating the entire focuser, you are only rotating the upper adapter. So the drawtube orientation remains the same after rotating. Its the relationship between the secondary and the drawtube that is most important here. The LEO does not disturb this when you rotate the upper adapter. I dont know what you mean about touching the spider. Are you suggesting that you would ONLY collimate with primary mirror adjustments? If so, that is not possible. You cannot fully collimate the scope unless you adjust both the primary and secondary which is verified by the tak tools. *** A note on centering the focuser. As long as the flange is perfectly fit to the curvature of the scope, this is automatic. Your focuser is centered. The problem arises, when the flange is NOT perfectly fit to the curve of the scope. I have experienced this before which is why it's worth mentioning. |
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I dont know what you mean about touching the spider. By spider I meant the secondary holder. The difference between this and the LEO is that you are not rotating the entire focuser, you are only rotating the upper adapter. Ok !!! I didn't know about the upper adapter. I definitely shoud have buy the LEO :-/ A note on centering the focuser. As long as the flange is perfectly fit to the curvature of the scope, this is automatic. Ok. If the secondary is well centered by its holder (and it is supposed to be). Conclusion : don't rotate, just collimate |
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My Octopi is out for delivery today! I got 2 of my filters from Astronomik yesterday and the remainder shipped yesterday so I should have them Tuesday (maybe Monday if I'm lucky). I'm still trying to wrap my head around the installation and use of the octopi. I think once I see it and get it in my hands it will be easier for me to visualize how it works. I should have my filter masks printed out this weekend so I'll be able to get my filter wheel and image train set up once the remaining filters show up. A custom adapter from PreciseParts should be here mid September to complete the image train. Optec told me it would probably be the end of September for the LEO to ship so I am getting close to being able to soak up some photons. I plan on getting the image train setup on my 130mm refractor until I can get all the parts in. So I should at least have some test images with the new full frame camera soon (pending clouds - its been cloudy here for 2 weeks now and no end in sight). |
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| Looking forward to seeing your first photons 👍 |
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I have a question on collimation - specifically the cross hairs. They look like nylon (almost like fishing line) to me. My question is if it would make sense to replace that nylon with hair. My daughter has very fine hair that is a bit smaller in diameter (by my visual investigation) than the nylon. Would that help with collimation any having a smaller wire or thread in the collimating tube? Which brings up another question that is related. For whatever reasons, what would you replace that line with in case the stock line breaks? Im not sure if human hair would be strong enough to hold up reliably. Thanks! |
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Daniel Carter: I dont see why you couldnt use a human hair. I'm not sure it would give you much of an advantage over the filament that is included, but there is no harm in trying. The included filament is long enough that you could break it a few times and still get it to span the tube. I wouldnt worry about this. If you lose it or need to replace it, probably a fine fishing line would work. |
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The collimating tool I got was secondhand and doesn't have much leftover slack outside where it is taped. I was trying to get options for breakage. Seems to me that is the standard for astro work...if it's going to break I'll find a way to do it. On a different note, i did concinve my friend that his Epsilon 180 would be happier living with me so I'm the proud owner of the 160 and 180 (which has the 1.5x extension so 770mm at f/4.3). It has the Moonlite focuser which is going to be replaced (previous owner said it was better than stock but marginally better). I ordered the adapters from Optec to mount my Gemini on the 180. This is going to be a secondary project to the 160 but I'll take one for the team to see how the Gemini holds up on the larger 180. Once I satisfy my curiosity I'll have to find a place in the rotation for the 180 (or maybe I need a new small mount...hmm this hobby is a terrible money pit). |
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A few things I have just come to accept and some I have learned:
Stories are what they are. Data tells all. Data: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yjm3g8bh4gv05ur/LDN_1235_LIGHT_L_180s_BIN1_-5C_009_20220831_234703_663_GA_0_OF_40_W.FIT?dl=0 I challenge anyone here to get better.  It's quite the journey...-Bill |
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I am going now to france to replace my LEO really excited! |
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I would avoid any light panels for flats with this beast. You can certainly try, but panels can be particularly problematic especially with fast newts. Sky flats at dawn or dusk will best mimic the behavior of light fall-off... Obviously anything is worth testing, but I would caution against spending hundreds of dollars for a flat panel for this scope. I have been using an Epsilon-180ED for 9 years now, making flats with a Geoptik FlatFieldGenerator dimmed with a white pillow sleeve and 5 cm EPS insulation board. Never had problems acquiring proper flats that way. Cameras used during that period: Canon 5D MKII, SBIG ST-8300M, ZWO ASI1600MM, ZWO ASI294MM, Nikon D810a. What, in general, is of upmost importance is that when using a dew shields you must also take flats with the dew shield attached. I often see astrophotographers removing the shield and mounting the FlatFieldGenerator directly on the tube. end. With flexible dew shields it can be quite hard to avoid the dew shield being moved/skewed under the weight of the FlatFieldGenerator and additional layers for dimming the light. |
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| Sky is free and can be completely automated and works great with the dew shield. |
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| That’s true. A bit more tricky when you are a ‘travelling astronomer’ heading out to a dark site for on evening/night of astrophotography away from home. For sky flats you only get on shot / twilight window to get it right (or two in case of an all-nighter). |
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Maurice Toet: I can see a case where it could be a challenge, but the right time to take the flats can be calculated to a good degree of accuracy. The software I use, does that for me. So if I plan a mobile session, I need to factor in my start time to allow for flats. |
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 i got this sweet things! now just to be installed. it is recommened to using their own power supply or can be used trought powerbox from pegasus ultimatev2 CS Attila |
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Kaptas Attila: I power mine from the Ultimate Powerbox. It uses a 2.5x5.5mm plug though, instead of the usual 2.1x5.5mm one. You can get a cable for that from a Pegasus Dealer. |
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Thank you Bill, i need a Cable. Do you recommened to thinking about Full Frame or if i already have an APSC i shouldnt change? now is an sale by Baader Planetarium i was thinking about taking a second 268 Mono to taking rgb data with wide field. |
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Kaptas Attila: Full-Frame is a beast to get set up on this, if you are hardcore about your stars. It can be done, but takes a lot of work. Some of that work you can shortcut since Chris and I have gone full-on deep dive into this experience together. APSC I think would be a walk in the park in comparison. |
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Bill is absolutely right about the challenge to have a full frame installed onto the banana. While discussing about a few things with Takahashi Europe, they clearly mentioned it, i..e quite a challenge but not impossible as Bill / Chris managed to do it. @ Attila : maybe it wouldn't be bad to start off with your current setup > master the beast > and then upgrade later on ? That's what I intend to do at first. By the way, sweet Leo |
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Most recent frame tonight: |
