Category Archives: Astro Equipment

QHY5 support in oacapture

Posted on August 13, 2014 by james

Support for the QHY cameras is somewhat tricky.  There are all sorts of different versions of firmware floating about, not to mention various different versions of the open source interface library.  Even more awkwardly, whilst many other manufacturers have perhaps … Continue reading →

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Linux support for Imaging Source USB CCD astronomy cameras

Posted on November 13, 2013 by james

I’ve been on something of a mystery tour over the last few days trying to work out exactly what is required to get the Imaging Source USB CCD astronomy cameras working on Linux. What information I’ve been able to find … Continue reading →

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Colour histogram and reticle for Linux capture app

Posted on October 18, 2013 by james

Progress, progress… Here’s my reticle and the colour version of the histogram. I may add some options for changing the style of the reticle and splitting the histogram into three, but those are for later. I also killed a few … Continue reading →

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Mono histogram for capture application

Posted on October 17, 2013 by james

I have the histogram working for mono cameras now. Colour is more work, but that will follow shortly. It doesn’t look too exciting mind.

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Guiding for Boys

Posted on October 15, 2013 by james

And girls, and indeed astroimagers of any other persuasion. I’ve finally assembled all the bits I need to start guided imaging. Whilst I have an ST80 that I plan to use eventually, for the moment I have a Skywatcher 50mm … Continue reading →

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Collimation cap for 127 Mak

Posted on October 15, 2013 by james

I was asked about my collimation cap recently, having referred to it a couple of times. It’s really very basic, but I just happened to find that it fitted over the rear thread of the baffle tube on my Mak … Continue reading →

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Retiring the EQ3-2

Posted on October 15, 2013 by james

Having come to the conclusion that the EQ3-2 just wasn’t up to the demands I was making of it, I’ve finally bitten the bullet and bought a HEQ5 Pro. I’m hopeful this will allow me to make more progress with … Continue reading →

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Modded PST fitted to a dovetail

Posted on October 15, 2013 by james

Someone suggested to me that Munsen rings might be a good way to fix my PST to a dovetail. As they looked far more straightforward than having to turn some fittings from solid aluminium I thought I’d give them a … Continue reading →

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Coronado PST “Stage 0.5” mod

Posted on October 15, 2013 by james

A short while ago I purchased a slightly damaged PST for solar Ha viewing. Not wishing to stump up the price of a Tal 100RS just yet, but wanting to make life somewhat easier for imaging and not being entirely … Continue reading →

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My first piece of astronomy-related lathework

Posted on May 20, 2013 by james

I’ve been wanting to tinker with Mire de Collimation to collimate my dob, but I didn’t have any handy way to fit a webcam into the eyepiece holder without removing the lens. So I found a lump of waste (and … Continue reading →

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