I've done mostly observation work in the past using Dobsonians. A couple of months ago I bought a whole new setup to do EAA and Astrophotography. I'm pretty sure I bought decent equipment, considering my budgetary limits, so my questions have to do with the actual use. Here's a list of my equipment followed by a few questions I have. Please don't get too technical, I'm struggling with the learning curve.
Equipment:
Mount – Sky-Watcher EQ6 Ri Pro (WiFi) (doesn't come with hand controller).
Main scope – William Optics ZenithStar 81 with the 0.8x field reducer/flattener.
Guide Scope - William Optics mini50mm
Main camera - QHYCCD 183c Color and Cooled
Guide camera – ZWO ASI 120 mc color
Capture software – SharpCap 4.0.
I have used the mount, main scope, and guide scope for some basic observations and done well. Everything seems to work. My problems have been with tracking and with the cameras.
Questions
1. When you plug your dedicated camera in, does it display something automatically?
If I'm reading correctly, I should be able to plug either camera in and get at least something. For the QHY, what I get is a solid shade with no pattern, usually dark grey when I start. I've read the instructions and simply can't figure out what is going on. I've been using the auto settings, my thought being that I should at least be seeing a fuzzy image, but all I get is a solid color. Even when I pass the light in front of the telescope, I don't see any change in the solid pattern. I've been leaving it on auto, thinking that would give me something to work with, but recently I've also begun fooling with aperture, gain, etc., and so far I've only been able to change the shade or color, but it's still a solid pattern. When I look at the histogram I see the RGB lines displayed, so the camera must be seeing something, but I can't figure out how to actually get at least a fuzzy picture. Focus does nothing.
2. As noted, I am using sharpCap 4.0 for capture and the Synscan software with the Wi-Fi setup for mount control. The issue with the Wi-Fi is that you have to hook up to a dedicated internal network system in the mount. This is fine for basic observations, but when I want to then use the cameras I have to use a second laptop to control the camera. The Sky-Watcher system seems to allow only one hookup, and my Wi-Fi card will not also recognize a second system so that I can go online for the Sharpcap and Stellarium software use. That means that I have to use a laptop for the mount and a second laptop for cameras. Is there a way that one can use a single piece of software for guide control and captures at the same time? I thought about adding the ASIAir, but I was told that it is not compatible with the QHY camera.
3. On a related note, I bought the ASI 120 for use as a guide camera, and I can get it to show me a picture using the included fisheye lens. But when I put it in the telescope I get a usually dark blue screen with lots of colored dots. These are not stars because they don't move when the telescope moves. I'm guessing it might be something with the software and my ignorance (it is a steep learning curve for me), so I'd appreciate any help with that as well.
Thanks in advance for any help, especially from folks who use either of the same cameras I have.
Equipment:
Mount – Sky-Watcher EQ6 Ri Pro (WiFi) (doesn't come with hand controller).
Main scope – William Optics ZenithStar 81 with the 0.8x field reducer/flattener.
Guide Scope - William Optics mini50mm
Main camera - QHYCCD 183c Color and Cooled
Guide camera – ZWO ASI 120 mc color
Capture software – SharpCap 4.0.
I have used the mount, main scope, and guide scope for some basic observations and done well. Everything seems to work. My problems have been with tracking and with the cameras.
Questions
1. When you plug your dedicated camera in, does it display something automatically?
If I'm reading correctly, I should be able to plug either camera in and get at least something. For the QHY, what I get is a solid shade with no pattern, usually dark grey when I start. I've read the instructions and simply can't figure out what is going on. I've been using the auto settings, my thought being that I should at least be seeing a fuzzy image, but all I get is a solid color. Even when I pass the light in front of the telescope, I don't see any change in the solid pattern. I've been leaving it on auto, thinking that would give me something to work with, but recently I've also begun fooling with aperture, gain, etc., and so far I've only been able to change the shade or color, but it's still a solid pattern. When I look at the histogram I see the RGB lines displayed, so the camera must be seeing something, but I can't figure out how to actually get at least a fuzzy picture. Focus does nothing.
2. As noted, I am using sharpCap 4.0 for capture and the Synscan software with the Wi-Fi setup for mount control. The issue with the Wi-Fi is that you have to hook up to a dedicated internal network system in the mount. This is fine for basic observations, but when I want to then use the cameras I have to use a second laptop to control the camera. The Sky-Watcher system seems to allow only one hookup, and my Wi-Fi card will not also recognize a second system so that I can go online for the Sharpcap and Stellarium software use. That means that I have to use a laptop for the mount and a second laptop for cameras. Is there a way that one can use a single piece of software for guide control and captures at the same time? I thought about adding the ASIAir, but I was told that it is not compatible with the QHY camera.
3. On a related note, I bought the ASI 120 for use as a guide camera, and I can get it to show me a picture using the included fisheye lens. But when I put it in the telescope I get a usually dark blue screen with lots of colored dots. These are not stars because they don't move when the telescope moves. I'm guessing it might be something with the software and my ignorance (it is a steep learning curve for me), so I'd appreciate any help with that as well.
Thanks in advance for any help, especially from folks who use either of the same cameras I have.