ESSENTIAL Astrophotography Accessories! They can help us get BETTER images with LESS frustration!
Vložit
- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
- Support me on Patreon!: / cuivlazygeek
00:00 Introduction
01:24 Flat Field Generator
Drawing tool: amzn.to/40g4qG0
Artesky Flat Field Generator: Not it stock!
Pegasus Flat Field (in stock): bit.ly/3pVfcnW and bit.ly/3ob5xsC
04:34 Mini-PC
amzn.to/3LQTgTJ
amzn.to/3K6x2vy
05:06 Spacers
Example: bit.ly/42L46QF
08:08 Tilt Adapter
Example: bit.ly/3odsxr2
09:05 Adapter binding
Grip gloves: amzn.to/3TK4vix
Strap Wrenches: amzn.to/3z6d9P5
11:46 Calipers
My (cheap) Calipers: amzn.to/40iIJVU
12:24 Power delivery
DC splitters: amzn.to/3K6cAeh
DC extension cables: amzn.to/42CqtrZ
Power adapter: amzn.to/40CbegG
Pegasus Powerbox: bit.ly/41QyO9T
Battery I use: amzn.to/3JJvmH1
Celestron PowerTank: bit.ly/3pTxea4
Jackery battery: amzn.to/42Fy6Oj
Ecoflow battery: amzn.to/3lLByGr
15:50 Dew prevention
Celestron dew shield: amzn.to/40fdStf
Celestron dew heater ring: amzn.to/42yyCxH or bit.ly/42IrFts
Celestron dew heater controller: amzn.to/3JHrruw or bit.ly/43aBrEH or bit.ly/41NhZN5
Simple SVBony dew heater: amzn.to/3JGPR7j
Simple lens dew heater: amzn.to/3FOBgpf
My own dew heater band doesn't seem to be produced anymore!
18:22 Mounting equipment
Velcro strap sample: amzn.to/40E4Eql
18:56 Cable management
www.etsy.com/shop/SmartCompon...
21:18 PC and software
Lower-end example that should still do the job: amzn.to/3z6lUZt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agena Astro has the AM5 in stock! bit.ly/3BAS8x5
NEW Agena Astro Affiliate Link: bit.ly/3Om0hNG
General OPT Affiliate Link: bit.ly/2OIw6jH
General High Point Scientific affiliate link: bit.ly/3lReu8R
General All-Star Telescope: bit.ly/3SCgVbV
Dwarf 2 Smart Telescope: bit.ly/3SyChXu
General Amazon Link:
amzn.to/3hTB5Ne
Follow me!
My Instagram: / cuivlazygeek
My Facebook page: / cuivlazygeek
Order of the Lazy Geeks slogan: Christopher T
Merch Design: Radu Chelariu - Věda a technologie
What do YOU use as accessories/peripherals to the hobby??
Support me on Patreon!: www.patreon.com/cuivlazygeek
For cable management, I bought a bunch of types of usb right angle adapters, as well as some (short) cables with right angle connectors. It makes everything a lot easier to connect. It also greatly reduces the risk of bending cables in such a way they may break inside.
True, right angle adapters make a big difference!
I think head lamps are also very useful.
Having both hands free at all times and being able to see is much better than fumbling around in the dark.
Bonus points if the lamp has red only mode, so you can still enjoy visual astronomy after you are done with the imaging rig.
Very good point! My Garmin watch has a LED I can set to red, and I use that all the time, it's quite nice :)
The Bathinov mask is acessory no1 for me. Also some green glow in the dark bands on my tripod legs to avoid kicking them at night.
Excellent suggestions! I "graduated" from Bahtinov masks thanks to autofocus, but for many it's critical! And in my light polluted conditions, tripod visibility is never a problem :p
Another way to separate tight spacers is blue painters tape!
If you have two smaller spacers that are bound tight (like a 5mm spacer), *lightly* thread on larger spacers on each end. Then join the larger and smaller spacers with 1" blue painters tape wrapped around a couple of times. The adhesive in the tape is very good at transferring shear loads, so it can transfer the forces from the larger spacers. Once broken loose, just remove the tape, and it should be easy to unthread the larger spacers from the smaller ones (if you lightly threaded them on in the first step).
You can do that while waiting for the strap wrenches to get delivered...
Brilliant idea!
Electrical tape also works great and doesn't leave much mess behind😊
Oh wow that is genius!!!!
When even rubber-strap wrenches don't succeed anymore, I use a butane-powered soldering iron in open flame mode. Heating up the part with the female thread to a moderate temperature works well.
Oh wow!! Now that is extreme!!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Not really, I doubt that the temperature of the parts exceeds 100 °C. Fast heating is necessary, not high temperature.
Great video Cuiv. Wish I’d have seen it 20 years ago lol. For those looking for a wider selection of mini-PC’s not requiring 12V a 12V to 19V buck converter is a must.
To prevent binding of spacers one can use an anti-seize compound (from auto supplier).
Oooh nice! Do you ever get issues with adapters rotating a bit because they're not binding?
Ellumiglow makes flat panel kits for do it yourselfers. I built one with foam board and it works great.
These look awesome, great find!
Great video. It usually takes a long time to discover all those accessories, having a video to list them all and how to use them can be a great time saver for beginners. Hint: Try putting magnets in the hole for the cable management thingies. Then you can just place them on the OTA.
Thanks Claudio! Oh and this is an excellent idea on the magnets, small neodymium magnets should do the trick!
Fantastic list, Cuiv. I use and love those 3-D printed cable management tools. Best invention ever. I also use many of the tools you mention. The only item I would add is some type of cable wrap for those cables that must hang down either to reach a power supply or a separate computer. I use a plastic cable wrap with a split in the middle and you simply push your cables inside to gang them together. Using the cable wrap minimizes the cable snagging potential for me.
Oh that's a great idea!! Let me buy a cable wrap on Amazon!
Great list Cuiv! The strap wrenches are SO helpful! And I do like your cable management clips - very smart!
My latest "I should have bought this year's ago" bit of kit is a QHY Polemaster.
Ahhh... the 'black hole' of astronomy... accessories! Once you fall in you'll never escape!
Indeed! At least a lot of these are on the cheaper end!
Hey Cuiv! My favorite accessories are the Celestron dew heater ring (replaces your corrector plate ring), aluminum dew shield, Lenspen brand FilterKleer ,and the Giottos Rocket Air Blaster. Thanks for the video!
Great video. I like the strap wrench. Great idea
Try rubbing candle or beeswax on the the adapter threads, helps with binding
Good idea l!
Cuiv, This is a wonderful video. It’s the little things in this hobby that can become big issues when they trip us up. Love your cable management suggestions…I’m a cable “dangler,” but after watching your video and seeing your setup, I’m determined to dangle no more 😊
Hahaha enjoy cleaning up your cables!
Hi Cuiv, here are some extra things you should have always with you. Some fuses for your power equipment. Some or all of our equipment have some fuses, so you should have some replacements in order one fuse blows up. If you do not have any fuses in your equipment you should put some in your main power line or build/buy a small fuse box. Fuse have saved my equipment many times. A voltmeter also comes in handy on the field to check voltages
A small bubble level and a compass, even though we have our phones it is good to have a backup.
For stuck adaptors have a can of WD40. If any of your adaptors gets stuck a few drops of it will do the trick, pay super duper extra mega caution when applying it on a stuck adaptor on your camera, use a pipette and apply a few drops on the outside of your adaptor.
Thanks Kostas!! Good points there - are there really times when the voltage output by portable batteries could fry the equipment??
I did try WD40 on stuck adapters, but couldn't get it to work - I have some for my bicycle though :p
a small spirit level to level the tripod 👌
Good point!
Excellent don't forget head torch
Favorite accessory is the eye patch for visual, really reduces eye strain associated with looking down an eyepiece for extended durations.
For Astro a raspberry pi controller and a flat field generator are luxuries I don't intend to forgo for a long time.
Cuiv, great video once again. +1 on the rubber strap wrenches, you can quickly lose the will to live trying to undo stuck adapters, these make the process so much easier👍
For sure! I felt like such an idiot when I first discovered they existed!
Great content, love your videos, thanks for sharing and hello from western Canada
Thanks Woody! Western Canada, did you enjoy the auroras??
Thanks Cuiv. I'm currently building my astro rig. Very helpful info.
Glad to help!!
Hi Cuiv,
Great idea for a video I really liked these sleek 3D printed cable management adapters!!
I use small self adhesive belcro straps, which are fine but take time to do / undo if you have to.
A few things I would add:
a GOOD set of Allen keys, a good set of mini screw drivers and Sensor cleaning sticks
Thanks
This was great information. Thanks for sharing👍
Glad it's useful!
love my digital calipers. and I learned the VERY hard way about spacer binding.
Spacer and adapter binding truly is a horrible, horrible thing!!
Dude's etsy just blew up!
If you want to talk about cheap ways to do image processing, I just bought an ex-lease HP Workstation PC for $440 AUD. I paid a further $200 to add an nVidia GTX 1080 Ti to it.
The specs of this $640 AUD processing machine are as follows:
2x Intel Xeon 2699A v4 CPU's (each with 22 cores, 44 threads - so system total 44 cores, 88 threads) @ 2.4Ghz
128GB DDR 4 Memory
nVidia GTX 1080 8gb (2560 cuda cores for RC Astro / Starnett / Pixinsight)
2x 1Tb NVMe drives (I had these lying around at home from an old build)
1x 512GB Sata SSD
1x 4TB HDD
It lives under my desk, and I use remote desktop to access it in the same way that I use remote desktop to run my imaging rig
When my imaging PC (Mele Quieter 3) saves an image during a run, that image is automatically transferred to my NAS, so when I'm ready to process the images, I can just pull the files from the NAS into the nvme drives, fire up pixinsight in an RD session, and have ALL that power available.
I can also run live stacking as the images come into the NAS, so I can watch the image develop from inside as the night goes on :)
Its completely unnecessary at the moment as I'm using an 8mp mono camera, so even with hundreds of subs and 2x drizzling, the resulting file sizes are not very big at all, but I'm looking to get a 2600MC Duo in a few months, which will significantly increase the requirement for both memory and cpu power... I figured I may as well be ready for the 80mp resulting images from a 2x drizzled 26mp camera ahead of time!
I like to bolt everything down in my rig so I really like camera cheese plates that are full of 1/4" and 3/8" holes. Makes finding good placement points easy when you have a cheese plate bolted to your dovetail and another bolted to your telescope. And they just look nice and professional and that's important too 😅
I live at the arctic circle so it can get pretty cold at times and I use a portable battery (ecoflow river pro) with my rig. I don't like to freeze my battery too much so I have a styrofoam cooler box for it and I place a few bottles of warm water in there as well to keep everything nice and warm when it's like -30°C outside.
I also use a camera super clamp with double ball head flexible arm and some 100gr of 200gr 1/4" weights to balance my rig in the 3rd axis. Makes it really easy to find the perfect balance.
Your DC power splitter will work just fine as long as you don't exceed the current carrying capability of the splitter. I doubt the total amps needed by your gear will exceed 6 to 7 continuous amps at any one time. The longest demand time will be cooling the camera and that is only about 3 amps. The PC, focuser, etc are intermittent users of power. If you have a dew heater that can use some amps so it is a good idea to understand your current budget for all the devices so you can stay within the current handling capability of the splitter. Power use is generally intermittent for each device, it would be rare for all of them to need current at the same time. Great video, very useful info. Much appreciated.
That is awesome to hear Rick, thank you so much for this! So the way I'm doing things (dew heater on a separate battery) should work fine!
Cuiv, Baader makes a “Heavy Duty T2 Quick Change” adaptor for T-threaded image train. Also serves as a manual rotation point. They have been a life saver for me
Great video again, thanks Cuiv! I have an autofocusser and power distribution unit from from DeepSkyDad in Slovenia which are great though need to be bought locally as import VAT makes them expensive. I have a super good value great little dew heater controller from 4Tronix in the Uk. Most controllers are silly expensive but this is great, as is their secondary mirror dew heater which has changed my life :) Next purchase likely to be an Aurora Flatfield panel which looks great/great value but would love to hear peoples opinions. My iPolar is also a game changer for me as my bad knees don't allow me to use a polar scope. I think the only thing I'm missing is a clear sky. Its been months :(
You're getting set up really well there, well done :)
I learn so much from you!!!
Glad to be a good source of info :)
I really like the renology battery. I was able to power my 294mc pro, took about 5 hours of dark frames at -10°C (ambient of 65°F) and it only hit 50% battery usage. I'll be using this on light trips with a star adventurer
It's a really decent battery for sure! And not outrageously expensive
One of the things that kills me here on CZcams is the Astrophotographer channels who have zero ideas about cable management. I once had the USB mount control cable pull out during a meridian flip, shutting everything down. Not again.
I used to be one of those :) Much better now!
Another useful video Cuiv. Thanks! You mention the MeLe Quieter2 running from 12 volts. Since it uses a non-standard USB c power connection, can you link the cable you are using? Also, an idea for a future video might be what sources you use for determining potential targets. I have Sky Tools Imaging and it's loaded with information but is a bit overwhelming. Thanks again for the great content!
Thanks!
Thank you for your support!!
This is the most useful CZcams comment section I’ve seen in a long time…
Honestly I think the comment sections on astro videos tend to be always very useful - so many experienced people leaving awesome advice and nuggets of wisdom!
This one is very specific but if you have the ASIAIR and a backyard observatory, get a range extender that has a LAN cable port. Connect the range extender to your WiFi and connect the extender to your ASIAIR with the LAN cable. Connectivity issues gone.
Ooooh that is a great idea, especially for the older ASIAIR models that had issues with range!
Another great video, having all the suggestions is really helpful. One thing that I'm curious about though. Does having everything surrounding the computer affect its heat dissipation?
One thing you could look at our adjustable field flatters starfield makes them for their scopes they are Amazing. 25mm of adjustability down to the 1/10th of a mm
That does look very interesting!
You didn't mention a good collimation kit like Catseye or Farpoint collimation kits. This is especially important when using long focal length reflectors. I have a Farpoint auto collimator that I use with a homemade sight tube with cross hairs. This is not as good as having the complete set of Catseye collimation tools with either the hot spot radiation symbol center spot, or the triangle center spot but if I go through the collimation procedures posted by Mike Hotka I can get it damn close to perfect collimation. Great collimation is a game changer for long focal length reflectors, which many people use because they're more affordable than apo refractors, and reflectors beat most refractors for light gathering capability and zero chromatic aberration. You will need a great coma corrector though. I recommend Televue Paracor Type 2 coma corrector. That is what I use on the 10" f/3.9 Orion astrograph and I wouldn't trade it for any three coma correctors.
Buy extra batteries for the calipers. And for your collimating laser if you use one.
Try a small amount of vaseline on the extension tube thread - I have two extension tubes looking like yours - marks after the wrong tool used, tried vaseline and it works 🙂
I made an aluminum plate for my Mele Quieter 3q, it gets pretty hot, so any cable ties or velcro band (I use both) will have an effect on the cooling of the mini pc.
Last, I've made a DIY cover with flat panel, controlled by NINA. The last thing NINA does in the morning is, close the cover, adjust the lightpanel to match 32.000ADU @ 2,5sec, 20 frames, done - that's easy!
Glad vseline does the trick! And interesting on the Quieter 3q, does the CPU run hotter than the older J4125 in my older one?
Awesome with the DIY flat panel cover!!
I actually don’t know if it does get hotter on the surface @@CuivTheLazyGeek, I might heard about it when I watched some YT videos, but can’t remember.
You can actually make a controller for your flat panel (a Seeeduino XIAO, one resistor and a mosfet), then let NINA control the brightness.
Hey,
concerning spacers: What do you think of adjustable field flattners? As far as I understand using those you only need to adjust the rough backfocus distance with spacers and the finer steps you do with the variable distance available.
Great video, Cuiv.
Quick question? Do your mini PC get hot with the wires on it like that, as its a fanless pc? Curious because I just recently purchased the quieter 3 and thought about doing something similar with cable management, but I wasn't sure if I should or not.
I use the old pegasus power box and it is great but pegasus never was cheap. Currently I am trying a Deep Sky Dad DC Hub (there seems to be a new version coming soon).
Having a 3D printer available makes a huge difference. Especially since there are a lot of free 3D models for astronomy available.
I hope the Deep Sky Dad works well!
3D printing is absolutely amazing! I've just printed a new hood for my Hyperstar setup based on the amazing design from one of my subscribers!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Unfortunately my Ender 3 currently isn’t working, I‘ve got a couple of things prepared.
The DC hub looks great but I haven’t had many chances to try it. I was also working on a camera rotator but since I don’t use a windows mini pc but an Astroberry I got stuck. Deep Sky Dad also has some nice solutions for this and is supported on Astroberry as well. Maybe I should try more of his stuff.
Deep cycle marine batteries work well for me.
Hello Cuiv, I was hoping to know how do you power your meele quieter2 with the spliter. I also have a quieter2, but I'm stil using the original 12v adapter because could not find a way around it. Could tell me exactly what do you use from the 12v splitter cable to the usbc in the mini-pc? All the " from round pin female to usbc male" i could find are 5V only😞
Tnx in advance
Hi Cuiv. Could I suggest a tangential tilt corrector by Gerd Neumann ? The access of settings is more easy especialy with big fat equipment.
Thank you for advices and video.
Oh wow those things look beautiful! They wouldn't fit in my Hyperstar imaging setup, but they make me want to buy them anyway :)
Thank you, please make one for the software tools
Thank you, will look into it!!
Very nice tips. I like the cable stowage solutions. Are they available in the UK
I believe he ships worldwide!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek thank you 😊
Quick question: for my WO FLT91 refractor I have paired a ZWO ASI2600MC Pro and a ZWO 36mm filter wheel. The wheel adds 1mm of back focus more than the 55mm recommended without the wheel. This is intended, due to the fact that light is passing through an additional bit of glass in the filters.
My question: I’m shooting through an empty slot in the wheel when I want broadband - I don’t own a luminance filter. I think this means I have 1mm too much distance. Do you agree? How will that affect performance, and is there any hack for managing that?
Thanks!
Final newbie question: i’m pretty impressed with Siril, and especially the generalized hyperbolic stretch tool. I was wondering if pixinsight also has that method, which allows for a symmetry point?
Yes, it does. I used to use Siril too, but I think Pixinsight is far better
I didn't think the ASIairs liked powering mounts, and I think ZWO say they shouldn't. Powerboxes are designed for handling the bigger currents required for slewing and powering a whole rig which might draw 5 amps or more.
Another quick question from a newbie: is it possible to have a dew heater be too hot and adversely affect Imaging? I’ve been using ASIAIR and just putting maximum output power to the dew heater strap.
Hey Cuiv! Any issues with excessive heat having stuff mounted on the top of your mini PC?
Up to now, no problem, there's still enough ventilation - the miniPC seems surprisingly resilient despite not having a fan!
What scope is that please? Is it a c8?
Cuiv, do you put anything between your flat panel and the opening to your scope? I have used an app on my tablet and two pieces of t-shirt material to take flats. I was recently told by another well known imager that I would be better off using a piece of paper. My last imaging session I took three sets of flats, one like I had been doing with the t-shirts, one with the piece of paper and one with the bare tablet screen.
I don't put anything in between - maybe some flat panels do benefit from some diffusing paper?
I have the RisingCam 2600MC . what size cable management are you using that fits so well? Is it the 78mm or the 86mm?
Neither! I got a custom one - try reaching out to the seller and tell them you'd be interested :-)
@CuivTheLazyGeek I have been meaning to ask you... Why do you mount your PC and all that wiring on the scope?
I know it doesn't matter much on that ZWO mount, but on other mounts that need counter balance I have seen you do this also. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep the weight off the scope side? I run a USB3 extension to my scope with a USB3 hub (and a power lead to the camera) on the tube and short USB cables to Camera, Focus and guider, etc. The internet (not you specifically) had me thinking that keeping the payload weight down was super critical.
But I see you with a lot of equipment out there on the payload end, and I wonder if there is something you know that I do not.
Thanks.
It would make sense indeed! And on my R200SS I often kept the computer on the bottom of the OTA for that reason. I keep it on the telescope because I then have fewer cables between OTA and mount when I need to separate them!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Since I run it all to a USB hub on the OTA, I only have the one USB 3 to disconnect (and the power to the camera)... So 2 wires to disconnect.
Cables cables cables
Powered USB hub if your computer is not on the scope so your computer doesn't shut cameras down due to power issues.
Electrical tape to tie my cables, Power extension cables
That works great too :)
I just point the scope at blue sky for flats. Am I making things too simple? 🤔
If it works for you, perfect! For me it never worked well :D
hi, am5 is perfect for you?
For now it's working well!
Great video, but.....where is the list of items discussed????
In the description!
I'd be curious to know how astrophotographers keep and organize all of this stuff. Is there a perfect "go bag" or organizing system out there to keep these pieces from spreading into, say, the living room? 😆
I use camping gear bags from Decathlon. They are insulated - padded for the stuff you don't want to break and for cables I use the hygiene bag for toothbrush that has netting to see through and many departments. Camera bags are way too expensive. Camping bags come in all different sizes and are usually cheaper.
That is a good point! My equipment is on shelves next to the door to my rooftop, but when moving all my equipment is already put together so I don't need to worry about pieces of stuff in the living room :D
Awesome tip, Lubo!
Cuiv, what do you think about the alnitak flip-flat? seems like a very lazy device.
I would love one!!! But they are so expensive!!!
These mini PC's would be perfect if they had 6+ USB ports.
You can attach an external usb-hub?
True - although I think with the camera USB hub for focuser and filter wheel, 4 ports is usually enough?
@@CuivTheLazyGeek I use a laptop with 2 usb-ports and an external hub with 4 ports, only 3 of them are occupied by the camera, a Pegasus power box and a focus motor. The reason you would want to have a laptop with at least 2 usb ports, is that you can assign your mount to one port and the external usb port to the other. Using a laptop is a bit oldskool but it works great for me.
What? No mention of beer?
Just don’t forget Dylan O’Donnell’s rule - no drinking until you’re fully set up and shooting!😄
Is it really an accessory, or a critical requirement?
Dude, just buy a Mitutoyo caliber. You live in Japan right. That plastic (and noo, it's not some carbon polymer super light or other shit) cheap pieces of junk is emberassing.
Oooh but that's a high quality instrument that would be wasted on a bum like me (seriously)! That cheap plastic thing was super cheap, super plastic, but I've verified the accuracy!