Have new Astrodon filters to replace my Baaders. The Baaders were installed with an O-ring. The Astrodon’s look thicker. Is there a different procedure? I have SBIG 8300M.
It depends on how thick they are. According to the filter wheel manual, if the filters are over 3 mm thick you do not use the O-rings. http://diffractionlimited.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/stt_filterwheel_manual_080812.pdf
Doug, I have my filters in and the images look dirty. I have to tear the system apart again. Apparently these very expensive filters ship dirty! https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/595646-astrodon-filters/?hl=+astrodon +dirty My friends also say that I could get dust on the glass covering the actual sensor when i mess aground with the filter wheel etc.... Is there an approve procedure for cleaning that? I believe you have to open the shutter to see it? Thanks, JY
It helps to keep the shutter closed while you tinker. After cleaning the filters you should probably give the window a blast of compressed air. You can manually rotate the filter if the power is off.
Doug, When I installed the new filters I thought the shutter was closed, but of course I did not look. Is it normally closed? How do you open and close it when the power is off? Assuming there is dust on the glass covering the chip, do I have to take the FW8 off to properly clean it? Thanks, JY
With the power off, it may be possible to move the shutter by giving the whole camera a flick in the direction of shutter motion. It is also possible to move it by GENTLY pushing it with a fingertip. Do not push down on it. Usually compressed air will remove loose dust. It may require alcohol and lens paper if it’s more than that.
Jerry, You don't even have to take off the filter wheel if one filter slot is open. Call me. 805 308-6979
Will call later Bill. Think we are OK. The LRGB filters were filthy. I could not clean them with 90% isopropyl alcohol and had to use a Zeiss product that I have for my SLR lens.
Crud was so bad 91% isopropyl alcohol did not take it off. Working fine now. It is Spring in February here... no rain for a month and lawn is dry.
Bill, I think I am going to have to go after that dust on the chip cover. See the attached. At one point I thought we could flat it out but it seems to move. These were all taken at different times... the L before the cleaning. I think you said it should be in the upper right?
Hopefully final message. Opened again, turned upside with shutter open and spec seems to have fallen out.
I'd like to add that I switched from the Baader filters to Astrodons and I had encountered an issue where the Astrodons rattle to beat hell to the point of embarrassment lol, I found these watch o-rings and my issue is solved. They are .7mm and do the job nicely. Trying to squash the stock o-rings was causing my filters to to sit not level and the filter wheel carousel cover seemed to warp a bit, I set the stock o-rings in first then the Astrodons were set on top then the filter wheel carousel cover was screwed on. This is a much better approach with the .7mm watch o-rings. I ordered the 36mm ones. I am no longer getting laughed at because my filter wheel doesn't sound like it is busted anymore. Cheers! link is here.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/222828021938?ViewItem=&item=222828021938 P.S. You guys STILL haven't fixed the guiding issues in MaximDL? even in 16.6? Glad I went to TSX....
Not so. People for the most part seem to be very happy with the guider performance in Version 6.16. Except for the usual finger trouble and getting settings right, of course.
I’ll second Doug’s assertion. Virtually all of our ACP customers (all of whom use MaxIm by definition) who had guiding problems are beyond their guiding problems now. There are a few who routinely operate in marginal conditions and have guiding lossage but that’s not a fundamental MaxIm problem. There are some remaining AO problems though.
Guys, have not followed up on this for a while as have been busy with my day job, just a couple of recent points: 1. There were some mechanical problems with my Mach1 that seem to be resolved now. This never helps. 2. Single star now has been getting me good eccentricities 0f 0.5 to 0.4 with settings of 0.03 on minimal change and 0.4 on agressivity... I have moved the 0.4 to 0.6. 3. #2 pretty much lets the mount do its thing with minimal corrections. The offsets get pretty large but I see the scintillations of the stars as always. With an effective FL of 1400 in an urban area I think this will always be a problem. 4. Last night I tried to institute the multi-star guiding, which I had working a month or so ago and it failed. Even after recalibration. I went back to single star. Hope I am using the latest version of Maxim. With the Full Moon I have time to experiment. 5. On the filters, the Astrodons definitely need the O-ring UNDER the filter and then they are pressed tightly up to the retainer of the FW8. This should NOT be over tightened. Just gradually snugged with the 8 screws. 6. With all the filter cleaning I got a speck of dust on the CCD protection cover/clear plastic. This Bill helped me get out... turned CCD upside down and shook with shutter open. Any comments appreciated.