Amateur Astronomy: Observatory Rehab

I have donated my Takahashi TOA-150, my Astro-Physics 1200GTO CP4, and
my SBIG STL1100M camera
http://www.primordial-light.com/observatory.html#twoscopes to my
club, The Howard Astro League https://www.howardastro.org.

Keeping, I am, my Takahashi FSQ-106ED. I've just put it on a new Bisque
Paramount MYT and I have a newish Starlight Xpress Trius SX-36
monochrome camera with a Maxi Filter Wheel with an SX Lodestar guide
camera on the OAG. Photo at https://www.flickr.com/photos/primeval ‹
though the camera is not yet installed for lack of one lousy adapter,
which arrived late this afternoon.

I did a rough polar alignment using a technique described by my friend
Richard Wright at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9pLz1bzV_A. That
was good enough for goto targets to be well inside the field of a 15mm
eyepiece.

Software Bisque's TheSkyX Professional, running on a MacBook Pro,
controls everything. After I've familiarized myself with the new setup
I'll give my Raspberry Pi, also running TSX Pro, a try. My iPad Pro
running Bisque's TheSky HD can also control the equipment.

There is a punch list to be addressed, mainly concerned with wire dress.

The A-P 1200GTO CP4/Takahashi combination was really superb, *except*
for the fact that it didn't leave much room for me under my tiny
2-meter Observa-Dome. It will be much more comfortable under Howard
Astro's 15-foot dome!

It is my hope that doing narrowband photography with a faster 'scope
will save astrophotography for me under worsening Mid-Atlantic skies.
The FSQ is a 530mm Ÿ5 'scope, 387mm Ÿ3.7 with a Reducer QE. ]

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm