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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
On Sat, Dec 7, 2019 at 10:53 AM, rene schoffelke wrote:
Here is a link to the datasheet for the FTDI FT232R chip that is used in the iEXOS 100. This datasheet has reference schematics for the connector pinout and how it is connected to the chip. https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/DataSheets/ICs/DS_FT232R.pdf The schematic for our PMC-Eight systems is proprietary and confidential information and is not generally shared with our customers or vendors. I am happy to answer any reasonable question about the design of the hardware without divulging certain design details. We do not at this time consider the electronics in the iEXOS 100 mount as user serviceable. The PMC-Eight system delivered with the G11 and EXOS 2 mounts does have a replaceable Microchip RN-131G module daughter board that can be replaced by our customers that feel competent to do that, but that is all we have currently that is user serviceable. -- Jerry Hubbell Vice President of Engineering Explore Scientific, LLC. jrh at explorescientific.com www.explorescientificusa.com 1010 S. 48th Street Springdale, AR 72762 1-866-252-3811 Author: Scientific Astrophotography: How Amateurs Can Generate and Use Professional Imaging Data Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers: Using High-Powered Telescopes From Home Mark Slade Remote Observatory (MSRO) IAU MPC W54 Equipment Wilderness, VA Mounts: ES PMC-Eight G11 + Telescope Drive Master (TDM) Scopes: ES 165 FPL-53 ED APO CF, ES 102 FCD100 ED APO CF Cameras: QHY174M-GPS + FW, QHY163C Misc: 3-inch 0.7x Focal Reducer Field Flattener, Filters: Luminance, Red, V-band Photometric, Diffuser, 200 lpmm Spectral Grating Software: MaxIm DL 6, Cartes du Ciel, Astrometrica, AstroImageJ, AutoStakkert!
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
On Sat, Dec 7, 2019 at 02:21 PM, rene schoffelke wrote:
I don't know how much Bresser Germany would give you for your damaged mount in exchange for a new one. We have not had to replace or repair any of the iEXOS 100 mount electronics thus far after selling several hundred mounts. I do know their policy on selling refurbished mount systems or even if they would take it for exchange. You can contact our headquarters here in the US and talk with Kent to see if we would provide that service. Please call our customer service at +1 (866) 252-3811 or email at service@... Jerry Hubbell Vice President of Engineering Explore Scientific, LLC. jrh at explorescientific.com www.explorescientificusa.com 1010 S. 48th Street Springdale, AR 72762 1-866-252-3811 Author: Scientific Astrophotography: How Amateurs Can Generate and Use Professional Imaging Data Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers: Using High-Powered Telescopes From Home Mark Slade Remote Observatory (MSRO) IAU MPC W54 Equipment Wilderness, VA Mounts: ES PMC-Eight G11 + Telescope Drive Master (TDM) Scopes: ES 165 FPL-53 ED APO CF, ES 102 FCD100 ED APO CF Cameras: QHY174M-GPS + FW, QHY163C Misc: 3-inch 0.7x Focal Reducer Field Flattener, Filters: Luminance, Red, V-band Photometric, Diffuser, 200 lpmm Spectral Grating Software: MaxIm DL 6, Cartes du Ciel, Astrometrica, AstroImageJ, AutoStakkert!
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
rene schoffelke
sooo ... board is broken ... red led does not shine anymore
how expensive is a new board ?????
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: rene schoffelke via Groups.Io
Hi
is there a circuit diagram of the mini usb connection?
then I can solder a cable to other solder points.
the area of the mini usb so yes, so not the whole board.
rene
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Kent Marts Explore Scientific Customer Service
That’s a question for Jerry.
Post it on the forum.
I found your Facebook profile
I’ve emailed Bresser, which is in Germany, to see if they can repair it.
Kent
From: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io <MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io> On Behalf Of rene schoffelke via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, December 6, 2019 3:25 PM To: MAIN@espmc-eight.groups.io Subject: Re: [ESPMC-Eight] #iexos-100-mini usb
how expensive and where can I get a new board?
the mini usb port has been torn off the board ... 3 of the solder joints have come off the board ...
are there any other points where I can solder a new mini usb with a thin cable?
I live in Germany
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Jerry Hubbell - Explore Scientific VP Engineering
On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 01:07 PM, rene schoffelke wrote:
The RS232 header (with no header pins) is provided for testing purposes and communications traffic monitoring only. The pinout for this header is 1-GND, 2-DTR, 3-TX, and 4-RX. Pin 1 is the square pad. You must use an FTDI chip based adapter when communicating with the PMC-Eight, a Prolific adapter is not reliable if it even works, which typically does not.
Gear: Anything in the store!
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
rene schoffelke
Hi
is there a circuit diagram of the mini usb connection?
then I can solder a cable to other solder points.
the area of the mini usb so yes, so not the whole board.
rene
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Kent Marts Explore Scientific Customer Service
That’s a question for Jerry.
Post it on the forum.
I found your Facebook profile
I’ve emailed Bresser, which is in Germany, to see if they can repair it.
Kent
From: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io <MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io> On Behalf Of rene schoffelke via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, December 6, 2019 3:25 PM To: MAIN@espmc-eight.groups.io Subject: Re: [ESPMC-Eight] #iexos-100-mini usb
how expensive and where can I get a new board?
the mini usb port has been torn off the board ... 3 of the solder joints have come off the board ...
are there any other points where I can solder a new mini usb with a thin cable?
I live in Germany
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Jerry Hubbell - Explore Scientific VP Engineering
On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 01:07 PM, rene schoffelke wrote:
The RS232 header (with no header pins) is provided for testing purposes and communications traffic monitoring only. The pinout for this header is 1-GND, 2-DTR, 3-TX, and 4-RX. Pin 1 is the square pad. You must use an FTDI chip based adapter when communicating with the PMC-Eight, a Prolific adapter is not reliable if it even works, which typically does not.
Gear: Anything in the store!
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
Kent Marts- Explore Scientific Customer Service
That’s a question for Jerry.
Post it on the forum.
I found your Facebook profile
I’ve emailed Bresser, which is in Germany, to see if they can repair it.
Kent
From: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io <MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io>
On Behalf Of rene schoffelke via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, December 6, 2019 3:25 PM To: MAIN@espmc-eight.groups.io Subject: Re: [ESPMC-Eight] #iexos-100-mini usb
how expensive and where can I get a new board?
the mini usb port has been torn off the board ... 3 of the solder joints have come off the board ...
are there any other points where I can solder a new mini usb with a thin cable?
I live in Germany
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Jerry Hubbell - Explore Scientific VP Engineering
On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 01:07 PM, rene schoffelke wrote:
The RS232 header (with no header pins) is provided for testing purposes and communications traffic monitoring only. The pinout for this header is 1-GND, 2-DTR, 3-TX, and 4-RX. Pin 1 is the square
pad. You must use an FTDI chip based adapter when communicating with the PMC-Eight, a Prolific adapter is not reliable if it even works, which typically does not.
-- Kent Marts Customer Service Explore Scientific Gear: Anything in the store!
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
rene schoffelke
how expensive and where can I get a new board?
the mini usb port has been torn off the board ... 3 of the solder joints have come off the board ...
are there any other points where I can solder a new mini usb with a thin cable?
I live in Germany
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Jerry Hubbell - Explore Scientific VP Engineering
On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 01:07 PM, rene schoffelke wrote:
The RS232 header (with no header pins) is provided for testing purposes and communications traffic monitoring only. The pinout for this header is 1-GND, 2-DTR, 3-TX, and 4-RX. Pin 1 is the square pad. You must use an FTDI chip based adapter when communicating with the PMC-Eight, a Prolific adapter is not reliable if it even works, which typically does not.
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 01:07 PM, rene schoffelke wrote:
The RS232 header (with no header pins) is provided for testing purposes and communications traffic monitoring only. The pinout for this header is 1-GND, 2-DTR, 3-TX, and 4-RX. Pin 1 is the square pad. You must use an FTDI chip based adapter when communicating with the PMC-Eight, a Prolific adapter is not reliable if it even works, which typically does not. If you decide to try and use the RS232 header, there is no guarantee that you will be successful, and any hardware modification you choose to implement will void your warranty (I assume you have registered your mount). Wiring another adapter in parallel with the existing FTDI FT232R chip in the circuit may not work and could very well fail. There is no way to easily load the firmware that is locked into the WiFi connection on your board with the connector destroyed so that is not an option. I would strongly suggest that you send your mount back to us for evaluation and repair. -- Jerry Hubbell Vice President of Engineering Explore Scientific, LLC. jrh at explorescientific.com www.explorescientificusa.com 1010 S. 48th Street Springdale, AR 72762 1-866-252-3811 Author: Scientific Astrophotography: How Amateurs Can Generate and Use Professional Imaging Data Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers: Using High-Powered Telescopes From Home Mark Slade Remote Observatory (MSRO) IAU MPC W54 Equipment Wilderness, VA Mounts: ES PMC-Eight G11 + Telescope Drive Master (TDM) Scopes: ES 165 FPL-53 ED APO CF, ES 102 FCD100 ED APO CF Cameras: QHY174M-GPS + FW, QHY163C Misc: 3-inch 0.7x Focal Reducer Field Flattener, Filters: Luminance, Red, V-band Photometric, Diffuser, 200 lpmm Spectral Grating Software: MaxIm DL 6, Cartes du Ciel, Astrometrica, AstroImageJ, AutoStakkert!
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
rene schoffelke
a schematic would be great, then you can solder a new usb plug with cable ...
Would be a pity if I could not use the mount anymore ...
a factory reset or hard reset, so that the mount goes into the udp mode at startup ... would be fine too.
rene
Gesendet von Mail für Windows 10
Von: Pavel
> damaged and you cannot connect to it anymore. Unfortunately, there is no > simple way to connect to the serial port on the processor internally on > the circuit board. It would be best for you to call us at +1 (866)
Hi, Jerry, I noticed there is an UART header on the board as well, but its pinout is not described anywhere (for some reason, I suppose). Also, is this UART different from the one connected to the USB converter?
Thanks, Pavel
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
Pavel
damaged and you cannot connect to it anymore. Unfortunately, there is noHi, Jerry, I noticed there is an UART header on the board as well, but its pinout is not described anywhere (for some reason, I suppose). Also, is this UART different from the one connected to the USB converter? Thanks, Pavel
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Re: #iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 03:25 AM, rene schoffelke wrote:
Hi today I demolished the mini usb ... the mount is on serialHi Rene, I assume you mean that the mini usb connector on the iEXOS 100 is damaged and you cannot connect to it anymore. Unfortunately, there is no simple way to connect to the serial port on the processor internally on the circuit board. It would be best for you to call us at +1 (866) 252-3811 and talk to Kent about getting it fixed. Sorry about that -- Jerry Hubbell Vice President of Engineering Explore Scientific, LLC. jrh at explorescientific.com www.explorescientificusa.com 1010 S. 48th Street Springdale, AR 72762 1-866-252-3811 Author: Scientific Astrophotography: How Amateurs Can Generate and Use Professional Imaging Data Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers: Using High-Powered Telescopes From Home Mark Slade Remote Observatory (MSRO) IAU MPC W54 Equipment Wilderness, VA Mounts: ES PMC-Eight G11 + Telescope Drive Master (TDM) Scopes: ES 165 FPL-53 ED APO CF, ES 102 FCD100 ED APO CF Cameras: QHY174M-GPS + FW, QHY163C Misc: 3-inch 0.7x Focal Reducer Field Flattener, Filters: Luminance, Red, V-band Photometric, Diffuser, 200 lpmm Spectral Grating Software: MaxIm DL 6, Cartes du Ciel, Astrometrica, AstroImageJ, AutoStakkert!
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locked
#iexos-100-mini usb
#iexos-100-mini
rene schoffelke
Hi today I demolished the mini usb ... the mount is on serial ... per config, I can not switch to wlan ... is there a possibility for a factory reset on the board? Warranty is not broken.
Can I possibly use the rs232 port on the board? ..
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Re: pmc-eight 100 mini usb
rene schoffelke
Can I possibly use the rs232 port on the board? ..
There is a cable with usb USB to RS232 TTL PL2303HX PL2303 Converter USB to Com Serial Adapter 4 Pin from ebay
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pmc-eight 100 mini usb
rene schoffelke
Hi
today I demolished the mini usb ... the mount is on serial ... per config, I can not switch to wlan ... is there a possibility for a factory reset on the board?
Warranty is not broken
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Vince White
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the detailed replies. For my case, I do have excessive backlash or rather, loose gear coupling, since I purposely left the RA mesh extra loose with an East heavy weight bias to see if I could reduce the magnitude of the RA error spikes. For that test, I measured no guiding improvement and actually saw the mount wiggle with the breeze, since I have an 8" Newtonian telescope masquerading as a sail. In the end, I'm not seeking perfection and complete reduction in backlash, however, I am looking for a robust solution that allows me complete remote control and functions well on both sides of a meridian flip without manual intervention. Also, I've got a total payload weight of 27 pounds on the EXOS-2GT, so I'm pushing the mount beyond what it is really designed for. That's partly why I've completely tore down, tuned & rebuilt my EXOS-2GT mount and am systematically working my way through every part of the Astrophotography process to identify what significantly impacts guiding performance and where the most improvements can be found. Regarding polar alignment - I also setup and tear down my equipment every session and do not have a clear view of Polaris in my backyard, so I do a rough alignment with my cellphone, then do a drift alignment with PHD2. I can usually get < 200" of PA error in around 5 minutes, since I'm primarily only refining the azimuth adjustment. I am curious as to how long you are able to guide with both the EXOS-2GT and the G11? Regards, Vince -- Mount: ES PMC-8 EXOS2-GT
Scopes: BRESSER 208mm f/3.9 Newt + ES HR Coma Corrector, Celestron C90 Mak, generic 50/191mm guide scope
Cameras: Canon 5DmkII, Canon EOSm, T7C (ZWO ASI120MC clone)
Misc: 2" Optolong UHC filter, Raspberry PI 4 Software: INDI + Kstars + EKOS, DeepSkyStacker, GIMP, Lightroom
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Mark Christensen
Vince, I find I don’t have to make a special effort – just do normal polar alignment with the polar scope. There is usually enough error so that the drift is noticeable but not awful. As to what direction it will be in that is complex. It depends on the position in the sky you are looking at plus the direction of the error. If you do the calibrate and guide function in PhD (or PhDs) then when guiding starts turn on the guide graph and watch the guiding commands that appear in the lower part of the regular screen. Typically, for the first minute or two after the start of guiding the system will issue a bunch of either North or South guide commands. Once you see that is repeatable then use the pull down menu in the guide graph tool to set the Dec direction accordingly. Then watch the graph to insure the guiding has stabilized.
This all assumes you are not trying to operate remotely without being able to see the PhD window.
Regards,
Mark C.
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Wes Mcdonald
I think there is no good answer. Be interesting to hear what he thinks. Polar misalignment means the arcs cut by the scope are not centered on the arcs cut by the stars. Thus the mount might be diverging north or south depending on where the object is. To see this just think about Polaris and a properly oriented mount. If you rotate in ra, with the mount pointing at the North Pole, Polaris describes a circle in the eyepiece with a diameter of about 90 arc Minutes. If you start with the ra and dec set to Polaris while correctly polar aligned, the fov rotates around the ncp with the same rate etc as Polaris and thus Polaris stays centered. That is because all the stars rotate around the pole and so does the field of view if mount is aligned. Now align the mount on Polaris instead of NCP. Now when the mount turns in ra (as when tracking) the ncp moves in a circle around the fov. But Polaris is moving in a circle around the ncp. Thus the fov orientation to Polaris must change over time. Hmmm not obvious the orientation changes just that Polaris won’t stay centered Anyhow I think any star track cuts an arc in the sky and the fov cuts an arc and if the mount ain’t polar aligned these arcs cross somewhere. On one side of the cross the scope fov is north and west and on the other side it will be south and East. Or north and east and south and west. If polar aligned every arc the scope cuts (arcs are defined by declination while ra is rotated) is concentric with every star arc....no crossing. I also have observed pointing errors of plus and minus dec and ra for the sky dome when pa is off in my mount alignment simulations so I knowis this is a thing. Come to think of it I could quantify the drift and rotation with the Sim. Be a lot of work but the basics are there. Operationally there might be an optimal setting, probably gonna be a function of the hour angle and the declination of the object tho. Bottom line....just dial.in some.net error. Maybe an arc.minute or two. Then observe the drift and set up.the guiding and weights accordingly. Wee
On Wed, Dec 4, 2019 at 9:54 PM Jim McKee <mckeejh@...> wrote: Mark, --
Wes, Southport NC PMC-8, ES ED 127, 10" LX200GPS, Astro-Tech 8" Newt, ETX-90 Polemaster, Orion ST-80 and SAG Electrical Engineer, Retired
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Jim McKee
Mark,
Good advice. I had forgotten about dialing in a little PA offset. Just to be sure, is this using Az adjustment or altitude? How much off is enough to force north or south only? -- Scope: Orion EON 115mm APO Mounts: ES EXOS2-GT w/ PMC-8 Cameras: ZWO ASI 071MC Pro, Canon 6D Mk 2, Canon 7D2, EOS 60D Asto Modified Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II Misc: TELRAD, ZWO ASI120MM Guide Camera, Astromania 60mm Guidescope, Senso Sesto Focus Motor Software: EXPLORESTARS IOS & WIN, Stellarium. NINA, APT, DSS, PixInsight, Photoshop CC Computer: Dell Latitude E5450, Windows 10
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Mark Christensen
Vince, If you bias the mount slightly heavy east and guide at less than 100% correction, the RA never reverses and backlash there is irrelevant. Trying to remove backlash by tightening the gears can only hurt you with binding, which will cause chatter and wear at the worm to ring gear (aka worm wheel) interface. The same thing goes for DEC - there a tiny amount (relative to your exposure length) of polar miss-alignment means the DEC drift is always in one direction, so disabling DEC corrections in the opposite way plus a tiny amount of DEC weight bias (to insure the gears always stay meshed) does the same thing - DEC backlash doesn't matter either. The trick, of course, is to have enough DEC drift so that the DEC error is always in one direction, while at the same time keeping field rotation to a tolerable level. I have to use these tricks with both my G11 and EXOS-2GT sometimes since I tear down and set up every night. Plus I often can not even see Polaris nor stars near the horizon (necessary for good drift alignment). Better to find a compromise that works than seek perfection and fail. Best Regards, Mark Christensen
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Vince,
A 1200 second exposure. TWENTY MINUTES. Two periods. Swinging an 8" newt, for goodness sake!
I think you now hold the record for exposure length. Congratulations! :-)
- Bob
Mounts: ES PMC-8 EXOS2
Scopes: SV 102EDT, ZWO 60/280 Guide
Cameras: Nikon D5300, Altair GPCAM2-IMX224C
Software: ASCOM, CdC, AstroTortilla, BYN Pro, Sharpcap, PHD2 Computer: Thinkpad x230, Win7Pro/64
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Re: Astrophotography Done with the iEXOS-100, EXOS 2, and G11 Post your Pictures and Details! Lets Show What These Mounts Can Do.
#G11
#astrophotography
#iEXOS-100
#EXOS2
Vince White
All,
I've been doing a series of test to try to extend my total guide time and here is what I've been able to do so far: 1x 1200 second exposure @ ISO50 (too much light pollution), no UHC filter and at 836mm FL. Imaging resolution is 1.58 arc-sec/pixel. PHD2 guiding hovered around 0.8" total RMS error. Looking at 100% zoom shows slightly oblong stars. Partial crop to remove corner vignetting so I could do background extraction in PixInsight: Here's a 100% crop: I also captured an 1800 second image with similarly shaped stars, however, it was mostly white / overexposed. Looking at the image, my collimation and focus is off (its a heavy Newtonian that requires frequent adjustments). Also, the last time I remeshed my EXOS-2GT, I purposely left some backlash in the RA axis to ensure there was no binding. However, I think I left too much backlash, which is allowing the RA axis to rock back & forth on the RA axis slightly, probably causing some of the star elongation. Regards, Vince -- Mount: ES PMC-8 EXOS2-GT
Scopes: BRESSER 208mm f/3.9 Newt + ES HR Coma Corrector, Celestron C90 Mak, generic 50/191mm guide scope
Cameras: Canon 5DmkII, Canon EOSm, T7C (ZWO ASI120MC clone)
Misc: 2" Optolong UHC filter, Raspberry PI 4 Software: INDI + Kstars + EKOS, DeepSkyStacker, GIMP, Lightroom
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