Відео

I've been using UP Core plus for years. It worked fine for my purpose (NINA and Sharpcap). The only problem I had with it was that it did not last too long... I needed new one every roughly 6 months. After 8th unit I stopped and now I see this Mele PCG02 N100 as worth checking. Anyone knows if you can power it directly from unregulated LiFePO4 (max 14.6V) or LiION (max 16,8V) battery through this usb-c port dedicated for power?

I really like your concise, factual and helpful style Steve - many thanks for the time you put into these vids. I’m also looking at the Mele range for kit at the end of the garden, and since my hub is on the wrong side of the house was considering the Mele PGC35 which has (I think) the ability to generate Wi-Fi rather than just receive it (not my strong point). Do you agree and consider it would have the legs to run image capture and auto guiding and mount control? Many thanks for any advice you might be able to give…

You seem to have studied many locations for remote hosting. Can you share the list of hosting services you worked on, with pros and cons ? I did understand that insurance was one of your priorities, but have you considered any other criteria?

Hi Steve, great video. Have just started using the lens with a 1600mm Pro. Noticed some internal reflections on Deneb when shooting N America nebula. Have you had any similar experiences with the 2600 mc, and any advice to offer ? Cheers

Any tips on back focus needed for Rokinon 135mm f2 paired to a ZWO 183 MC pro? I cannot focus on anything. Great video. Thx Mike

what's wrong with square sensor? if you don't want data on the sides, just crop it in post

Why review something you never used, and it never showed up in your channel since then. did you try it since last year ?

did things not go to plan as you never got back to this... im in the middle of thinking about this for outreach

How does the rotator work? I’ve tried moving the piece you mentioned but it’s stuck.

this one is for me. Still use a laptop with one cable to the rig, all else into the powerbox adv gen2, which is great. thanks for showcasing it

I have the Quieter 3C MeLe. I added a SSD stick and migrated Windows from the eMMC drive to the SSD drive, then installed Stellarmate on the eMMC drive. I haven't messed with NINA yet, but eventually I intend to install that on the Windows drive. I just have to be sure I have the correct boot order set in the BIOS, if I'm taking it out into the field. It has enough USB ports for what I need. I bought it because the specs mention it can be powered with a power bank with the right power delivery. I have high performance power banks, but I also have a power converter that clips onto my Ryobi 18v batteries and enables USB and AC power capability, so I have options for power. My biggest gripe is that the wireless connection is horrible, so updating Windows takes a long time if I don't connect it via ethernet cable.

The non-starter for me is the lack of 12v out to power the equipment

Does the mini PC have any wifi capabilities? Or would it require an external AP for wireless connections?

I was doing 10 second exposures of the Persiads, and got the Aurora ! I did set up a second camera, once I realized what was going on. That camera caught nothing, go figure 😂

Great run through on this mini pc. The Mele mini PCs certainly seem to be very popular choice when it comes to astrophotography and will probably be what I look at the next . CS

We're grateful for the review you shared about our MeLE products. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Hi Steve, currently in the middle of moving house so not much astro photography at the moment. My rigs are controlled by the following, 1x ASIair mini, 1x PLL Eagle LE, 1x Stellarmate Pro. I have just bought a Sky Watcher Wave 100i harmonic drive mount, which does not work properly with the ASIair mini ( can't calibrate guiding) Currently trying to solve this problem with the supplier. Really could do with a week of clear skies to set everything up. This mount will eventually be used with the Stellarmate Pro, but I have not had time to fully test this either (not a pc for the beginner, but has a lot of potential) my favourite is still the Eagle LE, I use it with Sharp Cap, but it will just as easily run NINA, APT etc., I do not currently have the dew heater auto control module ( next buy?) so I have to adjust the power levels manually from the LE software. All these pcs come with their own WiFi hotspot and the connection to my phone, tablet and Laptop is good. I prefer using my laptop when using the Eagle, and my tablet for the other two. The ASIair mini is used mainly for my grab and go rig which is based around a Red Cat 51, Star Adventurer GTi mount and a ZWO ASI585MC Pro camera with a EAF and ASI mini guider, works great (I can sub the Cat for a SY 135mm f2 lens for a wider field). Clear Skies

Interesting.

❓QUESTION OF THE DAY: How do you control your Astrophotography imaging sessions? Let us know in the comments below!

Thank you very much for this very informative video. I've just started getting interested in astronomy and plan to start out with visually observing. Would you recommend the Skymax 127 (with az GTI mount) as a good "first scope"? Or does it offer too little aperture for a rookie and I might miss out on some deep sky objects?

Nice! Was raining here

Neat.

underrated channel

Just one and this product is due in next week.

Can you explain how this is possibly when the scope has a fixed focal length and zero way to zoom in and out on objects this far away?

I picked up one of these and got frustrated with it immediately. I don't find the imaging tools as intuitive or as powerful (might be that I just don't get it) as SharpCap. However, several months and several dozen youtube videos later I dug it out again due to its plate solving capabilities and confirmation that I have the target in sight. It also makes using startracker mounts much more straightforward. I'm still running my imaging through SharpCap, maybe I will switch to full Asiair in time though. I wish the documentation was better, so much of it is focused on telling me that asiair is intuitive, it's really not that intuive but it is powerful. Also I don't like the idea that you can run the whole astrophotography set up remotely from the sofa, I quite like sitting outside in the dark listening out for hedgehogs :)

If you are more into DIY, a 25USD solution that I see some people adopt for small planetary cameras is "Black Shark Phone Cooler FunCooler 3", instead of sticking it to your (gaming) phone, you can slap it onto your uncooled astro camera. Its important to cover/isolate the body of the camera as well (use a coozy) to increase efficiency.

Great video! Can I check how this compares with an entry level triplet in terms of image quality? I have a basic doublet but am considering an upgrade and the zenithstar looks very tempting!

Is it infra red? Csn you see past the moon?

Could you tell me if you needed a special adapter to mount the ZWO EAF work with your scope? Thanks

Can you stack the frames of the video?

On the planets it should have a very nice image quality up to 180 - 200x magnification and on DSO it should be comparable to a same-sized 5 inch APO.

I thought of buying one myself until I learned quite a bit about it that I didn’t like. Long story short, I’m sticking with my z12 and the eyepieces that I love so much. I’ll keep the visual for a bit longer as I’m not interested in astrophotography as I thought I originally was.

Cool! Which tripod is that one? Is it specific for the SLT mount? Please do tell us!