[M]: "Crystal-like" pattern on all CCD images (416XT)
| Subject: | [M]: "Crystal-like" pattern on all CCD images (416XT) |
| From: | Gregory Donohue |
| Date: | Tue Jun 30 03:31:34 1998 |
Tonight I broke out the 416XT for the first time in 6-8 months. Had only
used it 3 times prior to that, and gave up in frustration. But thanks to
advice of several on the list, I learned how to focus it, and so thought I
would try it out again in preparation for my first star party (Table
Mountain).
So... I focused it as best I could manually, and then tried to shoot a
couple of quick shots of Jupiter. But I noticed some faint, jagged lines
all through the planet. I decided to aim at M31 and just see what I could
get.
The results made my heart sink! ACROSS THE ENTIRE IMAGE ARE WHAT LOOK LIKE
PATTERNS OF CRYSTAL GROWTH!
The few times that I have had it out, I treated this thing with kid gloves,
and it has been in the original foam-line case from Meade (inside the
plastic sacks) the entire time.
Has anyone had any similar experience? I have a couple of gif/jpeg files
of the problem, but did not want to dump that much data on the whole group.
But I would appreciate it if a couple of people with CCD experience would
maybe respond privately and I could send the pictures to you to have a
look....
Well, its late and I am packing up and off to bed - but I dont think I am
going to sleep well tonight! I was really looking forward to getting some
images at my first Star Party, but it doesnt look too hopeful at the
moment :{ ....
Regards,
Greg Donohue
"... eppur si muove." - Galileo Galilei, to the Inquisition (reputed)
Principal Solutions Engineer, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (San Jose, CA)
Home: Woodinville WA (NE of Seattle) 47d 44 31.3" N, 122d 06 29.0" W
HomePage, email: donohue@cadence.com
10" Meade LX200 SCT f/10, Meade f/6.3 Reducer, Pictor 416xt, 616A Color Wheel
Fujitsu 600 Series LifeBook Laptop, 133Mhz Pentium, 32Meg RAM
Win95 (4.00.1111), DOS 7.10, APA-1460A SlimSCSI, Adaptec EZ-SCSI 4.01a
used it 3 times prior to that, and gave up in frustration. But thanks to
advice of several on the list, I learned how to focus it, and so thought I
would try it out again in preparation for my first star party (Table
Mountain).
So... I focused it as best I could manually, and then tried to shoot a
couple of quick shots of Jupiter. But I noticed some faint, jagged lines
all through the planet. I decided to aim at M31 and just see what I could
get.
The results made my heart sink! ACROSS THE ENTIRE IMAGE ARE WHAT LOOK LIKE
PATTERNS OF CRYSTAL GROWTH!
The few times that I have had it out, I treated this thing with kid gloves,
and it has been in the original foam-line case from Meade (inside the
plastic sacks) the entire time.
Has anyone had any similar experience? I have a couple of gif/jpeg files
of the problem, but did not want to dump that much data on the whole group.
But I would appreciate it if a couple of people with CCD experience would
maybe respond privately and I could send the pictures to you to have a
look....
Well, its late and I am packing up and off to bed - but I dont think I am
going to sleep well tonight! I was really looking forward to getting some
images at my first Star Party, but it doesnt look too hopeful at the
moment :{ ....
Regards,
Greg Donohue
"... eppur si muove." - Galileo Galilei, to the Inquisition (reputed)
Principal Solutions Engineer, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (San Jose, CA)
Home: Woodinville WA (NE of Seattle) 47d 44 31.3" N, 122d 06 29.0" W
HomePage
10" Meade LX200 SCT f/10, Meade f/6.3 Reducer, Pictor 416xt, 616A Color Wheel
Fujitsu 600 Series LifeBook Laptop, 133Mhz Pentium, 32Meg RAM
Win95 (4.00.1111), DOS 7.10, APA-1460A SlimSCSI, Adaptec EZ-SCSI 4.01a
