Lego Star Tracker V6 - Test 1 - High Hopes

It's A Start

Conditions were far from ideal but there was enough of a break in the clouds to cram in a quick test of the Lego Star Tracker version 6.  Seriously, in the entire month of November, there was only one clear night that was suitable for imaging.  Well, that's how it goes in these parts I suppose...

But hey, a test is a test and I was able to learn a lot.  My results tell me I'm not quite there yet, but I've made significant progress and despite the challenges I faced this evening I had the most consistent results with the tracker to date. 

 

Lego Star Tracker V6 - A New Approach

Cutting My Loses

Generally speaking, I'm somewhat happy with the progress that I've made with the Lego Star Tracker version 5.  But I've racked up quite a list of issues, limitations, and problems that all need solutions and I've come to the realization that version 4 was actually a better and more stable design.  So it's time to cut my losses and head back to the drawing board.

Here's a quick peek at the next version.  Read on to see how I got to this point.

Switching Things Up - Orion 10/30/21

Taking a Tracking Break

All this work around troubleshooting the Lego Star Tracker has started to do my head in.  So it's time to just put it away for a bit and focus on something else to clear my mind.  I'm not in any hurry with the tracker and I'm at peace with the fact it's a long term project.

So on the back end of a disappointing tracking session, I decided to try and grab a few snaps of Orion with the Samyang 135mm.  Didn't really plan anything fancy, just a quick setup on the back porch.  It's just another opportunity to test some things out with this lens.  Here is a look at results.

 Orion Nebula - Canon 250D, f/2.8 ISO 3200 Exp 280 x 1.3s, DSS, Siril, Gimp

I had to fight to get this snap as the nebula was drifting across my neighborhood power lines and into the treeline in my backyard.  But I managed to keep it well centered in my field of view by changing my shooting spot.  I also went ahead and took dark and flat frames and stacked this in Deep Sky Stacker.  Just a light post-process in Siril and then a small levels adjustment in Gimp to finish this picture.

I'm still not overly motivated at this point to up my Gimp game with post-processing.  I suppose that I've had other priorities in working with the tracker and the Samyang takes such nice photos that I can produce good quality photos by simply using the Siril tools.

Anyway, that's all for a short and sweet update today.

Lego Star Tracker V5 Tests 2-5 - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Frustratingly Fun!

I thought I was standing on the precipice of greatness.  The reality is I was just being served a big ole slice of humble pie.  I made a couple of minor design tweaks which I was expecting to deliver outstanding performance.  Testing, however, showed me I greatly overestimated my improvements.  In fact, my performance seems to have digressed a bit.

I had a run of OK nights weather-wise and wanted to head out into the backyard to run some more tracking tests.  I'll break down the details below, but spoiler alert - I'm a bit stuck at the moment.  I think I know what I need to do, just not sure how I'm going to be able to do it.  That doesn't mean I'm giving up, but rather gearing up for another likely major overhaul.

Lego Star Tracker V5 Test 1 - Exceeding Expectations

Waiting is Hard Work

I've been intently staring at the weather forecast for the past 9 days just itching for an opportunity to get out and test out version 5 of the Lego Star Tracker.  Unfortunately, the weather has been exceedingly fickle.  We've had patches of sun during the day, but by the time evening falls, we've been socked in with clouds.  Big-time bummer!

But tonight, I've had a bit of a break and so I scurried out into the backyard to get set up.  It's just about a full moon and there is a blanket of high clouds in the atmosphere but tonight is all about simply testing the tracking ability of the new design.  I can live with these conditions for testing.

Waiting this long was hard work but once I got set up, I can tell you my expectations were greatly exceeded.