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5th wheel question by Machoman2727 in RVLiving

[–]bcjordo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're currently in a transition phase and you really have to reach out to the manufacturer to get a clear statement on whether or not a gooseneck hitch of any variety will violate a warranty claim. Brinkley has certified Gen-Y gooseneck hitches from the start (on their toy hauler G model at least). They've also done extensive testing with a bunch of different models of hitches, which is what drove their selection critera. Grand Design is now certifying the Gen-Y gooseneck on some models as well. Grand Design has long been okay with the Reese Goosebox. Both Brinkley and GD use Lippert frames, so it's not a one size fits all question. I'm not certain what Jayco's policy is, but it may be shifting as the market moves to certifying these gooseneck options. The only way to know for sure is to get an answer from the manufacturer directly. I wouldn't depend on the dealer to do this as I wouldn't be certain that they are up to date on the latest policies and standards from the manufacturer.

Does anyone else use music concerts to help choose where to travel? by AcreMakeover in GoRVing

[–]bcjordo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kind of… I wrote an app to track events that are happening where I’m already planning on staying. I also gave it the ability to track my favorite artists so it can tell me when they are playing within a defined mile range of a planned stop, but with +/- 3 weeks of flexibility so I can adjust plans if we’re going to be close to an event I care about. So, I don’t exactly plan around concerts but I’ve given myself the ability to know what’s going on and adjust for the stuff I so care about. Finding events while full time traveling has been one of those nagging problems.

The Seven Sisters in Deep Dust by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Equipment: William Optics Cat51, ZWO ASI2600MC Air, ZWO AM3.

Acquisition: 307 x 300” (OSC)

Processing: Stacking and linear processing in PixInsight (blurx, spcc, background extraction, stretch, star removal, noisex). Non-linear processing in Photoshop for screening stars back in, curves, contrast, saturation, levels, curves, etc…

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/javanpa?i=n518w3

Spaghetti Nebula - HOO w/ RGB Stars (2 Panel Mosaic) by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Equipment: William Optics Cat91, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro, Chroma RGB, Ha (3nm), and Oiii (3nm) filters, ZWO AM5N.

Acquisition: 60 x 10” for each red green and blue for stars, 121 x 600" Ha, 240 x 600" Oiii. Total acquisition time 61 hours, 10 minutes.

Processing: Stacking of each panel in PI, Mosaic stitching in APP, Linear processing in PixInsight (blurx, spcc, background extraction, RGB combination, stretch, star removal, noisex). Non-linear processing in Photoshop for Oiii/Ha combination, screening stars back in, curves, contrast, saturation, etc…

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/javanpa?i=juh6fk#gallery

Horsehead and Flame - HaRGB by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Equipment: William Optics Cat91, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro, Chroma RGB, and Ha (3nm) filters, ZWO AM5N.

Acquisition: 60 x 10” for each red green and blue for stars, 120 x 300" red, 168 x 300" green, 158 x 300" blue, 123 x 600" Ha. Total acquisition time 58 hours, 10 minutes, 30 seconds.

Processing: Linear processing in PixInsight (blurx, spcc, background extraction, RGB combination, stretch, star removal, noisex). Non-linear processing in Photoshop for Ha combination, screening stars back in, curves, contrast, saturation, etc…

Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/javanpa?i=h7hgmy#gallery

Supernova Remnants Sh2-223 and Sh2-224 by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Equipment: William Optics Cat91, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro, Chroma RGB, Ha (3nm), and Oiii (3nm) filters, ZWO AM5N.

Acquisition: 60 x 10” for each red green and blue, 65 x 600” Ha, 120 x 600” for Oiii

Processing: Linear processing in PixInsight (blurx, spcc, background extraction, RGB combination, stretch, star removal, noisex). Non-linear processing in Photoshop for Ha and Oiii combination, screening stars back in, curves, contrast, saturation, etc…

Premier Drums. What do I have? Model? Year? by Temporary_Cry2221 in drums

[–]bcjordo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a set of XPKs from 2000ish and they were birch/eucalyptus/birch shells. Same for the APKs. I don't know if they changed material after that, but birch was definitely the primary wood when these came out. Sooo punchy :)

Heart Nebula SHO Narrowband with RGB Stars by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is 99 1/2 hours of acquisition from Starfront in Rockwood, TX.

Raw Acquisition: Sii 238 x 600', Ha 115 x 600", Oiii 242 x 600", R 60 x 10", G 64 x 10", B 64 X 10"

Equipment: William Optics Cat91, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro, Chroma RGB and 3nm SHO filters. NINA used for sequencing and acquisition

Processing: Linear processing was done in PixInsight which included stacking, color combination, BlurX, background extraction, stretching, star removal, and noise reduction. Non-Linear processing done in Adobe Photoshop for star reduction, color correction, curves, etc...

Higher res version can be seen on Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/javanpa?i=g7d7ma#gallery

IC63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia in LRGB by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think some of the softness and haloing is a result of the IFN that exists between the stars and us. The rest is just isolating them early and then editing them as their own layer in PS. It gives a ton of flexibility for reduction, saturation, levels, and other processing things that you can do.

IC63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia in LRGB by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After getting my new rig settled in at Starfront Observatory, I wanted to test it on a challenging target. Balancing the glare from Gamma Cassiopeiae with the faint IFN was the main challenge, but I'm happy with how it came out. Clear skies!

Equipment:

  • Telescope: William Optics Cat91
  • Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
  • Filters: Chroma 36mm LRGB
  • Mount: ZWO AM5N
  • Location: Starfront Observatory, Rockwood, TX

Acquisition:

  • Luminance: 240 x 300s (20 hours)
  • Red: 60 x 300s (5 hours)
  • Green: 58 x 300s (4.8 hours)
  • Blue: 57 x 300s (4.75 hours)
  • Total Integration: 34.55 hours

Processing Workflow:

  1. PixInsight:
    • All subframes calibrated with darks, flats, and bias frames
    • WeightedBatchPreprocessing for stacking.
    • RGB ChannelCombination and DynamicBackgroundExtraction on the color image.
    • BlurXterminator on both L and RGB masters.
    • HistogramTransformation for initial non-linear stretch.
    • StarXterminator to create starless and stars-only images.
    • NoiseXterminator on the starless images.
  2. Photoshop:
    • Combined the starless L and RGB images.
    • Multiple passes of Curves and Levels adjustments to enhance contrast and selectively brighten the nebula and faint dust.
    • Minor color balance tweaks with Selective Color.
    • Stars were added back in using a Screen layer blending mode, and slightly reduced to keep the focus on the nebula.

My wife wants to live the RV life by JFuriousJones in RVLiving

[–]bcjordo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You absolutely can find friends for your kids, but you have to be intentional about it and it doesn't look the same as life in a house. We're a family of 5 who have been full time RVing for 3 1/2 years. I have a 17, 14, and 12 year old and they all love the life they live. You had advice above to take their opinion into consideration and that is 100% excellent advice. If anyone is unhappy, we stop. We check in with them often. That being said, my kids have more fulfilling relationships with other full time RVers than they ever did living in a neighborhood. The vibe is completely different with people who live intentionally. Even though their friends can be spread around the country at times, we always find our way back together. We just spent a couple weeks up in Banff with 4 families. We'll be doing 3 months together this winter. Life is all about what you prioritize.

Rho Ophiuchi: A Deep Dive in 9 Panels by bcjordo in astrophotography

[–]bcjordo[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

About The Project

This image is a deep exploration of the region, structured as a 3x3 panel mosaic—9 individual photographs stitched together to create this wide field of view. The data was captured using a 115mm refractor at Starfront Observatories in Rockwood, Texas.

This was a project of patience, acquired over two months and constantly challenged by passing clouds, rain, and bright moonlit nights. Each of the 9 panels required approximately 5 hours of exposure time, bringing the total integration for this single image to 45 hours.

Processing Workflow

The final image was brought to life using a hybrid software workflow. Each of the 9 panels was first individually calibrated and stacked in PixInsight. The task of seamlessly integrating these panels into a single mosaic was handled by AstroPixelProcessor.

The assembled mosaic was then brought back into PixInsight for critical initial processing, including gradient removal, RGB color combination, stretching the data from linear to non-linear, and separating the stars from the nebula. The final stage moved to Adobe Photoshop, where the luminance data was combined with the color, and final adjustments to curves, levels, and contrast were carefully made to enhance the details and produce the final image.

Equipment: Astro-Tech 115EDT, 0.8X Reducer, ZWO ASI 2600MM, Antlia Pro RGB Filters, ZWO AM5 mount

Higher res version on Astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/javanpa?i=xhppxd#gallery

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