Skywatcher Star Adventurer Incoming...

[Tinker1947]

I have ordered one and wonder if there are any tips worth knowing, it will be mounter on my NEQ6 Tripod and a Nikon 5200 DSLR plus Sigma 150mm 2.8 Len attached, power via a Tracer battery reduced to 5volts.....Thanks in advance....

[philj]

Congrats Tinker, I too am after one of these but they are a bit thin on the ground in the UK at the moment, so Im told by a couple of dealers. End of March was the eta from SW I understand

[Davey-T]

Had mine a few months and really impressed with it (first one was duff but changed by FLO) there was some criticism of the Polar scope when used with a ball head but I use the dovetail and filed the slot wider so that the illuminator can be left in situ. useful for checking if Polaris is tracking nicely round the circle while imaging.

You need some sort of phone app' to see where Polaris is.

I've done 90secs using 60Da and Canon 300mmm f/4 unguided and also some success using Sigma 600mm f/8 mirror lens.

Also used it for Solar and the tracking is good, one set of alkaline batteries last around 8hrs or you can use a power supply.

There is a neat screw adjuster on the Dec  and a 12X speed on RA, useful for centring stuff in the FOV.

You need a decent tripod to mount it on if you're thinking of a quick grab and go to somewhere dark, eq6 could be a bit overkill, I use a Velbon DV7000.

Haven't tried the built in timelapse facility, some complaints in other threads of lacking some options, can't remember what.

Dave

[Tinker1947]

Congrats Tinker, I too am after one of these but they are a bit thin on the ground in the UK at the moment, so Im told by a couple of dealers. End of March was the eta from SW I understand

FLO have some .......fresh delivery...

[Tinker1947]

Well mine turned up Thursday, checking through the bits the the PA Scope was spot on, i have set of 2700Ah rechargeables, so set it up to run for 24 hours started with the mount balanced with a DSLR  weight bar straight down, 24 hours later its back visually in the same place, a clear night or 2 to set-up the PA, the DSLR will be a Nikon 5200 with a Sigma 150mm 2.8 to run some imagines of various times....

[Davey-T]

Some folks have complained about the illuminated Polar scope having to be removed to fit the dovetail but I've filed the slot in the dovetail bar wider to fit the illuminator so it can be left in place and you can squint through it occasionally to check the PA and if necessary tweak it a bit.

PA is a matter of a couple of minutes when you've had a practice.

Apologies  for blurry pic' taken with point and shoot with dodgy autofocus

Dave

[Tinker1947]

Yes that does seem like a slot that needs a bit more width, does it need illuminating  would a red head torch work held near the front....

[Davey-T]

Needs illuminating, tried a torch but tricky holding the torch in the right spot while trying to look up the Polar scope, much easier to leave it on all the time, I do and it's still on the original battery.

Dave

[Tinker1947]

You mentioned the battery i had one that lite the led, but have't seen a mention of the type they recommend in the manual...??

[Davey-T]

It's the "normal" CR2032 one.

Dave

[philj]

FLO have some .......fresh delivery...

Got one  last week TVM Tinker

Only had a chance to play with the mount on the 31st when it was blowing a gale here and a gibbous moon washing faint stuff out, so set up in the lee of the house. I only managed 2 15 minute runs of 1 minute with the Canon 1000d and 50mm lens and all looks good. Ive always used a red torch shone over the end of the polar axis to illuminate my HEQ5 so I used this with the SA the other night.

Its looking to be a nifty little mount that sets up in minutes, I can just leave it clicking away with my el cheapo intervalometer whilst doing visual with my scope. Just what I wanted 

[Tinker1947]

It's the "normal" CR2032 one.

Dave

My battery is a 2025 3v works ok, the last 2 digits i think are the thickness of the cell, i suspect the 20 is the width.....

[Tinker1947]

So clear sky put the Mount out on a Slik Tripod, easy enough to PA use "Polar Finder" to show where Polaris should be just above 3 O'Clock on the PC screen so i placed it just below 9 O'Clock in the mounts Polar scope, the Tripod could do with being a bit more stable but the end result of a 2 minute exposure with a Nikon 5200, ISO 1600, Sigma 150mm @ 3.2 (1 stop down from 2.8) @ 120 seconds with a Intervolmeter gave me the following image, its located near the Leo Triplet.... Things that held me up, sorting out the Nikon 5200 exposure as there's no Manual override button, its in the manual how to do it and in another thread also how to do it, that was Sunday night wasted, after the image downloading Raw Updates for Photoshop,  i managed some darks, but no Bias or Flat maybe today as it sunny if i get time, i have on order some 3/8 UNC threaded bar/penny washers and nuts to replicate the NEQ6 bar this will make for a sturdier base and i already have indents in the patio for easier alignment......the image.....

[Davey-T]

I bought one of these on recommend from others on the forum, nice and stable with big leg spread, you have to take the head off and then screw the SWSA on instead.

They seem to have gone up in price, must be demand from all those SA users 

Dave

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Velbon-2336-DV-7000-Video-Tripod/dp/B000KHTB8A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1428509329&sr=1-1&keywords=velbon+tripod+7000

[Tinker1947]

I have the various bits on order to convert the NEQ6 Tripod....

[philj]

I have a Monk Pro tripod that came with some big binos I no longer have, tubular ali legs and rock steady. Its heavy for a camera tripod but still portable enough for this set up.

[Tinker1947]

I mounted the Star/Adven on my NEQ6 Tripod, just required a 12" lentgh of UNC-3/8" stainless studding from E-Bay, washers and nuts- wing/nuts, remove the standard fitting this unscrews out through the bottom, the 3/8" studding will slide into the hole, fit a nut and washer before inserting, place the base of the Star/Adven on top screw the studding in to it untill tight, then tighten up the nut under the tripod base, attach the EP Holder and with a washer and wing nut  tighten that's it a stable tripod, my NEQ6 is mounted on a pier so the tripod was redundant. Any body want a Wing Nut, 2 washers and a nut send me a jiffy bag with your address and a stamp afixed i have a few spare nuts and washer ect....here is a 2minute image of Mizar taken tonight it shows eggy stars 4 pixels long 3 pixels wide, i had the PA set-up and it followed the circle when i spun the DSLR,  equipment used Nikon 5300 and Sigma 150mm 2.8f  120 seconds, 1600iso, F4 as its difficult to get the focus right so a bit of DOF helped, and ideas on how to improve the stars to round ones.......

[Davey-T]

So clear sky put the Mount out on a Slik Tripod, easy enough to PA use "Polar Finder" to show where Polaris should be just above 3 O'Clock on the PC screen so i placed it just below 9 O'Clock in the mounts Polar

Doesn't Polar finder reverse the  position already so you need to put it in the same place in the Polar scope ?

Dave

[Tinker1947]

Yes, i have been placing Polaris as i see it on the PC screen with the box ticked in Polar Finder, i have ordered a couple of bubble levels as they say big is better....

[Davey-T]

If you leave the illuminator in place while imaging you can see if it's following the circle.

Have you checked the Polar scope is aligned with the mount, the first one I had was spot on but the second one was way out.

Dave

[Tinker1947]

i did check it out on a Ariel some distance away, and after aligning turned the mount and it followed the circle, my next step is get a bigger bubble and mount it on the top of the tripod on a flat piece of alloy plate, the SA will sit on this plate with the studding going through the tripod.....

[Davey-T]

Mine seems to work OK using the built in bubble.

Dave

[Tinker1947]

I can see mine ok, but fancy some thing bigger and easier to adjust, so its a caravan leveller that's getting added there like a letter "T"  one other thing what would be a good time to expect with out trailing with my 150mm Sigma is very handy as it has its own tube ring so getting the DSLR on or off is just twist and pull a knob.......

[Tinker1947]

i think i may have sorted the trailing, i have it balanced but the mount is not totally free, it doesn't swing about freely, so i took a image 2 minutes a little eggy moved the weight down the bars 1/8" they got eggier, moved it up 1/4" the appear to be round, with what looks like coma around the outside, its doing some 2 minute subs as i type so will check them out after a cuppa tea....

[Davey-T]

I think 3 0r 4 minutes should be easily achievable with 150mm, I've done 5mins with 50mm.

Dave