Manuka

Kia Ora everyone,

I am the lucky owner of an RC8 telescope, which I use for observation paired with an Ioptron AZpro mount. I run a stargazing business in New Zealand and, since I can't leave my equipment on site, I have to carry everything with me every time I have a booking. I still have the OTA in the original carboard it came in and, as you all can imagine, is far from ideal. I would like to find a better, but still safe, solution to carry the scope with the focuser still attached. I had a look at padded bags but I looks like I would have to de-attach the focuser all the time, which I want to avoid. 

Has anyone out there gone through a similar situation and found a solution? 

Any help/suggestion will be very appreciated.

Luca

Thanks everyone for the tips. I looks like the choice is moving towards the 6d mark II. As much as I would like to get a mirrorless, they are still way out of my budget. As per lenses I've got a Canon 135mm f/2 L USM which I use for wide angle deep sky and a Canon 17-40 f/4 L USM for landscape. I also have a Nikon 24mm f/2.8 and a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 that I can use with an adapter. In the future I would like to get a 300mm f/4 (or an equivalent scope like a redcat 51) and a Samyang 14mm f/2.8

Hi everyone, I have finally decided to upgrade to full frame and looking for some advice. I own a Nikon D300 and a Canon 600D. I have loved my Nikon for many years and would be happy to stick to the brand but, being honest, some features are a lot better on canon cameras (i.e. the fully articulated screen). I have been looking around a bit at different models and now my choice is between the 6D (new) and the 5D mark III (second hand) or mark IV (second hand).

Have you guys have any experience with any of the 3? Which one should I go for? Pro and cons? Should I completely change my mind and stick with Nikon and get a D750?

I'm quite lost and confused.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion!

Luca

Thanks for your help guys, the culprit might be the st4 cable. I'm using a random one I've found in the house without knowing that they aren't all the same. I've purchased a guiding compatible one, will update the thread once it'll arrive🤞.

Luca

Here's the log of all my different attempts last night. I did not go to 15000ms (I thought I did).

8 hours ago, kens said:

Also tell us where your scope was pointing when you di the calibration. If it was in the home position pointing near the pole then you wont get enough movement in RA for the calibration to work.

I was pointing at Rosette Nebula. At that time of the night it was about 30 degrees ALT and about +312 degrees AZ

PHD2_GuideLog_2022-02-24_231644.txt PHD2_DebugLog_2022-02-24_231644.txt

Sorry guys I really struggle to understand this;

I've increased calibration step even up to 15000ms (not sure what this is supposed to do) but I still get the same error after the same amount of steps (61).

53 minutes ago, michael8554 said:

Your Guiding Image Scale is    Pixel scale = 8.94 arc-sec/px,

Which is too high, and is contributing to your Cal problems.

Due to the large pixels     pixel size = 5.2 um, and the very short guidescope   FL Focal length = 120 mm

You need either a 3.75um pixel guidecam, or a f/4 50mm or f/4 60mm guidescope.

Does this mean I can't auto-guide with the equipment I've got and I need to change it?

Thanks again for your patience,

Luca

Hi everyone, once again I'm trying to autoguide and still failing to calibrate (RA only). 

Here's the guide log and the debug log.

Thanks for your help

PHD2_GuideLog_2022-02-24_231644.txt

PHD2_DebugLog_2022-02-24_231644.txt

Hi everyone, 

I'm using for the first time PHD2 and after connecting my mount and guide camera (Star Adventurer pro + ZWO 30mm f/4 + Orion Starshoot autoguider), the calibration process fails all the time. I've watched Peter Zelinka's tutorial, but in the end, after 60 west steps, I always get the same "the star didn't move enough" message. 

Why does phd2 wants the star to move anyway? isn't having stars as still as possible the purpose of guiding?🤯

I must obviously be too much of a dummy to be able to use a program called Press Here Dummy 😅😤

Great thanks!! It works fine now; for some reason my laptop wasn't seeing the usb hub

Hi again everyone, I'm still facing big issues with my equipment. I have downloaded the ascom platform and the drivers for my camera but, when I click connect, the following message appears:

Can anyone help going past this? Thanks

On 01/02/2022 at 01:39, Cornelius Varley said:

Hello and welcome to SGL. For the camera you will need the Ascom Platform and the camera's ascom driver, both available for Orion Product Support - Orion StarShoot AutoGuider (telescope.com) . Connect the camera to the computer's usb port and the mount's autoguide port using the supplied ST4 cable. In PHD2 select the camera and also select "on camera" for the mount type.

Thanks for your answer, I'll give it a go as soon as it stops raining 🙄🤞

Hi Everyone, 

I'm in need of basic help with my equipment. I have auto-guided before and I am struggling to connect. I have a Star adventurer pro, a orion starshoot autoguider, Canon 600D and I've downloaded PHD2. I did all the connections but, when I start the program, it just doesn't see my guide camera and it doesn't seem to have the star adventurer as an option in the mounts. I am a total beginner and also absolutely useless with computers and technology in general, so please be patient with me 😅

Thanks in advance for any sort of help