Stagman

Hi Stagman

Ive got the first version, Im sure you will be ok with your mount as you have the ability to shift down to a lower guiding speed. I believe that the LVI mark 2 has a lot more flexibility then the mark 1 version so it will be interesting to see how you get on with it. Its a shame you cant use the camera as an imaging camera though.

Hi Quatermass

Thanks for the reply........ Hopefully this weekend I will be able to test it out. I know what you mean about the camera but it's portability I need and already have enough cameras for imaging

Thanks guys I had an intresting evening trying out the LVI again just for the hell of it. And after I had sorted the gears out yesterday and sussed that the 2x wont move the motor when the left ra button is pressed, I decided to try it on 4x and blow me if LVI went ahead and did the whole thing found the star adjusted exsposure and then calibrated its self moving all the motors and then finally started guiding. I hit the camera remote and took a 5 second sub but as exspected it was rubbish with lots of little sqigglys every where. So what the LVI guy said was right it wont work with this set up because it needs a lower gear speed fussy little swine that it is.

I then took a 5 minute sub unguided and it was much better still some movement but no where near as bad as the LVI effort.

Its all good fun though I quite enjoyed messing around with it and finding out what I could and could not do with it.

Any way Im pinning my hopes on PHD which I think will be much better.

I've still not been able to try my LVI out yet but looking forward to the fun Which version are you using.. MK1 or 2?

Your confusing me now the Parfocal EP is tiny and really hard to look through you have to look first through a 25m EP to get the star in the centre then put on the Parfocal EP. When you do that the star is out of focus so you turn the focuser down to focus in on the star and get it sharp. That done you then put in the LVI camera and it searches for a star and finds one. If you try putting the P.EP in you will really find it hard to get a star in the centre so you have to use a 25 m standard EP first. Well I had to it was near impossible otherwise. But once your star is centred your good to go. I may be wrong more exsperinced LVI user may do it another way.

Thanks again Still confused... Hopefully I will get to try out the LVI over the weekend and report back.

edit....

The problem is this, If you put the LVI camera in your main telescopes focuser to test it out as I did you will first focus on a star with your standard 25m WA lens and once thats done put in the LVI lens to focus on the star again so the camera will pick up the star. However that reguires a fair old turning down of the focus knobs to get the star in the LVIs lens in focus. It is this that makes it hard to work with the finders scope. It can be done but will require a good diy job to insure you can rack it back and forth to get in focus and have enough back and forth movement to do so. I think a proper guide scope will do a better job having tryed it out tonight but I might be wrong other may have done this and be using the LVI guider with it.

Thanks!... Now I'm confused Why not use the LVI parfocal EP in the finder to get focus and then insert the camera and check the focus on screen and adjust as required?

Interesting! .... just received my LVI 2 today and hopefully be able to try it out over the weekend

I was also considering using the 9 X 50 finder as a guidescope. What was the problem with focus?