astrosathya

Hi Everyone, I am trying to setup the off axis guider in stellarium I've entered all details for my QHY5L II and checked the off axis guider box in the config. However, for the love of God I am not able to make the OAG red box appear in the display. No clue whats happening. My main imaging camera is a QHY9M. Any help will be appreciated.

Dont go for the CG-5GT, especially if its a 2011-12 model. That was the final batch of production and 9 out of 10 mounts would be returned. The HEQ5-PRO any day. I've has both mounts. The CG-5 I disposed off within two weeks of purchase owing to faulty gears. The HEQ5-PRO i've had for 8 years and last week I modded it to a belt drive too.

Thank You Carole. Its actually not difficult, but yes, a bit intimidating at the beginning perhaps. The only fiddly bit was unplugging the DEC motor wire. Otherwise much of it was a breeze.

Friends, I am back with a tutorial video on how to modify your Sky Watcher HEQ5-PRO mount or its American twin, the Orion Sirius EQ-G into a belt driven mount. The benefits of converting to a belt drive is that you don't have to worry about Backlash. The procedure took me about an hour to complete. Link is below https://youtu.be/PjDZiXaN5KM

this is correct, because of the filter wheel.

That's a Brilliant idea Michael. I never thought about it maybe because the filter wheel of my camera is offset (plus heavy) and may affect the balance of the scope. But I will try this. By the way, I use stellatium to check FoV of my main camera, but please may I know what software have you taken the screenshot from?

GSO RC6 1350 FL.

yes, only when I point the scope at a star rich FoV like a cluster or a huge nebula etc. I also use the same camera as a finderguider most times.

Hi everyone, I would like to use my QHY5L-II with my OAG. However, it seems like even at 2x Binning its not able to see stars. I've used Dark library, but no use even then Any help will be appreciated.

good image.

Hi Everyone, I am planning to belt mod my 8 year old HEQ5-PRO with the Rowan Kit. I'd highly appreciate comments and user feedback from folks who've already been using it and the results you've achieved compared to the geared HEQ5-PRO please. TIA.

Just thought i'll bring this up as a point of discussion. Today, cooled CMOS Astro Cameras are available in plenty. QHY, ZWO and other variants of the same camera are selling for very reasonable prices. However, there was a point of time when astrophotographers used to cool down their DSLR's as a cheap OSC alternative to CCD cameras. Give a choice, I would've purchased a dedicated CMOS OSC which can cool to 40 C below ambient, but since I had a Canon 500D which I had self modded, I requested a friend Kaustav Chatterjee (an avid model railroader) to cold mod my 500D (he had cold modded his 1000D long back). This newly modded camera has a TEC12703 single peltier and cools to approximately 20 below ambient.What do you guys think?

Hi Everyone, While we all know that there are plenty of hubs out there in the market like Hitec Astro Hub and Pegasus Astro Hubs for providing 12VDC and USB comm link for good cable management, I am a DIY person with little to no experience in electronics. I do know how to solder reasonably well. I am looking to see if someone here could help me with a circuit diagram for a hub that gives has 5x12VDC output, 3x5VDC output and 4xUSB powered hub for communication. I would then go out, purchase all components and build one for myself. This is only so that I don't have too many cables dangling off of my mount and becoming a constant trip hazard. TIA guys.

I was planning on buying this one. You say its good?

Lovely image.