duncanjameshill

I now have my first AP camera -  a QHY8L. I have a SW 100ED with the 0.85 reducer which screws onto the scope in place of the diagonal (I'm assuming!) How do I connect the camera to the reducer 😂?!?! Obviously I need an adaptor of some sort, but what is it called?

Thanks,

Duncan 

On 03/08/2022 at 23:54, andymw said:

FWIW:  if you need an autoguider solution, I have an Orion Magnificent Mini Deluxe Autoguider package that served me well for a couple of years.  I no longer use it as I have moved to an off-axis guider solution.

I would be happy to send it to you for the cost of shipping plus some kind of donation to my favourite charity: https://www.donmcmath.org/  They are a school in the Gambia for children who can't afford education.  We have sponsored two children through the school for the past 20 years although we have never asked to know which two children we were sponsoring. 

Just a thought .. you get an autoguider on the cheap and help some children in Africa at the same time.

In terms of your original question "I am trying to create a setup where I can attach my scope to a pier and use it from the shed (about 8m away), so I can leave all my gear setup, ready to go (is this possible?!?!).":

Yes it absolutely is.  I eventually achieved this by buying a mini-PC (A Mele Quieter3) that is strapped to my mount and installed all the pre-requisite software on it (in my case PHD2, SharpCap, APT, ASCOM).  I also installed a powerline (over the mains) wifi extender in my garage to give me wireless access to it.  I use remote desktop protocol from a PC inside to control the whole setup and use a robocopy script to automatically copy the subs captured back to my main PC indoors.

Thanks andymw for the offer, but I've decided to splashout for the Skywatcher 50ed and ASI120mm bundle from FLO. Incidentally, I tried to make a donation anyway and was sent to the Virgin Money home page and couldn't find my way from there. I will try again when I get home on Tuesday.

Duncan

Hi,

I've ordered a QHY8L for £350 which seems a bargain and a Skywatcher 50ed + ASI120mm guide bundle.

Beginners Guide to Astrophotography:

1. Decide a budget.

2. Double the budget.

3. Agree the budget is for "Phase 1"....

Luckily I have a small form factor PC from work which I can use for the remote setup, so hopefully I'll be on my way in a few days 😁.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, maybe I'll have some photos soon....

On 03/08/2022 at 19:28, Stu Wilson said:

I have a qhy8l tec cooled ccd camera for sale. 500 pounds plus 10 p&p if your interested.

 

Stu

Hi Stu,

Yes I'm interested please - is it possible to liveview with this cam though?

Duncan.

Hi,

I don't have a particular subject I want to photograph - whatever is easiest to learn the basics I guess.

Some more questions sorry. I've dug about a bit online but just ended up knowing less than when I started I think.

Am I right in saying that a guide scope is a more accurate version of a finder scope? Is this to improve the alignment of the scope just at setup?

And a guide camera will actually adjust the scope to compensate for misalignment?

So for objects that require long tracking times(?) a guide camera is needed as my mount just isn't accurate enough? 

For solar system AP a guide camera isn't required as you can _just_ point and click?!?

Is Full Frame better than APS-C for AP? Or does it depend on the object?

Is a Skywatcher Evostar 72ed ds pro better for AP than my 100ed? I was thinking of getting one previously as a grab and go for travelling.

Lots of questions, sorry, but one gets such clearer answers here than Googling it.

Thanks,

Duncan.

Hi, thanks for the replies - there is a lot of information there and I'll try to get my head around it all this morning.

I don't have a guide camera, and didn't realise I needed one - naively thought the mount would suffice!

You guys sure know what you're talking about and it'll take me a while to understand it all I think (but my holiday started today, so plenty of time for research 😁).

Thanks again so far!

Hi,

I am trying to create a setup where I can attach my scope to a pier and use it from the shed (about 8m away), so I can leave all my gear setup, ready to go (is this possible?!?!).

I have read that the Canon Eos 1100d is a respectable beginners camera for AP and also has liveview, which I'm hoping means I can view the image through a laptop. They are on eBay for ~£150 inc a 18-55mm lens which I assume is the lens which is originally bundled with the camera. 

I have a budget of £500 so this comes well in (which makes a change!). Is this a good place to start or should I be using the budget for a dedicated telescope camera - a ZWO asi for example?!? 

Could anybody recommend a camera which has the capability to be viewed / controlled via a laptop and is also suitable for DSO AP please?

Skywatcher Evostar 100ed ds pro, w/reducer

HEQ5 Pro goto 

Many thanks,

Duncan

50 minutes ago, SamAndrew said:

One thing to keep in mind is the EQ6 is very heavy and not something you will get out for a 15 minute gap in the clouds. The AZEQ5 is much lighter and can be picked up with on the tripod with the counter weight attached, or I'd go for one of the similarly priced ioptron mounts.

I'm hoping to keep the mount fixed to a pier so I don't have to grapple with it. 👍

1 hour ago, SiriusB said:

 

I will never sell this scope.

I looked at maybe an 6" SCT or Mak as it seems they are good all rounders.  But, almost everyone who has said they have a SW ED-Pro has said they will keep it forever. That seems like a good recommendation.

56 minutes ago, SiriusB said:

Have you used a telescope before? Just wondering about the wisdom of spending a substantial sum of money at the off if this is all new to you?    

Hi and thanks for your feedback 👍. I started out with a pair of Helios 20x80 binoculars with a tripod and then a SW Classic 200P Dob. The dob  had great reviews for a beginner scope and it definitely taught me about expections - honestly, I thought I was going to get super HD multicolour views of whatever I choose to look at. You can guess how that went. But, not getting that made me more interested in finding out what I could see. I did a lot more research into expected planetary views and as such I felt like a child at Christmas when I first saw Saturn's rings. I spent most of my limited viewing time looking at Saturn and the moon, mainly because I didn't really know what else was out there. And still don't really, but I'm keen to find out what I can find. It's been about 4 years since I had the Helios' and I'm definitely in this for the long haul. 

Ha, bit of a life story there sorry 😂.

This is an expensive hobby, that's for sure. If I appeared flippant about the costs here, I apologise - that was not my intent. I've spent a long time looking at what could be the right scope for me next, knowing that it would be a significant cost increase to previous equipment. One of my biggest concerns is that the money I've saved goes on something that doesn't give what I was hoping for or needs to be replaced in a short time. I would not consider that money well spent.

Again, apologies, I didn't mean to be dismissive about the costs involved here.

Thanks for all the advice, it's really appreciated and has helped me towards some decisions.

I think I'm going for the NEQ6 Pro or maybe a EQ6-R Pro if I can re-budget (or re-re-budget 😫). I feel this will be an investment that I hopefully won't need to change for a long time, regardless of scope or AP.

Now the scope. I suppose I might be better off with a reflector of some sort, but I can't shake this bug for a refractor. So, the 120ED DS Pro it is.

Now, I found out last night that you can actually get home observatory domes!!! I'm already formulating some plans to modify the shed!

1 hour ago, Peter Drew said:

I personally wouldn't buy any refractor primarily for visual DSO observation, they are far too small in the affordable price range.  A good setup would be  a 10" Newtonian for visual plus a 80ED for grab & go and future AP.      🙂

I've just sold a SW classic 200P dob as I just couldn't get on with it. It was my first scope so I'm sure the issue was with me, as it seems to be well rated for beginners. I felt like a change of scope would get me back outside and I've read good things about refractors. I'm hoping that the next purchase (scope and mount) will be a keeper which I can add to in the future. 

8 minutes ago, johninderby said:

I’ve had an 8” SCT as well as the Skymax 180 before getting the CC8”. Cools down about as quickly as a refractor and no dew problems are what I really like.  Sharper on axis than the SCT. Also has a fixed primary unlike the mak and SCT so no primary mirror movement. Uses a proper crayford focuser which again is nice to have. Just a nice scope to use.

Have recently bought the CC6” which I use as a grab’n’go setup. 

So many good scopes out there nowadays it can indeed be hard to choose just one. 😁

I have the TS CC8” which is identical to the StellaLyra except for the colour.

 

FLO actually have the CC 8" in stock at the moment. More decisions 😂

2 minutes ago, John said:

On an alt-azimuth mount it's a readily portable scope and quick to set up . I can pick this whole setup up and move it around the garden. I take it out of the house in 2 parts (tube + mount / tripod). Cool down time is about 20 minutes for best high power viewing.

Whether that is fully "grab and go" depends on the definition of that term I suppose. There is not an official definition !

 

That is what I hoped (and feared) to hear 😁. I was under the impression I would need a hefty mount for the ED120? I'm thinking about an SW equatorial but, obviously, not sure which one yet. Costs go up so quickly but I'm worried about under buying and having to upgrade soon after buying.

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

While the Skymax180 is a popular and very good scope it is slow to cool down and dews up easily. I had one but replaced it with a CC8” Not much bigger or heavier but cools down quickly, no dewing problems and has a fixed primary and a proper crayford focuser. Will take higher magnification as well.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-telescopes/stellalyra-8-f12-m-lrs-classical-cassegrain-telescope-ota.html

Thanks, I'll look into that. In honesty, I hadn't decided 100% on the Skymax, but I am hoping for some sort of Mak or SCT to compliment the refractor. How does anyone decide on which scope to buy?!?!?!

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Hi Duncan,

The 80ED Pro is a very nice scope for visual, but the 100ED is better, while the 120ED better still, especially for DSO's.  Trying to go down the visual and imaging route might mess with your head. The 80ED would make a good imaging instrument for DSO's, while at the same time acting as a good general grab and go visual scope. The 100ED is a bit on the long side to act as a wide field imaging scope and is better suited to visual, but it can still be used to image. 

I think maybe I'm trying to cover too many bases in one and should forget about imaging for now - really it's just the visual I'm after. I would love for someone to tell me the 120ED could be described as a grab and go........?

3 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

I have recently taken delivery of a 100ED after a 3 month wait. I’ve been out twice with it. I’m no expert on the intricacies of refractors. 

 I only do visual and I also have an 8” reflector. I found the 100ED to be excellent visually, no chromatic aberration that I noticed due to the ED glass and it was great on double stars with lovely sharp images. It hasn’t got the aperture of the reflector so, in my light polluted skies, it won’t be my first choice for dso’s but it works perfectly well for visual use and will work well with double stars, planetary nebulae and brighter dso’s........and then you can turn to the dark side and take up AP.

 

 

 

It's good to get feedback from someone who has one of these scopes, thanks. I think I might also be in for a long wait after I've ordered too 😒.

I know that there are many discussions comparing the ED Pro series, but they mainly seem to be about the scopes' suitability for astrophotography. I'm keen to try out a refractor for DSO visual, with the possibility of AP at a later date (when the budget allows).

The consensus seems to be that the 80ED DS-Pro is a great beginners scope for AP but is that true also for visual?

The cost of an 80ED DS-Pro with HEQ5 GoTo mount comes in under budget (£1,500) but is it suitable for visual? The 120ED DS-Pro, I guess, will be great for visual but I think needs a bigger mount if I was to take up AP later on (maybe an EQ6-R?) which puts the cost somewhere near £2,500.

I would go to this cost if I was sure it was the best option, but if the 80 or 100ED DS-Pro is suitable for visual, then I would prefer to stay in budget.

Any advice on these scopes would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, I'm also hoping to add a Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 PRO at a later date, so which ever mount I buy needs to be suitable for this too. Any thoughts on this scope?!?!?!

Thanks,

Duncan.

If you find two, let me know! 😁