spaceman_spiff

Expensive...unfortunately yes. My wife thinks i'm crazy to spend £240 on an "iron bar" but we know better, right? But you are right, the cameras are the real killer!

My wife just got me the ADM mounting bar for Christmas. I can't believe how heavy it is! A very solid piece of kit, the very long-term plan is to get multiple scopes and image simultaneously. I'll need a few more Christmas bonuses for that to happen. I can't wait to set up the rig this weekend (with the excuse that I need to check everything works OK!). Dan.

Following this with interest... Keep up the good work!

Hi Olli, I use the 12V DC - 6V DC converter by HiTecastro plugged into a 230 AC-12V DC converter. It works well for the Synguider 2 but didn't work for the Synguider 1 (no idea why not...) Not sure what SA is... but the HEQ5 should be able to handle your 130ps, ST80 and guide-scope mount easily. I know some people use a finder-guider set-up to save weight but have never used that so can't comment. I just know the ST80 works! HTH Dan.

I bought the Synguider 2 a few months ago because my old Synguider 1 exploded (don't use 12V input!). The new version is more sensitive than the old one and it sends correcting signals more frequently. I actually found it harder to set up because it is easy to overexpose the sensor. With some fiddling and good focusing it does work well. You will also need a guide scope for it. I use the ST80 and attach it using the Skywatcher guide-scope mount + FLO adapter plate. To summarise, the Synguider 2 is decent, I haven't been able to use it much in the past few months because of work commitments but I am happy with it. HTH Dan.

That's where I got mine, it works a treat!

Hi there nivniv, In my opinion, DSO imaging is possible for light polluted skies but you need to add filters to remove the unwanted light and you cannot expect to capture the very faint detail around some nebulae and galaxies. The LP will simply be brighter that the detail you are trying to image. Reading your posts, I am not sure exactly what you want to do with a scope...you mention earlier that you are interested in DSO imaging but now you also mention interest in Lunar/Planetary imaging. Perhaps you yourself are not sure...an understandable position, I was also unsure when I started. If that is the case, then you should be looking for a good all-round telescope with decent aperture and a focal length that is not too long (IMO less than 1200mm). Other posters have recommended a 100mm APO/ED doublet telescope. This will perform well for both DSO and Lunar/planetary imaging as well as being easier to mount, move about and collimate compared to a larger Newtonian. Might I also suggest you look into local astronomical societies and talk to them. Most societies have observing nights and you can see different telescopes in action and talk to their owners. HTH Dan.

Hi there, Last night was first light for my new Synguider 2, I thought I would post my first impressions and problems with it. I originally used a Synguider 1 and it could guide very well despite not being very sensitive. Here are the problems I came across: - The new Synguider is way more sensitive than the older version, I have to use very short exposures to get a decent brightness level. I worry this will mean I am guiding on atmospheric turbulence rather than the actual drift of the star. - I then found a fainter star (but this was harder to see in the finder-scope). I was expecting to find more stars just pop up on the screen as I increased the exposure time, but this didn't happen. Perhaps I need to play with the noise cut-off settings more to find the point where the background is just being cut-off and faint stars are detected. - Strangely, after I did the auto-calibration, it gave me a DEC aggressiveness of 0, I repeated the auto calibration and I got the same result. So I started guiding and got good round stars... However when I deliberately knocked the telescope to test the guiding the DEC would not come back to zero! How did I get round stars on my 3min subs?! - I actually like the faster refresh rate of the star on the screen, but coupled with the dimmer backlight, the brightness and guiding correction numbers are difficult to read (they change very quickly). So overall, I guess I was expecting the Synguider 2 to be a more sensitive version of the first version but actually, I will need to learn some new set-up techniques before I get the best out of this thing.

Here's mine, piggybacked on my 120mm achro.

I have seen this effect before (its not that rare), when the Sun is behind clouds sometimes the clouds just adjacent to the Sun in the sky appear as bright or brighter than the Sun itself (at least on the camera sensor). It normally happens when a thicker bank of cloud occludes the Sun (making it appear dimmer) but thinner cloud surrounds it. The thinner cloud scatters the light and appears very bright. Although I can't be completely sure since the photo is over-exposed. As for the reddish colour, I agree with the previous post that it is probably atmospheric dispersion. As a side note for your friend, it this were another planet and this picture was taken during the day, you would expect to see a phase (a light side and dark side). HTH Dan

My ST80 has faithfully guided my scope for the past 4 years. The focuser isn't great but it does lock down quite well. I used some pieces of cardboard to prevent any tilt when using the locking screw. Dan

Is there a way of extending the AZ-EQ6's saddle outwards... I can see replacement saddles but not extensions. You could get one machined, also this would increase the load on the mount quite a bit.

I think you can set slewing limits for the mount. Not done it myself but might be worth looking into.