Midnight_lightning

I desperately need a thin rotator to go between filter wheel and CCD. There have been several threads on this in the past and the only thing I could find was this one : https://www.365astronomy.com/TS-T2-Thread-360o-Rotation-Adapter-and-Quick-Changer-Extra-Short-5.5mm.html This could do the job but some people reckoned it could cause tilt so I would be interested to hear from anyone who uses one and how they get on with it? Also, has anyone got an alternative solution? Thanks Jon

Hi, I have a problem that the FW on my new longer scope cant get past the top of the tripod legs when imaging around the zenith. I have tried rotating the FW but it causes issues: I have an OAG Lodestar attached to top of filter so if I rotate 180 degreess the Lodestar crashed the mount instead of the FW If I rotate less than 180 degress (say 45 degrees) I solve the crash issue but then cant balance the mount properly because the heavier FW is off centre. Another issue is that to rotate the camera for framing I also have to rotate flattener, FW and camera - which will inevitably bring me back to a collision scenario. This must be a common problem - just wondered how you all get around it? Thanks Jon

Thanks, just what I needed

Can anyone tell me how I go about working this out. I have 1.25 inch filters and will have a 100mm aperture scope with 562mm and 703mm focal length options. I'm trying to work out how big a sensor size I can go to without needing larger diameter filters. Can anyone suggest how I can estimate this ?

I looked at the 120 and EQ6R Pro but i set up every night and quite honestly its too much weight for me. I would need a dolly (£300), plus its wouldn't fit in my homemade humidity controlled cupboard - it just seemed more than I could manage. I am getting a bit concerned that no one seems to have anything good to say about the WO GT102 - I thought they were a step above the esprit equivalent but maybe not(?)

My HEQ5 would struggle with the 120 - it was my first choice but after a lot of research and talking to people about it I decided I would need a bigger mount. The GT102 gives me the option of going from 400 with the Esprit to either 562mm or 704mm depending on which flattener I get. I'm probably looking at the 0.8 reducer initially due to length of exposure.

I have been looking for a 4" refractor in the £2k-£3k price range to give me more reach and greater resolution than my excellent Esprit 80. My conclusion after three full days of analysis is that the GT 102 should do what I need. I'm thinking or getting both the 68III flattener and Flat 7a 0.8 reducer. Any thoughts? Also, has anyone any experience of using the William Optics Flattener 68III with the GT102. As far as I can see the flattener was specifically made for the FLT132 but is also shown as useable on the GT102 - just wondered if it is ok not being specifically made for it?

OK, I cant manage a 120. I would like to upgrade to a 100mm - 115mm Refractor for AP. Of course I want everything (I know I wont get it!) - superb image quality, low F ratio, long focal length, preferably not too expensive but this is the last scope I will buy so it has to be good.What would you recommend ?

An obsy would be great, I carry mine out onto the drive each time I image - but the automation really helps, I now do my imaging sat in front of TV with a beer - I monitor whats going on with a second laptop and an IP camera

Ouch, I take 20 minute NB subs with my Esprit 80, usually 0.5 - 0.8" RMS, and would be confident in getting 30 mins though I haven't tried - didn't realise it would make such a big difference.

Hi, Following on from an earlier post I have been persuaded to go for a refractor rather than SCT as my next scope. I currently own an Esprit Pro 80 400 which is an excellent telescope and am considering buying an Esprit Pro 120 so I can have a crack at smaller nebulas and more galaxies than the 80 can get me. It will be on a Stellare tuned HEQ5 and paired with an SX814 CCD giving image scale of 0.9 Does this sound like a good choice in the price bracket, does anyone else have any experience with the Esprit 120, what alternatives would you consider - something faster would always be good? Thanks Jon

There is a lot of personal preference when choosing kit but I would suggest you go for an 80 400mm APO as they are more forgiving on the guiding for a beginner and there are lots of large targets that they are perfect for. Also, I would avoid a Crayford focuser for AP due to the weight of the camera and other accessories - try and find a rack and pinion focuser. Suggest you go to Astronomy Tools where you can input your camera details and try different scopes and it will show you what your images will look like regarding field of view. Also consider pixel scale - there is a calculation for it. You definitely don't want to under sample and over sampling wastes data. This should be a major consideration in choosing camera/scope. The HEQ5 is a fine mount, its lighter than its big brother, which you will appreciate if you have to set up each night, and providing you are happy with its lower cargo weight it arguably gives better tracking - personally having used one for 4 years I wouldn't look at anything else. Also just had mine Stellare tuned and getting unbelievably good guiding. Its a steep learning curve, suggest you keep it simple to start. Perhaps leave guiding for a while, an ED80 on an HEQ5 with a DSLR should give you a few minutes unguided - cant remember what I used to get. Focus on getting good polar alignment. Get used to taking calibration frames - they are ESSENTIAL! When you have that working consider the following - these are the steps I took over my first 4 years: - Buy Star Tools for processing - you have a steep learning curve and ST is really easy to use, also use DSS for pre-processing (Buy APP if you can afford it). Yu will probably move to Pixinsight at some point but dont do it know, you have enough on your hands. - Buy a light panel for taking flats (google it, you will find flourescent panels including cable/transformer for under £20. - Buy Polemaster or similar for PA (best optional extra I ever bought) - Use some software for control - I recommend SGPro as it integrates with the following add-ons - Buy a cooled CCD/CMOS MONO camera - this will vastly improve your images, if you are serious about AP you will buy one at some point so don't wait longer than you need to save up! - Buy an electronic filter wheel (7 position) - start with LRGB filters, then get Ha, SII, OIII. At this stage decide whether your guiding will by OAG or a separate scope. Personally I like OAG and suggest you look at Starlight Express USB EFW with OAG - Buy a guide camera - I would look at Lodestar 2 but lots of good ones - Buy an autofocusser - I use Sharpsky, it includes dew belt and controller, but there are several. As I say, lots to learn and you need deep pockets so buy a bit at a time and save up. You will also change your mind about what is important as you gain experience so start small, master what you have, and then move onto the next step. Hope this helps

Thanks, both useful.

I've been imaging around 3 years with an Esprit Pro 80 400mm and SX814 CCD camera (12.48mm x 9.98mm chip and 3.69 pixels) and had good success. I have a 7 position filter wheel, Autofocusser and Lodestar 2 / OAG guiding - all sitting on a Stellare tuned HEQ5 mount. I do a mix of RGB and NB. I'm now wanting to do two things: 1) Get more definition / detail into the Deep Sky images that I have been taking. 2) Tackle some of the smaller galaxies. I don't know where to start, it has been suggested that I look at a Celestron Edge HD 8 and consider also getting a Hyper Star. This seems to satisfy my objective but I have only ever used a Refractor and don't know anything about reflectors/SCT. Does this seem like a good way forward - any other suggestions? How would using an Edge HD differ from my Esprit - e.g. I guess it cant take a filter wheel, does it need an autofocusser, can I still use OAG guiding. Be great to know basically what the differences are, what I would need to do and buy - can I use any of my existing equipment? Thanks Jon

I notice in various settings that Epoch is mentioned. e.g. in EQMOD I have Epoch Unknown, but in Plate Solving it uses J2000. Can anyone shed some light on "Epoch" and when to use what - e.g I'm wondering if I need to standardise on, say, J2000, in which case should I select this in EQMOD? Thanks Jon

Hi, I have been using an HEQ5 + Esprit 80/400 with SGPro/EQMOD for a couple of years without issue, I leave the rig set up but have to carry it outside to tripod marks on the drive each night. Just recently I made some changes, had the mount Stellar tuned and changed the EFW - so had to take everything apart and rebuild it all, including different camera rotation (no rotator) and calibrated the mount from scratch (Park position with weights down using spirit level and Dec using spirit level on wedge bracket). Now I find my goto (Stellarium/SGPro) is way off - slewing to andromeda I could just make out the very edge of the galaxy on one edge of the frame I took. My Question. How do I get my mount to get reasonable close to where it needs to be on first slew? How do I sync the mount - I think Blind Plate solving works (at least sometimes). Be great if someone could give me a basic workflow for set-up/sync. I have always had an issue that pre-post Meridian Flip my images show a few degrees rotation - possibly Cone error, could that be part of the issue? Finally, is the orientation (rotation) of the camera of any consequence - e.g. for plate solving - I cant think it is but I'm doubting myself at the moment. Seems I've forgotten a lot in two years of everything just working !! Thanks Jon

I am experimenting but its complicated by my lack of experience processing both SHO or Bicolour. I found an SHO workflow which worked for this image but when I tried to adapt it to Bicolour on the same image using just the Ha/OIII the results weren't as good. I don't know whether its the data or my processing that is the problem. As I'm writing this I just thought maybe go through Astrobin and see what others are achieving with Bicolour - that should help

I'm relatively new to narrow band imaging and have just produced my first SHO image using PixInsight and following a LightVortex tutorial step by step. I have a dilemma but don't know enough to know what to do, all suggestions welcome. The dilemma is this, I have 7 filters, L, R, G, B ,Ha, SIII, OIII but only a 5 position filter wheel and it drives me mad swapping filters so I'm thinking of upgrading to a 7 filter wheel but would be expensive. I intend to produce this style of NB image with Golds and Blues rather than include green and I'm wondering if I can get this effect using Ha and OIII only rather than SHO? If so I can manage with a 5 filter wheel by using Ha in place of L - i.e. R,G,B,Ha,OIII. So I guess the question is, If I want to produce Gold / Blue NB images does SHO or HO give the best result ? Thanks Jon

Great thanks.

I run a Sky Watcher Esprit 80/400 APO with SX Mini FW (17oz) and SX814 CCD camera (14oz) with SharpSky focusser. Total weight on focusser draw tube is 31oz or nearly 2lb. I want to upgrade to the larger SX USB/OAG seven position FW (28oz) but this will take the total weight to 42oz (2lb 10oz) Two questions. Will the Esprit handle that much weight on the focusser draw tube? Will the SharpSky auto-focusser be able to hold the weight without slipping? If anyone has experience of using an Esprit 80 with heavy FW/Camera I would be interested to know how much weight you have and how you get on with it. Cheers Jon