RayD

I've not looked to be honest John. I'll have a look tonight and let you know.

Yes I think you're spot on Dave. Even Pegasus has a little cover on theirs, and it does make a difference to how it looks. Let's face it, we all want things to work, but we do also like it when they look pretty.

Noooooooo don't tell the wife! It is very nice Steve, I really like it so far, but of course it comes with a premium price tag!

Oh without doubt, Steve. The look, feel and to be fair operation so far for me (software) is typically Italian, absolutely beautiful, and not at all industrial like the Lakeside.

One other advantage with the Lakeside is the ability to drive the focuser without being connected to a computer, such as visual work etc. by using the controller in manual mode and pressing the buttons on it. That isn't possible with this device. You have to have a computer connected to use it. I suspect this is intended really for AP exclusively, where invariably you will be connected to a computer.

Yes I have both, and actually still rate the Lakeside probably a bit better from a simplicity and secure fixing point of view. However, the controller for this is built in, and Lakeside still has quite a big box that you need to accommodate somewhere. I'm not sure whether it is going to make a difference in the long-term, or whether one or the other is better as I can see benefits of each, but this one drives on the small micro shaft and not the high speed shaft like the Lakeside. I think with ball bearing reduction you may see some slippage over time requiring a re-calibration, which of course you don't have with the Lakeside. Whether this is likely to be problematic I'm not really sure, but probably only if you image remotely, but then you can have a known setpoint to calibrate it to I suspect. If it were me just getting my first electronic focuser, honestly, I would go with Lakeside or other well tested and trusted brand like SharpSky. This one appears to be really nice, looks lovely and initially seems to operate really well, but the only reason I got it was the lack of controller, which meant it fits in perfectly with what I am trying to achieve for this particular set up now using the Eagle2. I certainly won't be selling my Lakeside any time soon, put it that way.

Yes it seems quite well made, Steve, and yes you are right, it clamps over the collar and you then tickle up the 3 little grub screws to make sure it is really secure. Price wise it is comparable with the others i.e. Lakeside, as you don't need a custom bracket and coupler (it comes with 5 or 6 different sized ones). I've sorted out all the workings and software now so will be doing a video for my YouTube channel tonight showing it operating, and how to calibrate it etc. With pretty much all focusers you lose the ability to manual focus unfortunately, Lakeside included. Moonlite have a clutch system which lets you de-couple it, but they are one of the only ones (the only one I know of) that do this.

It is a nice piece of kit, although there is a forum member who had to return theirs due to the grub screw threads twice stripping whilst trying to mount it. I never had such issues and it fitted very easily and it seems to work very well. Mine is on my Tak106 but I believe they fix in exactly the same way on the Baader. The unit comes with a stand-alone programme on a USB stick, and also 32 and 64bit ASCOM drivers, which work perfectly in SGP. It's pretty quick, but seemingly also pretty accurate. So far very happy but early days yet. Bright flashing LED is annoying and can't be switched off, so hopefully they will address that in a future update.

Good job swearing is filtered on here

Great stuff Gav. I am certain that will definitely not be disappointed, it's a really lovely telescope

Yes I suspect it would be as it is Robofocus/Moonlite compatible, so the pinouts would be the same. The only thing is you won't have the temperature sensor working on the Lakeside, so you need to tell SGP or other acquisition software to use the environmental sensor on the hub for the focus temperature.

Is a curve ball Gav, particularly as he is selling it due to upgrading to a Tak 106

No not saying there is anything wrong with yours John, just that I found on my larger sensor the FF was subject to very small adjustments. I doubt this would be anywhere near as critical on an 8300 sensor, but definitely worth having a play around with (+-1mm) as there can be a small variance in the sensor distance within the camera.

I found mine to be quite critical, and literally down to cutting a 0.3mm spacer from the lid of a spread tub. Took me a fair while to get it right, but that was over the APS-H sensor, which is pretty big.

Yes it works great. You have to make a lead up as the focuser socket on the Pegasus is RJ12, but it is really easy as Pegasus give you the pin outs on their web site. I just bought a standard RJ12 flat lead 2m long, cut one end off and soldered on a D sub socket. The 2m lead was enough to make 2 leads. Took 20 minutes and focuser works a treat. Apologies @PhotoGav

The Esprit 100 really is excellent for the money in my opinion Gav. You could certainly do far worse. I use mine with the SW dedicated FF and it provides a very flat field across my APS-H sensor, which is only just short of full frame, but I do need to use 2" filters on that. The stock focuser is very good, and using the Lakeside works a treat on it. I really can't fault it for the money and wouldn't part with mine. Below is a pic of mine with the Lakeside on, and one mounted and ready for work. Also is a single 1200s sub of the Pelican (Ha with only a brief stretch & curves) to give you an ideal of the FOV with the APS-H sensor, and the flatness across that FOV. I honestly don't think you would be disappointed and, as with the Tak, you only have to look to see how few there are available used to give you an indication of how good they are.

Yes I can only see it being of major benefit to non-permanent set ups. I've seen all manner of mods and kits etc. but this does seem the solution to resolving all inherent faults (assuming it is well made of course and does not have its own inherent faults).

Thanks Derek. Yes I've seen many of Dion's videos, some are very good, but never seen a completely modded wedge for a specific mount. Seems like a great idea. Hope you get your issue sorted to your satisfaction.

What a great idea.

Thanks Stu. I looked through your thread and some great stuff there, very inspirational. On the back of that I called my Godson and he pointed me towards 'pro' settings on the S8 which basically make it operate like a DSLR, so I am going to try them out, get some practice with the various settings and see if I can get something worthy of an entry

I might have a go Stu. It is a sensational camera, but all I know how to do is point and click. My Godson is a real whizz at all things telephone etc. so I may try to get an impromptu crash course. I'll have a look through that thread, thanks for sharing it.

I have Galaxy S8 so should be able to get a great image, but I have no idea how to use it so look forward to seeing what wins.

Great stuff, promising start

Ooh hello. How did it go? How did you get on with the alignment?

Very nice. Neat and compact. I think the focus is a bit soft on the picture it is sitting on though, also stars look a bit eggy