BigRD

PM sent Roy

Happy Birthday. I also recieved these for my birthday in June. I also bought a 72" tripod with pistol grip - I'm very pleased with they're a great combination. The pistol grip came with 2 quick release plates for a quick change with my DSLR. Tripod and Pistol Grip During the brief clear sky on Saturday I was able to see Saturn and just make out the rings. Andromeda Galaxy was very clear. Enjoy.

The plastic mount does seem a bit flimsy but is fine with my lighter 10x50 binos. I bought this for the new 15x70s and glad I did, nice and sturdy, no flexing.......but don't over tighten! All I need now is dry weather and visability of the sky.

Have you tried changing the USB speed in Sharpcap or Altair Capture? I found with mine i was struggling to reach 2fps until I moved the USB speed slider to the middle setting then it increased to >25fps and >60fps using the ROI. I've now changed to using a 9x50 finder with suitable adapter as my guide camera and for polar alignment with Sharpcap 3. Polar alignment was the best I've managed yet and I'm picking up countless stars without any problems. I've also attached my GP2C to my reflector and successfully imaged jupiter using Altair Capture. The long light nights and poor weather have scuppered any chance of serious testing for now. Hope this helps

I also have a new pair of these. I was looking for something low cost but decent enough to use whilst my camera is fitted to my telescope. Early birthday present too but allowed to have them before mid June so we could take them on holiday...didn't even have to surrender them till my birthday :-) I also need something sturdy and tall enough so bought the Amazon Basics with Pistol Grip Head to go with them. A great combination. I've not had a chance to use them for stagazing yet other than a quick look at the moon, Jupiter and Ursa Major and first impressions are good. They've been impressive during the day too.

If you have any spare old eye pieces similar to a Skywatcher 25mm you can use those too. I used one to fit the MS Lifecam after giving up trying to locate the Billetparts adapter.

Hello from Stirling

Hi Davy, it's suprising how easily you can lose an hour staring at the sky. Astrophotography can assist in losing many more :-) Roy

Hi Scott, I'm not too far away in Stirling. Blighted by the same street light issue! I've new to this hobby too...bitten hard :-) Roy

Thanks Peter it was my first time :-) Check the model once you're back in France in the meantime here's my approach. I followed the route others had taken to get the camera's Bulb function working for DSLR Shutter (free) and Backyard Nikon. The D5100 needs a serial cable to control the shutter and can also be simulateously connected via USB for other functions. Other Nikon cameras work with just the USB. Check Backyard Nikon Compatibility to see if your camera needs a serial cable first. There's a couple of threads in the their forum for 2 versions of the cable. I'm competent with a soldering iron so the Nikon cable was fairly straighforward for me. There's a couple of ways you can tackle it but both require a manual remote shutter release cable to start with. You only really need the plug that's inserted in the camera along with the cable and discard the pushbutton. This cost me £6 from Amazon SHOOT MC-DC2 Remote I also bought this FT232RL TTL to USB . Before I butchered the cable I tried it out on the camera first and noticed that as long as the cable was plugged in Bulb was available for longer than 30 secs and can be controlled manually by my wireless remote and no lense attached. The Pleaides picture was taken using this method at 60 sec exposure length. I kept the housing to fit the TTL to USB converter. You'll also need a USB cable USB A to mini USB a 4.7kOhm 1/8 watt resistor, 2 x Germanium 1N34 or 1N60 diodes (must be Germanium and I found them on eBay 5 for £1) and a PNP Epitaxial transistor - I used a BC556. Components cost approx £1.50. There's a post on Cloudy Nights forum with instructions - not sure if cross forum posting is allowed so I'll leave it to you to search but you'll find a link to in the Backyard Nikon forum on RTS cables. It all fitted neatly inside the remote pushbutton case. I've used a 10M Active USB Repeater Cable with a USB hub at the mount end. All working well so far I'm going to add another USB Repeater cable so the photo data is not transfered on the same USB cable as the controls, guide camera etc. The other route is to buy a ready made USB Relay Controller (have seen these on ebay too) and fit in between the butchered remote cable and a USB cable - I think this needs a USB type B. Hope this helps Clear skies Roy

Good to see this thread bumped up. I bought a EQ3-2 (actually a SkyScan 2001) late last year complete with a small 90mm Mak scope. After a bit of work and a steep learning curve I've taken on modding the mount for imaging. Some say it's not up to it, well I've managed to take my first photos of M42 and M45 and I'm chuffed with the results. I'm using a Skywatcher 130PDS with Nikon D5100 DSLR. I've DIY fitted 2 stepper motors controlled with EQMod via the fantastic self assembled AstroEQ interface. I've just finished making a side-by-side bracket and fitted a Skywatcher ST80 for guiding. All I need now is clear skies to setup and test. I've also added a DIY polar scope illuminator and DIY shutter control cable for the Nikon. I'm probably at the limit of the mount's capabilities but it's been fun to push it. I've dismantled the DEC and part of the RA, cleaned, lubricated with lithium grease, reassembled and setup. I've improved on the slack and backlash which was very evident when I bought it. I may consider filling the legs to aid stability however it's fine for now....I just want to get out and use it!!

What's the aperture size? 50mm, should've read the title properly 😀

Hi, I'm also a beginner...At 51 😀

Hi all, After lurking about these forums for a couple of months I thought it was about time I said hello. Hello from Stirling I've always felt that one day I'd take a greater interest in astronomy. Spurned on by my son starting Astro Physics at Uni that time has now come. With limited funds to start with last Sept I treated myself to a second hand Skyscan 2001 (EQ3-2) mount with a Skywatcher C90 Mak. I felt it was missing something so Santa treated me to a Skywatcher 130PDS - ideal for hooking up my DSLR. I was blown away by the number of objects that I could see and the clarity. I could actually see M42 and Pleiades! I never thought it possible to take photos like those posted in these forums something I'd like to pursue. A single 2 sec exposure of M42 brought so much more detail than I thought. My next step is to motorise my mount. I came across the excellent EQMod project and the excellent AstroEQ project by Tom Carpenter. Most parts have now been bought so next step is to put it all together. Polar alignment at 56 degrees = sore knees and a crick in my neck! Roy