Ivan Hancock

Hi Shelster, I ended up getting the EQ6-R Pro, but with the usb port in the bottom of the hand controller. The newest revision is very slow getting to Australia and I was sick of waiting !! However, I have been having plenty of success with my mount, and I am going to be guiding with my ZWO ASI120 MM and selecting "on camera guiding" My friend does it this way and it works a treat 🙂 and this also means there's only one cable to worry about as well 👍 so all I have is the power chord and the camera lead because I use the SynScan WiFi dongle with my iPad, this ends up being a pretty tidy setup 👌 Cheers Ivan..

First Light with the Esprit 100ED & the EQ6-R, after fiddling my way around a polar alignment using SharpCap Pro, followed by a 2 star alignment, I chose the Lagoon Nebula as my first test subject. I framed up the Lagoon & Trifid nebula's I set my intervalometer to 40 x 60 seconds and let it do it's stuff. I wasn't ready to deal with PHD 2 just yet, That can wait till the next dark sky weekend. So here is my very first image from the first outing with the new gear, I am pretty happy with the results. Now I have a few weeks of processing to do....🤓

Hi there everyone, My question is, Where in the image train (What Order) do you screw on 2" filters so they don't affect your back focus ? I have a Skywatcher Esprit 100ED with dedicated field flattener, So I am dealing with a series of different sized threads. Any information will be greatly appreciated 😀 I really need a light pollution filter where I live !! and I am using DSLR un-modified, both aps-c and full frame.

I have the Orion guide scope that fits where the finder scope goes, I'll see how it goes in the short term 👍

Hello there Techsperts, with all of the new pro series EQ6-R mounts out there in Astroland, Has anyone at all managed to work out what the USB port is on the bottom of the v5 SynScan Hand Controller ? I've googled it, looked on the skywatcher website with no success !! not even the Manuals that came with the mount have any reference to the USB Port ? any info would be greatly appreciated 👍 Cheers Ivan

Because it took that long to get the cash together 😂

Finally, after a long six month wait it has finally arrived 😋 Now for the getting my head around it all, Not my first Skywatcher so it shouldn't be too painful 😃

I think you'd be much better off persevering with the DSLR, Once you go CCD Astro camera you need to introduce a laptop computer with capture software etc !! I have been in this hobby for a number of years now and believe me, it took a lot of trial and effort before I saw some decent images. You should really get to know your gear back to front, and concentrate on things like precise polar alignment etc, the rest will come with practice 😉 I still use a Canon 700d Un-Modded and I'm about to purchase a 5d full frame, I like the simplicity of the DSLR and I too am considering getting it Modded !! I'll attach a picture I've taken with my modest setup, it's not the best I have seen but it's pretty good for the gear I'm using !! Canon 700d + Star Adventurer + Sharpstar ED72 Scope Cheers Ivan

Hey Gareth, do you have a photo of your ed80 on the eq6-r ? I'm going to buy that exact setup in three weeks 😋 Cheers Ivan

Just to jump in here 🤗 This is a photo I managed to take with my Sharpstar 72ED 400mm on my Star Adventurer Unguided 7 x 60 second subs. Not really polar aligned, got it roughly aligned using PS.Align Pro iPhone app. Canon 700d Un-Modified.

Hi Mike, Reason for going EQ6-R, I have had Skywatcher mounts in the past and have had no problems with them at all, The latest EQ6-R has a USB port built into the mount head for direct control via usb and EQMod. The price is right for my budget as well. The reason I moved away from the CGX idea is purely my thoughts, thinking the spring loaded worm drives look a bit tacky, and I have noticed a lot of people having to tweak and tune things quite a bit to get a decent degree of reliability . The end result seems to be okay but I just feel a bit more confident keeping with skywatcher. Plus I like the green setting circles 😉

Me Three ,I'll add a sheckles worth !!

Very nice, can't see what you mean about needing a new refractor ?

Hi all, So ! has anyone managed to try a flattener/reducer on the Esprit 80ED ? I also am very interested to know if there is such a thing available ? I have no problems with focus shift so the thought of a reducer is very tempting 😋 I wait with anticipation 🤔

Magnificent !!

You can buy the Star Adventurer Equatorial wedge to use with the AZ-GTI and flash the firmware for full equatorial function astrophography capabilities.

Hey Brian, Life of ? 😋 When I got my Star Adventurer the AZ GTI Wasn't around, Had it been, I probably would have gone for it over the star adventurer because of the goto function. I would have bought the Star Adventurer Equatorial Wedge to use with the AZ GTI for better astrophotography capabilities. I do like my Star Adventurer, as it has taught me a lot about polar alignment and also forced me to learn the sky as well. (No Goto) I hope this helps with your decision, although you've probably already made your purchase ? Cheers 👍 I've posted one of my photo's that I managed to get with my SA.

Well I'm happy to say that after many hours of research on the Celestron CGX and the SkyWatcher EQ6-R, I have finally decided to go with the EQ6-R 😋 I have put my order in for the EQ6-R Mount, a 80ED Esprit, the Orion 50mm guide scope & the ASI 120mm Mini guide camera. I believe this should move me into the next bracket of AstroPhotography !! Been using a Sharpstar 72ED on a Star Adventurer for a while , Pretty exciting times ahead

Update: Well I'm happy to say that after many hours of research 😋 Tomorrow I finally pickup my new EQ6-R Mount, a 100ED Esprit, the Orion 50mm guide scope & the ASI 120mm Mini guide camera, and a SW WiFi dongle, I believe this should move me into the next bracket of AstroPhotography 🔭 Pretty exciting times AND HERE IT IS 😋