g-rex

So I ended up getting the 130 PDS as it was all I could afford. Not had much chance to play with it yet due to the clouds but managed this first time out. Was happy and looking forward to steadily improving.

I really appreciate your post but I have to admit (and this is my fault not yours) still feeling a little lost with it. Which I suspect means I'm probably not ready to go down this particular avenue without a lot more reading up. I liked this idea as I like the idea of the odd DIY bit here and there (or as the wife calls it, faffing). Have made a couple of barn door trackers etc but the whole Arduino/stepper motor bit stopped me on those also. I guess I was hoping a kit that I could fit that would be a lot cheaper than the Skywatcher kit was what I may find. I know I have but at this minute it's a bit beyond me. Thanks for your replies though. It certainly gives me food for thought.

I'll have a look at both of those thanks. Lenscap, could you please just give me an idea of what I'd need then? Did you do the ST4 port conversion on the controller? Is it simply, New motors Adding a port to hand controller Cable to onstep controller then to laptop.? Is that everything? Cheers.

I have an eq3-2 with the dual axis motors. I've recently seen a post where owners have soldered a ST4 port to the handset (shoestring astronomy) and have then been able to guide and use as a Goto. I understand the motors would need to changed to make slewing not take ages, but I get stuck as to the connection and software requirements for the mount. I've seen eqmod and various other software and parts mentioned on various sites and my mind is pretty much scrambled with it all and it has left me pretty much confused. I'd be extremely grateful if someone has experience of this if they could explain what I would need and why in a straightforward way? Many thanks in advance.

That's great advice! Thanks, I'll have a look at it 👍

I have this same issue with my eq3-2. If you ever find the answer please let us know!

I've never been one to shy away from DIY, especially if it saves money! 😂 Thank you all for the help. I've done a few sessions with the light weight so am definitely going to swap to the heavier one and see how it goes.

👍 Thank you.

I have 2 different counter balance weights, a heavy one and a lighter one. To achieve balance I can either have the lighter weight at the end of the shaft or I can use the heavy weight to balance halfway up the shaft. My question is, is one more preferable than the other or does it not matter? I heard that the weight should be further up but in this case it means a higher total weight for the mount to deal with. Am curious as to if one is better? Thanks in advance.

Some amazing images. It certainly won't be the telescope that'll be the limiting factor! Stub Mandrel, do you polar align using the polar scope or some other message?

Thank you for your replies. I realise that a 130 is a bit of a sail on one of these mounts and I was considering the Evostar 72ed but there's no way at the minute I could stretch to that. Especially if you factor in a flattener also. There is a thread on here with images from the 130 and some of them are incredible. I realise I may not get many keepers but my plan is to (in a few yrs) get a better mount. I've being using my DSLR and lens but thought the 130PDS would allow me to image and do visual for a while till funds are available. Once again thanks for the help.

Have just got an EQ3-2 mount with the dual motors. Was hoping to buy a 130PDS to go on it. Could you advise me on roughly how long an exposure I could get unguided? (I realise this will be down to perfect PA etc but just wanted an idea of what I might achieve) Thanks.

Sorry, no, the intersecting lines on the top one are the point that Polaris rotates around (sorry don't know the correct term for it). So Polaris is at 7.20ish. The bottom one Polaris is at 1.20ish so opposite the top one. A lot of this was me 'thinking out loud' as I was somewhat confused at first. Apologies if I've confused others 🙄😂

Yeah, that's what I showing with the pics. The scope inverts the image but the app accounts for that, so I just put Polaris where the app says. 👍

Okay, I now understand and have it straight in my head. I hope? The view in the app is definitely inverted. Thanks for the replies.

Thanks for the info guys. I shall put it where it says. I think I was just probably overthinking it.

I've just picked up a EQ3-2 mount with a Polar scope. This is my first experience at polar aligning and I think I understand it pretty much, but, Stellarium or phone apps can show me where I need to position Polaris on the 'clock face' in the polar scope. My polar scope gives an inverted view so if I'm wanting to place Polaris at say 7 o,clock on the circle shouldn't I actually be placing it at 1 o'clock? Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance. Graeme.