bokchoy ninja

Yea I expect you're right. At the moment I just want to make sure I don't have a "lemon" mount and that I can get ~ 2 minute subs unguided. Then I'll relax a bit and focus on technique rather than equipment.

That's fair. My main qualm is that I don't want to have to set up a laptop in the "field" with me, at least for as long as I can hold out. A polemaster would allow me to set up the polar alignment quickly and then pack up the laptop without worrying about powering it or keeping dust out of it.

Well, I realized I had the "diagonal" viewing option enabled on my polarfinder app, instead of "telescopic". So the view I was getting had the cross-hair flipped vertically and I had polaris placed wrong by 4 "hours". Can't wait until the weather cooperates so I can get out there and see if I can match the multi-minute subs I keep hearing about.

Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to go as far as I can without buying a polemaster or a guiding setup just yet, so just by improving my manual polar alignment technique. I did align the reticle when I first got it, but perhaps I should check it in case it's been bumped out of alignment. I'm sure I'm going to thank myself once I get a polemaster.

Given that I'm still in my return period for the mount, the biggest thing for me is just making sure I don't have a dud.

Hello, I'm just starting out with an EQ6-R and an ES 80mm Triplet. After polar-aligning my mount, I'm only getting 30 second exposures before I see significant streaking. Granted, my polar alignment is a bit rough since I'm rotating my RA axis until I think the polarscope reticle is in a plus-sign orientation (with the counterweight straight down the reticle has a rotation offset). This introduces a small error that might affect the tracking. I know that an option is to use the syscan polar alignment procedure, but this requires multistar alignment which needs stars near the horizon (and I'm on the patio where my FOV is limited). How long of unguided exposures can I expect with this mount/scope when I have perfect polar alignment? 30 seconds seems really short.

Hi all, tonight was my 3rd night with my EQ-6R mount. At one point I wasn't thinking carefully and turned the RA and DEC axis of the mount by hand, while the clutches were tightened. I felt some resistance but didn't notice the clutch was engaged. Did I damage anything by doing this?

Cool. Which scope do you use?

Nice. Any issue with flexing?

How much spacer length do you guys have to leave between the focuser and field flattener, for an 80mm f/6? I'm worried about the total length becoming ridiculous

What scope and camera do you use with it? Would you recommend this flattener?

Hello, I currently use the following equipment: 1. Explore Scientific 80 mm Essential ED Triplet Refractor OTA. 2. High Point 2" Camera Adapter. 3. Celestron Nikon T-Ring for 35mm SLR Cameras. 4. Nikon D7100. I notice that my stars are very elongated at the edges of the frame. Will this field flattener work with my setup, between the OTA focuser and my dslr's t-ring? https://www.highpointscientific.com/hotech-sca-field-flattener-sca-fft58 Will I be able to thread filters into it, between the flattener and the OTA? Would I need any spacers or anything, or would it be straightforward?

Hello, I'm a beginner astrophographer trying to purchase a mount that will last a good while and that has a good build quality. I've grown quite frustrated recently as I've purchased and returned an Orion Sirius and an iOptron CEM25 mount due to poor manufacturing related defects. It seems like products in this class are quite "rough" and I'd like something a bit more polished, but without paying an insane amount more. At this point I'm willing to increase my mount budget from ~ $1,000 USD to ~ $1,500 USD. Is there anything at around this price point that has better manufacturing quality?

Just an update -- I have contacted the vendor and explained the issue to them. They requested that I send the item back for an exchange. It may have been a trivial issue (or it might have been serious), but at the end of the day it's certainly not operating as advertised and I'd rather play it safe and get a unit that works as intended. Thanks for the responses!

I recently purchased a CEM25P mount and have an issue with the DEC drive unit. Specifically, the gear switch locking knob on the encoder unit housing does not lock the dovetail saddle -- and the lock knob itself is very loose-feeling (I can easily wiggle it around). If I try turning the lock knob 90 degrees repeatedly while gradually tightening the tension adjuster, I can eventually get it to "catch" and the dovetail saddle will finally lock. However, at this point the lock knob still feels loose and "wiggles" around. The RA drive unit doesn't have this problem and its lock knob feels much more secure Anyone run into this problem?