Varavall

Hi. I have the same mount as you. Have you tuned out the backlash of the worm drives? I had a similar problem once and there were of a couple of things: 1) a cable snagging on the head of the mount RA circle locking screw; I found that by slewing the mount to stars in opposite sides of the meridian and carefully watching what was happening to the cables; and 2) a counterweight thumbscrew was grazing the declination adjuster screw head. As said above, a picture and a log is worth a thousand words!

Here's my homemade pillar mount for my HEQ5 Pro. I can sit on it and it doesn't budge, so guess it would hold an EQ6 too. Cost under £30 to make.

I started out with the HEQ5 Pro, SW 200pds and a Nikon D5200 and generally I could really only manage 60 second subs without problems. Some days could make it to 5 minutes but they were few and far between. Yes, now I guide, done a Rowan belt upgrade and have a half decent cooled camera. But before you shell out the money for guiding, you could do a few things in the meantime. Adjust the backlash out of the worm gears; ensure a good balance of the rig (the tube is rotated so the camera is on the mount side?); get a good polar alignment (the polar scope does a reasonable job if used with a polar scope app); and if possible set up the scope permanently ( I made a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium and cover up with a clamshell motorbike cover). Taking down and setting up the rig is a pain and is a cause of continuous errors; if permanently setup, each error can be addressed leading to less stress and more observing time. I hope I have given you some food for thought.

I have a SW 200pds and I had the same issue as you are having. Light was entering around the primary mirror, so I made a "shower cap" out of black butyl rubber (cut from old tractor inner tube) for the mirror end of the tube. Problem solved.

If the framing doesn't fit the target, I tend to do a mosaic and crop the image rather than upset the balance of the rig. But if there's a few hundred quid lying around, a Pegasus rotator will solve the problem every time 😉 Well, on thinking about it, rotating the filter wheel along with the camera must alter the balance even a little, so perhaps problem created 🤔

Hi I don't know about Stellarium, but with NINA you can set it so it will plate solve and tell you how many degrees to turn the camera for framing. Look here https://nighttime-imaging.eu/docs/master/site/tabs/equipment/rotator/ Maybe that'll help!

There's an option under darks and flats tabs to "Classify by date for master creation". Then ASTAP picks the correct dark/flat when stacking. Well that's what I understand is what happens. I could be wrong but my images seem OK.

ASTAP seems to do multi session stacking for me and in a speedy fashion. Maybe its down to how beefy the computer is!

PS Take a look here for calculating optimum exposure times with an Alt-Az mount https://telescopemount.org/short-exposure-alt-az-astrophotography-learn-how-to-get-great-results/

Not at all bad for starters and with an alt-az mount. I would try and get some short exposure shots so the centre and trapezium are not blown out; maybe 10 seconds or even shorter. Experiment! M42 is a challenging target because of the differing light intensities. I have been working on it for 6 months (well not fully as lots of inclement weather), and bit by bit things improve, however I still have much to learn about my rig and processing. My photo is a NB image and I took 10 second images to get the centre. I process in ASTAP and GIMP.

Hi What equipment did you use and exposure times, etc.? Then comments can be made more specifically.

Looks a nice flat site to build a housing estate 🤣

Yes, its aluminium alloy. Light and strong but not there for reinforcement, its to take the guide scope. Yes I know thread is about a 200pds as that is what I have and that is what is in the photo.

I have a the very same rig. As you can see in the photo it can be loaded with all the kit you may wish for. I have done the collimation, Rowan Belt mod and adjusted the backlash out of the drives, and I made a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium to minimise risk of collisions with tripod legs. For guiding I started by using the 9x50 finder scope with QHY5L II C, but I have now bolted a TS optics 80mm finder/guider scope to the top which gives better pixel ratio for guiding, plus an additional lump of steel as an extra counterweight. I can do 10 minute guided subs without problems. Of course the tube is a sail when the wind blows and it can rock a bit. All in all I am very happy with it's performance., I configure NINA and go to bed and wake to all the marvelous images to process (well if no computer or weather glitch 😉). I have only been into mono imaging for 6 months so there is still a lot to learn about the rig, but I attach a photo I took recently in LRGB SHO of the Crab nebula. It's a scope that provides enjoyment without breaking the bank, well at least until you start mono AP!

Hi I'm a bit late to the party, but I have a the very same rig. As you can see in the photo it can be loaded with all the kit you may wish for. I have done the collimation, Rowan Belt mod and adjusted the backlash out of the drives, and I made a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium to minimise risk of collisions with tripod legs. For guiding I started by using the 9x50 finder scope with QHY5L II C, but I have now bolted a TS optics 80mm finder/guider scope to the top which gives better pixel ratio for guiding. I can do 10 minute guided subs without problems. Of course the tube is a sail when the wind blows and it can rock a bit. All in all I am very happy with it's performance. I have only been into mono imaging for 6 months so there is still a lot to learn about the rig, but I attach a photo I took recently in LRGB SHO. It's a scope that provides enjoyment without breaking the bank, well at least until you start mono AP!

Well the clouds and sun are moving in the sky, so maybe this qualifies 🙄 Equipment: Nikon D610 with AF-S NIKKOR 17-35mm f2.8 D at 17mm, ISO100 Time lapse of 15s over 5 hours. 1250 frames at 24 fps. 30 January DSC_6890.MOV

Equipment: Skywatcher 200pds, Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Rowan modded, QHY5L-II-C guide camera on 30mm Skywatcher finder, ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool, ZWO EFF with Astrodon LRGB 1.25", Astrodon Ha 5nm 1.25", Optolong O III and S II 6.5nm 1.25", ZWO EAF Great Orion Nebula many nights 4-28 January, Gandesa, Tarragona, Spain -15C, Gain 200, Bin 1x1 Ha 11x60s 14x120s 8x300s, S II 11x180s 9x600s, O III 14x60s 13x120s

Hi folks Here is the first of my attempts 6 months in from starting mono ( the weather in sunny Spain is not always clear skies!), but the dreadful viewing has given me time to see what NINA, ASTAP and GIMP can do, but I still have a long journey ahead and at my age this beats sudoku to stave off the alzheimer's or so I hope 🤪 Equipment: Skywatcher 200pds, Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Rowan modded, QHY5L-II-C guide camera on 30mm Skywatcher finder, ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool, ZWO EFF with Astrodon LRGB 1.25", Astrodon Ha 5nm 1.23", Optolong O III and S II 6.5nm 1.25", ZWO EAF Horsehead image taken 23 January, Gandesa, Tarragona, Spain -15C, Gain 200, Bin 1x1 Ha 7x600s , R 9x60s, G 8x60s, B 8x60s Software: NINA, ASTAP, GIMP

Nice looking bit of kit! Yes, my milling machine has earned it's keep. A lathe would be useful, but with a rotary chuck I can machine circular bits and bobs; a bit more fiddly and slower but a lot cheaper.

Hi, sorry for the slow response. I attach a couple of photos with dimensions, etc. which may help. The cube part is 50mm X 50mm X 50mm. and the arm is 10mm thick with a 1/4" hole drilled at one end to take the screw to hold the ball head. As I own a milling machine I machined a slot in the arm to facilitate adjustment. If you don't have access to a milling machine or someone with one, you could just drill a series of 10mm holes along the length of the arm for adjusting balance. The counterweight is just a lump of aluminium weighing 1Kg; I calculated the weight I would need for my setup, but 1Kg is sufficient for a 5-6Kg load at its furthest extension. If any further info required, just ask. Happy machining!

Apologies for a slow response. Having looked at the workings of the Vixen polar scope I don't think there is a solution as there is no way to rotate the mount, as you would do on an equatorial, to align the graticule to the correct hour angle. Vixen's polar scope has the adjustment knobs to rotate the graticule without needing to rotate the mount. Looks like for accurate polar alignment the Vixen polar scope is required. For wide field photography I find the peep hole alignment is sufficient, but for long focal lengths I guess its you pays your money and takes your choice!

Now that's an interesting challenge. I wonder if my milling machine is up to it 🤔

To clarify, it is 600mm from the ground to the top of the pillar. The height could be adjusted by adding or removing the square blocks at the base of the column.

The Polarie rear cell is a female M42 and I believe most polar scopes are male M28.I think you'll need something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/224349107689?_ul=ES but check the thread pitches.

Hi all When I saw the cost of a counterbalance kit for my Vixen Polarie (very nearly £500 with the added bar and weights) I thought what a con. So a quick visit to the local scrapyard, bought some scrap aluminium alloy (hard and heavy) and made one in a couple of hours. Looks a bit rustic, but it can be painted white and the large weight can be moved to achieve good balance. If anyone is interested in the specs, say so and I'll post them up.