ArgusFPV

Hi all, I recently bought an LX200R OTA and I'm totally new to SCTs I'm trying to work out how to build my imaging train but I'm struggling to find information. I plan on purchasing the Optec Lepus x.62 reducer and I've only seen somewhere that you need 100mm of back focus from that but i'm not even sure where it would go in the imaging train. I'm shooting with the ZWO ASI1600 MC-Pro cooled at the moment. I'd like to swap out the now dead micro-focuser (stripped nylon gear) for a Moonlite as we've got one at the club and it seems very nice. Any help regarding LX200R imaging train building would be appreciated. Also pics of your setups would be great too. 

Got round to taking a look at mine today. As you can see it's pretty clearly been running on just the outside edges. Got an old wet polishing stone and ran up and down the length of it for a while with nice even strokes until the finish seemed uniform being careful to make sure the stone remains flat the whole time. Kept going until I was happy with the finish, cleaned it up and put it all back together and adjusted it. I must say, I'm pretty impressed, the level of grip the rod has on the draw tube now is massively improved. Everything feels much more positively engaged while remaining firm but smooth. I haven't used it in anger yet but just testing it by running it in and out and some light pulling on the draw tube seems very promising! Thanks ever so much for your help. One less worry now! 

2 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

The video above shows that the contact point on the draw tube with the focusing wheel/bar can be an issue. I took a screenshot of the part of the video showing the issue with the drawtube - the shiny / dark edges are the only places the bar is contacting. So no adjustment of the screws will work until this is sorted.   Perhaps this is what needs done with yours to improve surface area and contact and prevent slipping. 

Here are mine - before with just the DSLR and CCF I didn’t have any issues.  I went down the route of two CCDs and the addition of the EFW put too much weight so I added motorfocusers to assist in focusing and also to prevent slipping - I cant use the focus locking screw as access is limited to it. £25 (second hand) for the motor, no more issues.

I’m just trying to save you money 😂

 

Ah!  I see what you mean now! I haven't done that yet. I'd spotted that video previously on my travels but skimmed over it as it was a different focuser but I totally see how it's completely relevant now. I'm pretty sure I have a sharpening stone like that kicking around too. I'd be a bit nervous of not getting it completely flat but at this point any improvement in the contact patch would be welcome. I'll pull it out and see what it looks like at the next opportunity I have and report back. Thanks mate  

On 10/08/2019 at 12:07, tooth_dr said:

Have you physically smoothed out the flat surface on the drawtube?

I'm not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean have I used an abrasive on it? 

9 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

Ok, so now I have a permanent pier in the garden and get to sit in a comfy chair inside the only thing bugging me now is the focuser on my ED80. The thumb screw shifts focus when tightened. Now do I upgrade the focuser or will adding the zwo auto focuser be the best upgrade

Mine does that too. It's pretty bad shift actually. I can have a FWHM of like 2.3 and lock it off and it shoots up to 4.5. I've been overshooting just to compensate but it's not ideal for getting critical focus is it. My conclusion so far is to get the OVL focuser which I have a thread running about at the moment. Some have suggested finding a used Baader one too. I've seen people mention that a focus motor has solved some of their slipping issues but I'm not really sure how that would do that. I can sometimes spin the knob and the tube doesn't move at all so I can't see how a motor would solve that. 

10 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Can you post that guide here? Might be useful for others too. 

https://teleskop-austria.at/information/pdf/SWN1507eq3_Skywatcher_Crayfor-Auszug_justieren.pdf

Yes, it's a pretty good guide! I hope it helps some folk out. 

2 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Lee I don’t think that that is a particularly heavy load. I used a pair of ED80s regularly both with Canon 40d and 0.85x Reducer/Flattener, and there were no issues with slippage.  I’d say that’s a similar weight to yours.

I moved onto an Atik CCD and filter wheel and then got slippage. The addition of the SW motor focuser eliminated this entirely.

I’d look at adjusting the barrel contact profile first before splashing the cash personally. 

I've adjusted mine multiple times now using a guide FLO sent me. Made sure the contact is perfectly level and the pressure is appropriate. It works for a little while but always ends up slipping again. 

7 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Lots of good reviews on FLO

Dave

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-focusers/dual-speed-2-crayford-focuser-for-sky-watcher-refractors.html

Yes from what I can tell the OVL focuser is great value for money and a pretty good upgrade from the stock focuser, especially for a beginner on a budget such as myself. 

Hi all, as in the title I'm considering fitting my SW 80ED DS pro with the upgraded focuser. I'm having alot of slippage issues despite making multiple adjustments (FLO even sent me a handy guide). I'm kinda done with taking it apart and rebuilding the focuser now so I'm seriously considering getting the upgraded version. I use my rig for imaging so is there any special considerations I need to make i.e. how it will change my image train. I use the SW reducer/flattener with a Canon 600d. 

Thanks in advance

Lee

Thought it was time to weigh in. I started end of May after getting a SW ED80/HEQ5 Pro as my first rig. M81 and M82 was first light. M31 is my most recent one and was shot during a full moon. None of these looked half as good as they do now though as (aside from M31) they're all on their third round of ground up processing. Sadly it's all I have so far at the moment as the weather has done nothing but work against me right from the start! I typically only get every other weekend to image and that rarely aligns with clear skies. I even took week before last off work and only had one decent night and that's when M31 happened. I hope that I can go out and image again one day before I die.