eikie

Well, you were right. Just tried aiming and focussing on a house some distance away and I was able to get focus (more or less). So I am confident next time I can use the guidecam as intended...

Lesson leared, a picture is worth more than.. I'll try this as soon as possible, thanks all for the input...

I might have made a couple of mistakes. Firstly, the cam is a 120mm MINI, that might be a different one you have? Secondly, when I looked at it this morning, I noticed a piece of "tubing", which came with the cam could be broken down in two parts. It was just screwed together so tightly, I thought it was just 1 piece. Because of this I am able to reduce the distance between the cam and the front lens by 1 to 2 cm. Hopefully that might be it. First picture is how I had it yesterday night, second picture is of the tube broken down in three parts (left is the part with a piece of glass to project the sensor, middle and right is the broken down tube which I thought to be one piece). Last photo is of the cam now attached with only the glass protector and the small ring from the tube. Can't connect the cam without those two. Hopefully the 1,5 cm I lost is enough to get it in focus now, but with that storm and subsequent bad weather coming, I won't find out for a long time..

I will, but it is going to be tomorrow.. Thanks in advance.

Thanks, I will try later tonight. I do have the same finder scope, if you have it working, I should be able too.. --EDIT-- Well, I just can't get it in focus. Either I did something wrong when assembling it, or in the software, but the moon remains a vague light blob, no matter how much and in what direction I turn the main lens. Stars are completely invisible.

Well, beautiful clear skies so out I went and whatever I do, I can not get my 9x50 scope plus asi 120mm focused. Removed the rocking ring, twisted the lens fully in and out, but no focus... Nobody who had the same setup? Am at my wits end, I must be missing something....

For my evostar 80ed I want to use the finderscope as a guidescope. For this I bought a ASI 120mm mini and a Skywatcher 9x50 Finder to C Adapter However, after pointing it at the moon, I found out I couldn't get it in focus. When using sharpcap, the resulting image did show a vague outline of the edge of the moon, but clearly out of focus. I know you can turn the ring on the 9x50 finderscope and thereafter turn the entire front lens, but clearly not far enough (tried Both ways). Anyone using the same setup who can give me some pointers?

Aviation is paying my (just started) astronomy hobby....

Thanks, I'll look into that one...

I did find that adapter, so only a m48 ring for my camera?

Just checked and it was included. So that's 1 piece of the puzzle I allready have...

Thanks, but also out of stock. Have they been giving reducers for the 80ED away for free? It seems they are all out of stock and/or have a ridiculous delivery time..

I did get that adapter (I think), but without the extra "tubing" of a reducer, can I really achieve focus? While most shops I know do carry that brand, I can't seem to find a flattner/reducer. Also, would that fit correctly? Would something like this work? Site is in dutch but basically it's an extender with a T thread (and space for 2' filters) https://www.robtics.nl/product_info.php?cPath=30_139_395&products_id=1088&pID=1088&language=en

Hi all, I own a skywatcher evostar 80ed with which I want to start AP. There is also a Canon 600d underway, however I just found out the .85x flatner/reducer for the 80ed has a horrible order time (1 to 3 months) at most European webshops, including FLO. I do like to start making photos, what do I need to connect my Canon 600d to the scope? Since it is only a temporary solution, until the reducer finally arrives, I'd prefer not to spend that much cash if not needed. I am guessing I still need a m48 adapter, but do I also need some kind of extender? And would that connect to the focusser or do I have to go via the diagonal?

Thanks all for the answers, I'll look at the 600d to start with. I am sure other brands and versions might be equaly well suites, but I have to make a choice. Again thanks for the help...

So, with what you are saying the 600 series seem to be the sweet spot between money and quality.. Firstly I forgot to mention I al not from the UK, but will check that site to see if intl purchases are a good option. Secondly, it is a matter of budget. A new zwo or atik for DSO seems to be quite expensive. Of course you het a lot from that money, but it is still a lot of money, while a used DSLR van be had for 1/3 9f the price. And secondhand zwo/atik cams are difficult to find in my country, secondhand DSLRs are easy to find.

I recently bought a skywatcher evostar 80ED refractor on a heq5 mount. A guidecam is ordered (allthough waiting for the good folks at FLO to send it, is a good test of my patience), so all I am missing to start photographing is a reducer/flatner and camera. The flatner will be the .85 made by skywatcher for the 80ED, but what camera would you advise? I don't have that much of a budget, the mount plus scope took a lot from it, so I am looking for the best bang for my buck. Also in the future I probably want to step up to a mono cam, so I am not looking forward to spend a large amount of money, of not really necessary. Also, I will not use the camera for anything other than AP. I gathered Nikon or Canon seem to be the most prefered brands, but there is so much choice. A Canon 450d is mentioned a lot, however, also old and surpassed. But cheap. Others are more expensive, but maybe also a lot better? What would you advise an absolute beginner to buy, not wasting money on quality he can't use (yet), but also not buying anything that has to be replaced to soon?

That is what I was thinking, but as a beginner I wasn't sure. Rotating your mount around the RA axis just to get the numbers right can't have any effect on polar alignment on that same axis (assuming the callibration is done correctly), at least that seems logical, but I might be very wrong.

I do get that, however, if you are polar aligning, you align the RA axis of the mount. Does rotating the mount in it's RA axis make a difference for polar alignment? If I look at my polar scope while the mount/telescope is in the home position, the reticle shows the numbers (0/3/6/9) not in the correct position (i.e. the 6 is almost on top). The only way to get the 0 on top, is to rotate the mount in the RA axis, in my case untill the counterweigth bar is pointing up. Is that required though? Lets say my handcontroller or Polaris finder app tell me to put Polaris at exactly the bottom of the reticle, does it matter if I leave the mount in the home position, showing the 0 (almost) at the bottom of if I turn the mount so the 0 is at the top? Assuming the polar scope is properly calibrated, in both cases, I put Polaris at the same physical spot on the circle, only the corresponding numbers change.

Pardon my ignorance, but if polar aligning is all about pointing the RA axis of the mount towards the NCP, what effect is there when I rotate the mount around that axis?

Thanks all for the clarification, I am sure the next time I can set up, I at least know what I should be doing.

I totally missed the notion my mount keeps tracking the selected target, with that in mind, it totally makes sense to properly PA. For some reason I didn't get the idea of my mount actively tracking that patch of sky. I thought it just slew to the target and that is it. I will try the utilities menu, the manual says nothing, but that seems outdated anyway. The way you describe it, I understand it. In that case, it is more a convenience thing to only have to adjust in one axis. But like others have said, I mixed up guiding (with a cam/software) with tracking (which my mount seems to do, but I didn't realise that). In with that in mind, PA makes a lot more sense. Thanks all for the clarification and helping a newbie making sense of it all... Last question, with the new reticule, do I just position Polaris on the correct spot of the "clock" (with the synchscan init app) regardless what numbers is on the bottom of the reticule or does the 6 have to be on the bottom?

The manual doesn't mentions dimming, but I will dig through the handset to see if there is a setting I can adjust. The polar scope is aligned, at least I did my best during the Day. How is polar alignment important if I am not guiding? Nothing, except the sky, is moving, how does polar alignment play a roll? Is it to get the object in frame again by just using the RA direction? First I will try to dim the lights before I start taking stuff out. And same question to you, how does polar alignment play a roll in star trails if I am not guiding? With or without it, the stars will be moving anyway with the mount not moving. Or do I manually keep slewing (with the handset) the mount in the RA axis when taking photos? (In that case I do see the importance of PA). Still utterly confused

After getting excellent advice a few weeks ago, I purchased a skywatcher 80ed plus and heq5 mount. And of course the sky has been cloudy ever since, with 1 small hazy window in which I tried my new toys (and ran into the first issues) Having read the (outdated?) manual, countless websites/forums and watched hours of video, I am still stuck on polar alignment. So I'd could use some pointers. First of all, the polar scope is so really really bright red when the mount is powered up, I can't see Polaris, unless I power down. The manual says nothing about dimming the red light. Is that normal, how am I supposed to properly align if I can't see Polaris through it? Secondly, every website and video mentions the finding where Polaris should be (with an app) and adjusting the mount so the bubble/circle in the polar finder is on that position and Polaris is in it. (As an alternative to the procedure in the manual by twisting dials to transit dates etc) My mount does not have a circle, it has numbers (12/3/6/9). I am assuming Polaris should still be at the (app mentioned) position, but what about the numbers? 12 on top? Bonus question, assuming I can manually find m31 to photograph without guiding, would I take a few 30 (or whatever is the max in that situation) seconds photos, slew the m31 back in frame and go for the next few shots? Is that how you photograph without guiding? And does that need an accurate polar align? All questions which have been asked before, but I really can't seem to find the answers. So of anybody could point in the right direction, I'd appreciate it...

Thank you, for now I'll keep my sights on the 80ed and forget about the 72. Like you said, you might have gotten a lemon, but since I have the money for a 80, why risk it.