Robindonne

When you start just like me, and plan to use wireless controlling in the future, then search for a compatible camera.  Most of the brands have a list with compatible models.  For example the one attached for asiair

Oke very helpful.  So the electric focuser will be attached to the main, single speed, pin, and focusing by hand is not possible anymore?  And then using my single speed focuser will work properly?

39 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Much less of an issue in the US where it's $800.  I've bought items up to about $450 without any customs issues.  There's also no sales tax because the seller has no business nexus in the US.

Ah so thats why your national debt is so tremendous high😉.  No but in the Netherlands we pay tax of tax over tax.  So johns reminder was very helpful.  

32 minutes ago, Astrosharkey said:

NOT THE FINE FOCUSER

Sorry cant hear you.  Can you repeat pls?

but serious, thats because you can manually adjust while having the motor attached?

Hello.  
What focusknob do i have to remove for installing an autofocusser?

is it best to connect it to the fine-focus axel or doesn’t it make any difference?

Have to decide whether i’m going to use my single-speed sct focusser or forget about this antique item and look for a dual speed.

And if connection must be made on the fine focus knob, does it mean manual fine focus will never be possible? 
 

questioning this because some examples show them on the fine focus side and other on the normal focus side. 

Or is twisting the whole axel-unit possible?
 

thx

9 hours ago, John said:

Make sure you know what the import duty is before you order. Things bought from the far east look low cost but once import duty and handling charges are added the overall price can take a jump.

You are totally right.  Forgotten it for a moment.   Have to check again but indeed when we buy things above €22,- we’re screwed.   Dont know exactly if in 2020 its the same.  Thx for the reminder

no sorry.  I just added some originals for comparing the two brands. I think its very unlikely they copied it and get away with it.  Im sure they are the same housing at least.  But who knows the maxvisions are the ones who didnt pass the qualitycheck?   They come from the land of rise and covid btw.  And the 1,25” are about 50% of the es prices.  The bigger the ep the smaller the difference in price.  Im going to try the 2” 18 mm.  Ill post a picture when i get it in 8/12 weeks 

Came across these eyepieces.  What do you think? Same item?  Only 50%.  Looks like its worth a try.  Or are there reviews about bad quality?   Even the box is the same. Or am I swearing in the church?

And someone mentioned here about a solid fixing of the guidescope. Is this solid?   It will definitely save me some tubering because my small refractors already have this small mount used by a rdf, but is it solid enough for a guidescope?

Cant dive this deep into it as you guys. But for a starter like me its clear.  Use both.  Not at the same time of course, i mean have both available.  And as i can see while shopping around you can have en proper guidescope for €£ 150/200,-

the mirror-movement discussion is of course very useful and basically says that oag’s on reflector/sct/mak etc are somewhat adviced.  
 

why did astrocamera manufacturers never made side by side sensors.  Is it just not possible? a small sensor next to the main sensor? Maybe it exists and im not aware of the excisting of some semi-dual mode camera? If it exists than i would really like to know because im still on the point of buying ap-equipment

Ceasefire!!

while the op is temporary unavailable due to some time-consuming trouble with adjusting his oag assembly, im soaking up the info and starting to realize both options can cause issues. And because im almost on the same route as the op this discussion is very helpfull.  
 

The TS oag is indeed a very good alternative. Especially when using a dslr.  (And the option to change in future to threaded connections) And other then the op, i use a 60d, so cropped sensor and probably plenty of room to do a 360 with the prism around the fov if necessary.  
 

If i sum up my modest starting tools to maybe help other users of these scopes.  
8” Quattro newton (f/4) (of course tube rings)

8” sct (f/10-f/6,3), No tube rings

5”sct (f/no idea), No tube rings

80mm refractor (f/“”) no tube rings

71mm refractor (f/“”) no tube rings

Will a modest starter-collection like this benefit from a single oag-setup? If not then 4 of the 5 ota’s needs rings and bars and maybe multiple guidescopea due to multiple FL.

All use a 2” connection btw

3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

That's good. I'm surprised because I didn't find this on the occasion I tried it but maybe that was just a specific case. 

Olly

I really hope your bad experience was an unfortunate moment.  Because if it works then i’m gonna spend my money on a very good assembly and save on a guidescope guiderings tuberings mountingbars etc etc.
Im still in the need of buying most of probably not needing items. so all beginners including me have to decide which direction to go for the guiding.  
Oag seems to be a good (old)new option.

1 hour ago, alacant said:

We use 250 f5 : 200  f4 : 150 f8 : 150 f5 : 130 f5 all with the same prism settings with a dslr with no problems.

Sounds good.  So theoretically ,when both cameras are focused on one scope, the combination stays in focus on different types of scopes? What is the thing mentioned earlier in this thread where users say that fl can influence the assembly and therefore needs adjustment? Is it safer to start the calibration of both cameras on a particular  focallength or aperture? Like calibration on an 14” is more likely to be spot on focused on an 8” compared to vice versa?

Oh and to ask for some buyersadvice, im thinking of buying the attached item from FLO.  Do you think i will get it working when the asi120 will be directly mounted on the oag when using a dslr as maincam? Or do i need a small helical focuser for the guidecam?   Cams used are asi120mc-s and a eos60d.   If it can be answered then thanks a lot.  

10 hours ago, rickwayne said:

As a total n00b to OAGs myself, I found the setup somewhat fiddly, as I expected, but in the end it wasn't hard. Basically you want to make two distances approximately the same:

1. At right angles to the main optical axis, from the pickoff prism of the OAG to the guide camera sensor plane
2. Along the optical axis, from the pickoff's position back to your imaging camera's sensor.

(Yes yes, the hypotenuse of that right triangle won't be identical to the leg length. I said approximately. (-: )

You may need to drum up some spacers in order to get one or the other in the correct range. Once you've got it within 10-20mm, you can set the rig up in daylight, focus the imaging camera, and then adjust the OAG in and out until it focuses. Helical focuser would be sweet but it's really not a requirement; in my setup, it's not even possible.

The distance to whatever daylit object you're focusing on doesn't matter, it doesn't have to be at infinity. In addition to the above-cited advantages, the OAG gives you a cleaner, lighter rig whose lateral center of gravity won't change as much as the mount tracks in RA.

Ok. So basically what you are saying is: when you found a perfect sturdy combination of maincam, oag and guidecam, you are able to swap this to other lightcones😉 without having to do much adjustment?

12 minutes ago, iapa said:

I took this image of Horsehead nebula with a modified Canon 600D and a 300mm lens on a manual tripod with a intervalometer.

Wow. Im always amazed by these images.  Unbelievable some people take 1000+ Photos of a bird and dont feel the need for ap😬.  But how would an image like this turn out without the modification?

2 hours ago, iapa said:

How about BackyardEOS or BackYardNikon from https://www.otelescope.com

You can set exposure, number of images, has real time view so can help with focus if you start with just a lens instead of going straight to an OTA.

As others point out - what are you wanting to image at night?

 

Oh backyardnikon is new for me also.  Just as backyardeos. 
 

Well visual is very nice of course but gives me less attraction for the long term i think.   Im not yet in a position to tell you what i want to image but leaning to all related to nebulae/galaxies.  All the beautiful that cant be seen without the use of a camera

3 hours ago, haitch said:

It may have already been picked up but you are using a DSLR use an external battery, such as a dummy battery that will run off a usb power pack, to take one source of heat noise out of the camera.

Yes thx.  It passed in some review.  Some advising to not go that way because of more heat?? Didnt find any proof it causes heat more than a battery, the opposite seems true. And less weight. But on the other hand more cables😬.  But def going to try one

He accidentally reset his whole account 

Try tapping the screen? Dont know with iphones through a scope but i do spmetimes need to image in between ceilings for my work.  Tapping the screen helps me

scrolling through the menu i came across auto track speed.  Just one option before the tracking settings.  And i dont even drink

3 hours ago, MattJenko said:

Leave off axis guiding for another day. For an 80mm scope, use a finder guider or a little guide scope.

Hello.  Would you explain why?   Not that i doubt it but i, and maybe we, really dont know why. Lets say i have one setup with maincam and guidecam on an oag. Is it not easier to just swap the whole combo between scopes?

Im using a vixen porta now and then.  Nothing to complain about.  Not afraid of getting bad or broken connections in the near future. Well engineered simple mount.  

im going almost the same route as you.  Also choose the asiair.  Also go for oag. The asiair? Maybe because of the easy entry into ap. Maybe because i have to choose between a setup with a laptop or just your phone or tablet. The oag? Probably for having less equipment then the normal way with a guidescope.  
I have followed this hobby for some years without diving into it but for everyone diving into in this era, i think the best way is by automation of many time consuming actions.  As an inexperienced hobbiest i know i have to search for an oag solution that lets me focus the guidecam.  So you probably also have to keep in mind that there’s room for moving your cam or focussing.  And last but not least look for a wide mirror.  To decrease the earlier mentioned issue with not finding a guidestar.  
 

pls let me know what you bought in the end

I

2 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

It might also be worth considering the Sony A7 but I have no astrophotography experience outside CCD. Best of luck!

Olly

Thanks a lot.  Very very helpful talk this last hour.  
 

its this list that’s provided with asiair.  Maybe one day they support more dslr, im afraid they’ll never accept other astro camera brands.  Thx again

31 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

I know it's a lot to take in!!!

No its very useful!! Thx a lot.  Im stunned by these images🤩.  And probably a million miles away from reaching it.  But i do have my reasons, against all advices, to start with a dslr.  And one of them is just not willing to spend on an inbetween dedicated camera.

So my stubborn schedule is, the best possible dslr in a pricerange 0-600,-  a dedicated camera for guiding ánd occasionally use on small apo’s without guiding (ánd i want to dive in with, and drag, my daughter into this hobby by giving a classic c5 and one of the mentioned cameras when im stepping up, turning 18 and trying to let her use her camera time for diagonal use instead of horizontal insta/tiktok etc use)

I made an unthought? choise by buying an asiar so im stucked with either zwo or canon/nikon dslr.  It will be a canon.   
I do however see the benefits of stepping away at one point to something like stellarmate and have free choises in equipment-brands.  For the moment its asiair.  But cant wait to let that asiair/dslr period behind me and follow all your and others advices in equipment.