RichardHurst

Hi, I have recently purchase a Orion Optics 14 12" F/4 which has come with an off axis guider and a Paracorr Type 1. I wish to use this with my QHY268c 26mp APS-C Astro Cam. I am struggling getting sharp stars to the edges and wondered if there was a required spacing between the rear of the Paracorr and the Camera sensor. I'm used to using a refractor so this is throwing me a bit. 

Why not install a pier instead of using the tripod. The tripod will need to be polar aligned every time and is proun to movement and accidental knocks

On 09/03/2016 at 16:51, Gucky said:

A Berlebach upgrade is well worth the price. It'll probably last forever.

Just take into account that your whole setup then probably will look a bit undermounted, as mine did ;- )

 

Can I ask you the model name/number for that Tripod please?

Hi Everyone

The one who must be obeyed (Wife) has given me permission to have a permanent shed/Observatory in the garden. Now we are not talking luxurious, I have about 6ftx6ft to play with as our back garden is the size of a postage stamp. The area is all astro turfed so i have to take that into account also and do something that would leave minimal damage if I was then to remove the build if in years to come we move. 

I was thinking of a plastic/metal shed that I could just take the roof off to shoot and place back on afterwards. And either just use the tripod or get a permanent pier fitted. Easiest/quickest option would be If I was to use my current HEQ5 and tripod I could place some slabs down on the floor for the tripod legs to give them stability and add a tripod extension tube thingy to give me the height needed to clear the shed sides. Or I could cut three holes in the shed flooring for the tripod to go straight onto the astro turf so when walking in the shed it wouldn't effect the tripod.

Ideally though a fixed pier would be a better option for a set up and leave solution but I need to absolutely minimise any damage to the astro turf. I could cut a hole in the shed flooring to accommodate it my issue is what needs to happen for the fixing, I could potentially lift the astro turf and dig the foundation and concrete in a base, put the astro turf back down and then bolt a pier on top of it so that would only leave a few bolt holes in the astro turf rather than cutting an area out. Or is there another option to consider? Put a concrete block inside the shed and bolt a pier to that, although how heavy would it be to get it inside in the first place??!

Any ideas or solutions you can come up with would be greatly appreciated, Its something I've always wanted as I'm fed up of dragging everything outside when we have a clear night and having to set it all up and polar align etc and now i have the opportunity to do this its freaking me out. Lol 

Are you still making these??

1 hour ago, PhotoGav said:

Ok, astrophotography with the EdgeHD 8” on an HEQ5 is possible, but it is not the easiest of activities to pursue! I certainly wouldn’t recommend it as the way to start astrophotography. How experienced are you already?

If you do go down that route, you will definitely want to use an off-axis guider. I tried every method possible and the only viable option is off axis! Even that is ‘sub-optimal’ as my Edge 8” with a QSI-683 CCD requires a guiding error of around 0.2 to 0.3 “/pixel. That is partly why I changed to a Mesu 200 mount, which can give me about 0.25”/px error with that setup on a very clear, transparent and stable night... which happens very occasionally! Having said that, it is definitely possible to image with the EdgeHD 8” on a well tuned HEQ5 Pro. Good luck and I look forward to hearing how you progress.

Hi. I’d say I’m reasonably experienced, currently have a 6” RC with guide camera on top and can guide at around 0.78 in PHD2 without too much hassle. Also have a 72EDF which is simple enough. Just want to get something with a longer reach 

1 hour ago, PhotoGav said:

Hi Richard, I used to use my EdgeHD 8” on an HEQ5 Pro Mount and I can confirm, with real world evidence, that it works. Are you going to use it for purely visual or do you intend to take photos with it too?

Hi. I want it for photography. I understand on a windy night it’s going to be a no no or difficult to get decent guiding but I’m keen to try it. 

Does anyone use the above combination. I’ve got a HEQ5 Pro and really want a 8” EdgeHD. Just a bit concerned the weight is too much for it. But I’ve seen quite a few people using the combo so just wanted to get some advice from people who actually have this set up and not from people that just quote weight limits but have not actually used one. 

I've now added the ADM plate to the bottom of mine and added a Moonlite Focuser with the High Res stepper motor and V2 controller and attached my QHY 268C OSC. Absolutely love the setup and is my fav scope right now!

On 10/09/2020 at 17:55, DaveS said:

Well, in case anyone is interested (Judging by the resounding silence probably not) I now have it on good authority that the practical figure is 23.5mm

The figure of 17.5 which is widely stated is from the sensor to the end of the dovetail, which doesn't have a thread, so you have to use the supplied quick attachment fitting.

Hope this is of use to somebody.

Its 17.5mm back focus or 23.5mm when using the centering/tilt adjustment ring

Solved it. I thought it fitted with "Astro-Physics" wording facing the scope side but it doesn't, Its the other way round. Doh!

Hi I got my hands on a used Altair Astro 6" and i have seen everyone in the forums recommend the Astro Physics CCDT67. I have purchased one and its arrived but cannot work out how to fit it.

The scope has a 2" push fit type fitting that has the copper compression type band that you screw to tighten and the reducer has a M48 male thread so I can't see how to attach it. Loads of people use the combo so I'm just struggling to get my head round it.

Need to connect to my DSLR with the M48 T Mount on

So the Astro Physics CCDT67 has arrived but wondering how it attaches to the focuser, the 2" hole I can see is a slot in with the copper band that grips what you put in there but the reducer is a screw fit, anyone got a picture of their setup or can advise?

On 13/07/2015 at 13:34, johnrt said:

Always with the reducer Steve, f/9 would be sooooooo slooooooooooowwwwwww!!!!

Hi, I have just picked up a used Altair Astro 6" and the CCDT67 reducer. I want to use this with my Nikon D810A astro DSLR. Can you tell me the correct spacing needed between the reducer and camera sensor please?

has anyone used this reducer on their 6"

https://www.telescopehouse.com/revelation-0-75x-focal-reducer-for-revelation-rc-ota.html

Anyone??

Can anyone point me in the direction for the right one. Can’t seem to find one online at 2”

Sorry to bring an old topic up but I’ve just purchased a 2nd hand Altair Astro 6” and was wondering do I need the standard 1.25” Cheshire Colminator or does it need a 2” adapter like my friend who has an 8” said it might??

On 31/05/2009 at 11:50, Beyond_Vision said:

It's an exposure the same length as the flat frame but with the lens/scope covered up. It helps to reduce the noise in the flat frames.

Regards

Kevin

But isn't that a Bias frame??

I tested again last night with just plugging into one extension lead and again all worked fine, so its one of two things, either the other extension lead or maybe the way I had it set up the Lynx Astro cable running from my laptop to the mount was slightly coiled and close the the sockets on the extension lead, maybe this was causing some interference to the Lynx Astro cable controlling the mount, next clear night I will keep them apart and see if that solves the issue. Got to love this hobby!!. Lol

10 hours ago, Tenor Viol said:

umm mains power is mains power. You would only get attenuation if it was a significant length of cable. Is there wi-fi involved in this process? I've never run a Windows emulator or VM on my Mac but I would agree it's going to place a lot of demand on system resources.  

The two extension leads would equate in total to around 20 metres I suppose, Its all I can think it is because it all runs smoothly when the mount is plugged in directly to the mains supply. The laptop is on battery power and works fine when indoors 

It’s really weird though because I’ve tested it indoors plugged straight into the wall and everything works fine, no lag at all. Get outside and it starts. All I can think is maybe it’s a power issue. Inside it’s straight in the wall. Outside it’s into an extension lead which then goes into the shed and basically plugs into another extension lead which then runs into the house. I’m just wondering if that’s causing any issues 

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has experienced this and solved it. I'm using an i7 Macbook Air, 1.7ghz with 8GM Ram and running Windows 10 through Bootcamp. I have decided to try and control my mount via EQMOD and have set everything up, including Stellarium with Stellarium scope. I am using APT and did a blind plate solve and then the objects list to slew to my target. The issue I am having though is it seems to completely slow down my MacBook, The button presses i'm making take 5-6 seconds to actually happen and then the mount starts to move, there is so much lag/delay. It gets worse if I then try and run PHD2 as that cannot then even lock onto a star because of the delay. Something is causing it. Don't think it can be the Macbook bing to slow with 8GB ram and being an i7. I always thought that these basic programmes didn't use a lot of memory anyway.

Hi Mate, This is a question I've been trying to answer myself and to be honest I still can't decide to go Mono or OSC. I'm not sure we get enough clear nights here in the UK for me to have the patience of going Mono but I'm still deciding 

Hi

I’m in the exact same position. I thought there was a thread on the inside of the 1.0x flattener which allowed you to screw the filter in there and then you screw the flattener onto the focuser. But whilst there is a thread in there I cannot for the life of me screw a 2” filter to it at all.