Jamgood

The best thing to do is set it all up in the day time and make sure everything is talking to each other. If your mount is to be controlled by computer, you don't need the ST4 cable. You can use pulse guiding from PHD2 straight to the mount. This is more reliable and one less wire to worry about.

It was a bit tight but with a bit of brute force it did unscrew with no damage. I originally had mine like yours is in the pictures but found that it wasn't that stable in the finder scope shoe but my original guide holder only had one set of 3 screws for positioning. I get better balance with it in the middle of the scope rings, especially when balancing up with camera and dew shield, etc. You could easily adapt your guide rings to fit on a second dovetail. Also, the second dovetail gives you a handy handle to carry/lift acope into position. (If setting up every time) The more the weight is to the centre of gravity will be better for you mount. 👍

In APT my Dither is set to 12. In PHD2 I have it set to spiral. I'm using a Canon 60Da which is a similar censor. Another thing, with DSS. Once mine went all screwy for no reason and I couldn't fathom out why. Nothing had changed. I deleted all the temporary files and reinstalled the program and it has worked flawlessly since. I also find it can be temperamental and give mixed results if you don't put the files in order. Lights - Darks - Flats - Bias.

Have you got some old Dark files you can calibrate with to see if it removes the walking pixels? I still use Darks even though I dither after every shot. I find images look better with than without them.

I bought some of these. SVBONY Guide Scope Rings - I only used to rings, drilled new holes in my spare dovetail and fitted them to that. Then used these to fit the dovetail to the scope rings. Solid as a rock. I'm sure there are better and cheaper ways to do it though.

I had the same mount for my first and had a 130PDS on it. It handled quite well considering but upgrading to the HEQ5PRO has been the best thing I did. I did the Rowan Belt Mod in it myself. I never guided with my EQ3PRO though. I could get good 60sec exposures with it and could probably of done much more guided. Are you guiding? What exposures are you getting? With the HEQ5PRO I guide and can take 20min shots and the mount doesn't skip a beat.

@Luke Newbould Really good video. I'm sure your confidence will grow as you do more. For a first, it was definitely better than some I've seen. Great images too. Thank you for sharing.

Tomorrow night? You're hopeful! Tempting fate planning that far ahead.

^^^^This^^^^ Beaten to it by minutes.

Are you using a dew shield? Using one can help with stray lights from houses, surrounding spaces, etc. Can easily make one out of cardboard. Was there any build up of dew on the glass? Are you using dew heaters? How long was your gear outside before you started imaging? Maybe need a little longer to cool down in these temperatures or as above, been out a while and the weather is affecting things. These things are sent to try us, don't give up the battle. It's half of the fun.

The only thing I have to do at the telescope end is put the Bahtinov mask on and take it off. Remote Desktop to my PC inside gives me control over everything, mount, camera, guide cam. I could set it all up from my phone if needed. I found using one active USB troublesome so I use two, one has a small unpowered hub on it for mount and guide cam. These are taped and coiled along with a 12v extension cable. That's all I need right now. Until I add a powered hub later down the line when I get a dedicated Astro camera.

I use USB cables into the house to my computer. (Don't have a laptop) It works well. I also use Google Remote Desktop on a tablet or phone to aid focusing while outside. The screen on the camera is OK but I've always found them a little too small even on the brightest stars to get really sharp focus. Live view on the computer is much better and I can use the Bahtinov aid in APT. No running in and out of the house. This method is quick and easy, I'm set up and focused in minutes, back in the warm, plate solving and ready to image.

Rosette Nebula. A work in progress. I will be adding more to this when the Moon isn't washing everything out and I can get some 10 minutes exposures. Happy with this one so far though. 48 Lights - 300s @ ISO800 (4hrs) 20 x Darks - 30 x Bias - 30 x Flats Skywatcher 130PDS - HEQ5 Pro (Rowan Belt Mod) - Canon EOS60Da - Astronomik CLS Filter - Baader MPCCIII Orion 50mm Guide Scope + Orion Star Shoot Auto Guider

Jealous! 9" of snow out my back door and it's still cloudy. I'll play guitar instead. Have fun! 👍

This was my first attempt at imaging when I got my scope. It was something like 2hrs of 30s images. Darks and Bias. (I didn't know how to do Flats then) 130PDS on a EQ3Pro, Unguided. Canon EOS200D. I was just amazed I could capture anything! Blew me away.

I looked for a shorter one when I wanted one last year. Smallest I could find anywhere was 6ft. I've just ziptied the excess and forgot about it. I don't think you'll get one smaller, unless you make one yourself.

I bother for nights like tonight. Crystal clear skies for the first time in an age! Telescope is outside imaging away and while I'm keeping an eye on things, I'm reading, learning, planning future targets.

I have a raised patio area that is 5ft above the garden. If that floods we're in serious trouble. My gear is outside cooling down reading for some imaging later. 😀

My last attempt at Orion was: 12 x 300s - 12 x 30s - 12 x 10s Lights ISO 1600 12 x Darks for each set of Lights 30 x Bias 30 x Flats All guided shots taken with a Canon 60Da on a Skywatcher 130PDS in Bortle 8. Stacked in DSS and edited in Photoshop. I got this. Not perfect but my best shot yet.

Excellent @alacant. I'd love to keep posting but not had a decent night of stars for over a month here now. Will be back to it a.s.a.p.

It was the same in the summer. Covid closed a lot of factories and supply couldn't keep up with demand. I don't think supply has ever recovered. Most places get limited stock when shipments come in. It's a waiting game for most equipment at the minute.

Clouds! I'll try again next time I can. Fingers crossed for clear skies. Thanks for the help so far guys. 👍

No, no heater. Nothing had changed at all when it started. I set up in the same place every time, markers on the floor. I'll try that now. I've never put an eyepiece in this scope. I have the one that came with it but never used it. I can try.

You can see that the glitch is not even in line with the focuser. It's in a different line. Putting my finger over the scope while de-focused, it is around the top primary mirror clip. Maybe I need to remove the mirror and have a look at it. I have looked down with a torch and everything looks normal. No cracks or anything out of place, that I can tell.

It's not flocked. All standard as of now.