Clarkey

No! No! No! Through no fault of there own (other than selling astro kit) FLO have managed to make me a poor person. Finance would make me bankrupt🤣

I think everyone feels that this year has been pretty poor in the UK. Mine has been pretty awful until the last couple of weeks when I did get 4 clear nights. I just hope this is a 'glitch' and not a sign of things to come.....

You can get m42 adaptors for 0.75 to 1.0 pitch. I think I ordered some from fleabay. Also, if you search online you should be able to get the back focus for your lens. If you get a variable adjuster it will give you some wriggle room.

This is the one FLO sells with the ST80 as a guiding package: Astro Essentials 1.25" to T / M42 Thread 65mm Focus Extension Tube | First Light Optics You can add an extra M42 extension which will allow you to rack the focuser in a bit and make it more stable.

You might be lucky. I had a good one and the stock focuser was OK for imaging - but they are a bit hit and miss. I did have to file the draw tube and adjust the settings, but it was OK.

Yes, you will need an extension of some sort. I use the ST80 as a guide scope and it needs a lot more back-focus than the focuser allows. From memory you need something like 70mm extra.

The RCA ports are 12v pwm outputs whereas the USB few bands are 5v, so I suspect they will be overloaded. You could get a 12v usb port to do the job with a bit of DIY. The other option is a 12v powered usb power hub and put an RCA plug on it.

Much as I find Pixinsight a right PITA, I have started using it - mainly for the Russell Croman tools. Also, I do believe if I ever get proficient it will give the best results. However, if I was ever to design a user interface it would be the opposite of PI. I did use Astro Pixel Processor and Affinity photo for some time (Affinity is a cheaper version of Photoshop but very similar functionality). Even with PI, I still use Affinity after to get the image looking more how I want. I suspect this is more to do with lack of ability in PI, rather than the software itself. If you want quick and easy results, give Startools a go with the free trial version. Personally, I don't like what it does to stars - but just going through using all the defaults will give you an acceptable image.

Personally, I would keep the ED80 and get another scope to complement it. I sold mine and I have somewhat regretted it since. They are good for both visual and a starter scope for imaging. Maybe add a Mak or SCT for planetary imaging / viewing and you would have a reasonable pair of scopes for general viewing and imaging.

@ollypenriceand @gorann - I see what you mean about the square stars. Just checked out some images on Astrobin. From all the above information, it looks like the general advice is towards the RASA. I have contacted FLO regarding the mirror issue and it would appear to be a limited number of poor examples. I will have quite a bit of time to think about it - the new ones are not expected until Dec / Jan. Having read lots of threads on here and CN, there seem to be fans and supporters of both options. However, as there is a knowledgeable crowd on SGL regarding the foibles of the RASA - best stick with what YOU know. I will undoubtedly be back with more questions in the new year. (SWMBO permitting of course)...

Probably a dumb question, but why? The only reason I can see it due to the resolution, but that would be the same on any 400mm scope.

Thanks for the replies - really useful information. This is a bit of an issue. I was unaware there was no space with the longer back-focus. I have an IMX571 Risingcam so this could be a problem. I think the overall cost rules this out - I had looked at it. Also, I already have a RC so I do not really need a longer FL Good to know. I assumed given it had the front plate it would attract dew, but this is clearly not the case. Also, as @Elp says, there is the option of the Celestron dew heater - I assumed these only fitted the SCT's. From the replies above, the general consensus seems to be the RASA is the better option. I was aware that the 8" version was out of supply for months, but I was unaware that this was a QC problem. I have noticed that FLO are now showing them as in stock soon which is the first time in months. I just hope the 'poor' mirrors are obvious and I don't spend ages trying to fix the unfixable. No - I think you are right. Much as I would like an 11" scope, my budget won't stretch to that. Now I just need to get my 'financial planner' to give me the go-ahead. (Some grovelling may be needed🤣)

Due to the very limited times that I can image, I am seriously considering one of the two scopes above to allow much higher data collection rates. In terms of FL, both are pretty similar at 400 and 420mm respectively. The RASA is quicker at f2 compared with f2.8 for the Sharpstar. Obviously, one is a dew magnet and the other gives diffraction spikes. The Sharpstar also claims to work with a full frame sensor which is much larger than the RASA, it can also work with a mono camera (if you can afford the filters). However, what I would really like is some real world experiences. I know the RASA can be difficult to set up, with tilt being an issue and similarly high-speed Newtonians can be tricky to collimate. I also know the early HNT scopes had issues with the mirrors moving - but I believe this has been fixed. For anyone who owns or has used either of these scopes, I would like some opinions. Thanks in advance, Ian

In a typical month I am lucky to get this many days imaging. I do not even look at the seeing / moon - just do what I can, when I can. Having said this, my RC8 is reduced and binned to give 1.5"/pixel and the only other longer focal length scope I have is 800mm. So in reality I do not do any 'high resolution' imaging. It's a nice looking cluster - sharp stars and natural looking colours.👍

Yes, I have seen these used as well. But I don't have any experience. I just had a look on line for 'silicone fan connector' and there are loads listed. Certainly a good option if you are changing the fan anyway.

Mine does the same. Just get it pointing in roughly the right position then start the tracking. There is an option to start the polar alignment without sleeping the mount. Us that. (I have an Observatory so can't remember exactly).

These days if I get any orange on 'Clear Outside' I get quite excited. If I get green, I need clean pants🤣🤣

I would agree that theoretically an OAG is the best option. However, I have tried twice on my RC8 and found them to be a real pain. This was using the standard ZWO OAG and I tried the Askar modular one for the larger prism. I live in Bortle 6 which may not help, but I have struggled for guide stars. Also, if you rotate your imaging train to frame a shot you need to recalibrate phd2. For this reason I have stuck with my trusty ST80 for guiding. I don't seem to get too much flex so it's ok.

I think the option you have as 1 should work fine. As for mounting, I'm sure there must be some 3d printed options out there. For a small set up like this you can always mount the two image train perpendicular to a vixen bar. You might need to drill a hole or two or use a mounting plate, but it should be easy enough. This is how my FMA180 and 30mm guidescope are mounted.

Now all I can see is a big dog.... about to eat Nessie🤣

That's a great image. Maybe I am a bit of a traditionalist and like stars in my pictures. Looks like you have a ghost at the top as well as Nessie.....

Normally I would agree, but it does seem odd that it is only on two stars. There are hundreds of other red stars in the full image, but only these give the halo. I guess it is possible that these particular stars have a slightly unusual spectrum which is causing the effect. I have had halos on the filter (l-extreme in this case), but on the FMA180 the filter is on the dew shield, not in front of the camera. Previously these reflections have been on bright stars when the filter was near the camera. I do not think these are any amazing new phenomenon, but they just struck me as odd.

No chance - camera shy and incompetent. Not a good mix🤣

I think the point @ollypenrice is making is that the mount is the most important part of any set up and should be the bulk of the budget, which is quite right. If you were to buy a second hand mount (HEQ5 / 6), if you decided to give up on the AP you can re-sell with minimal losses. You already have a DSLR and you can use this with a prime lens or a widefield scope. You should be able to get this within your budget. You can run this from a bog-standard laptop using free or cheap software. If you then want to advance you already have the mount to do it.

This is my issue. I get images, but I feel there should be more. I think maybe I am being a little unfair on myself with the 'press and guess' description. However, often I know what I want to do, but cannot always get there. To be honest this is true for all the software I have used - not just PI. However, the PI interface is far from easy to use. I will keep working with it though as from my experience so far, I do think it has the potential to produce the best images. It's just the clown working with it that is holding it back😂