evil_yoda

Hi Olly, I'd been looking around at different scopes to fit somewhere in the focal length I was aiming for, that would be a 'reasonable' match for the HEQ5 in terms of weight. I know I'll need to tune the mount somewhat to get the best from it for a scope of this focal length. I'm happy with the camera I have, and also the mount (for the time being at least!) I had considered a newt, but these generally seem to a bit more difficult to balance with the imaging train hanging off to one side. And quite heavy. Also looked at something like a C8 edge. Longer focal length than the RC8, perhaps a similar weight though. Another refractor would be nice. Skywatcher 120 Esprit with a focal length of 840mm gives me an arcsecond per pixel, but starting to get expensive. And the OTA is almost 10kg. The RC8 is a longer focal length and means I'll need to bin 2x2. But... It's lighter and more compact, and should be easier to balance than a newt perhaps. Cheaper and lighter than a refractor. I got this one second hand for a good price, so if after a year or so it isn't a good fit for me, I'm sure I'll probably get most of my money back if I sell it on. Either way it'll be fun to try something a bit different than the little ED80 (which will still be getting lot's of use). Cheers, Matt

Hi vlaiv, I've managed to find myself a used carbon fibre RC8! Cloudy nights for a while longer I suppose. Not got it yet, but it's totally standard with the factory focuser etc. I assume you upgraded the focuser on yours, and was wondering what you upgraded it to? Doesn't look like the standard focuser has a threaded attachment for the imaging train. Might be a while before I can upgrade the focuser, but it's always fun to make an upgrade list Matt

Thanks vlaiv, I've seen some of the superb images you've produced with the RC8 and the HEQ5 which is one of the reasons I thought it might be the way forward. The belt mod might be on the todo list if I do get an RC8! Cheers, Matt

Hi Graeme, From memory, my Tot RMS as reported by PHD2 varies between 0.8 and 1.5 depending on the night. To be honest, I've not spent much time fine tuning the the mount and polar alignment to improve the guiding as it's always been perfectly adequate for the ED80, but I appreciate a longer focal length would need much better guiding. I did look around at some of the newts, but they all looked to be quite heavy and probably more difficult to balance the shorter tube RC or cassegrain designs

Hi all, I've currently got a Skywatcher ED80, HEQ5 and a ASI1600mm, set up in an 'obshedvatory'. I like doing the bigger nebula etc with the ED80 and the focal reducer, but I'd also like to fill the frame a bit more with some of the smaller galaxies. The ED80 will be staying, so I'd like a companion for it. Only having an HEQ5 limits me a bit to the weight of a new scope, so I've been looking at the CF RC8 as they seem quite light for the aperture. I appreciate that it can be a bit tricky to collimate these scopes (and I've never colimated a reflector before). Also I think I'd need to bin 2x2 with my ASI1600 with the pixel size. Otherwise I keep coming back to the RC8. Does anyone have any other suggestions of a scope that would fit the bill without spending a fortune? Matt

That's stunning. Lovely colours. I'm just getting started with NB imaging, I'll be happy if I can ever get something even half as good as that!