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Pictures of your set up


Viv

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I have a few setups to use depending on whether imaging or viewing (though sadly, visual astronomy is getting more difficult with poor eyesight so I'm concentrating on imaging now).

Imaging at long f/l I use the 10" LX200 with 1000mm Vixen guidescope.

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Using my little TV Pronto as guider is also possible:

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The Pronto makes for a good guidescope in combination with my TV Genesis SDF for wide-field imaging.

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Here's my 12" f/5.4 Newt on my home-made GEM mount and tripod, mainly for visual observing (though does a fantastic job on the planets with a webcam). As I mentioned though I don't do much visual astronomy now so will likely sell this OTA.

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ChrisH

Gorgeous looking setups Chris. The mount looks fabulous, and the two TV's look lovely together :-)

Stu

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That's a neat solution for a imagine set-up about as compact as it gets but could inspire other's that don't have the space to follow suit my Obby is in the thumb nail in my Sig, but i view and do the odd image so its a bit bigger, don't know if you posted in the build thread or this thread but a rough idea of how to build and the cost might persuade other to bite the bullet and build, nice job well done Robin

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It is as you put it "just your opinion".  You are entitled to it just as I am mine.   :grin:

We should not criticise the different ways that folks want to pursue the hobby though or the setups they put together to achieve that. You are entitled to think what you like but this thread is for people to post pictures of their setups, not have them critiqued.

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Tinker, unfortunately, it turned out to be expensive, I had to import the dome from the US and then my EQ6 wouldn't fit so had to buy an Avalon M-Uno (fortunate to get a good second hand deal).  Pretty much everything else I made, although it was a design which evolved, I had a basic idea at the start but had to modify my plans when I realised things weren't going to fit.

I would have bought a Pulsar dome had the missus not said no, then I could have kept my EQ6 and got inside the dome for visual and easier set up.

You can see the build and costs here  http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196833-an-imaging-obs-in-northumberland/

I will need to update the thread as I have completed a few more tasks in the last couple of months and need to take a bit better picture during the hours of daylight, but I have been concentrating on trying to get some use out of, now we have the dark nights and there is a scope in it.

Robin

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We should not criticise the different ways that folks want to pursue the hobby though or the setups they put together to achieve that. You are entitled to think what you like but this thread is for people to post pictures of their setups, not have them critiqued.

Thank you, John. :) And that (my wicked parodying of "nay-sayers" aside) is quite an important idea here. ;)

The really keen eyed might have spotted my novel and interesting use of the truly scary (20lb!) "Owl Box"

from "Scopes & Skies"? Incorporating THAT into *any* setup deserved some admiration at least. [teasing] :D

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The really keen eyed might have spotted my novel and interesting use of the truly scary (20lb!) "Owl Box"

from "Scopes & Skies"? Incorporating THAT into *any* setup deserved some admiration at least. [teasing] :D

I spotted that Chris. I've just incorporated an "Owl Box" into my big refractor mount that I posted a pic of a few posts back in this thread. It provides just the right lift that I needed but, boy, it is heavy !

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There are some fantastic scopes on display here, it is also interesting as to how often a greenhouse appears in shot, do they come free with some scopes, I could use one.

Love Chris's pictures that Stu highlighted above, so Meade did sell one dew sheild.

Alan.

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Greenhouses are a sweetner, without them the missus doesn't give planning permission.  I think FLO has just started a nice range of Greenhouses, with special bundled deals with scopes over 8".  Of course they are probably made of Ohara FPL-53 glass?

Robin

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My extra powerful f4 fast telescope,cost me a fortune, The nebulas I have seen with this is unbelievable.

So light and compact it fits in my pocket,goes everywhere with me,up and running in seconds..What else do you need :grin:

Mods/admins delete this if offends lol..Need something to cheer me up...

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Mods/admins delete this if offends lol..Need something to cheer me up...

No problem mate - we could all do with a smile or two  :smiley:

I like the integral buttons and LCD screen - that could catch on !  :smiley:

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Here's an inside shot of my set up. A C11 riding an NEQ6. I've since bought a BORG 50ARH as my finder to replace the bog standard 9x50. Loving the set up at the moment - purely used for planetary astro imaging. Mind the mess.

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Mine in side-by-side mode (not decided on whether or not to keep it like this:

And with the DSO imaging rig on it's own:

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It all sits on one of these piers:

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It all sits in an Ian King RORO obsy, which is remotely controlled from inside the house (though I like pottering in the "shed"

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  • 5 months later...

Recently changed my setup - the EQ6 was replaced by the 10Micron 1000HPS, which went back to the maker after guider and tracking issues remained unresolved.  In the end it was a Paramount MX. Custom adaptor plate for the tripod and an all-in interface box with all the electronics within (power conversion, dew heater, focuser and USB over ethernet extension).  Tripod rests on 0.5m spikes driven into the garden. If I don't collapse the tripod, the repeatability of the whole setup is better than 1 arc minute. This is now a really tidy layout, the only two dangling cables are the dew heater ones, which I decided to route outside the mount to reduce interference with the power and camera.

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  • 1 month later...

This is a great thread, I'll have to dig up some photos. Here's one of my old  Sears 6339-A  at our ranch overseas, it was my dream scope when I was a kid. This and a 114mm Pencrest reflector satisfied my needs until I retired a few years ago and got back into the hobby.

Edit: Add Reflector photo.

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This is a great thread, I'll have to dig up some photos. Here's one of my old Sears 6339-A at our ranch overseas, it was my dream scope when I was a kid. This and a 114mm Pencrest reflector satisfied my needs until I retired a few years ago and got back into the hobby.

Edit: Add Reflector photo.

Bet you had some great skies on the ranch, by the look of it?

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Bet you had some great skies on the ranch, by the look of it?

Yeah, California's Central Coast region is quite good for observing, most nights of the year are clear, and you don't have to travel far if you want some really dark skies. I used to take those clear nights for granted   :embarassed:, but have learned a new appreciation for them being here in the UK. 

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Greetings,

Here are some pictures of my kit. The optics consists of a Takahashi Mewlon 250mm (narrow fov, f10) and an a 1 operated at f4.30mm Astrophysics EDF refractor (wide fov. f6.3 or f4.7). The mount is a Takahashi EM400.

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The next pic show my home made pier (made by my neighbour who is a master welder). The footing is an octagonal shape where the sides are accurately aligned and serve as a compass for visual observations with my binoculars. The footing is 1.8m across the flats and weighs about 3.75 tonnes

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The pier is about 250 mm in dia . This pier will be un-bolted an installed in my observatory ... to be built !!

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Greetings,

Here are some pictures of my kit. The optics consists of a Takahashi Mewlon 250mm (narrow fov, f10) and an a 1 operated at f4.30mm Astrophysics EDF refractor (wide fov. f6.3 or f4.7). The mount is a Takahashi EM400.

attachicon.gifOptics_kit_01_small.jpg

The next pic show my home made pier (made by my neighbour who is a master welder). The footing is an octagonal shape where the sides are accurately aligned and serve as a compass for visual observations with my binoculars. The footing is 1.8m across the flats and weighs about 3.75 tonnes

attachicon.gifPier_compass_sg_small.jpg

The pier is about 250 mm in dia . This pier will be un-bolted an installed in my observatory ... to be built !!

That is a nice set up.  Love the footing, I hope to do something similar when we finish our back yard observing deck here in the UK.

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Thank you Mike.

That last post of mine didn't end correctly because I posted it prematurely and I do not know how to edit it to clean it up.

To make the footing I first made a mold out of chip board and lined up one axis N-S using the sun's transit. The footing will be painted, with tough work-shop floor paint, to display a compass rose. The edges are lined with brass angle. It was meant to be shiny.

Kind Regards,

Jeremy

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