Imaging Help needed

[oshb5]

Hello All

First of all I hope this is the right section to ask this in?

My Kit orwhat I have availabe is scopes a Celestron 8" Classic SCT and a WO 80mm Triplet short tube.. The mount is a CG% with IOPTRON GOTONOVA drives and electronics with ST$ guide port, (The alignment is very good as is the tracking greatly over the normal CG5GT) The Camera is a Starlight Xpress SXVF M7C one shot color (Which can both guide and capture the photo at the same time but takes twice as long) I also have a couple of Philips SPC-900NC web cams. The ancillaries are either a top mount for the WO to sit on top of the Celestron or a Side by side bar.

What I would like Is any help with what sort of configuration or set up I could use the above kit in. So I can get a start in astro imaging please. Obviously I have a laptop to run the software which is mainly the Maxim DL. I could just use one scope and the Starlight Xpress but dont like the sound of twice as long for a image. If you think or can suggest that I need anything else then please do. I would like it to be Guided rather than a tracked hence if i need any other stuff. That way I could then have a dry run during the day as just thinking about all all the wires where they come from and goto is scary lol

Being new into something you dont know much about when the field is so large and there can be tat many combinations of kit it is very daunting Hence came here for help from the guys that know the most and have been through the starting out procedure.

Many many thanks for any help

Regards Andy

(talk about in at the deep end LOL)

[oshb5]

What if I ask a smaller question regarding guiding.. Which is If i use the SPC900nc as a guide camera ( I understand it would have to be a bright object to guide via) The Camera has the USB plug. Which connects to the laptop. Say im using PHD to do the guiding "BUT" how do I then connect the laptop to the mount via the ST4 port please?

Andy

[Dave]

It does seem very intimidating the first time you start down this road.

Not sure what you need for your mount to attach to the Laptop, but I am sure someone on here will let you know what you need. Come on guys!

Good luck. You'll crack it and then start having fun.

Dave

[steppenwolf]

You need one other item, an interface to go between the laptop and the ST4 port on the mount. This is the sort of thing I have in mind.

[oshb5]

Iv seen someting like it on one of the other web sites and they mention a TTL232R Is this the same sort of thing that does what you suggested?

Regs Andy

[steppenwolf]

Iv seen someting like it on one of the other web sites and they mention a TTL232R Is this the same sort of thing that does what you suggested?

Not really, I suspect that the TTL232R device you are talking about now is for what is known as the EQMod and although that can also incorporate guiding (pulse guiding rather than ST4 cable guiding) it is not suitable for your mount.

What you require is a specific adapter that connect to either the Serial port (if you have one) or better still a USB port on your PC/Laptop with a cable that goes to the ST4 guide port on your mount - and that is precisely what the one I mentioned above will do.

[oshb5]

Another way is I have a few mono Hi res CCTV cams and also i single video input to the laptop so can use this video input for the PHD software but leaves me with the Laptop to ST4 problem.

Possibly the best solution may be to look for a dedicated guide cam that has USB and ST4 outputs. So i may be in the market for one if any comes up at the right price that is

Regs Andy

[oshb5]

Not really, I suspect that the TTL232R device you are talking about now is for what is known as the EQMod and although that can also incorporate guiding (pulse guiding rather than ST4 cable guiding) it is not suitable for your mount.

What you require is a specific adapter that connect to either the Serial port (if you have one) or better still a USB port on your PC/Laptop with a cable that goes to the ST4 guide port on your mount - and that is precisely what the one I mentioned above will do.

Thanks for the info In which case this item being around £75 makes it more sense to go the dedicated cam route dont you think?

or go the whole hog and get a HEQ5?

Regs Andy

[oshb5]

..

[ollypenrice]

Hi Andy

I'm not up on webcam guiding at all. I take the view that the guiding is the most critical part of the whole system so I have always used 'extravagent' autoguiders. These were Atik 16ic cooled CCDs until an equally excellent Lodestar arrived from Starlight Xpress via Ian King recently. (One of the venerable Atiks seems to need to go back for a service.)

I can't see why you'd need to change your mount since I understand that the CG5 is pretty similar to the HEQ5, no? The underlying accuracy of mounts is not terribly important until you get into seriously long focal lengths. What matters is how well their periodic gudes out. (I've had a torrid time trying to get my very accurate Tak EM200 to guide well and no trouble at all getting two very inaccurate EQ sixes to do so!)*

I would suggest you ignore the SCT for the moment and concentrate only on the refractor. The long FL of the SCT, plus an awful lot of other issues discussed widely all over the imaging community, make them hard work. I'd come back to that later.

I know it isn't a cheap option but I can say that I'm very impressed by the Lodestar in that classic of guidescopes, the ST80. I have been steered away from the various standalone autoguiders by contacts in the trade whom I trust. (In search of simplicity in dealing with the difficult Tak I did think of trying them.)

Olly

* 'No trouble at all' by imaging standards, that is!!

[oshb5]

Hi Olly

Right If I readcorrectly what your saying right then as long as the mount works via the st4 port as it should then it does not make any difference how accurate the mount is in theory at tracking because the guide camera compensates for the inaccuracy of the mount by keeping the mount on the star via the st4 port from the auto guider hence no matter on the mounts stand alone accuracy? That said a better accuracy mount usually means a mount that is a lot better made and therefore smoother in its whole movement and tracking overall. Yes?

The other thing you was talking about is it the stand alone guide cameras like the LVI I ask because I have been offered one and was considering it..

Regards Andy