Motorized Equatorial Mounts Scare me!

[sabana]

I have the Nexstar 8se. On a single fork AZ mount. Its good for observing. But for long exposures forget it.

I want to take it up a notch and learn the real craft of astrophotography. But I'm scared of EQ mounts. Especially motorized. I don't want to let this stop me but it is.

Where do I goto (sorry the pun) to learn the craft? I have high end DSLR's and can talk the legs off a donkey when it comes to digital cameras. But these EQ mounts freak me out.

Okay it goes like this

1) I don't want to mess about for 1 hour preparing a mount every time I take the telescope into the garden. (30 mins is fine though).

2) I want to track DSO exactly. Close isn't good enough. I want to be good at this.

3) I'm prepared to sell my 8se to fund a very good mount and downsizea little with either a refractor or newtonian refelctor.

4) Help me get over this blumming fear of cocking it up and then to start asking question after question why I can't set up the EQ mount correctly

5) Name a few good goto EQ mounts. I don't want to manually track.

Thanks for any input but I'm sure i'm not the only noob out there with this fear:iamwithstupid:

[malc-c]

The problem is IMO that points 1 and 2 could contradict each other. To get really good long exposures you'll need a guiding system, which to give that a fair chance needs the scope to be as perfectly aligned and balanced as possible. Therefore to achieve the second point you need to spend some time setting up and aligning the scope. Now I dare say that there are those who are quite practiced in the art of setting up a scope, polar aligning, then drift aligning etc and could set up a scope in your 30min limit (including carting all the kit from inside the house), but I think that would be after some practice, unless you're doing the exercise like a military tattoo !

EQ mounts are not that scary... and whilst there will be times when it all goes pear shaped that's all part of the fun and learning curve

[Smeg]

You need a PERMANENT mounting pier and observatory (Igloo)?

We all would love one of those

[ronin]

Have to agree with Malcolm, to accurately set up an equitorial for astrophotography takes care and time.

To track DSO "excactly" will need very accurate alignment and for real accuracy a guide camera and system. So more alignment and setup. One to set up the mount another to get the scope on the target and then the guide scope on the guide star.

A goto equitorial still needs aligning if for astrophotography then just as accurately, for visual not so accurately, but going to something is not tracking it. Just a quick way of getting the chosen item in the field of view for you to centre it and begin the tracking.

A good goto, the HEQ5 Pro is the start point, something around £750 from PLO. EQ6 is better.

About 3-4 weeks ago someone posted that he was fed up of trying astrophotography as they spent a large amount of time to set up then never managed to actually image most of the time. I think they put up their stuff for sale.

[Smeg]

About 3-4 weeks ago someone posted that he was fed up of trying astrophotography as they spent a large amount of time to set up then never managed to actually image most of the time. I think they put up their stuff for sale.

Perhaps he should have focused on Solar or Lunar to begin with?

I'm getting fed up with clouds at night weeks on end, so I switched to Solar lol

Now I get clouds during the day time :|

[sabana]

Maybe 30 mins was a bit tight. But I still need to know if a beginner can get accurate tracking on an equatorial. I have been guided towards the HEQ5 and the Skywatcher 80ED. Is this where to start. Its just that not knowing anyone with the HEQ5 to offer advice that its going to be okay for me. Thanks

[Odd Dob]

If you'll excuse the analogy, setting up a EQ mount is a bit like having sex.

Some well meaning people try and explain it to people who've never done it and it sounds like a strange and complicated exercise, and it's understandable inexperienced people approach it with trepidation.

Once you actually get on and do it you realise it's actually quite straight forward and you wonder what all the fuss was about.

(I can set mine up in a about 30-40 minutes for visual use, but it'd take longer if I was ever to be bothered with astrophotography)

[Black Knight]

Without an obsy or a permanent pier, setting up an EQ mount for imaging is always going to be a right royal pain. I know. I do it. But there are tricks you can learn to make the whole thing slightly less painful, and slightly quicker, when you have the experience.

You could mark the ground where the tripod legs go. When you have initially achieved perfect balance with all your equipment loaded (including cameras etc), mark the position of the counter weights on the counter weight shaft. Make a rough note of the correct focus position for your both imaging scope and guidescope. Establish a procedure or workflow, so that no steps are forgotten or left out. For example, focus your cameras on a bright star before you slew to your intended target. And so on and so forth.

Little things like this will save you time each time you set your kit up.

There's no getting away from it though, it does take time. It easily takes me an hour or more to get set up, although, I am getting quicker .

[BigBlueOne]

Hi Sabana,

I brought exactly that the HEQ5 & 80ED about 4 weeks ago

Weather and work has stopped me going out as much as I

would have wanted, but what can you do.

Anyways managed to do a three point alignment last week

Im taking small steps with this kit and it really is a smashing

piece of equipment you,ll not go wrong purchasing those 2.

Plus this forum really is the place to be when needing a

guiding hand.

BigBlueOne.

[Quatermass]

Been using an Eq5 with single axis drive for about a year now and can set it all up with my slr in less then 20 minutes out of my shed in the back garden. Not hard to do unless your ultra fussy or have a desire to reach perfection every time in which case the evil cloud gods will get you! ;-)

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk

[Carl M]

EQ mounts seem a bit daunting at first but once you have setup a few times you will find it much easier to do. HEQ5 and ED80 is a good setup for astrophotography I believe and many people use it...along with EQMOD, PHD etc...

[malc-c]

But I still need to know if a beginner can get accurate tracking on an equatorial.

Well, I still class myself as a beginner, at least with my set up, and I've never tried imaging before with a dSLR let alone a CCD camera, but I've managed to work my way through polar alignment, and drift alignment and now have the scope in good enough alignment to do guiding with a guidescope.

OK I have the advantage to a degree as the scope is set up in an ROR observatory, but in the months before I built that I used to do the routine of carting the gear out from the bedroom and setting it up in the garden. That used to take me upwards of an hour before I was taking imaged with the dSLR via a netbook... and almost as long to break everything down at the end of a session.. There is no getting away from it unless you stick to visual observing, or have a permanent mount or observatory in the garden

[laser_jock99]

I too got fed up with the faff of dragging the scope outside, setting up, polar aligning, setting up the camera, only to have the clouds roll in shortly after. It got to the point where the scope was rarely used. To keep the hobby going I resolved to build a permanent observatory. It's taken two years (and still not finished) but at least now I can just roll back the roof, power up and be ready to start in 20 mins or so. If the clouds/rain comes in I'm not as cheesed off as I would have otherwise have been.

In your position I would be inclined to buy the best EQ mount I could afford. Start with basic piggy-back photography and develop from there. As you become more experienced then get the scopes, guide cameras & maybe observatory!

It can be a frustrating pastime- but with the right preparation it can be rewarding.

[Quatermass]

If you havent tried imaging yet give it a go just get your camera on your scope with an adaptor and take some shots try the moon first its a good way to start. Check my blog and see what you can do with the basic kit I have.

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk

[hemihaggis]

well i dont have a problem , its quite easy after a few goes , tripod up and level ,pointing north . mount and weights on , attatch scope , if you set up in same spot each night your polar alighnment will be near as .... . .once polaris is centerd , do a one or two star alignment ..bingo

[faulksy]

i would reccomend for all your needs on set up a dvd from rother valley optics he shows you the whole set up, its called a guide to eq mounts very good around 15 quid

[Vargojones]

How much do you want for your 8SE (kinda serious)

[Smeg]

i would reccomend for all your needs on set up a dvd from rother valley optics he shows you the whole set up, its called a guide to eq mounts very good around 15 quid

Or search YouTube for almost free

[Andyfx]

I was scared of EQ mounts too but this video changed everything and I'm happily using an EQ5 now

[hunterknox]

Just got my first EQ mount. Never had one before for similar reasons to the original poster. Set it up for the first time in my lunch hour todayand actually managed to get some decent captures.

Don't be intimidated. Read the instructions, read them again, then go for it. That's my advice.

[JamesM]

Your right to ask questions regarding imaging and in particular the demands of tracking. In addition to the comments above which are underpinned by experience, some say frustration, can I further suggest some reading that will also help provide you with a comprehensive overview before you make any kit purchases.

Steve Richards "Making Every Photon Count" (FLO £19.95) is an essential read that will advise what you need and more importantly why you need it to satisfy your expectations regarding the quality of the final image. It covers equipment and techniques and though modestly priced, it will in fact save you a lot more money in the longer term, especially with getting the right mount which will tend to point you in the direction of at least an HEQ5 and above. It is important to have this overview under your belt because imaging per se isn't difficult but there is certainly a steep learning curve. Of course we are talking primarily here about data capture, but processing also needs a mention as although there is plenty of free software out there that can make a real difference to your images, there is other software that will have to paid for so make sure you calculate your budget realistically to avoid any disappointment. When it all goes well, imaging is very satisfying but typically there are always little things that need ironing out along the way. A little knowledge as found in the above book will certainly help prepare you for the amount of ironing that will need to be done.

Clear skies

James