Guiding conversion project for 200p and EQ5

[badgers]

Jumping on here and i do apologise, im looking into doing this ST4 mod to on the Dual Axis kit.

My main concern is killing the handset, what is the likely-hood of this happening? lol and where can i get a replacement handset should this happen?

Many thanks

Disassembly is really easy, you'd need to be extremely rough to break anything.

The part I found difficult was getting the new cable sat in nice and tight with the other pair in the little clip that holds them in place. I just took my time and tried to be gentle.

The soldering is tricky and takes a little time to get right, but its not very difficult, I soldered (twice) cables to the wrong places, but a quick melt with the soldering iron, and a tug and they came loose for resoldering.

[eddy]

Great stuff Im not an electrician by any means, but i have some experience with cables and electronics, just dont want to throw £90 up the wall! LOL

Thanks for the reply, appreciated

[Quatermass]

Your welcome badger all that I did is covered on my tutorials if you need it.

[Quatermass]

Great stuff Im not an electrician by any means, but i have some experience with cables and electronics, just dont want to throw £90 up the wall! LOL

Thanks for the reply, appreciated

Its really easy to do Eddy I am rubbish at soldering and found it very simple to add the st4 port to the hand controller I dont see you having any problems at all.

Edited February 26, 2012 by Quatermass

[Quatermass]

In fact compared to modding my cannon 350 putting the st4 port on was walk in the park.

[Quatermass]

Heres the link for the pictures of modding the controller to help you out..

Star Gazing

[badgers]

I've a sneaking suspicion I was operating my camera with incorrect white balance and with long exposure noise reduction turned on for those M45 shots. Going to spend an evening sorting out the camera modes tonight and try again when its clear.

Can I shoot flats and darks on evenings like this ? I guess the main difference would be temperature, but that should be fairly static for the next few weeks ?

I guess I could record the ambient temperature on the filenames of the subs. I just don't know the tolerances, would darks/flats shot at 15 celsius be usable for lights shot at 17 celsius....

Edited February 27, 2012 by badgers

[pel]

Quatermass, if you were buying the kit again would you still use the 200P/EQ5? I ask because I'm about to buy a 200P/EQ5 with a view to creating the same sort guiding/astrophotography setup.

[Quatermass]

Quatermass, if you were buying the kit again would you still use the 200P/EQ5? I ask because I'm about to buy a 200P/EQ5 with a view to creating the same sort guiding/astrophotography setup.

Well I think given the budget I was on back on 2010 yes I would but knowing what I know now my choice would be a Heq5 with a Sky watcher Quattro-8s OTA.

But its all down to money really the EQ5 mount with the 200p for the price is good but its not as good as an HEQ5 mount with a lighter scope like an ED80. Doing the conversion to my EQ5 mount cost me about 180 quid extra it works but its pushing the limits so my advice would be get it if your wallets not going to stretch to a Heq5 mount.

The mount matter the most for astrophotography as any one will tell you so if you intend to get into this in a meaningful way then an Heq5 is the mount to go for as it comes with the st4 port and all you need to get started with auto guiding set ups.

You can see what I can produce image wise in my gallery with the 200p and EQ5.

Current price for a 200p and eq5 is 390.00 plus the conversion minus a webcam and camera is going to about 570.00 price for an Heq5 is about 500.00 with ed80 pushing it up to over 700.00

So for 390.00 and dual axis motor drive kit 490.00 that give you scope and mount and tracking with which you can do all that I have done so far. But 490.00 is just short of a tenner for the Heq5. You can see there's not much in it so depends on how much you want to spend.

All I can say is I have been using my eq5 and 200p since Dec 2010 and its a great telescope and mount for the price.

[Quatermass]

Can I shoot flats and darks on evenings like this ? I guess the main difference would be temperature, but that should be fairly static for the next few weeks ?

I guess I could record the ambient temperature on the filenames of the subs. I just don't know the tolerances, would darks/flats shot at 15 celsius be usable for lights shot at 17 celsius....

Hi Badger

I am no expert on these matters but shooting flats and darks is normally done after you have focused on your target. What I do if the clouds roll in is make the most of the night and shoot off about 50 darks and flats then save them to use later on providing the temp is not changed that much it seems to work ok for me. If you go out and dont focus on your target first it might not be the right thing to do. But often when I am ready to start shooting the clouds roll in that's my Q to start taking darks and flats while I'm waiting.

I find that 30 darks and flats work quite well for an hours worth of 1 min subs

[badgers]

Getting good results on PixInsight now with some photoshop afterwards.

Just need clear skies for Attempt No 2 : )

[Quatermass]

Bring on those clear skys pleeeeeessseeee! I hate clouds I hate them.. grrr

[pel]

Well I think given the budget I was on back on 2010 yes I would but knowing what I know now my choice would be a Heq5 with a Sky watcher Quattro-8s OTA.

But its all down to money really the EQ5 mount with the 200p for the price is good but its not as good as an HEQ5 mount with a lighter scope like an ED80. Doing the conversion to my EQ5 mount cost me about 180 quid extra it works but its pushing the limits so my advice would be get it if your wallets not going to stretch to a Heq5 mount.

The mount matter the most for astrophotography as any one will tell you so if you intend to get into this in a meaningful way then an Heq5 is the mount to go for as it comes with the st4 port and all you need to get started with auto guiding set ups.

You can see what I can produce image wise in my gallery with the 200p and EQ5.

Current price for a 200p and eq5 is 390.00 plus the conversion minus a webcam and camera is going to about 570.00 price for an Heq5 is about 500.00 with ed80 pushing it up to over 700.00

So for 390.00 and dual axis motor drive kit 490.00 that give you scope and mount and tracking with which you can do all that I have done so far. But 490.00 is just short of a tenner for the Heq5. You can see there's not much in it so depends on how much you want to spend.

All I can say is I have been using my eq5 and 200p since Dec 2010 and its a great telescope and mount for the price.

Thanks for the response QM , I know I should really go for the HEQ5 and the ED80 or Quattro F4 would be my choice. I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old though and money is tight so I think I'm going to have to go down the same route that you did.

If I can produce images half as good as yours I will be very happy.

I'm after an image of the Horse head nebular, was that tricky?

Edit - Hasn't the £500 HEQ5 been discontinued anyway?

Edited February 28, 2012 by pel

[Quatermass]

Hi Pel

Know how you feel about budget and income I was in the same boat. I think you will really enjoy the 200p and eq5 as much as I have. It is a big telescope so you will need to keep it in the shed like I do. Imaging using short 1 minute subs works well if you take enough of them for the horse head a good dark sky is needed with no light pollution as that makes a monster difference.

60 one minute subs with 30 darks and flats shoud give you a reasonable results for a lot of targets but again choose a good night with a dark sky for best results. In an area with heavy light pollution a light pollution filter is highly recommend for sure.

Not sure if the 500heq5 has been stopped you will need to search around on the net. Second hand is allways worth considering as well though.

Practise you processing skills will take several months to get better at but my tutorials will save you time on this as there a combo of all the main methods that work best when processing your images. Try unguided first and get good at that then move onto the guiding set up later is my advice.

Wishing you all the best and clear skys.

QM

[pel]

Hi Pel

Know how you feel about budget and income I was in the same boat. I think you will really enjoy the 200p and eq5 as much as I have. It is a big telescope so you will need to keep it in the shed like I do. Imaging using short 1 minute subs works well if you take enough of them for the horse head a good dark sky is needed with no light pollution as that makes a monster difference.

60 one minute subs with 30 darks and flats shoud give you a reasonable results for a lot of targets but again choose a good night with a dark sky for best results. In an area with heavy light pollution a light pollution filter is highly recommend for sure.

Not sure if the 500heq5 has been stopped you will need to search around on the net. Second hand is allways worth considering as well though.

Practise you processing skills will take several months to get better at but my tutorials will save you time on this as there a combo of all the main methods that work best when processing your images. Try unguided first and get good at that then move onto the guiding set up later is my advice.

Wishing you all the best and clear skys.

QM

Hi QM, Thanks for the advice on the Horse head, I haven't got a lot of light polution, so it may be alright. I did want a HEQ5 originally so I will look around for a bargin, ebay is stupid at the moment though and a second hand one on there would probably be going for new prices.

I'm pretty good with software normally so hopefully the processing should come to me quickly.

Thanks QM, brilliant advice, yes hopefully get some clear skys towards the end of the week.

[badgers]

The quattro 4 makes me want to drool....

I love the disclaimer on FLO about it:

NB: Fast Newtonians are best suited to experienced astronomers. They require precise collimation and a Coma Corrector to reach their full potential. If you are unsure whether one will suit your requirements please email or phone to discuss before placing an order .

I'm happy pimping out my 150P at the moment. I flocked it tonight and will add a little primary fan soon. But I'm also on the lookout for a 2nd hand HEQ5 Pro.

For now I'll just be happy if I can beef up my processing skills and get more imaging time under my belt.

If I can get anything half as good as the pictures QM and Stan have been getting I'll be very happy.

Edited February 28, 2012 by badgers

[Quatermass]

Badger, the Q4 is really tempting me at the moment all I need to do is sell my old lumix and if not the q4 it will be an ed80 by hook or by crook one will be mine soon. Could upgrade the mount if I sell my chainsaw or get an ed 80 I think an ed 80 on the eq5 would work well though.

All those tutorials I put together cover all I do to my images so armed with that processing skills gathered over a year there will be no stopping you.

[pel]

Hi Badgers ,

How is the 150/EQ3-2 setup for astrophotography? Is it stable enough?

I too have got to practise my processing a lot.

I've been looking around for an HEQ5 for a while, I think if a decent one come up on ebay it will probably go for a nearly new price. If I manage to get one I will have the most stable Celestron 130eq on the planet until I can get the money for a new OTA too :-)

I wish I'd gotton into this hobby before I had children, I'd have my own Hubble space telescope by now :-)

[badgers]

Well its less optimal then Stan's EQ3-2 setup weight-wise, but to be fair I'm very happy with my results so far.

I have everything controlled from the laptop, so I stay well away from the scope. Wind is the only issue, but nothing that can't be dealt with by simply taking more shots and throwing bad ones away.

Filling the tripod legs with sand probably made the largest difference, as did the mount strip-down and regrease/tighten.

I've only managed one test imaging session with the current weather on M45 which I think is a tricky object to get right.

Next clear night I'm going on a proper imaging session, probably on the rosette nebula or M31 with as many lights/darks/flats as I can.

You should have an easier time with the 130 for sure, its still f5 but will be less prone to balancing and wind problems.

I'm in no hurry now, I've got the kit, it seems to work and I've not spent a fortune.

Biggest upgrade for me would be dark skies : (

Edited February 29, 2012 by badgers

[pel]

Well its less optimal then Stan's EQ3-2 setup weight-wise, but to be fair I'm very happy with my results so far.

I have everything controlled from the laptop, so I stay well away from the scope. Wind is the only issue, but nothing that can't be dealt with by simply taking more shots and throwing bad ones away.

Filling the tripod legs with sand probably made the largest difference, as did the mount strip-down and regrease/tighten.

I've only managed one test imaging session with the current weather on M45 which I think is a tricky object to get right.

Next clear night I'm going on a proper imaging session, probably on the rosette nebula or M31 with as many lights/darks/flats as I can.

You should have an easier time with the 130 for sure, its still f5 but will be less prone to balancing and wind problems.

I'm in no hurry now, I've got the kit, it seems to work and I've not spent a fortune.

Biggest upgrade for me would be dark skies : (

Yes less cloud would be good. last week I was checking the skies and they were clear and by the time I had got all my kit out it was cloudy, I had to laugh.

Sounds like you've got a great setup that works. I'll just buy a bit at a time and see how it goes, I wish I hadn't bought a scope just before Star gazing live was on, I can't get any good deals 2nd hand kit at the moment.

I'm not looking forward to doing the camera mod to remove the IR filter looks tricky. Are you going to give that a go?

[Quatermass]

I did the camera mod on my canon 350d a few days ago

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[badgers]

QM's a braver man than I.

I'm tempted to ship off my 40D and have it professionally done.

Replacing a 40D 2nd hand would cost over £500 for one in good nick like mine : (

But if the wife finds out I've modified my pride and joy she'll hurt me.

Tempted by the clip filter that should restore it back to 'almost' normality for regular photography, that and a dose of never mentioning it's been modified to the all seeing, all knowing one.

Edited February 29, 2012 by badgers

[Quatermass]

The all seeing all knowing one..

Mmm best not mess with it then mate lol

Get a cheap 350d second hand and mod that its really not that hard to do. I didnt get a filter for mine as I was only ever going to use it for imaging.

[Chris]

I've just reserved a professionally modded 350D body with battery and charger second hand for 180 quid, hopefully I'll be picking it up tomorrow:) There are some great deals second hand, have a look at AstrobuyandSell theres quite a few camera bodies for sale e.g a 1000D for 200 quid, mod'd 400D for 225, theres also a 350D for only 100 quid but I've emailed the guy with no responce so I'm thinking that this one is long been sold without the status being updated? And as a bonus your wife probably won't hurt you if you bought a cheapo one:D

Edited March 1, 2012 by starfox

[pel]

The 350d sounds like a good bet, thanks guys. I've got a G9 at the moment but it doesn't seem very good for astrophography.

I think I will have to stay up late one night and modify the 350d so the missus doesn't find out. Especially if I've traded in our perfectly good G9 for it. I have a long history of taking things apart and not being able to put them back together :-)