Kevdan Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Hi All,If you use a spc900 as a guide cam on a st80 (other guide scopes are available) do you use it with the lens out and nose piece attached or do you use it afocally.Also the Skywatcher Startravel ST80 as an OTA comes with guide rings, so what do I need to get this to attach to my old style Black EQ3-2.Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brantuk Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I use a skywatcher dovetail plate to attach my ST80 (the short one):First Light Optics - Skywatcher Dovetail Mounting PlatesI have the lens off and the nosepiece on with the spc900. But mines been mod'ed to SC1.5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevdan Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 But mines been mod'ed to SC1.5. Thanks for that, But what is a SC1.5 ? is it worth doing ?, what does it do ? and how much does it cost?Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brantuk Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Astronomiser do the long exposure mod, I also had "amp off", chip cooling, and chip change - you'd have to check their site for current prices - mine was done quite a while back:Astronomiser - Automated Astronomy and AstroImaging SolutionsBut you don't need all that for guiding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevdan Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Ah all becomes clear,That doesnt seem a bad price to mod the cameras compared to an ATIK or other purpose built imagers.Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevdan Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 I use a skywatcher dovetail plate to attach my ST80 (the short one):First Light Optics - Skywatcher Dovetail Mounting PlatesI asked the wrong question what I should have asked is how do I attach it to my eq3-2 with my 150p at the same time. anyone got any pics.Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brantuk Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 To be honest I think attaching anything more than the main scope is going to overload the EQ3-2 which is only just enough to handle the 150P. My first scope was exactly the same set up as yours.The mount and tripod already vibrate a lot - and you won't be able to guide a dual axis motor without considerable electronic modification to add an ST4 port anyway.Have a go at imaging planets with a webcam and RA drive by all means - but if you intend to snap dso's I would sell the mount and motors and get an EQ5 or CG5 goto mount. This will open up a lot of "elementary imaging" and guiding options for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc-c Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Having just spent some time testing this concept, I've come to the conclusion that unless the SPC is modified then there is no point in using that as a guide camera. It's juts not sensitive enough IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukebl Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 You can use an unmodded webcam for guiding with an ST80 (I did for a couple of years) but finding a suitable guide star can be tricky, so you need to be able to adjust the guidescope a bit by having it in guide rings. I found that I could capture stars down to about mag 6 with the unmodded webcam, so there was ususally a suitable star somewhere nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Kev,have a look in the DIY section for stan26's guided EQ3-2 setup. He's not using a 150, but it might give you some ideas. I have to admit that I'd not be incredibly hopeful about guiding a 150 on an EQ3-2 though.James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevdan Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Apparently the dual axis mod isnt that difficult, I intend to try this, I do however need to fine tune the EQ3-2 as in the posts in the diy section, some people have had some success in doing so, But as far as the St80 is concerned it will stay with me for a long time no matter what mount I got and fully intend to upgrade to a NEQ6 and larger aperture scope as soon as possible, now imminent due to a couple of insurances maturing.Kev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Adding the dual-axis motors is a doddle. The direct drive mod for the DEC axis is fairly easy too. The only difficult bit is making up a suitable bracket.James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevdan Posted March 25, 2012 Author Share Posted March 25, 2012 Ive already got the dual axis motors, But are there any threads on making a bracket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Both stan26's and my own DEC direct drive mod threads show the brackets we made, afair. It's a bit of a "make it up as you go along" type of thing, depending on what you have available.James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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