computerized mount questions

[Charlie_132]

what is the best cheapest computerized mount for a skywatcher 130p ?

would a LCM Series Computerized 114lcm Telescope Mout be any good ?

or would i be better off buying the lcm series computerized 114 telescope and selling my 130p skywatcher ?

[rowan46]

short answer is no.

the 130 will give much better views. If you just want goto and not to do deep space photography you need this mount

First Light Optics - Skywatcher AZ GOTO mount

you should be able to webcam planets and the moon on it, if you are intending to do do deep space work you need a bigger eq mount and a scope that will take a dslr

[malc-c]

if you are intending to do do deep space work you need a bigger eq mount and a scope that will take a dslr

And it would need to be an EQ mount so as not to get field rotation with the resulting long exposures.

[gary1968]

+1 for the Skywatcher AltAz Synscan.......

Gary

[tjr]

The AltAz Synscan is a very good computerised mount. Very quick and simple to set up and use (well I think so). As Malcolm says, if you want to image DSOs then you'll really want an EQ mount, but this comes with additional set-up time and counterweights which will make your kit more complex if you don't need it.

[Charlie_132]

is it worth me buying the computerised mount ?

as i have a skywatcher 130p at the moment, which im sticking with for a while yet.

i have seen saturn, mars, jupiter and venus.

just i would like to be able to find planets alot quicker with not much effort needed. im guessing the computerised mount will do this for me ...

[gary1968]

Only you can make that call mate. If you are happy to find things by yourself then a computerised mount wont be of any benifit.

If you like gadgets then it could be the thing for you....... I like my gadgets, and am quite impatient so have always had a goto mount of one type or another.

The SW AltAz mount is good though, I had one for a wee while, used it visually and imaged Jupiter with it.

Gary

[JamesM]

Charlie, I wouldn't pay the expense of a GOTO if planets are going to be the main focus of your observations. Planets are fairly straightforward to locate but to help you, you might like to consider downloading 'Stellarium' here, which is free and an alternative aid to finding objects in the night sky. It's real easy to use (very popular on here) has lots of features including a date/time advance facility which can let you see when objects are going to appear above the horizon and is particularly useful if part of your view is obscured. It can even be calibrated from your location too giving you a realistic view from where you are. Goto is a very useful tool, although aperture of the scope that is being used to find what the mount has located for you will form the biggest consideration as to whether it is worth having. Most Goto menus list around 15,000 objects though there are very few scopes that will be able to do justice to that many objects. If your a planetary observer, I would use Stellarium for now and leave Goto for later on. Hope that helps.

Clear skies

James

[Charlie_132]

I'm getting a iphone in a few days and i am going to download a starmap.

ive been trying to get pictures with a modified logitech webcam (which ibve just put on ebay) with no luck atall, ive managed a few pictures, im going to try a xbox cam and not modify it as im not vvery good at it.

if anyone is interested here is the link ... (MOD REMOVE IF NOT ALOUD) astronomy webcam | eBay

[acharris77]

Hi, the syncscan mount is a very good and very accurate GOTO system which is easy to use and setup. Also I have managed to do 15 - 20 sec exposures stacked using a 840k SC1 modded webcam and have managed to get results. I did the M42 and the M57 ring nebula.

So some DSO imaging is possible with this mount is very much possible as I have done it and have the images in my photo folders on SGL which I have been proud of considering I dont use a EQ mount.

[Charlie_132]

that one looks quite good, bit pricey though

[dav1d]

Wait a sec... if you do buy a GOTO (which is mainly used for tracking objects for imaging) and sell your webcam, how are you going to take pictures of the objects you're tracking with your GOTO?

I can see you're frustrated & I share a certain degree of frustration myself - getting decent images through a webcam is hard.

But I believe the GOTO would essentially be a very expensive toy which would not give you the images you want. I would suggest spending your hard-earned on something which would give you the best quality / magnification compromise & snap afocally through the EP - The iphone camera's good enough for that.

FWIW, I've just bought a Revelation 5x Barlow for my 130p, which gives a rather useful 130x mag when used with the 25mm, dims the image nicely & preserves a decent quality picture of the mortar between the bricks of the church at the bottom of my road (It's been too cloudy to see the sky round my way).

Using this, together with my polymorph phone mount, I'm getting pretty good wall shots so far & expect great things from the sky when it eventually clears. I will post pics, whether they're good or bad, so you can judge for yourself whether it's a path worth taking.

TL;DR:

1) Having probs with your webcam is not a good reason for buying a GOTO.

2) Imaging is hard

3) Consider improving the quality / magnification of what you see through your EP.

4) Give afocal another go.

ps: Linking to your ad on eBay is a big no-no. The mods will eat you.

edit: Just re-read the thread & noticed you're considering modding an Xbox cam - AFAICT, the main attraction of the Xbox cam is its price - From reading other threads, they seem difficult to mod & have driver issues - It's unlikely you will get better pics or find it easier to use than the Quickcam 4000 you're selling, which is, IMO a superior device. If I'm mistaken about this, hopefully some other member will give me a virtual slap & set me straight.

edit 2: Having re-re-read the thread carefully, you say you're going to buy the Xbox cam and not modify it. If this is the case, you will only be able to use it afocally. For afocal, a webcam of any sort is not your best option.

[Charlie_132]

oh okay, so my logitech cam is very good ?

i posted some pictures i took with my blackberryr which got a few views but no replys. got some decent photos there

so when i get the iphone i just hold the camera to the telescope eyepiece (exactly the same as what i done with my blackberry)

if you have a skywatcher 130p, could you post some pictures of what you have managed to get of planets/galaxies(doubt 130p can pick up galaxies)

[Monki]

If my 60lcm refracter can pick up m31(smudge..but it was there) behind a street lamp whilst also being very low in the sky I'm sure your 130p will be OK

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[dav1d]

Hopefully tonight if the weather improves But really, taking pictures is not a huge thing for me. It's nice to be able to show other people what I can see, but really I'm more into looking at stuff.

yes, the logitech has a good reputation, I've never tried it myself, but I've heard it's OK.

Holding the iPhone up to the eyepiece as you did with the Blackberry ( four replies BTW) is certainly possible, but making or buying an adapter is a whole lot easier.

[malc-c]

Charlie, you're trying to run before you can walk. You're expecting to get decent planetary and DSO images from a 130P dobsonian telescope in a light poluted town, and at very little expence.

To get decent planetary images, the entry level is a decent webcam such as the Phillips SCP 880 (flashed to a 900) - however these are now in short supply and equal the price of the Celestron NexImage 1 camera (which is nasically the same camera but with modded firmware). But you need a scope with a long focal length and large aperture to bring out the planetary detail. When you increase the focal length, the field of view decreases and then the stability of the mount comes into the equation, as does keeping the target in the field of vew long enough to gather data.

Ok there are exceptions to every rule, but generally most people who have ventured into imaging would agree that an EQ mount is essential, and driven in RA as the minimum requirement. The minimum size mount I know if where members have managed to get the sort of results you are hoping for is the EQ3 pro goto with an SW 150P - around the £500 mark. OK you could use a different scope on the same mount, but then you need to think about the weight the mount can carry and how stable it will be when all the camera's are bolted on. More so when using a dSLR to get long exposures required to capture faint DSO's

I'm not trying to poor cold water on your asperations, but what you are after is challenging with a guide scope driven 200P on an HEQ5, let alone a small 130 dob.

[Charlie_132]

oh okay, i am thinking about getting a 200p skywatcher (the big white one on the spinny base) but not until atleast july/august time.

when i get this - would my logitech cam be able to get alot better pictures of saturn ?

also how east would it be for me to even get a planet on screen ? as with my 130p i could move the metal poles backwards and forwards to get focus. with the skywatcher 200p this cant be done ? so how is focus achieved ?

dav1d - i cant find my thread for the blackberry photos i uploaded, im guessing youve seen them ?

did you manage to get any better photos of saturn or any other placet ?

if so please share the secret haha!

[dav1d]

NO!

Learn the scope you have - Please don't buy another one until you've lived with this one for a while.

In the last month and a half you have bought: 1 pair of binoculars, two telescopes and five (?) webcams, none of which have done what you wanted. A 200p will not be any easier to focus a webcam through or even get a planet onto a laptop screen- you just need to practise and then practise some more.

If you do decide to go for another scope, go to a star party first & try before you buy. Astronomy can be an expensive hobby, but you're not making it any cheaper for yourself.

With regards to the inward travel thing without truss tubes to adjust, a Barlow should be able to do that for you.

edit: no photos of anything for the last week due to rubbish weather

[malc-c]

oh okay, i am thinking about getting a 200p skywatcher (the big white one on the spinny base) but not until atleast july/august time.

when i get this - would my logitech cam be able to get alot better pictures of saturn ?

Don't take this personally, but why would you want to get a bigger DOB when I and others have already explained in some detail that you will struggle with this type of scope to get decent images of the planets, and the reasons why.

As you live in Stevenage, join the Letchworth AS and pop along to one of the observing events. See other scopes, chat to the members and discuss what you want to do and how much cash you have. Given the amount you have spent on equipment (if David's post is anything which to go by) you could of purchased a 150P on a driven EQ3 and be posting up your images by now...

Do some research (starting with going to one of the LDAS meetings). Read through posts on the imaging sections and look at the equipment people put in their signatures so you get some idea how they got the images.

I'm a novice at imaging (and I still like doing the odd visual session), and like you live in Stevenage with fairly light polluted skies, so to get any halfway decent images this is my rig

As it tracks I can expose for anywhere from a minuet to well over the limit where the LP fogs out the resulting image as I use a guidescope and camera. Even so, with out that, the mount tracks long enough to capture 2000 - 3000 frames from a webcam and gather enough data to get fairly decent results like this

That was taken with a stacked pair of barlows, thus giving an approximate focal length of 4000mm. Even with the scope being in an observatory, on an HEQ5 mount and fairly good seeing, it was a challenging task to keep the target in the narrow field of view at that magnification.

I hope I've given you food for thought, but at the end of the day it's your choice, and your money. The bottom line is that whilst we can all suggest what you could do with your money and what you "need" for what you want to do, but the final choice of scope is only one you can make.

[tjr]

Nice set-up Malcom, really amazing images on your blog too. Very inspiring!

[dav1d]

Nice set-up Malcom, really amazing images on your blog too. Very inspiring!

Absolutely. I'd kill to have a moustache so luxurious.

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[gary1968]

Nice set-up Malcom, really amazing images on your blog too. Very inspiring!

Your blog is a great read Malcolm...... I am in the learning stage of flying my E-Sky Honeybee, its not easy trying to self teach, lol...... (sorry to hijack the thread)

Gary

[malc-c]

@tjr - many thanks... it's been a steep learning curve and an expensive one, but it's helped me enjoy the hobby. Looking back at the images I took a year ago and what I took six months later show its all been worth while

@ Dav1d - cheeky B*$^er

@ Gary - Keep at it, practice make perfect - I still have one of the small USB chargeable micro-helis just to play around with, but haven't flown anything big for several years now.

[Charlie_132]

oh okay, i ll stick with this scope for a while haha

and i will go to the letchworth meeting this friday if weather is good

how long should it take befor i can image saturn well ? i struggle to even pick it up at the moment ....

dav1d - when is it forecasted for decent skies at night in your area next ?

[dav1d]

Right now according to Astropanel. But I've just been out & it's not the case