recommend a guidescope

[proflight2000]

Hi all, after reading tons and tons I am now looking at getting a guidescope which I will need to attach to the skywatcher 200, I want to be able to attach my Canon 350D to the guidescope as well, couple of questions, can anyone recommend a good to reasonable guidescope which will not over do the 200 and the heq5, secondly, what effect would any additional weight add to the goto motors although i will ensure balance. Thanks.

[GazOC]

You've got plenty of scope for weight where the HEQ5 is concerned so don't worry about that. How about an ED80 or Equinox 80, nice grab'n'go and imaging scopes in their own right. Failing that a 100mm or 80mm f5 Skywatcher would be suitable.

[FLO]

I am no expert but I can say that the ST80 and ZS66 are both popular as guide-scopes.

[centroid]

If you want a 'smallish' lightweight guidescope, for not too much money, then the ST80 does the job very well. I used an ST80 for some time with my 10" LX200GPS.

If you want a good guidescope, that also doubles as a very good wide-field refractor, and no chroma problems, then the ED80 'fits the bill' very nicely indeed.

That's what I currently use, in fact I'm using it right this minute, to capture a wide-field 'Bubble Nebula', despite the 'b****y' Moon.

The ED80 is being guided by the 10" LX.

Dave

[proflight2000]

steve, would the st80 come with rings to fit on the 200?? then i suppose id also need a bar for the rings to sit in??

[FLO]

steve, would the st80 come with rings to fit on the 200?? then i suppose id also need a bar for the rings to sit in??

Yes, it includes tube-rings and you will need another dovetail. I am planning to use an ST80 as a guidescope myself and guess that I will need to change the rings for guide-scope rings so that the ST80 can be aimed finder-scope style. Perhaps an imager will find this thread and confirm

Dave (Centroid) pointed me to this a while back: http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php?topic=13810.0

[GazOC]

Getting a dovetail small enough is the problem with the ST80. The small Skywatcher one is too long.

[proflight2000]

could the large bar for the 200 not be used and drilled for the st80 to fit onto it

[GazOC]

I think you'll also need to cut off the end of the dovetail so it doesn't hit the ST80 dewshield. You can either do that, use spacers to raise the scope above the dovetail or (my favourite ) get a 100mm f5.....the longer shaft on the 100mm solves all the above problems and it's still pretty portable.

[Beyond_Vision]

Ideally your guide scope should have a comparable focal length or greater than the scope you are imaging with. This would give greater accuracy for guiding. Although people do use the WO ZS66SD and ZS80 etc for guiding they may have shorter focal length than the imaging instrument and will be less than ideal, they also are very heavy scopes for their size. A 90 to 102mm light weight refractor with a focal length of 1000mm is generally considered ok.