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Synguider comes good . . . really good !

Steve Ward

By Steve Ward
in Member Equipment Reviews

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Steve Ward

Steve Ward

Posted
Posted

Had another quick test session with the Synguider tonight before the clouds rolled in to spoil the fun.

Got my first 600s sub last time out but felt the urge to see just how far it could be pushed.

Started with another 600s just to make sure the first one wasn't a fluke and then went straight for 20 minutes . . . . :Envy:

All shot with 1000D through ED80 Pro + F/F @ ISO 400.

M31 1 x 600 seconds.

M31600sP.png

M31 1 x 1200 seconds.

M311200sP.png

Both shots through DSS with one 10 minute dark-frame just for the hell of it. Very basic tweak in Gimp.

M313006001200P.png

I love this bit of kit , quick to set-up , and so simple , just give it a star and it gets on with it . . . :laugh: . . . Highly recommended.

Come on Orion , I want to be stacking 50 x 1200 of the Horsehead . . . NOW !

Steve.

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Steve Ward

Steve Ward

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I just manoeuvred a reasonably bright star into the centre of the FOV of a 25mm EP , popped the Synguider in it's place , adjusted the brightnesss and asked the Synguider to do the rest.

It automatically locks onto the star , Autocalibrates itself and starts guiding . . . Yes it really is that simple . .

No fretting over graphs or miscommunication etc, it plugs straight into the mount without the need to go via the laptop . . . and does what it says on the box.

I cannot see there's much call for going any longer than 20 minutes with a DSLR . . !

Steve.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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That's cerainly working! Very good. However, not everyone has been so satisfied with standalones. One question concerns what to do when your guiding is not so good. With a PC based system you have, I think, more information which will allow you to resolve the problem. It just seems to be a law of imaging that one day your system will act the goat without provocation!!

Olly

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allcart

allcart

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Well I must say that I am impressed with the guiding accuracy. No sign of elongated stars or errors. For grab and go, this could be very useful., but as already said, you wouldn't know if it was acting up until you downloaded the cards and checked the files.

Still, if it performs reliably and you gain confidence in it, why worry too much.

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allcart

allcart

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Does the synguider connect to the ep or replace the ep. i read something about setting it up to be parafocal with the ep and am not sure what that means or entails.

Has the synguider been upgraded at all since its launch.

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Steve Ward

Steve Ward

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It connects as a guidecam does , in the EP holder ,

You get the Synguider focused and then swap it for an EP which you then make parfocal with the Synguider using a simple Parfocal ring. I just used a stock SW25mm EP.

http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3700

Updates I'm not sure of as yet .

Steve.

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FLO

FLO

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Has the synguider been upgraded at all since its launch.

Not officially but minor updates often happen unannounced.

It seems a few folks were having problems a few threads down. I wonder if they resolved them.

We noticed that too. For one reason or another people struggled with the Skywatcher Synguider so we stopped selling them for a period of two months. Recently we have been reading favourable comments so put it back on sale about three weeks ago. So far so good :smiley:

Worth noting the Synguider is fussy with power so some of the early difficulties can be attributed to budget power supplies. They might also have improved the instruction manual.

HTH,

Steve

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allcart

allcart

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Not officially but minor updates often happen unannounced.

Worth noting the Synguider is fussy with power so some of the early difficulties can be attributed to budget power supplies. They might also have improved the instruction manual.

HTH,

Steve

Thanks Steve. yes the power supply may have been a contributing factor, but the Hitecastro power supply should solve that issue. It would also let me use my 12dc batteries.

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Astroblagger

Astroblagger

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Glad your having joy with yours, i sold my synguider on as i just wasnt getting on with it, some nights it would guide, some nights it wouldnt, some nights it would start to guide then stop half way through an exposure. I was using the hitec astro supply aswell, Alot of the problem was i just couldnt figure out what the fault was as the synguider gives very little information. I use PHD and netbook now and havent looked back.

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allcart

allcart

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I got mine running solidly for about 2.5 hours last night. It was a PITA to setup and get working without a manual (its in the post) but with all the tips on here and eventually finding an SGL pdf that someone had posted, I got it sorted. It only took an hour. Once running I tested it on capella for 300s, then 600s and all was well. I then moved to M33 for a handful of 300s subs and that was spot on, so I moved to plieades for 300s and 600s subs.

I had no problem locking a star and once locked and the dec and ra settings tweeked the Synguider performed flawlessly and never lost a star all night except for when I put on the lenscap for darks.

I am very pleased with the Synguider so far, and thanks to todd8137 for parting with it.

I haven't processed any images yet, but I just had to check the subs to see what they were like. OMG is all I can say. :cool:

I bet i could have taken a 1 hour sub at iso 100 and it would have been spot on. The strangest thing so far about using the synguider is the small omount of subs you get for a couple of hours imaging. It will take some getting used to.

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allcart

allcart

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just thought I would mention my only gripe with the Synguider so far is the horrible leads. Why can't these people use flexible leads that don't retain the kinks and coils.

has anyone found any nice soft leads that can replace the stiff ones.

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Antscope

Antscope

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Do you mean star size, or guidescope size?

guidescope size, I have 50mm stellarvue finder scope, its probably not optimal but I wondered if it could be used as such with the synguider, I have heard of a small lens add-on you can get for it to enhance its use as a guidescope for AP

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