An alternative scope to a st80

[garethmob]

Hello guys. There's bound to be one which is an alternative guiding scope but which meets a few tasks

Around the same price (new-second hand of 50-120) and lighter too any ideas?

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[JamesF]

It's the weight that's the problem, is it?

James

[garethmob]

I want to mount it for auto guiding with the astrotrac and everything on the set up is sturdy (az3 at and head can take not much weight but if I got the junior geared (all id have is canon 1100 lens most likely 200mm guide camera standalone and a guide scope which eay pushes about 3-5 kg over the weight so the most I can shave off the better:)

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[scoobee]

Just an idea

At 80mm there are few manufactures offering different weights or weighted displacement

How about spreading the weight to achieve a better equilibrium

For instants. The 80mm star chaser is 670mm compared to the skywatcher st 80 400mm will give you a displacement of an additional 67%, depending on the factors of your scope this maybe benefical.

If this not what your aiming for then sorry for the waffle, to many stella's

[scoobee]

Hello guys. There's bound to be one which is an alternative guiding scope but which meets a few tasks

Around the same price (new-second hand of 50-120) and lighter too any ideas?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk please ignore any spelling typo thingys

If you are drifting then surely the lens will act as your guidescope?!

[scoobee]

I want to mount it for auto guiding with the astrotrac and everything on the set up is sturdy (az3 at and head can take not much weight but if I got the junior geared (all id have is canon 1100 lens most likely 200mm guide camera standalone and a guide scope which eay pushes about 3-5 kg over the weight so the most I can shave off the better:)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk please ignore any spelling typo thingys

If you are drifting then surely the lens will act as your guidescope?!

[JamesF]

Finder-guider instead?

James

[garethmob]

the idea of using the scope is because of the problems using a autoguider with a finder guider (my other thread0 (i have looked into the other model also LVI? ) as i dont want to be lugging my MBP out and a netbook + guide set up is more expensive than a autoguider and scope i know im probally causing problems here or over complicating my set up, but my main reason is if i go somewhere really dark skys, i dont want to spend more time shuving it all into the car if somthin happens and losing / breaking hence the whole, just the AT system

some one mentioned the complicated / hard nature with focusing with a finder.... i just want to be out and done. as realisticly with a decent PA i should only expect 10 - 30 seconds with a 200m... and 2 - 3 with a 50mm i think with out guiding

[Islander]

There was a rather clever device reviewed in S&T recently called ONAG (on axis guider) using a beam splitter to transfer the infra red portion of the spectrum to a guide camera mounted at 90 degrees to the OTA with the usable light going to the imaging device. No guidescope required. I've no idea how much it would cost but it might be a solution to your weight problem.