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First Images - advice welcomed!

Fordos Moon

By Fordos Moon
in Getting Started With Imaging

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Astrosurf

Astrosurf

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Great! It's a lovely mount. For guiding I use the finder-guider set-up with QHY5 camera I got from Modern Astronomy - at top here: http://www.modernastronomy.com/camerasGuider.html

Comes with all you need, including the adapter I think. I use it with a SW 9x50 finderscope.

I use PHD software to guide, and of course a laptop! I bought a second laptop battery from eBay as my original runs out half way through. I'm sure people will advise on other ways you can run your laptopn when you don't have direct electric.

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Fordos Moon

Fordos Moon

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Those images are both great.

If asked to choose, I'd say that I prefer the first moon image because it's slightly less processed - you want to back off the sharpening a little to get a more natural look (sometimes less is more!)

As for longer exposures - you'll certainly get more detail in the darker parts of the nebula - but only you can assess how long your kit can achieve unguided.

If you want explore guiding - you already have most of the kit you need. When I started off I used a Philips webcam through a small scope (like your ED80) piggybacked onto a 200P by bolting the guide scope to a dovetail and then bolting this to the top of the main scope rings.

Because your webcam hasn't got a guide port, you'll need EQMOD and an EQDIR adapter to get the camera to "talk" to your mount through a free program called PHD.

You might find also yourself up against the weight capacity of the mount - but heyho - there's no harm in trying! If it works - you should be able to guide indefinitely - I regularly achieved 30 minutes guided with a webcam and HEQ5.

The other thing you could try is to use your finder as a guide scope and attach your webcam to that - it may only work on bright stars - but again - worth a go maybe?

Steve

Thanks Steve, especially your comments on my images which I appreciate are those of an absolute beginner compared to some on here. I'm smiling here because with hindsight I realised I got carried away with the wavelets on most of my images and I will definately calm down with those!I think for now I should continue to learn my trade unguided, with a view to experimenting with mounting bits of my kit to each other when I have a lot more confidence about what I am doing! I think using the finderscope may be the first thing I would try. :-)

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Fordos Moon

Fordos Moon

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anonymous userskyokugaisha, Steve 1962, matsey, Astrosurf Reply to quoted posts     ClGreat! It's a lovely mount. For guiding I use the finder-guider set-up with QHY5 camera I got from Modern Astronomy - at top here: http://www.modernast...asGuider.html??

Comes with all you need, including the adapter I think. I use it with a SW 9x50 finderscope.

I use PHD software to guide, and of course a laptop! I bought a second laptop battery from eBay as my original runs out half way through. I'm sure people will advise on other ways you can run your laptopn when you don't have direct electric.

I navigated from your link to the £180 QHY5 camera, how does it attach to the finderscope?

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Astrosurf

Astrosurf

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You unscrew the eyepiece from the finderscope and use the female T-thread, supplied by Modern Astronomy (separately if I remember?), and use that to attach the QHY5. You remove the nosepiece from the QHY5 first. If you get one, do use a tiny amount of 3-in-1 oil on the threads on the inside of the finderscope as the T-thread can stick fast! I apply it with a paper towel. Repeat regularly but not every time.

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Fordos Moon

Fordos Moon

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Thanks so much for the lowdown. It seems to straight forward to be true compared to my previous equipment experiences. So all I would need is the QHY5 at £180 (approx) ensuring I get the female T-thread, and I can do it?! I guess PHD is a download? Free?

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Astrosurf

Astrosurf

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I've heard of people using a finder-guider with the ED80 but I don't know how they fix it on. Do please raise a thread to ask. I hope I haven't lead you on the wrong path!!

EDIT: mind you, these guys do OK!

PHD is freeware and is brilliant. Some people find it twitchy but I love it for all its faults.

http://www.stark-labs.com/phdguiding.html

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StarRaver

StarRaver

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You have some cracking shits there, you should be able to pull off 2min exposures with the heq5 mound with accurate polar alignment and should easily pull off 60 seconds unguided, I have the same kit as yourself and regularly get around 60 - 120 seconds.

Here is a link to my second attempt at m42 with the ed80 and heq5 at 60second exposures http://www.astrobin....29658/?mod=none

I have also got my guiding scope and cam set up as revived it 4 weeks ago but just have to wait for the weather so I can test it all out.

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StarRaver

StarRaver

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my core subs were 10 seconds long I found that 30 seconds was still to long and the core was still a little blown out.

and as to my guiding setup, I have an Opticstar 80mm f/5 optical tube assembly, and a QHY5v planetary/guide cam. Like yourself and alot of others on here im just starting out as well so I have only just got my guide setup and haven't even had chance to use it yet ( 4 weeks and counting )

I have to admit my ed80 and guide scope with cams puts the mount very close to its weight limit ( 11kgs as stated on FLO's website ) but it still handles and tracks perfectly, A finder/guider would keep weight right down and could be easier to pack away at the end of an imaging session.

Heres a pic of how my scope is setup at the moment index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=82302

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Fordos Moon

Fordos Moon

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I will try some 10 second exposures too next time. The QHY5 seems rather popular and well reviewed, I looked online at an Orion micro finder scope looked a possibility, although will try the finder scope I already have first.

Thanks for the pic, good to see what we're talking about!

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StarRaver

StarRaver

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The QHY5 is the industry standard for guiding and almost everyone I have spoken to on here use them and rate them highly, and at an affordable price to.If you go the guider/finder route you will need an adapter to fit the cam to the finder which you can buy off the Modern Astronomy website ( near the bottom of the page ) and you might need an extension tube as you might not be able to get focus, But don't quote me on the extension tube for the finder as I went the guide scope route and found I needed one.

As I wanted to do a bit of planetary imaging when the moon is to bright for any dso's I went for the QHY5v as I didn't have any webcams and didn't want to buy one as well as a guide cam and at £10 - £20 more than the QHY5 It would kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

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StarRaver

StarRaver

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Are you using a laptop when your out imaging ?

As I use backyard Eos as my capture program on the laptop I decided I would also control the mount with it as well, taking the handset out of the equation completely now I am able to sit there once setup and not move untill I pack away :smiley: lazy I know but I like to look up at the stars the same time as i'm imaging ( don't want to miss anything )

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StarRaver

StarRaver

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I use it all the time ( I know there are other capture programs that are just as good or better ) but the first time i used backyard eso it had me hooked and didn't bother looking at anything else Its so easy to use, works with PHD and i think they are working to make it work with EQMOD.

Controling the mount with the laptop can be a bit troublesome at time with all the programs running at the same time and you will need to get a couple of things to hook it all up and EQMOD ascom platform but I found it was relitively trouble free after abit of research here is a couple of links for you to read if you want to go down that route

http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/

http://www.firstligh...ir-adapter.html

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