Skywatcher Merlin Goto panorama mount.

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

hello everyone it has been a while.

after the old ticker causing problems i have found it hard to get out on an evening, even summer nights

to me are like bathing in snow. so my telescopes and mounts have gone unused for nearly a good year and a half.

well just after i had my heart op i purchased a skywatcher merlin table mount, but unable to move the unit and a 114mm scope fitted

i needed to find a second use for my gear.

first of was Nodal point, an area on a cameras lens where everything is aligned to pitch and yaw centres.

the L bracket that came with the merlin was ok but having a DSLR they are bigger and cause problems.

i ended up purchasing a sliding tripod rail head, this would allow me to shift the camera back and forth.

next was the unit itself. being goto i could find any star / planet /nebula held in the memory, but

what about daytime could it be used for other things a dual function. what about in the day you shoot moving timelapse,

and panoramas/panoramics and at night you view the wonders of the sky. this was the goal. 

my notebook still holds stellarium and my other astronomy programs but now has an added piece of software.

this is called Papywizard, it is an interface wrote for the merlin head and turns it into a panoramic photography head.

with the software installed and running i set about the mount. saying that the software was able to run the synscan heads to,

and a clestron head ( looks like the syscan/merlin) so it was not just the merlin that this software would control.

powering the mount was easy. my 12v 9ah jumpstarter powerbank would run the unit for around 2-4hrs

short time but it would do. next was an interface, i purchased a USB to serial adapter and found up a 2.1mm phono jack lead.

now i had to get everything working. once the notebook downloaded and installed the serial driver i connected up the goto handset

to the mount and fitted camera. I use a canon 350D so i could just plug in and go, but newer models require a electronics hack.

camera working usb to rs232 cable in hand i placed it into the Handset of the mount and set the Handset into PC direct mode.

i started up papywizard and checked the com port the serial device was using was correct and hit connect.

it worked, i had done NO mods to the mount but i had full control via the notebook, i fired of the shutter tab and yes the camera clicked took an image.

slew via the handset or the notebook was possible to. but would it take a timelapse.

i set about crafting my own preset XML file a sweeping right hand yaw with a gentle pitch upwards.

every 0.4 degrees the programe set of the camera and when mount was aligned it would pause to stop wobble/movement. 

so of i went and left the camera mount and notebook in charge, this is the outcome

now to get it outside and recording daytime to night time timelapse

also uploaded and attached the timelapse XML file for papywizard,

the file is set for a 50mm f1.8 II nifty fifty canon lens in a slow sweep the same as above.

so stage two, a panoramic head on a moving rail, the old skywatcher EQ-1 motor driver could come in handy.

it rotates at a nice slow speed and is adjustable in speed. couple this to an old skateboard for parts

and mount the merlin i should be able to take moving and panning timelapses  , ( i think and i hope lol)

timelapse test .xml

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

Back again. 

So some of you may have the astro type tripod base, but some may have decided the

tabletop synscan / merlin was a better choice.

do not worry i did the same and purchased the table version, i popped to the local photography shop

and purchased a 1/4 to 3/8 tripod bush adaptor. a cheap Camlink photography/video tripod i had been using became the

new panohead tripod. the adapter screws direct into the base of the mount when the table feet are removed.

my tripod has a quick release plate so this was screwed to my goto mount head and both clipped to the

photo/video tripod.

while on the search to gain the ideal nodal point for my setup and lens, i found Banggood selling a cheap dovetail adjuster bar

for photography so snapped it up right away for around 8 quid and shipping. i trawled the internet for the most ideal option, the skywatcher all-view nodal slide and bar

but alas no company sold the camera bracket and rail bar without the mount so i bombed out there.

i have found you need to cycle the camera of and on before you start your panning and shooting in software.

another thing is panoramas, the mount in panoramic software mode will slew to certain preset areas and trigger camera

it will then shift from left to right and capture the row, move down and start shooting right to left.

it decides how many images need to be taken, how many rows will be needed. it also leaves a file with very accurate

infomation for programes to use. 

to guide me without the need to be behind the camera i had fitted a small spycamera connected via usb to act as a webcam.

using sharpcap i was able to see where camera was pointing and the rough frame taken. the camera cost a few quid

from amazon store ( 808 spy camera). it is not super quality but gives you a viewfinder away from the setup. ( astro wise dont bother, your better hacking a 300 quid gopro)

well i have everything ready a like a gopro hd camera and the dslr ready just need this rain to go away and the power to go off

gah i hate street lights !!