Autoguiding telescope

[keybaud]

Is a Celestron 70mm Travel Scope suitable for use as a guiding telescope or do I need something better?

My current thinking is to keep things cheap, so I am considering an 80mm doublet as my first scope and would like to use the travel scope as the guide. I can then upgrade to an 80mm triplet or a larger reflector and use the 80mm doublet as the guide scope. This should limit the speed at which the cash leaves my wallet.

[Sandancer10]

I think if you want  to use a guide scope you must be thinking of AP. The equipment I use is listed below and I don't have a guide scope yet, but that hasn't stopped me from taking a few hundred images so far.  I limit the time of my exposure to 60 seconds and with a fair Polar alignment - not perfect yet, but I'm getting there. This seems to be the most I can get out of my kit without Star trails.

Hope this helps.

[nmoushon]

That should work just fine. If you really want to go cheap then you can use a 9x50 finder scope and do some very simple modding to attach the guide camera to it. Thats what I use and I've gotten 10min subs with it in a pretty heavy LP area.

[swag72]

The scope will be fine as a guide scope. You just need to decide how you will guide - Laptop or stand alone guider.

[ollypenrice]

Yes, keep the 70 as a guide scope but avoid the standalone guiders. For some they work, for some they don't.

Olly

[keybaud]

_{Thanks all.}

[dph1nm]

Yes, the 70 is quite a nice little scope, and lightweight. I have one mounted as a guider. You might need an extension tube to get a guiding chip to focus, as it is designed to focus with a diagonal in place.

NigelM

[keybaud]

Yes, the 70 is quite a nice little scope, and lightweight. I have one mounted as a guider. You might need an extension tube to get a guiding chip to focus, as it is designed to focus with a diagonal in place.

NigelM

Aaah, thanks. How have you mounted yours, as all the rings I've found cost more than the scope?