Transforming a Skywatcher 250px Dob into a GoTo

[George!]

Hello follow SGL members.

First of all let me re-introduce myself back into the SGL community. It's been about 2-3 years since I last visited!

Anyway, on with the mini-dilemma. The thing that prevented me from taking part in astronomy as actively in the first place was my lack of time. With school and work most nights, it was hard to find the time to hunt down DSO's. Today I dragged myself back into astronomy (Thanks to Stargazing Live) to try and make the most of my Skywatcher 250px Dobsonian (Full Tube).

I've already researched some methods of doing this but I need expert advice from fellow astronomers. Before I list some options, I did find the dobsonian - goto upgrade kit. Unfortunately, it costs a fortune and it's not in the UK. Otherwise, that would be a no-brainer.

Researched Produtcs:

1) http://www.equatorial-platforms-uk.co.uk/idol - The problem with this is the lack of customer feedback and lack of instructions etc.

2) Same goes for the 'Astrofix' found here: http://www.manortronics-force-gauges.com/Astro-Fix-NMS.html

3) Lastly is one of the star finder products like the Scopescout mounted to my telescope ( http://www.astronomy-shoppe.com/scopescout2.htm ) or the Celestron skyscout mounted to my telescope. ( http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-skyscout-personal-planetarium.html )

My best suited criteria for solving this problem would be that it's cheap, accurate and easy to set up. I hope someone out there knows something about this.

Kind regards and many thanks for any replies,

[Scooot]

I use this, its fantastic. Although It doesn't track but it's very accurate at finding objects in a user friendly way. Another SGL member has just finished installing it and I'm sure he'll provide some feedback shortly once its clear enough to use it.

http://www.astrodevices.com/products/Nexus/Nexus.html

[ronin]

I suspect there is no cheap option.

For the Scope OTA given I think you would need an NEQ6 at just under £1000.

[George!]

I use this, its fantastic.

http://www.astrodevices.com/products/Nexus/Nexus.html

That looks superb. Thanks very much. I'll and see what others put aswell and do you know if they sell it in the UK?

[brettg40]

Yeh I definitely agree with ronin, being the 250, anything smaller than an neq6 just won't handle the weight comfortable enough

[Scooot]

That looks superb. Thanks very much. I'll and see what others put aswell and do you know if they sell it in the UK?

http://www.equatorial-platforms-uk.co.uk/idol

I bought it from here but because of other work commitments he's not selling it anymore so you'll have to get it from Australia but that's not a big deal. Astro Devices will supply the nexus , cables and two encoders for just over 300 quid, a bit less if you don't get caught for vat etc. you'll need to fix the encoders to your scope yourself. It's much cheaper than other push to systems and much better than goto on a dob in my opinion. No motors you just use the dob as normal, scope doesn't need to be level because you do a two star align.

Contact Serge at Astro Devices by email he's very helpful and will give you all the info you need.

[Joseki]

Most of those options are push-too rather than Goto exactly.  The cheap option (especially if you already have a portable mini computer, aka smart phone with astro software) is a wixey inclinometer http://www.nightskies.net/scopetest/accessories/wixey/wixey.html (about 25 pounds) and a setting circle round the base, a DIY version of something like this http://www.opticsmart.com/halo-setting-circles/halo-setting-circle-leveling-base-for-apertura-ad8.html built into the base - plenty of people on here have done it (I made a circle with a regular A4 printer that came out okay), it's a standard dob mod people do.

  That setup gets you close and you can then switch to a 32mm eyepiece.

  However, AstroFix works best for me in terms of cost and convenience (everything at eye level, easily transferred to other scopes or bins) - I'm happy enough with the one I bought.  I'm sure there are better systems out there - IDOL looks fab - but at £430 + P&P for the full kit I'd personally put the money towards a change of scope/mount.

[Joseki]

A comparison of AstroFix and Wixey

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/35917-astofix-and-wixey/

although the Astrofix doesn't have the ribbon sensor anymore the comment about the build quality is still accurate.

[Scooot]

I used to use the wixie before I got the push to. It was a help and certainly cheaper but not in the same league, I wouldn't want to go back to it. It would be like giving up my sat nav to use a compass.

With the push to your target objects are highlighted on the screen and you watch the scope move on the screen as you push it to the target. No looking up coordinates or altitude etc all connected to the iPad, IPhone or android etc wirelessly. It might be too much of an expense for some but it's certainly a cost effective alternative to Argo Navis etc and a worthy option to consider.

I also considered the Astro fix but didn't think it would be so accurate and I'm not sure it would work very well if the scope isn't level. With the push to you could use it on the side of a hill if you wanted to. As mentioned you can't by the idol from the uk, but from Australia an SGL member recently paid $195 for the nexus $85 for each of the encoders $35 for shipping and $25 for the cables. Plus vat etc on arrival.

[Joseki]

Well, I don't know whether the wixey and setting circle system qualifies for a push to system or not, it's semantics.  Other people have called it that http://home.comcast.net/~w7apd/pushto.html and all you're doing is swapping coordinates manually between your phone and the gauges rather than using a cable.  With a little practice I don't see it should be a particularly difficult step (1 - find alt/az coordinates of the target on phone, 2- move the scope to those coordinates, bingo).  I am certain that IDOL is a nicer system and if the OP wants to spend the extra money that's fine but I interpreted the topic of the thread as that the OP had a 250 dob and couldn't find DSOs quickly, gave up for a while but now wanted the cheapest option to solve that.  Also, the OP doesn't sound like a fully committed star gazer (yet) so spending large amounts of extra money might be a bad idea (though the cost of trying all the 'cheap options' for a problem can easily add up to the cost of the 'expensive option' often).  I think a lot of people use the wixey approach with good results without the need to spend the extra money.

The AstroFix is about the same accuracy as the wixey, with the bonus that you can re-calibrate as you go, onto a close, locatable object.

[Joseki]

.. I should probably shut up now   but if you were going to spend an extra 400-500 pounds you could also sell the (what must be mint) 250 dob and buy the truss tube skywatcher dob with full goto already on board.

[George!]

Thankyou for all the replies, very helpful. I'll take them into consideration and let you know what I decide on.