Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Celestron Advanced VX mount

Rudeviewer

By Rudeviewer
in Discussions - Mounts

Recommended Posts

Chris Rowland

Chris Rowland

Posted
Posted

I'd spend the money on a reticle EP rather than a polar scope.  This will give more accurate alignment and so more accurate ASPA.

I've been using an 80mm Oynx with a ST80 on a heavy home made side by side mount, an electric focuser moonlite, filter wheel and two ATIk cameras.  No problems.  Guides well.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 339
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

Posted
Posted

Last 2 times out I didn't even have an EP with me. If you are into imaging and have a Canon camera, I would highly suggest Backyard EOS. 

In the past I used a 12mm reticle EP and It is very nice for centering the align stars. But BYEOS has a cross hair feature that does the same thing and it really helps with focusing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
idigitize

idigitize

Posted
Posted

Cheers Matt and Chris,

Think i'll leave the polarscope and look at the reticle ep.. Im a Nikon user, so no BYEOS, but can use ControlMyNikon for focus and should work for aligning/crosshairs too.

Any recommendations on PSU mains and battery pack style?  I've stumbled over some threads on the net of people having issues, but after hours of reading most turn out to be user error. (although i'm sure I read that there was a misprint in the manual somewhere too with regards power usage.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rudeviewer

Rudeviewer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I use a PowerPak Car jump box that has a 1500AH setup.  Never exceeds 12V due to it being a battery...I have never even close run out of juice.  I can also use a splitter and run my two fans at the same time as my scope.  I do have to tape the LEDS so they don't shine cuz they are bright.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

Posted
Posted

So out tonight and did the 2 star alignment and then used 2 calibration stars. ASPA and was off by quite a bit. After doing some tweaking and playing around, after using the handheld menu to check the handheld alignment it read 0's across the board. So I'm guessing that would be considered perfect polar alignment? Was able to get 90 sec subs with very little noticeable star trails. I am thinking this may be the best I can get with the mount but it's not that bad. If I could get a bigger chunk of sky to work with and get all the calibration stars aligned could I squeeze out a little more exposure time?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
idigitize

idigitize

Posted
Posted

90 secs using the c6n, so 750mm fl?

Obviously I can't talk from experience , but from all the research I've done, to get 90 secs using a 6 inch reflector is on the very good side.

Read a thread on CN, where someone was having issues getting 30s subs, suggestions included east heavy balance, but seemed more down to getting better alignment using a reticle or live view to help centre things.

From what I've read, the most on any mount unguided at short to med focal length, 2 min subs is gonna be tops.

Sounds like your getting some good results from the mount. What section of sky can you get?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

Posted
Posted

No view at all to the east. Limited to the south, west, and north due to trees and houses. I am looking forward to getting out to a darksite with a bigger sky to play with. Hopefully once all this snow melts and the ground firms up a bit. Pretty sloppy and muddy at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

Posted
Posted

Also I'm thinking too that 90 sec is going to be tops with the mount unguided. As I said, according to the handheld my PA error was zeros across the board and there appeared to be some trailing at the 90 second mark. Or could it be coma error?  And this is just with 2 calibration stars. If I were able to get all 4 would I be able to up the exposure time? Say maybe up to the 2 minute mark? 

I posted this earlier but will put it up again. A single 90 sec sub of M51. Background is a little lighter due to streetlight on the corner and I didn't process it at all. (can't seem to get any pics processed in DSS to convert from TIFF)

M51_LIGHT_90s_1600iso_63f_00729stdev_201

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rudeviewer

Rudeviewer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Funny I just took the same shots last night from my scope.  I had 2:00 minute images that weren't too bad, minus the coma around the edges.  I changed the RA and DEC settings to 90 and it seemed to make a difference.  I will post a single exposure tonight to compare with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

Posted
Posted

Funny I just took the same shots last night from my scope.  I had 2:00 minute images that weren't too bad, minus the coma around the edges.  I changed the RA and DEC settings to 90 and it seemed to make a difference.  I will post a single exposure tonight to compare with.

I'll have to try changing the settings and see what happens. Worth a shot to try it. Thanks for the idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
idigitize

idigitize

Posted
Posted

Can I ask a really stupid question....

I was expecting a button on the controller that said 'track' to start tracking etc.

I can see in the menu how to change from sidereal to lunar, solar, but not how to make it start or does it just do it all the time?

Sorry for newbie question :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
idigitize

idigitize

Posted
Posted

Haha, thanks for quick reply. Just setup outside, wasn't enough clear sky to try last night, fingers crossed tonight. I think I almost answered myself cos I'm sure I aligned the lines before coming in to make this post and a brew. Got back outside and saw that it had moved a tad. :)

New toys - can't wait to play!

post-32261-0-77368200-1396982351_thumb.j

Link to comment
Share on other sites
idigitize

idigitize

Posted
Posted

It's the d800, but yep, 70-200 and 1.7. Need to do some DIY to make a better piggyback system. Don't really want a ball head involved as introducing wobbles.

I have so much to learn, hence getting a baby st80 to start with. Need to take a pic or 2 to prove to the other half it was worth £xxx pounds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.