EQ5/SW 130-pds/synguider/st80

[tingting44]

hi guys i just want to know if the EQ5 will be over weight with the SW 130-pds + DSLR + ST80 + synguider? if not i will go down this route, i have heard that its not possible to guide with the synguider with  a finder scope, just looking for more info on this topic from someone thats been down these routes, if any, thanks

all the best

Martin

[lensman57]

hi guys i just want to know if the EQ5 will be over weight with the SW 130-pds + DSLR + ST80 + synguider? if not i will go down this route, i have heard that its not possible to guide with the synguider with  a finder scope, just looking for more info on this topic from someone thats been down these routes, if any, thanks

all the best

Martin

Hi Martin,

No it will not be overloaded, but unless you already have the above equipment I would not recommand the ST80 nor the Synguider, I do have all of them BTW.

A.G

[tingting44]

Hi Martin,

No it will not be overloaded, but unless you already have the above equipment I would not recommand the ST80 nor the Synguider, I do have all of them BTW.

A.G

hands on advice from people who have the gear! thats what i love

so A.G what do you recommend buddy

[lensman57]

hands on advice from people who have the gear! thats what i love

so A.G what do you recommend buddy

Both the ST80 and the SynGuider are fine and work well together infact Synguider is only happy with an ST 80 due to the ease of focusing but this combination is overkill on an SW130 PDS. It is also quite heavy once the guiding ring and the divetail for the ST80 have been added. I have a 50 mm guidescope with a proper mount, very similar to the 50mm finderscope but  the mount does not have the springy thing so it does not wobble. I also aquired a 60mm guider with a none rotating helical focuser from OpticStar in Manchester and this also works very well but it is well made and heavy. I  would get a planetary webcam~ guidecamera and a 50mm guider, I even used the 50mm guider with my SW 100ED Dspro @900mm of FL and as long as the scope is well balanced and the PA is good you should have good guiding. The SynGuider is useful if one is to set up in a field and as a standalone unit it works well but I can not come to terms with the tiny orange screen in peculiar angles and the lack of guiding feedback from the laptop.  This is the one that I got .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BST-Starguider-50mm-Mini-Guide-Scope-Set-/161095180408?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item2582056078

As for the camera, QHY5 series is poular but I use an ASI 120MM which has the same sensitive sensor as the QHY5Lii. If you find one these Philips 900 series webcams with the mono Mod for about £60~70.00 ( there was one on ABS last week for about £70.00 ) it will do fine with a 50mm finder as the F ratio is quite fast F3.2 V F5 for an ST80. For a while I even put a cheap 0.5X reducer on the nose piece of the camera to make the 50mm guider an F1.6  but I found that it was not necessary. All these will work fine with an EQ5  Pro SynScan eiher with PHD guiding or through EQMOD or ST4 guiding. I use PHD with GPUSB but I will soon move to EQMOD. Hope that this helps .

Regards,

A.G

[tingting44]

Thanks for the detailed reply A.G

what do you mean overkill for the 130-pds? do you mean the weight wise?

i have a SPC900 planetary webcam all ready so could i use that to guide with then? i have been looking into the QHY5Lii and have to admit i like the results from it, but that just means getting a laptop/EQ5 guide port mod for EQ5 motor mount handset/GPUSB/guide port conversion kit which dont come cheap, i do like that mini guide scope! i take it that it is more stable than the SW 9x50 finder scope? 

so many things for my brain to take in and so many different paths into guiding, only thing i know is i WANT to guide lol but how i get there is any ones guess right now only so much reading i can do, one day im just going to have to dive in and buy a guiding setup lol.....i do like the idea of that mini guide scope tho with the QHY5Lii but not cheap with all the other bits i would need

ahh also i dont have the EQ5 pro i only have the dual motor mount, but have been looking into adding a guide port into the motor mount handset....? my mind is racing at 100mph....it does every time i start getting into depths of guiding then i put guiding off for a little while longer lol.....*deep breath* lol

[tingting44]

also thinking more about the QHY5L-ii for planetary imaging as i will be using it for planetary also as i love a bit of planetary imaging, say i got the QHY5L-ii mono. with filters and a filter wheel, how would i go about imaging say Jupiter, say i done 2 min subs of each color, thats going to be 8mins in total getting the RGBL subs, thats going to be way to long isnt it and rotation of the planet will show in my images? 

[lensman57]

is almost as large as the scope itself.

also thinking more about the QHY5L-ii for planetary imaging as i will be using it for planetary also as i love a bit of planetary imaging, say i got the QHY5L-ii mono. with filters and a filter wheel, how would i go about imaging say Jupiter, say i done 2 min subs of each color, thats going to be 8mins in total getting the RGBL subs, thats going to be way to long isnt it and rotation of the planet will show in my images? 

 Try the mount as it is with good polar alignment and use your existing equipment to find the limit of the mount for unguided imaging  , from there on you can decide on what and how much. SPC 900 is just good enough to guide with using a fast guider, such as the 50mm one. ST 80 and the associated mounting gear are just too bulky, heavy and expensive for a little 130 PDS. With a 50mm guider you just remove the finder and put the guider its place, with an ST 80 you need to think about a way of mounting the scope alongside the tiny 130 PDS. My advice is one step at a time.

A.G

[Russe]

He said "tiny pds" - shall we let this pass???

What's the trouble with the EQ5 - do you have a port for a handset or San ST4 port?

[tingting44]

is almost as large as the scope itself.

 Try the mount as it is with good polar alignment and use your existing equipment to find the limit of the mount for unguided imaging  , from there on you can decide on what and how much. SPC 900 is just good enough to guide with using a fast guider, such as the 50mm one. ST 80 and the associated mounting gear are just too bulky, heavy and expensive for a little 130 PDS. With a 50mm guider you just remove the finder and put the guider its place, with an ST 80 you need to think about a way of mounting the scope alongside the tiny 130 PDS. My advice is one step at a time.

A.G

 ive been doing some testing, i can get around 1.5-2min subs just with polar alignment and the dual axis motor mount, ive heard the SPC900 is hard to pick out faint stars? kind of falling for the QHY5L-ii now lol

He said "tiny pds" - shall we let this pass???

What's the trouble with the EQ5 - do you have a port for a handset or San ST4 port?

lool *tiny*

no trouble with the EQ5 mate i just want to guide lol

i dont have a ST4 port in the motor handset, but ive got the link to mod it, seems simple enough and only £15 for the kit so not bad at all