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Imaging with the 130pds


Russe

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13 hours ago, steviebee said:

I have just joined the 130PDS club.  it came with a complete set of clouds in the box so it has not been out yet. Has anyone a picture of the the focuser fitted with the SkyWatcher Auto Focuser?

I watched this video when I got mine(also came with clouds), very comprehensive 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpIteLt3xcw&feature=share

Edited by lnlarxg
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15 minutes ago, steviebee said:

Thank you Wim, that's great. Silly question now is it still possible to use the fine focus manually with the Autofocuser on? 

In my experience not possible, unless you want to turn against the motor.

But I suppose the purpose of the auto focuser is to provide handsoff micro-fine focusing without introducing any vibrations (great for visual). So somewhat makes the ds focuser redundant 

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No, you don't use the ds function. But otoh, the slow setting of the controller is good enough, and as @lnlarxg wrote, the whole point is to be hands off, so you don't introduce vibrations.

With the motor turned off, you may be able to loosen the connecting piece between the focuser and the motor to allow manual focusing. I've never had use for this.

If you use the handcontroller that comes with the autofocuser, just make sure you have an extra 9 V battery at hand. You wouldn't want to lose power in the middle of a cold viewing/imaging session.

As for me, I replaced the hc with an arduino that emulates the moonlite protocol. This makes my focuser indi (and maybe ascom?) compatible.

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?

54 minutes ago, wimvb said:

So, what's the plan? Or is the 130PDS delivered as an IKEA set nowadays?

Haha good one. ?

Disassembly - Done

Flocking - Done

Install rca plug in tube for possible future heater - Todo

Paint secondary - Todo

Change collimation screws on secondary - Todo

Reassembly - Todo

Collimation - Todo

 

And then a real test to see how it works, how much I need to chop off the focuser tube, if any.

?

Edited by jjosefsen
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11 hours ago, jjosefsen said:

?

Haha good one. ?

Disassembly - Done

Flocking - Done

Install rca plug in tube for possible future heater - Todo

Paint secondary - Todo

Change collimation screws on secondary - Todo

Reassembly - Todo

Collimation - Todo

 

And then a real test to see how it works, how much I need to chop off the focuser tube, if any.

?

you have missed one part...

x) Shorten the Focuser's drawtube (1cm minimum) :)
 

And good luck and patience while placing the secondary back in the position!!! :)

the rest is piece of cake! :)

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28 minutes ago, RolandKol said:

you have missed one part...

x) Shorten the Focuser's drawtube (1cm minimum) :)
 

And good luck and patience while placing the secondary back in the position!!! :)

the rest is piece of cake! :)

It's in the last line of my post, I wanted to see how far it protrudes into the tube first.. but obviously it would be nice to do it right now so I don't have to align secondary twice!

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1 minute ago, jjosefsen said:

It's in the last line of my post, I wanted to see how far it protrudes into the tube first.. but obviously it would be nice to do it right now so I don't have to align secondary twice!

You wont need to touch the secondary for it, you even will not need to remove the focuser as you can loosen the bolts holding focuser's knobs and remove the drawtube only.

Drop me PM once you will on to it, will explain or even show it in detail.

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Just now, RolandKol said:

I noticed that part! :) 

but he wants to test before "circumcision" :)

?

Yeah I would hate to cut off too much!

I needed to remove the secondary and focuser for flocking. But I bought a 2" concenter for secondary alignment so should be doable.

That flocking really makes the tube dark!!

 

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4 minutes ago, jjosefsen said:

?

Yeah I would hate to cut off too much!

I needed to remove the secondary and focuser for flocking. But I bought a 2" concenter for secondary alignment so should be doable.

That flocking really makes the tube dark!!

 

Not sure which cam and CC you will use, but for me 1cm was not enough, -  for Skywatcher 0.9 CC and ASi1600MMM

Edited by RolandKol
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34 minutes ago, RolandKol said:

Not sure which cam and CC you will use, but for me 1cm was not enough, -  for Skywatcher 0.9 CC and ASi1600MMM

I Will be using a 183m with a tso maxfield 0.95 cc, so probably need to cut off more than 1cm too..

Edited by jjosefsen
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21 hours ago, wimvb said:

Ah, that makes sense. I never bothered to flock my 150PDS, but I am very interested in your RCA solution. So keep us posted.

A few pictures of the scope after reassembly and of the rca plug..

Look at that beautiful black secondary mirror and assembly. ?

No idea if all this makes a profound difference, but it has been fun. It feels like "my scope" now! ?

IMG_20181227_194729.jpg

IMG_20181227_163939.jpg

IMG_20181227_164008.jpg

IMG_20181227_162251.jpg

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5 hours ago, jjosefsen said:

A few pictures of the scope after reassembly and of the rca plug..

Look at that beautiful black secondary mirror and assembly. ?

No idea if all this makes a profound difference, but it has been fun. It feels like "my scope" now! ?

IMG_20181227_194729.jpg

IMG_20181227_163939.jpg

IMG_20181227_164008.jpg

 

Consider placing a washer between the secondary screws and the holder. The holder is alu so the screws dig in after a while making adjustments difficult. 

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5 hours ago, Adam J said:

Consider placing a washer between the secondary screws and the holder. The holder is alu so the screws dig in after a while making adjustments difficult. 

I've seen a video on this mod.. I will see if I can find one.. ?

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