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Anyone guiding on RA only?

pixueto

By pixueto
in Imaging - Discussion

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pixueto

pixueto

Posted
Posted

I have bought a SW Star Adventurer which I would like to use with my Orion Starshoot Autoguider and PHD. However, I am clueless as to what I am supposed to do when guiding only on the RA axis. Does anybody here have some experience with this? Perhaps somebody already guiding with an Astrotrac?  Will PHD be able to handle this? Do I need to make any corrections to the settings/ any box telling the software to guide on RA only? Thank you very much for your help. I am used to guiding very smoothly with my ED80 and the HEQ5PRO with the OSA and the finder 9x50 but I know PHD could be a pain with the wrong settings. I don't even know if this is possible but I would like to try 5 minute guided subs with the canon 200mmF2.8L , the SW star adventurer and the finder/starshoot autoguider.

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Syed Saif Alam

Syed Saif Alam

Posted
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Hi .. i too have the same question . Can we guide our scopes with RA only ? ?.. i have read that its only about spot on polar alignment the rest depends on the mount stability , qauality of motor and many more factors ... but i want a detailed answer too ...

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Yarosia

Yarosia

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Hi,

I do guide my star Adventurer with a Magzero mz5m and Orion mini 50mm. Phd (1.4) works well 'ad is' ( i didn't edited oprions) while phd2 cant calibrate in DEC so you need to select ra only guide.

With my TS apo65q and a good polar aligment i reach 4 mins at medium declination, 2 mins at DEC 0. I discard relly few subs now, like 2 or 3 over 30. With lighter and shorter lens i think you can track for longer exposures. With this setup i'm under 5kg (4.3) and i use the Orion mini on the counterweight side with a ball head balancing weight.

I would not say to use this kind of lens (small apo) of the star Adventurer, but i can say it 'works'.

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Sam

Sam

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Yes you can guide in RA only but, as mentioned, you need to be very very well aligned. You really have to drift align for it to be successful. It's worth having a go though as it's good to get used to taking the time to align as well as possible as it means better guiding in the long run. :)

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StuartJPP

StuartJPP

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I'm glad you asked this.

I have yet to try guiding with my star adventurer but here is my intended set.

20141031_180148.jpg

How do you intend imaging in the west or east with that configuration? Surely the cameras/scopes/lenses will foul against each other in those positions?

Usually a side-by-side saddle will move both scopes in unison (i.e. a plate with two cameras attached to it on top of a single ball head).

Unless I am missing something? Or is this just for testing? Just curious, not being funny at all.

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hobsey

hobsey

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To be honest, I never really thought of that as I only really chucked it together as a test to see if it all fits together.May not bother now.

Thanks for bring this to my attention as it will save me taking it all out and getting annoyed with it as I didn't think of it.

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StuartJPP

StuartJPP

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To be honest, I never really thought of that as I only really chucked it together as a test to see if it all fits together.May not bother now.

Thanks for bring this to my attention as it will save me taking it all out and getting annoyed with it as I didn't think of it.

You can try flipping it around 180 degrees and then guiding in the south which will be the most challenging but then at least you know if it is worth pursuing...don't give up so easily :rolleyes:

What weight are those ball heads rated to? You could lash together a method of them both being on top of a single ball head in tandem. You learn something from every bit of experimentation, even if it doesn't seem to produce positive results.

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