Ultra portable widefield rig

[philj]

Bar a couple of tweaks to counterweight size and a more solid EQ1/tripod interface plate I've got my portable widefield rig up and running at long last.

Its an EQ1 with basic drive coupled to a Monk Pro 707 heavy duty camera/binos tripod. Rigged up with my modded 1000d fitted with nifty 50mm 1.8 lens. Ive modded an old Pentax angle viewer and also an old Tamron telephoto lens hood to fit. The lens hood has the dew strap around it.

Im looking forward to testing this out

[nightfisher]

Nice, will be interested to see how it performs, i have toyed with rigging up a dovetail for my 1000D on the AZ supertrack for a bit of widefield, then i remember i dont do imaging lol

[Bobby1970]

That looks like my old EQ1 mount Phil :-)

Glad it arrived ok and you have put it to good use.

[philj]

Go for it Jules.

Im enjoying doing widefield at the mo, its less strenuous on my remaining brain cell at the moment than doing guided DSOs through my other scopes at the moment

This is intended to be my starparty imaging set up. I try and avoid imaging at starparties and do just visual normally (with one or two exceptions) but this wont take too much room up in the van and takes minutes to set up, no PCs etc to go wrong either, all exposures are dealt with by the Canon Timer and power is a 9V PP3

I was thinking of going for a SW star adventurer but this was a much cheaper way of doing it, OK not as versatile but cheap and chearful

[philj]

That looks like my old EQ1 mount Phil :-)

Glad it arrived ok and you have put it to good use.

You know I thought I had heard the name somewhere Rob. Thanks again.

You can see why I didn't want the EQ1 tripod

[Psychobilly]

Try it as it is but I would move the dewstrip back behind the lens hood and around the lens itself... The Nifty fifties  plastic construction makes it a beggar to warm up.. I start early with mine finding prevention better than cure...

I lock the focus ring on mine with a strip of micropore taps and remote focus it using APT or Eos_utils...

Peter...

[philj]

Well spotted Pete. :-)

The heater is there because at the moment Im using a 48mm Idas filter wedged into the hood, therefore the strap has to be a bit further forward to protect the front filter.

My next piece of kit is to get a clip in filter for the camera then the heater will be moved back. Good idea on the tape, if I use it with a pc I will try that. At the mo its standalone and as simple as possible with no pc

[Psychobilly]

Step rings can be had cheap enough.. You will also benefit from what effectively becomes a front aperture mask stopping the lens down a bit and improving star shapes in the corners...

I really miss my EQ3-pro setup it was so easy to move around and worked well... In fact I preferred it to the Astrotrac setup that replaced it as my portable setup.. I can put the NEQ-6 on the pier outside the obs but it takes more effort and hence gets done less often although when setup it copes with just about anything I chuck on it...

Peter...

[happy-kat]

What length stubs are you hoping to get?

[themos]

Hello Phil, 

The periodic error on that EQ1 gear can be atrocious, I measured mine at 120 arcseconds at least. That "economy" RA motor can't keep sidereal rate to any accuracy and needs frequent adjusting (there is no crystal oscillator to stabilise it). So prepare yourself for a frustrating time! Or you might like to convert it to RA-autoguided, as per  here

[philj]

Cheers themos, I suspected it would have poor pe but 50mm is the max fl I shall be using and 1 to 2 minute subs max. I have gone into this with my eyes open and do not expect fantastic pe. I started imaging with an eq3 many years ago so am familiar with the frustrations. I am going to run it on the basuc drive initially but then may uograde to the stepper drive if it shiws promise.

I know what you mean Pete, I have an heq5 for portable but even this at times can be a handful to set up.

I have big heavy, sophisticated computerised mounts with bells lights and whistles which take time to set up, and take down but a simple uncomplicated lightweight mount is a very useful tool. I get alot of use from my giro 11 for that same reason, just grab and go and it works every time.

[nightfisher]

Cheers themos, I suspected it would have poor pe but 50mm is the max fl I shall be using and 1 to 2 minute subs max. I have gone into this with my eyes open and do not expect fantastic pe. I started imaging with an eq3 many years ago so am familiar with the frustrations. I am going to run it on the basuc drive initially but then may uograde to the stepper drive if it shiws promise.

I know what you mean Pete, I have an heq5 for portable but even this at times can be a handful to set up.

I have big heavy, sophisticated computerised mounts with bells lights and whistles which take time to set up, and take down but a simple uncomplicated lightweight mount is a very useful tool. I get alot of use from my giro 11 for that same reason, just grab and go and it works every time.

Well said and a point close to my way of thinking, this is why i will be making a pier when (if grrrr) i get a place with a garden, this will be a wooden pier (yes wood) with my AZ supertrack mount and mak 127, this will be doing Lunar webcam, but i still might make a dovetail mount for the 1000D and try some light polluted widefield.

Good luck with this project Phill

[philj]

A slight modification

Whilst messing with the set up above I quickly realised that the dec axis was a pain. If the counterweight wasn't hitting the motor box then the dec slow motion arm was. So... I took the dec off and fitted the Manfrotto head direct to the top of the RA axis. A slight bit of fileage, drilleage and tapage was called for but this gets rid of any mount interference. Just on my second RA test calibration run when this was taken, Im timing how long it takes to do a hour in RA and adjusting speed accordingly. I have put a nice new battery in for this test as I realise the basic drive is not accurate.

Hey if a SW Star Adventurer can get away without a dec axis then so can I

[happy-kat]

Looking forward to your next update.

[Alien 13]

A slight modification

Whilst messing with the set up above I quickly realised that the dec axis was a pain. If the counterweight wasn't hitting the motor box then the dec slow motion arm was. So... I took the dec off and fitted the Manfrotto head direct to the top of the RA axis. A slight bit of fileage, drilleage and tapage was called for but this gets rid of any mount interference. Just on my second RA test calibration run when this was taken, Im timing how long it takes to do a hour in RA and adjusting speed accordingly. I have put a nice new battery in for this test as I realise the basic drive is not accurate.

Hey if a SW Star Adventurer can get away without a dec axis then so can I

I like that mod gets rid of the counterweight too will look forward to your 1st light.

Alan

[Psychobilly]

What type of batteries are you using Phil?

Different battery types (Chemistry) have different discharge characteristics...  Some are a lot better than others...  You might get better results using a larger battery pack and voltage regulator to power the Drive...

Peter...

[philj]

At the mo Im gonna try using duracell alkaline pp3 Pete. If it keeps the rabbit on telly working longer it might work for this :-) I will try it on that 1st, if no good then I will rig something up, I dont want to go to separate power packs though, that would defeat the original idea of ultra. portable, simple and self contained. I am not looking for long subs just a bit of longevity during the session of maybe 1.5 to 2 hours.

Remember, I have an heq5 and a Cge for serious imaging with regulated supplies, pc, bells lights and whistles but these aint ultra portable :-) Im under no illusions as to limitations of this rig. Its cheap, cheerful and when Im camping or on a bad day with my ME/CFS it can be set up in minutes and not exhaust me.

I also have a Costco bulk pack of pp3s, so if a sub shows trails, I can just stick a fresh battery in, I can fit alot of pp3s in my Berghaus pockets:-)

[Psychobilly]

I like your style

You might want to take a look at this site Phil...

http://www.powerstream.com/9V-Alkaline-tests.htm

I don't know how much current the Drive pulls...

It might be worth finding a setting for  the speed  after the initial steep drop off...

Peter...

[philj]

Ive done some test runs today but that was in the comfort of the house, I will try the same speed setting in the cold tomorrow and see what happens

[philj]

Even though I was full of manflu last night I managed to get out for an hour or so to get the rig tested under the stars. After a few attempts I managed to get a drive rate which didn't trail too much so stuck with it. My daytime estimate of the speed was way off (don't ask  ) so I had to do it on the fly whilst having fits of coughing.

Anyrode I managed a dozen 2 minute subs with trailing at different levels. I wasn't going to do owt with them but Im bored with this forced convalescence so I decided to have a play.

This is from 9 of the 12 subs, no calib and slightly cropped. Im quite chuffed really, It shows potential as well as a bit of Lovejoys tail, Ive stretched it as much as I dare to get the tail out

[nightfisher]

Phil, you have got of to a great start with this little rig, a bit of tweaking and you should get some half decent images for little effort (just how i like to do things )

[philj]

Cheers mate. I reckon I will be going for the better drive eventually as the simple drive is a faff but it shows promise. Once I get rid of this manflu and get a proper play with it and go to something like 18mm wide then that will be fun

[happy-kat]

Can see the tail and color too.

Did you use dss to stack with the last comet option please?

Is it the simple eq drive motor you are using?

I am cross I was slow as astroboot had some motors before Christmas that may have been usable on my barn door really cheap half the price of the eq1 motor.

[philj]

Hi happycat, no I use images plus 4, cant get on with dss.

yes its the simple drive but its not very accurate, I would recommend the other drive with hand paddle for doing imaging, I may go that route but Im still pkaying

[happy-kat]

OK thank you for your thoughts