Orion mini 50 guidescope

[Gan]

I would be grateful if some one could suggest how I could fix Orion mini Guidescope on to my Celestron Edge HD 8" telescope which already has a finderscope. many thanks

-Gan

[Tinker1947]

Use the Celestron Finder scope as a guide scope, and use a Telrad as a Finder so much better all round.....

 

[PeterCPC]

Agree with Tinker - the 50mm guide scope is a bit small for the 8" scope anyway.

Peter

[JG777]

I think the OP is asking how to mount the Orion mini in addition to his finderscope, in which case he just needs an adapter to standard SW dovetail. His finderscope may already be a 9x50 !

[PeterCPC]

This would do it http://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/baader-universal-quick-release-finder-base.html

Peter

[Gan]

5 hours ago, JG777 said:

I think the OP is asking how to mount the Orion mini in addition to his finderscope, in which case he just needs an adapter to standard SW dovetail. His finderscope may already be a 9x50 !

You are right John; I already have 9 x 50 Finderscope and would like to add a 50 mm guide scope. I am desperate to get some auto guiding for my 8"SCT to take photos of  some deep sky objects. I tried OAG  unsuccessfully and thought may be better luck with guide scope with QHY 5L II.

[Davey-T]

You may have "better luck" with OAG and Loadstar, it's what I use  

Dave

[Gan]

7 hours ago, Tinker1947 said:

Use the Celestron Finder scope as a guide scope, and use a Telrad as a Finder so much better all round.....

 

 

7 hours ago, Tinker1947 said:

Use the Celestron Finder scope as a guide scope, and use a Telrad as a Finder so much better all round.....

 

I would be grateful if you could let me know how I can use the 9 x 50 finderscope as guide scope. what adapter/equipment i will require to link this to QHY 1.25" camera

[Gan]

15 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

You may have "better luck" with OAG and Loadstar, it's what I use  

Dave

I am sure OAG is a better option when compared to a guidescope but somehow I failed to get a star in the PHD when I used the Celestron OAG. Any tips?

 

[JG777]

Are you using the Orion mini autoguider? If so what is stopping it from working?

[Tinker1947]

10 minutes ago, Gan said:

 

I would be grateful if you could let me know how I can use the 9 x 50 finderscope as guide scope. what adapter/equipment i will require to link this to QHY 1.25" camera

Modern Astronomy sell a Adapter....remove the eye piece and screw the adapter in this  it has a c-thread to take the ccd

http://www.modernastronomy.com/

http://www.modernastronomy.com/shop/accessories/adapters/celestron-1mm-c-mount-adapter-for-straight-through-finders/

[Davey-T]

13 minutes ago, Gan said:

I am sure OAG is a better option when compared to a guidescope but somehow I failed to get a star in the PHD when I used the Celestron OAG. Any tips?

 

I tried an Orion SSAG, pretty much the same as the QHY, which struggled, but the Loadstar usually finds a guide star.

Dave

[Gan]

16 minutes ago, JG777 said:

Are you using the Orion mini autoguider? If so what is stopping it from working?

I just got the Orion mini auto guider delivered yesterday. I was not able to fix this on to my telescope ( Edge HD 8") The only way i guess is to remove the finderscope and use the slot for the guiding scope. I was hoping to be able to use both finderscope and guide scope. so i am still waiting to use the guide scope.

[JG777]

OK, all you need is a bracket like the one linked above or one similar. There are holes around the edge of the SCT which may or may not have screws in, if so remove the screws and fit bracket and guider. Use the screws supplied with the bracket. I have a finderscope and RDF on mine. Then you need to discover why the guider does not work which is a separate issue. 

[SonnyE]

I use an Orion MMAG on my telescope.

One of the things that helped me choose it was the fact it is used by observatories. And by golly, if it works for them to Auto-guide their huge telescopes, it ought to work for me. And wowie, does it ever work great for me.

I think some folks get caught up in 'Bigger is better', but really a guide scope only needs to be able to pick a star and stay locked onto it. And they actually work better if the stars aren't in razor sharp focus.

If you already have the mounting for your finder scope, couldn't you merely add a Dual Finder Scope Mounting bracket? That would give you the second mount you want.

When first starting out, I bought 2 OAG's because I felt I could get that to work and it's purpose was to give the mount signals based on what the telescope itself was aimed at. I was wrong, and never could get an OAG to work for me. So I finally abandoned that idea and took my SSAG camera and put it on Orion's Deluxe Mini 50mm guide scope. Something I saw as a bonus was the added mount for the scope which I wanted for a Red Dot aiming device (rather than the above bracket). And it worked out better than if it was designed for what I had in mind. The stalk of the guide scope was a perfect length for my hopes. (I tend to think outside the box) Looks Like This

Anyway, if you already have the finder scopes mount, it should be no problem to double it up for a two-for-one with the bracket.

 

[Gan]

1 hour ago, Tinker1947 said:

Modern Astronomy sell a Adapter....remove the eye piece and screw the adapter in this  it has a c-thread to take the ccd

http://www.modernastronomy.com/

http://www.modernastronomy.com/shop/accessories/adapters/celestron-1mm-c-mount-adapter-for-straight-through-finders/

Thats really great. I will try that first.

many thanks

Gan

[Gan]

Thank you all for helpful tips. I some how managed to fix an adapter plate ( supplied with the guide scope)  on to one of the slots on the scope. ( I needed a screw  with longer threads than that supplied with the Telescope). I think it is study enough. On to the adapter plate, I fixed the guide scope holder. Now I need to try this in action. Fingers crossed!

Gan