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I'm Very Confused

TheMrGecko

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TheMrGecko

TheMrGecko

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I have come to own a EQ3 with dual axis drives and for the past year, it has been working wonderfully. I have hit over 20 targets and I am happy but I want more. My hand controller has a port for a autoguider but before I dive in I want to make sure I know what I'm doing. The mount suffers from bad periodic error. my exposures are limited to 15 seconds because of it. I have heard of EQMOD but I'm not sure this will help me or if it's even compatible. I don't want to buy the GoTo upgrade kit since for that price I could sell my eq3 and take the money I would have spent on upgrade kit and buy a eq5 goto mount. Is there anything I can do to improve my pictures? Do autoguiders remove PE? Thank you for any replies! 

eq3mount.JPG

Autoguideport.JPG

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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The whole point of autoguiders is that they do reduce periodic error. They give real time updates on where the mount is really pointing and send corrections to the mount to go back to the originally chosen position. How well they do this depends on a number of things but the underlying accuracy of the mount is not usually the most important of these things. Backlash in the gears and the sensitivity of the motors to guide commands are usually more important. Even with an autoguider the difference in performance between 'premium' and 'basic' mounts is considerable, though not anything like as considerable as the difference in their prices!

Olly

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TheMrGecko

TheMrGecko

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1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

The whole point of autoguiders is that they do reduce periodic error. They give real time updates on where the mount is really pointing and send corrections to the mount to go back to the originally chosen position. How well they do this depends on a number of things but the underlying accuracy of the mount is not usually the most important of these things. Backlash in the gears and the sensitivity of the motors to guide commands are usually more important. Even with an autoguider the difference in performance between 'premium' and 'basic' mounts is considerable, though not anything like as considerable as the difference in their prices!

Olly

So you think I would benefit from a auto guider then? 

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spillage

spillage

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If it were me I would update the mount, yes you can spend some time and money getting every last possible ounce from your kit and it is satisfying to a point. 

I am sure that I am correct in saying that ap for most people leads to the need for perfection, it is this need that drives most to buy better and better gear or to improve what we have to achieve this. 

With very few funds I have learnt to try and spend what money I have on this hobby wisely, sometimes its better to sell a bit of kit and buy and upgrade  then waste money trying to make it better.

All I would say is that for ap your mount is the most important bit of kit to consider. Have you read 'every photon counts' it may give you a better understanding of what you need.

 

hth

Spill.

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carastro

carastro

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I would agree about the mount, the scope on there looks too big for such a small mount.  But guiding will be a big step forward for you anyway, you'll need that even with a better mount to get long enough exposures for decent images.

Carole 

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jjosefsen

jjosefsen

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Shelling out for a new mount is by all accounts a good investment, but this

thread is proof that you can get very good result with even the modest EQ3 mount.

I did a slight tuneup on my EQ3, fiddling around with the tension screws for both RA and DEC, it takes some fiddling around with. But it enabled me to push my EQ3 + Explorer 150P to 60 seconds subs in good conditions (no wind).

Some are also taking the mount apart, degreasing and regreasing all the parts with HQ lithium grease, claiming significantly increased performance.

Some guys are claiming getting 2min+ subs unguided on that mount (the kind of scope is unknown to me though).

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PeterCPC

PeterCPC

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Do you use a Bahtinov mask for focus? If not that would be useful. Also consider filters for light pollution or maybe UHC. You will need to download PHD2 for autoguiding (free).  Polar Alignment will be crucial so consider how you do that.

Peter

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Neil K Sharpe

Neil K Sharpe

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I am quite new to this site

You have come to the right place for help, as I have experienced. I own an HEg5 with gears what I understand is that the belt drives are better for photography. I upgraded my stand fitting the belt drives. If I was in your place I would part exchange but make sure you get a stand that already has the belt upgrade fitted, saves a lot of work and money.

 

Best wishes Neil

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