Motorized autofocuser options for EdgeHD 8" & WO Star 71ii

[AngryDonkey]

3 minutes ago, RayD said:

I think it might have been you Ian was referring to when I ordered mine then Mike.

Yes quite possibly . I was in touch with Ian and Peter to find out about it but neither of them had seen that collar before. Yes you're probably right, I thought because it had some pre drilled holes on the front face it might have been designed to allow a motor to be screwed directly onto it. In any case removing it didn't have any negative impact on the function of the focuser so that's me happy!

Sorry for going off topic but what do you think of the camera rotator on the scope? It seems to be fairly hard to tighten it up securely in my opinion. A few days back it somehow worked itself loose a bit and I lost a fair amount of subs because of it. I actually don't really need it as I could turn the scope in the rings but not sure how easy it would be to remove it....

[RayD]

Just now, AngryDonkey said:

Yes quite possibly . I was in touch with Ian and Peter to find out about it but neither of them had seen that collar before. Yes you're probably right, I thought because it had some pre drilled holes on the front face it might have been designed to allow a motor to be screwed directly onto it. In any case removing it didn't have any negative impact on the function of the focuser so that's me happy!

Sorry for going off topic but what do you think of the camera rotator on the scope? It seems to be fairly hard to tighten it up securely in my opinion. A few days back it somehow worked itself loose a bit and I lost a fair amount of subs because of it. I actually don't really need it as I could turn the scope in the rings but not sure how easy it would be to remove it....

I'm not convinced it's a good thing Mike.  Whilst it is convenient for rotating the camera, it makes it hard to tighten the FW and camera on to the tube as without tightening it to within an inch to is life it seems to allow the rotator to spin.  I'll see how I get on with that.

[souls33k3r]

3 minutes ago, RayD said:

I know that feeling!! 

Here's a pic of the wheel off (see the 2 small grub screws accessed by removing the one in the focuser housing, and the plate with the 2 screws that then comes off 

By the looks of the tapped holes in the collar I suspect WO has planned for this to be used for fixing focus motors directly to it rather than using an angled bracket.

ah! Nice one @RayD, cheers for the pic mate. It is even simpler than i originally thought. I guess this is a good way to check if you've got a v1 of the scope or v2

On the previous advice of @Davey-T, i've also bought a large rugged case for the scope to go in. The soft carry case was not big enough to house the scope and the camera (when attached) so hopefully it will be all fine and will go nicely in the case too.

Can i ask something which is related to focuser but not to the thread? How long does it take for the focuser to achieve perfect focus? 

[RayD]

Just now, souls33k3r said:

ah! Nice one @RayD, cheers for the pic mate. It is even simpler than i originally thought. I guess this is a good way to check if you've got a v1 of the scope or v2

On the previous advice of @Davey-T, i've also bought a large rugged case for the scope to go in. The soft carry case was not big enough to house the scope and the camera (when attached) so hopefully it will be all fine and will go nicely in the case too.

Can i ask something which is related to focuser but not to the thread? How long does it take for the focuser to achieve perfect focus? 

No worries mate, happy to help.

If you're using SGP and using LUM filter you start somewhere near focus and then it takes about 3 minutes to run auto-focus.  You'll have either 7 or 9 iterations with say a 8 second sub.  The focus it achieves on my Esprit with the Atik 16200 is spot on and certainly far better than I could get manually.  The nice thing is watching it re-focus with temperature or filter change so you know your focus isn't drifting.

[AngryDonkey]

What he said 

Just to add that narrowband filters will obviously take longer to focus as the exposure time will need to increase. However SGP (and I presume other software packages) can also use an offset value for these filters i.e. you focus using the luminance filter and then apply a predetermined offset which will bring the narrowband filter in focus.

[RayD]

2 minutes ago, AngryDonkey said:

What he said 

Just to add that narrowband filters will obviously take longer to focus as the exposure time will need to increase. However SGP (and I presume other software packages) can also use an offset value for these filters i.e. you focus using the luminance filter and then apply a predetermined offset which will bring the narrowband filter in focus.

Yes I believe @gnomus does this.  It takes a little time to generate your offsets but could save a lot of time in the long run if you do a lot of NB imaging.  I will get round to doing it as it is a really good feature of SGP.

[souls33k3r]

Muchas gracias Hombres ... i'll used another thread when i get my focuser to worry about these bits. Oh boy, should i order it now ... i think i bloody should ... lol ... i am impatient when it comes to buying but will try to gather as much info as possible before hand to avoid any craziness afterwards.

One quick question, you know that black cable that connects the stepper to the pin, what if i tape it down? it should be fine right? Only reason why i ask is that i wouldn't want my clumsy fingers to damage the cables when i take the scope out of the bag or putting it back on. What is a good practice with it?

Yes NB is what i'll be doing mostly and might, just might dabble in to BB imaging at some point when i'm feeling bored.

 

[RayD]

5 minutes ago, souls33k3r said:

Muchas gracias Hombres ... i'll used another thread when i get my focuser to worry about these bits. Oh boy, should i order it now ... i think i bloody should ... lol ... i am impatient when it comes to buying but will try to gather as much info as possible before hand to avoid any craziness afterwards.

One quick question, you know that black cable that connects the stepper to the pin, what if i tape it down? it should be fine right? Only reason why i ask is that i wouldn't want my clumsy fingers to damage the cables when i take the scope out of the bag or putting it back on. What is a good practice with it?

Yes NB is what i'll be doing mostly and might, just might dabble in to BB imaging at some point when i'm feeling bored.

 

You won't go far wrong ordering one.  There are other very good ones too, like the Sharpsky, and you very rarely hear people moaning about either as they just work.

The cable should be fine and it really doesn't get in the way.  I'm not sure there is enough play on it to tape it down.

If you are doing mostly NB then it may be worth setting a night aside to just working out your offsets as noted by Mike.  That way you can reduce the time taken during focusing as each focus sub will be about 40 odd seconds as opposed to 8 or so, but over a whole night it isn't huge amounts.  I haven't done it yet and it isn't really a major problem, but will be a nice to have.

[souls33k3r]

1 minute ago, RayD said:

You won't go far wrong ordering one.  There are other very good ones too, like the Sharpsky, and you very rarely hear people moaning about either as they just work.

The cable should be fine and it really doesn't get in the way.  I'm not sure there is enough play on it to tape it down.

If you are doing mostly NB then it may be worth setting a night aside to just working out your offsets as noted by Mike.  That way you can reduce the time taken during focusing as each focus sub will be about 40 odd seconds as opposed to 8 or so, but over a whole night it isn't huge amounts.  I haven't done it yet and it isn't really a major problem, but will be a nice to have.

Yeah sharpsky was another option but it looks a bit ... bulky ... like i said in my earlier post, i haven't seen a lakeside in flesh either so not sure how much does this bad boy weigh? Any idea?

I think i will have to work out the offsets if i want a easy session so working on it one night isn't going to be a problem. Although i will have to have all the knowledge before diving in to that for which i'll use Mike's suggestion and new thread later on.

I just do not want to be going to Keeling in November and use them nights to prepare my offset lol

[RayD]

2 minutes ago, souls33k3r said:

i haven't seen a lakeside in flesh either so not sure how much does this bad boy weigh? Any idea?

They're pretty small and light.  I don't know exactly how much, I didn't weigh mine, but it really isn't a lot.

 

[souls33k3r]

I'm going to go home and think about how much i'm going to spend on this lol the temptation ... should i buy both of them in one go or just buy one and decide about the second later. I think the latter is a much wiser option. Bloody £18 bracket  why?!?!?! sorry guys, just a little moan 

[RayD]

This is mine fitted to my Esprit 100, so it gives you a pretty good idea of the fairly compact size.

[souls33k3r]

ah ok, Cheers for that mate... that's not too bad. I think i can secure the cable with a tape ... not too hard though to make it nice and secure.

[RayD]

Just now, souls33k3r said:

I'm going to go home and think about how much i'm going to spend on this lol the temptation ... should i buy both of them in one go or just buy one and decide about the second later. I think the latter is a much wiser option. Bloody £18 bracket  why?!?!?! sorry guys, just a little moan 

They are nicely machined brackets 

That actually isn't that bad to be fair.  I had to have a custom spacer machined earlier this year and that cost me £37.

You won't get any discount if you buy more than one, so it can't hurt to get one for your WO and see how you get on with it.

[souls33k3r]

oh what the hell! i'll just pay for both of them now and be done with it once and for all lol ... I am just going on a spree right now and buying all the right things because soon i'll be moving houses and i won't have anything left to spend on this hobby no more so whatever i buy now is going to have to stick for a good long time.

@PhotoGav do you keep the mirror locks loose on your EdgeHD all the time? What about the mirror flop? any such issues you've seen so far?

[RayD]

2 minutes ago, souls33k3r said:

oh what the hell! i'll just pay for both of them now and be done with it once and for all lol ... I am just going on a spree right now and buying all the right things because soon i'll be move houses and i won't have anything left to spend on this hobby no more so whatever i buy now is going to have to stick for a good long time.

Happy days, love your thinking 

[souls33k3r]

3 minutes ago, RayD said:

Happy days, love your thinking 

That makes one of us ... CFO is going to kill me lol

[Jonk]

I have a sharpsky on my star 71 and am likely to fit another on my second star 71.

The bracket is something I made out of aluminium and is right angled, screwing into the place where the silver collar is removed as detailed above.

It's light and certainly looks ok.

I'll post a photo when I get home later tonight.

[souls33k3r]

Cheers Jonk, I have nothing against the SharpSky, it's just that it looks beefy and thought it might be alright with the needs of many, I know I'm going to struggle pushing the scope any more further up the Dec puck that I already have. 

I assume regardless of Lakeside or SharpSky, they all pretty much work the same way? 

One question that I'd like to ask, (please do excuse my naivety in the subject) which has more steps sizes? I assume the more the steps, the fine focusing it can do? 

[Jonk]

4 minutes ago, souls33k3r said:

One question that I'd like to ask, (please do excuse my naivety in the subject) which has more steps sizes? I assume the more the steps, the fine focusing it can do? 

I don't know but in theory probably yes, although a lot probably depends on the focuser mechanics and the software making the measurements / your eye with a bahtinov mask.

The reason I chose the sharpsky over the lakeside was the sharpsky also has 4 dew heater connections and is software controlled, for the same price as the lakeside.

Both products are one man band operations.

[souls33k3r]

Dew heater option really doesn't appeals to me if I'm being honest only because I already have a 4 channel dew heater controller which I bought ages ago. 

Yes they are indeed one man band and both these guys have done a fantastic job at making a very impressive product.  

[Davey-T]

1 hour ago, Jonk said:

I don't know but in theory probably yes, although a lot probably depends on the focuser mechanics and the software making the measurements / your eye with a bahtinov mask.

The reason I chose the sharpsky over the lakeside was the sharpsky also has 4 dew heater connections and is software controlled, for the same price as the lakeside.

Both products are one man band operations.

Thought I'd try the Sharpsky on my solar scope, emailed the guy a couple of times last week and this, about how to purchase it and got no reply, anytime I've emailed Peter at Lakeside I've always got a quick response.

Dave

[Jonk]

True, David is sometimes slow at responding, but I have the same issue at work, sometimes I don't get round to certain emails quickly.

Having said that, he does email back on Sundays so it's not a M-F thing for him.

He's also a member of this board.

I'm sure both products operate in the same way, but personal preference will always win.

Either option I'm sure will be fine for the majority of people.

[Davey-T]

40 minutes ago, Jonk said:

True, David is sometimes slow at responding, but I have the same issue at work, sometimes I don't get round to certain emails quickly.

Having said that, he does email back on Sundays so it's not a M-F thing for him.

He's also a member of this board.

I'm sure both products operate in the same way, but personal preference will always win.

Either option I'm sure will be fine for the majority of people.

I realise he's got a " proper job " so didn't expect a quick reply but there's no way of ordering direct from his site so need to contact him by email, no big rush though as long as he's still in business

Got a few Lakesides so thought I'd try something different.

Dave

[Jonk]

Yes he's still in business. He told me this weekend he's waiting for some new motors to arrive so perhaps this might be a reason for delayed responses.

Anyhoo, here's a couple of photos of mine, 1 scope with the focus motor attached, 1 with the bracket ready to fit a motor.

David did supply a bracket to fit to the focuser adjustment area, where the locking screw is, but I fancied something a lot stiffer, hence why I made my own.