Advice needed: Mounting 50mm guidescope to SW Evostar 80ED ds-Pro

[jjosefsen]

Hi good folks,

Im in need of some guidance before i purchase my autoguiding setup, comments are welcome on camera choice, but mainly it is about how to mount the guidescope on my SW 80ED.

The plan:

To use my existing Skywatcher 9x50 RACI finderscope with an adapter from modernastronomy ( https://www.modernastronomy.com/shop/accessories/adapters/sky-watcher-clones-to-c-mount-adapter-for-right-angled-finders/ ).

The camera will probably be the QHY5R-II color autoguider ( https://www.modernastronomy.com/shop/cameras/guide-cameras/qhy-guide-cameras/qhy5r-ii-colour/ )

For mounting I am worried about using the existing finderscope bracket and shoe for two reasons: Unstable mounting/flexure and shifting the balance too far back towards the focuser, it's almost a problem now with the reducer/flattener and DSLR.

I was thinking of purchasing a pair of 90mm guide rings with vixen style clamps ( https://www.astromarket.org/astrofotografie-5/guiding-scopes--rings-5/rings-5/cnc-guiding-rings-130mm-pair631847645925-5)

and mounting them on an inverted dovetailplate attached to the scope rings, see attached images. One extra boon of this is the camera plastic screw thingies work like thumbscrews, so whole bar is easily removeable - and I had them laying around..

 

Do you think think this would work??

Alternatives??

Please keep in mind I have a limited budget, so side-by-side mounting and expensive adjustable finder mounts are probably out of scope.

Total price for the above would come in at arund £260 (minus finder scope as I already have it)

 

Pleased to hear from you, thank you!

Edited December 8, 2017 by jjosefsen
spelling

[newbie alert]

I've got this brand new  unused as I have a set of and guidescope rings..fits the synta finder bracket..i have the screws with the delrin tips also unused

Edited December 9, 2017 by newbie alert
Added info

[jjosefsen]

1 hour ago, newbie alert said:

I've got this brand new  unused as I have a set of and guidescope rings..fits the synta finder bracket..i have the screws with the delrin tips also unused

I was looking at that too, but I'm worried about scope balance being to far rear.

[newbie alert]

With ed80 I just converted the 9x50 finder with a adapter ans it did the job fantastically well...

You can shift the scope forward in the clamshell to get it balanced..with guiding balance is crucial

[newbie alert]

Is that a vixen size dovetail on the top?

[jjosefsen]

9 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

Is that a vixen size dovetail on the top?

Yes 210mm

[jjosefsen]

Well I pulled the trigger on this setup, but upgraded the camera to a QHY5-II Mono instead, bigger and more sensitive sensor.

Lets hope it works.

[Aidan]

That’s pretty much the exact same way I attach my guidescope.  Very solid.  You’ll not have too many problems with this.

I was going to suggest you consider the QHY 5LII mono... but see you’ve already gone for it :-)

[jjosefsen]

8 minutes ago, Aidan said:

That’s pretty much the exact same way I attach my guidescope.  Very solid.  You’ll not have too many problems with this.

I was going to suggest you consider the QHY 5LII mono... but see you’ve already gone for it :-)

That's good to hear, the mounting of the guider was my biggest concern. Wasn't sure if those clamps were the correct ones.

I decided to go with the other camera because I couldn't find a single mention of the qhy5r as a guide scope, and the FOV was really small compared to the one I went with.

[AstroKane]

 

On 10/12/2017 at 20:42, jjosefsen said:

That's good to hear, the mounting of the guider was my biggest concern. Wasn't sure if those clamps were the correct ones.

I decided to go with the other camera because I couldn't find a single mention of the qhy5r as a guide scope, and the FOV was really small compared to the one I went with.

Sorry to bump this up, but I am in exactly the same boat. I will be adding a 50mm guide scope to my SW ED80 and was heading down the same configuration as you. It’d be awesome if you could post an image of your rig with the guide scope attached and provide any feedback on performance?

Cheers and clear skies.

[jjosefsen]

Hi @AstroKane,

Of course..!

It worked perfectly fine to be honest, there is no flex in mounting it this way, and everything is very securely fixed.

Edited July 6, 2018 by jjosefsen

[AstroKane]

12 hours ago, jjosefsen said:

Hi @AstroKane,

Of course..!

It worked perfectly fine to be honest, there is no flex in mounting it this way, and everything is very securely fixed.

Excellent!! Thank you. I'm awaiting a SW EvoGuide from FLO....looking like August so I'm being very patient! I've swapped the original vixen with a longer ADM and added the original vixen to the top ready for the quidescope!

[WireD64]

On 06/07/2018 at 22:31, jjosefsen said:

Hi @AstroKane,

Of course..!

It worked perfectly fine to be honest, there is no flex in mounting it this way, and everything is very securely fixed.

Sorry to revive this but could you link me to the rings you purchased and also what adapters you used to mount them

[Deeko]

I am looking to do the same thing here. I currently have my finder guider (9x50) setup secured to the standard finder base, but it is not very robust. I have a 130PDS and looking to mount on top a standard Skywatcher dovetail to the scope tube rings (as the OP has done), however only one of the tube rings came with the mounting bolt and threaded plastic washer - does anyone know where I can buy the bolt and threaded washer as shown in pic for the tube ring? 

For guider rings there are adaptors to clamp onto the dovetail available from Flo here: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tube-rings/adm-rings-on-v-series-dovetail-adapters.html

A cheaper option that might work, is to buy these guider rings and screw them onto the mounted dovetail: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/guide-scopes/primaluce-lab-80m-plus-guide-rings.html, though I am not sure if this can be done without getting in the way of the threaded plastic washer that secures each end of the dovetail bar to the tube rings. I am hoping I can do this option as its less than half the price of the clamp adaptors.

[jjosefsen]

23 hours ago, WireD64 said:

Sorry to revive this but could you link me to the rings you purchased and also what adapters you used to mount them

Sure.. I got these.

https://www.astroshop.eu/guide-scope-rings/astoptics-cnc-guidescope-ring-90mm-vixen-clamp/p,57812