Guided by the stars

[squeege3000]

Ive recently acquired a Celestron NEXSTAR 8SE, and a Celestron AVX mount. I've sold the NEXSTAR, but I am using the mount. It is very impressive, and I wanted to dive into guided astrophotography. any suggestions on a standalone autoguider? Would rather not use a laptop.

[newbie alert]

My old avx guided superbly..i know nothing of standalone guiders

[squeege3000]

well, any suggestions on an inexpensive guide camera and small scope setup? I'm using a 6" f5 newtonian on the avx, and it seems to be able to support quite a bit more weight

[MarsG76]

An off axis guider (OAG) and Celestron NexGuide.. no need for a laptop or a guide scope.

[squeege3000]

have you used nexguide with a OAG? seems like a good solution.

[newbie alert]

On 09/04/2018 at 00:26, squeege3000 said:

well, any suggestions on an inexpensive guide camera and small scope setup? I'm using a 6" f5 newtonian on the avx, and it seems to be able to support quite a bit more weight

What scope are you using with the avx?

Sorry I just see.. I'd suggest a finder guider setup using an adapter..oag can be a nightmare to set up even if it's better for scopes that suffer mirror shift/flop..

[StaceStar]

@squeege3000 I wanted to go the standalone guider route myself, but after hearing mixed reviews i decided against it. My guider is a finder-guider set up. I have a QHY5-II C connected to the stock 50mm finder on my ED80 via an adapter from Bernard at Modern Astronomy. This has saved me lots of pennies! I use it i) with sharp cap pro to nail my polar alignment, ii) with PHD2 as a guiding rig and iii) I will be using it as a planetary cam. All for the amount of £167  ...or there abouts.