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What can be achieved with modest equipment


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I've been a ghost member of this forum for some months now. I'd just like to show the newcomers into this hobby like me, that you don't need to spend a fortune to get acceptable results. 

My setup is what most would classify as inappropriate. (scope and mount combo) 

I'll list my setup and price for each, and share a sample picture. Just because I believe a cheap setup is the perfect way to start in this hobby, as there is so much to learn, and it's not easy! I'd not want to spend 1000s and not able to fully utilise it. Whereas if you get into this on the cheaper(relatively speaking) , and then you can upgrade to a better set up which will enable you to maximise your chances of using that ££££ mount/scope/camera to its full potential. 

Few things on this setup is according to me, just luxury items, and absolutely don't need to have them. If you are just starting out. 

Setup 

Scope 200P skywatcher  £269

Mount - EQ5 - self upgraded with Synscan Goto = £580

Guidecam - ZWO 120MM-S on the 9x50 finderscope £180

Main camera - Canon 600D (did the astromod myself) £159

Skywatcher auto focuser - £45 (luxury item) 

Raspberry Pi - £60 (luxury item) 

DIY arduino focuser controller - £10 (in parts and wires) -(luxury item) 

USB Hub - £15

Utility box - £6 (All my automation and wires run to this box, I've four wires that go out of this box to the mount. Saves a lot of time when setting up) 

DIY telescope cover - £30 in material (luxury item) 

Miscellaneous cables £50

Total Expense - £1404

Now this a an almost automated setup! The only thing I do manually, is remove the covers and pulg in the electric socket. 

Results below. These are compressed images(plus I still don't have a coma corrector so some are cropped) 

Both galaxies are Unguided shots 

Both nebulae are guided shots 

 

Thanks for reading through, welcome any criticism and comments :)

 

 

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IMG_20200713_040236_066.jpg

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2 minutes ago, rnobleeddy said:

Looks good - curious to know how long your subs are? How is the DEC guiding?

In increasing order! 

Bodes 45sec subs - unguided 

Pinwheel - 60 & 75sec subs - Unguided 

Crescent - 3 min subs - Guided avg RMS 0.82"

Veil Nebula - 5 min subs - Guided avg RMS 1.22"

 

When I started guiding, had a few issues with Dec and calibration - "large Dec backlash error on Phd2" - frustrating night to say the least. 

Tuned the worm gears next day as much as I could on both axis, balanced the scope, and haven't had much issues with guiding. I only lost 3 frames over the course of 3 hours shooting 5 min subs . All of which were due to the fact mount failed to settle down after dithering and was still jumping around a bit when the exposure started. 

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3 minutes ago, Realtimedoctor said:

In increasing order! 

Bodes 45sec subs - unguided 

Pinwheel - 60 & 75sec subs - Unguided 

Crescent - 3 min subs - Guided avg RMS 0.82"

Veil Nebula - 5 min subs - Guided avg RMS 1.22"

 

When I started guiding, had a few issues with Dec and calibration - "large Dec backlash error on Phd2" - frustrating night to say the least. 

Tuned the worm gears next day as much as I could on both axis, balanced the scope, and haven't had much issues with guiding. I only lost 3 frames over the course of 3 hours shooting 5 min subs . All of which were due to the fact mount failed to settle down after dithering and was still jumping around a bit when the exposure started. 

Thanks. I have the same mount with a 130PDS and got some decent 300s subs too. Haven't had a lot of clear nights to really assess performance. Dec guiding can be erratic but seems to work best if I leave PA around 10 arc minutes away from perfect, then guide in one direction only. I haven't tried to tune the worm gears, but I did pick up some bearings with the plan of making a few upgrades to the DEC axis based on a series of youtube videos I found.  The biggest issue is that I need to get up the next day, so haven't had a lot of time, but thanks for sharing - it's good to see it's possible! 

 

I got a very similar setup too - haven't got the autofocusser yet - was the arduino controller easy to build?

 

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47 minutes ago, rnobleeddy said:

Thanks. I have the same mount with a 130PDS and got some decent 300s subs too. Haven't had a lot of clear nights to really assess performance. Dec guiding can be erratic but seems to work best if I leave PA around 10 arc minutes away from perfect, then guide in one direction only. I haven't tried to tune the worm gears, but I did pick up some bearings with the plan of making a few upgrades to the DEC axis based on a series of youtube videos I found.  The biggest issue is that I need to get up the next day, so haven't had a lot of time, but thanks for sharing - it's good to see it's possible! 

 

I got a very similar setup too - haven't got the autofocusser yet - was the arduino controller easy to build?

 

I ordered an arduino uno from ebay - £3.59 

And motor controller shield from Ali express - £2.20

RJ-10 cable - 4.50

Had a spare 12v 2A adapter from an old BT box. 

The build is very simple, though might require you to tinker with the code a little bit. Depending on how the pins are arranged in your motor shield. 

Took me a total of 1 hour to get everything connected and running. Though, if you are doing this I'd suggest getting a cheap NEMA stepper motor off ebay/Ali express as that will massively improve the autofocus routine, plus a consistently repeatable performance, unlike a DC motor. 

My PA is usually under 2-3 arc minutes. I guide in both directions, with good PA I've had very smooth Dec graph, but my RA often jumps a bit now and again. 

About tuning the mount, I didn't no anything more than adjusting the worm gears, as my mount is still under warranty so don't want to open it up just yet. You can probably get a better performance out of it, if you tune it up more extensively with better grease and bearings. 

One reason I automated my setup, is because I work mad number of hours, and have a mad work rota. The RPi helps me fully automate the whole process, if I know the weather is going to be fine overnight. I just turn everything on, sequence the setup on EKOS and, forget about it,until next morning when I just shut down everything and cover the mount up. Ready for next session whenever the weather is good. 

I hope that helps. 

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