Autoguiding camera setup with skywatcher 8*50 finderscope

[Gaurav Mk]

I own a Skywatcher 200PDS with its 8*50 finderscope. I intend to upgrade my setup by using a guide camera that could fit well with the finderscope that I have. 

 

I kindly request you to guide me how to setup.  My finderscope has two threads:

1.Roughly 2 inch wide female threads(image attached)

2. Roughly around 28.5mm wide female threads(image attached)

Well I am not sure about these measurements as they have been roughly measured. 

 

Has someone used this particular finderscope and connected to some astro camera like zwo asi 224mc?

[rnobleeddy]

Do you mean 9x50mm? If so, it's very common - for example with https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-sky-watcher-9x50-finder-to-c-adapter.html (and there's a T-thread version available). I use a similar ZWO camera like this.

If it's 8x50mm then I'm afraid I'm unsure if it's the same. But for example, the 200PDS ships with the 9x50 e..g. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200pds-heq5-pro.html 

 

[Clarkey]

Definitely looks like the 9x50 as stated above. I use my 9x50 finder with a zwo120mm mini and it works fine. Unless you are planning to upgrade later the 120 is fine and a bit cheaper. Obviously the 224mc can be used for imaging too.

[Gaurav Mk]

48 minutes ago, rnobleeddy said:

Do you mean 9x50mm? If so, it's very common - for example with https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-sky-watcher-9x50-finder-to-c-adapter.html (and there's a T-thread version available). I use a similar ZWO camera like this.

If it's 8x50mm then I'm afraid I'm unsure if it's the same. But for example, the 200PDS ships with the 9x50 e..g. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200pds-heq5-pro.html 

 

Actually the 200pds in India comes with 8x50 finderscope. But it has same threads as 9x50. Thanks for ur inputs. 

Any preference between using c or T thread as both are possible ways of connecting?

[Gaurav Mk]

1 minute ago, Clarkey said:

Definitely looks like the 9x50 as stated above. I use my 9x50 finder with a zwo120mm mini and it works fine. Unless you are planning to upgrade later the 120 is fine and a bit cheaper. Obviously the 224mc can be used for imaging too.

Yeah. I will probably go with the 224mc as it will give good planetary performance during imaging and can be used as guide scope for DSS imaging

[Gaurav Mk]

4 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

Definitely looks like the 9x50 as stated above. I use my 9x50 finder with a zwo120mm mini and it works fine. Unless you are planning to upgrade later the 120 is fine and a bit cheaper. Obviously the 224mc can be used for imaging too.

In ur setup, I presume u r using phd2 guiding. So does the st4 cable from the 120mini go into the mount controller or u use the st4 cable from laptop and that goes to control mount?

I am pretty new to guiding, so pardon me if my questions are very naive

[Clarkey]

I use PHD2 but I do not use the ST4. I use a EQDIR cable like this one:

Lynx Astro FTDI EQDIR USB Adapter for Sky-Watcher Mounts (see description for models) | First Light Optics

This goes direct from the PC (or my case via a router) to the mount. I'm led to believe it is a better option and it allows you to control the mount from other software such as Stellarium. (You might be able to do this with ST4 - I have never used it). There are a number of discussions on this forum regarding EQDIR vs ST4, just do a search.

[Clarkey]

There is some interesting stuff in the link below regarding EQMOD and EQDIR - might be worth a read.

EQMOD - Controlling the HEQ5, NEQ6 and other mounts directly from a PC | First Light Optics

 

[Gaurav Mk]

21 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

I use PHD2 but I do not use the ST4. I use a EQDIR cable like this one:

Lynx Astro FTDI EQDIR USB Adapter for Sky-Watcher Mounts (see description for models) | First Light Optics

This goes direct from the PC (or my case via a router) to the mount. I'm led to believe it is a better option and it allows you to control the mount from other software such as Stellarium. (You might be able to do this with ST4 - I have never used it). There are a number of discussions on this forum regarding EQDIR vs ST4, just do a search.

Thankyou. I have the non go to basic EQ5 mount and I have added RA DEC motors and have a hand controller with st4 port. 

As I see the cable showed in ur case, eqdir, has one end with usb connection and another with st4 connection. So I think it should still work and eliminates need to have st4 port on ur laptop as well. Right? Please correct if my understanding is wrong. 

Thanks again for all the info

[rnobleeddy]

22 hours ago, Gaurav Mk said:

Thankyou. I have the non go to basic EQ5 mount and I have added RA DEC motors and have a hand controller with st4 port. 

As I see the cable showed in ur case, eqdir, has one end with usb connection and another with st4 connection. So I think it should still work and eliminates need to have st4 port on ur laptop as well. Right? Please correct if my understanding is wrong. 

Thanks again for all the info

Unfortunately it's not quite that simple. The end on the cable you saw isn't ST4, but a similar looking cable that plugs in to the control box on a GOTO EQ5.

Eqmod replaces the GOTO handset with your PC and also enables pulse-guiding.

With the standard RA and DEC motors you're going to be limited to ST4 guiding.

The good news is I had this setup and I didn't find guiding was any worse (I later upgraded to GOTO) - the only problem is finding the target manually can often be a challenge!