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Guiding equipment for Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro & Canon 600D


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After receiving my Canon 600D and SWSA, I am now thinking about acquiring guiding equipment to improve the tracking of my mount later on when I improve how I do with my equipment. I personally would like to use the 'ZWO ASI120MM' camera and then a decent guidescope with a price ranging from £30-80.

Cheers

William

Edited by WilliamAstro
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  • WilliamAstro changed the title to Guiding equipment for Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro & Canon 600D
23 hours ago, WilliamAstro said:

After receiving my Canon 600D and SWSA, I am now thinking about acquiring guiding equipment to improve the tracking of my mount later on when I improve how I do with my equipment. I personally would like to use the 'ZWO ASI120MM' camera and then a decent guidescope with a price ranging from £30-80.

Cheers

William

How is the tracking going with your star adventurer at the moment, are you having issues with it? As Michael saud what is the focal length of the lens you are using? 

Cheers 

Lee 

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On 02/05/2022 at 10:07, michael8554 said:

Hi William

As no-one has answered here or on CN, I'll have a stab, but will need some detail.

Are you using Canon lenses, or attaching to an OTA ?

What focal length ?

Michael

 

I am using a Canon 73-300mm Lens f4-5.6 III, the mount is Star-Watcher's Star Adventurer 2i, I photograph my shots at 100-200mm focal length. But still requires guiding for more accurate tracking.

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On 02/05/2022 at 11:26, AstroNebulee said:

How is the tracking going with your star adventurer at the moment, are you having issues with it? As Michael saud what is the focal length of the lens you are using? 

Cheers 

Lee 

The tracking is actually doing it's job, but another friend of mine from Discord said the stars are slightly trailed. It is the first time for me setting it up and polar aligning it without a counterweight on and not using the azimuth side knobs since it didn't move when I adjusted them so I had to move the gear slightly itself. so that must be the reason why my stars can appear slightly trailed. To build my kit in advance to deep-sky imaging, I like to get a guiding kit as it can be required for more accurate tracking to the stars.

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2 hours ago, WilliamAstro said:

The tracking is actually doing it's job, but another friend of mine from Discord said the stars are slightly trailed. It is the first time for me setting it up and polar aligning it without a counterweight on and not using the azimuth side knobs since it didn't move when I adjusted them so I had to move the gear slightly itself. so that must be the reason why my stars can appear slightly trailed. To build my kit in advance to deep-sky imaging, I like to get a guiding kit as it can be required for more accurate tracking to the stars.

Could you post a picture here too of the star trailing Did you manage to move the alt az adjustment bolts now as was suggested in a previous thread of yours? As fine tuning and adjusting those for your PA is essential. For the longer lens on your dslr I'd use the counterweight bar and dovetail that comes with the SA 2i then you can easily pa through the slot without moving your dslr. The small ball head dovetail adapter is great for short wide angle lenses but for a longer weightier lens like your 70-300mm it's best to use the counterweight dovetail and bar. 

Regarding your wanting to guide you will have to find a way of connecting the guidescope and guidecamera to your setup. 

There's a link here to someone who has done this on CN. But remember the SA only tracks in RA. So you need to get your PA very accurate to still guide and prevent trailing or drift. 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/658263-another-beginner-looking-for-advice/

My advice would be to learn to walk before you can run with your setup. Try getting to know it, setting up, getting your PA sorted and practised, get all the basics in before you begin delving into autoguiding. Just have fun with your setup to start with. 👍

Cheers 

Lee 

Edited by AstroNebulee
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Hi William.

You mentioned that you didn't use the counterbalance so I'm not sure if this means you used the declination bracket without the counterbalance or if you just the ball head adapter. If you are using the ball head adapter, I'd highly suggest moving away from that and use the declination bracket and counterweight should your setup be heavy enough to require the counterweight. At focal lengths up to 300mm with your lens you'll need it to be balanced well and the ball head will not let you do this. 

Before you polar align, it's always worth resetting your azimuth knobs such that there is equal adjustment on both sides. Check the spirit level on the wedge to ensure you are level. Spend a little bit of time getting the elevation correct and getting Polaris visible in the peephole on the side of the mount before touching the azimuth knobs. See picture below for this peephole and a crude tip for improving the view (I never used this as use of the peephole was good enough). I've alse included a link which includes some nice tips for getting the most out of this mount. 

Be prepared for a little bit of a bumpy journey at the start of this learning curve, but trust me, learning how to do Polar alignment and find targets by hand at this stage will prepare you well in the future should you upgrade to a Go To mounts 😊

https://nightskypix.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer-pro-setup-and-user-guide/

DIY-Pole-Finder-to-center-Polaris.jpg.7fb81420dbd49ae947106dffd972eeb8.jpg

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