EQ5 with OnStep or maybe something else?

[Dountoun]

Hello there!

I'm DT, looking at the sky from the Netherlands and... who took the darkness away! 🤭

Well that aside, for the past year and a bit I have been taking pictures of the deep sky using the following equipment:

• Telescop: TS-Optics PhotoLine 60 (FL 360mm)
• Camera: Canon EOS 700D astro modified
• Mount: SW Star Adventurer
• Guiding:
  • Camera:  SV305 pro
  • Guidescope: SV165 30mm
• Programs: Sharpcap, NINA and PHD2

The above equipment has been serving me well to get into astrophotography and helped me learn about lots different aspects and challenges you can run into. But lately I have been feeling the Star Adventurer is becoming more and more a limiting factor. Guiding is not great, I have to throw away 25%-50% of my frames each night. And of course it's not a Go-To so it requires more of my time and attention, both at the start and when it runs into its limits.

So, the time has come to replace the Star Adventurer. 

I have been reading a lot of user experiences both here on this forum and others about different mounts. If I had the money, I would have bought the SW EQ6-R Pro but sadly I'm not in a position to buy that mount... yet. But since I'm not enjoying the performance of the SA I kinda require something better but for less money then the EQ6-R. 

At this moment I have found 2 options which fall within my budget of €800. (I know it's limited and more would be better, but this is what I can play with for the foreseeable future.) 

1. Celestron AVX (hypertuned) which I can buy second hand within my budget.
2. EQ5 (non Go-To) and a motor kit with OnStep (https://www.terransindustry.com/products/skywatcher-eq5?variant=42553929826497)

I don't mind taking my equipment apart and fiddling with them, I actually enjoy doing so when it's cloudy. Always trying to find ways to maximize the performance of my equipment. 

So yeah, this is the choice I have at the moment and I would like to hear what you think about my choice for a next mount. Personally I'm leaning towards the EQ5 with OnStep because of the belt drive and higher versatility of the OnStep system.

Well, I hope I will be able to make my choice with all your input, thanks in advance and clear skies! 

[LuckieEddie]

Hi DT,

Welcome to SGL.

I can't comment on an AVX as I've never used one, so this should only be one input into your decision process, however... I have an old EQ-5 that I converted to an OnStep belt driven system - DIY not an Terrans kit. I rarely use it any more as I've moved onto a Losmandy G11 (also using OnStep). I used it with a SkyWatcher N200/1000 which is definitely too much payload for the EQ-5 but was just about practical - it would be fine for a lighter / shorter FL system such as yours. You can see what I managed imaging wise on my Telescopius account. Most of the images there were taken using the EQ-5 unguided - the equipment details are in the descriptions.

I've found OnStep to be great. The system itself, the resources and support around it, and the people behind it. Drivers are mature and full featured. I never auto-guided the EQ-5 but do guide the G11 via Indi / PHD2 and it works fine. A couple of things to be aware of regarding OnStep:

• The system design and code is Open Source. There are businesses, such as Terrans (and others), that have taken this and made a commercial product around it. This is okay and in keeping with the licenses. However they are not renowned for the best technical support. There are often customers of these commercial kits seeking support on the OnStep forums and the community, quite rightly, is not especially happy to provide free technical support to these companies customers. There are other sources of kits active on the OnStep forums that do feed into the community and provide good support (in particular see https://graydigitalarts.com ).
• OnStep reached maturity (generally) in the 4.x release series. 4.24s is the current official release. However, for a couple of years it has received only bug fixes as development has switched to OnStepX. The older OnStep codebase reached the point where the author (Howard) felt that it deserved a ground up rewrite to make it more maintainable, extendable and all round better. (A bold step that many software projects could learn from.) OnStepX is still in Beta and not yet officially released, but it's stable enough for most users. It's just that the development of new features is still progressing and so updates are frequent.

 

[rjsc2001]

Hi. I have a vixen GP-DX ( or i think it is. I bought second hand) that i might think of selling. It comes with a gotonova kit from ioptron from many years ago . It does goto but not autoguiding. It tracks well and it is on a fair condition.

[Dountoun]

On 24/07/2023 at 12:58, LuckieEddie said:

Hi DT,

Welcome to SGL.

I can't comment on an AVX as I've never used one, so this should only be one input into your decision process, however... I have an old EQ-5 that I converted to an OnStep belt driven system - DIY not an Terrans kit. I rarely use it any more as I've moved onto a Losmandy G11 (also using OnStep). I used it with a SkyWatcher N200/1000 which is definitely too much payload for the EQ-5 but was just about practical - it would be fine for a lighter / shorter FL system such as yours. You can see what I managed imaging wise on my Telescopius account. Most of the images there were taken using the EQ-5 unguided - the equipment details are in the descriptions.

I've found OnStep to be great. The system itself, the resources and support around it, and the people behind it. Drivers are mature and full featured. I never auto-guided the EQ-5 but do guide the G11 via Indi / PHD2 and it works fine. A couple of things to be aware of regarding OnStep:

• The system design and code is Open Source. There are businesses, such as Terrans (and others), that have taken this and made a commercial product around it. This is okay and in keeping with the licenses. However they are not renowned for the best technical support. There are often customers of these commercial kits seeking support on the OnStep forums and the community, quite rightly, is not especially happy to provide free technical support to these companies customers. There are other sources of kits active on the OnStep forums that do feed into the community and provide good support (in particular see https://graydigitalarts.com ).
• OnStep reached maturity (generally) in the 4.x release series. 4.24s is the current official release. However, for a couple of years it has received only bug fixes as development has switched to OnStepX. The older OnStep codebase reached the point where the author (Howard) felt that it deserved a ground up rewrite to make it more maintainable, extendable and all round better. (A bold step that many software projects could learn from.) OnStepX is still in Beta and not yet officially released, but it's stable enough for most users. It's just that the development of new features is still progressing and so updates are frequent.

 

Hello there!

Thank you for sharing your experience with the OnStep system! Also, you managed to create some impressive images with your system. 

I will be taking a look in OnStepX, but might stick to 4.x for the EQ5 until its out of Beta if I take the EQ5 route. 

Also thankyou for the link to graydigitalarts, however they are considerably more expensive then Terran or well most other kits out there. Since this will just be a mount in between I rather spend as little money as possible. And while doing so I understand the support will be limited but that's the risk I'm willing to take. 

[Dountoun]

On 24/07/2023 at 20:21, rjsc2001 said:

Hi. I have a vixen GP-DX ( or i think it is. I bought second hand) that i might think of selling. It comes with a gotonova kit from ioptron from many years ago . It does goto but not autoguiding. It tracks well and it is on a fair condition.

Hello there!

Ah, trying to sell me a mount haha. I have to decline since I actively use autoguiding which is missing, so better luck next time.  

[Celerondon]

I have a modified GP that I am thinking of selling but it probably won't be to you because I am on the west coast of North America.  My AstroGadget kit works great with my ASIAIR Plus from the moment that I powered them up.  The direct USB connection to the ASIAIR Plus replaced my SynScan/SkySafari control package and enabled autoguiding and effortless plate solving.   It seems like OnStep might be the best path for you, but I loved every aspect of my AstroGadget kit from installation to the technical support that Alexander provides from Ukraine.  The EQStarProEQ5 kit came with a complete belt drive upgrade, Wi-Fi, USB, and full ASCOM, SynScan, and SkySafari compatibility.  Since I connected the ASIAIR Plus controller, I have barely used the SynScan Pro or SkySafari Pro apps.  

I was recently stunned when a fellow amateur suddenly decided to sell his "lifetime" Vixen mount and now I am in the same position for the same reason.  Watch the used equipment market closely in the coming months.  There are going to be plenty of mounts for sale as astronomers upgrade to strain wave mounts made by ZWO, Ioptron, Rainbow Optics, and others.  These mounts are moderately costly and accurate enough to demand camera upgrades, so they tend to push other mounts "out of the nest".  I sometimes think about keeping the GP, but I can't quite picture traveling with two GEMs if one of them is still a counterweight & worm gear equipped mount.   Two GEMs plus two telescopes (and my TV refractor plus a Tele-pod) would be rather bulky.  My wife is quite patient but that could change if my equipment crowds her space budget during our next eclipse trip.  

Don

  

[Dountoun]

Well, my plans have been thrown out of the window.

I managed to get a second hand deal on a HEQ5 Pro SynScan within my budget. I'm going to pick it up on Friday. Sometimes patience really does work out. 

Thank you all for your input! It's all valuable information to me. 

 

Clear skies!