EQ6RPO maximum load

[Tom33]

I have been imaging for three years now with my EQ6RPO which is mounted permanently on a steel pier filled with sand and bolted to a large lump of concrete! I am using a SW Esprit 100 with attached camera and guide scopes and it works like a dream. I am hoping to buy something with a longer focal length to have a go at smaller deep sky objects and have considered a Ritchie Chretien or SCT. Does anyone have any experience of the amount of load this mount will take whilst still guiding accurately and does it being pier mounted make a difference. I think the specs say 20kg but I don’t want to overload it and can’t run to an EQ8 at the moment.

Many thanks

[fifeskies]

EQ6-R (on pier) works very well with an Edge HD8 SCT with OAG and large ZWO camera train. (about 14KG). Guiding is around 0.5 arcseconds on a good night.

(You will probably need a 3rd counterweight)

 

I piggyback my smaller solar imaging scope on top and that works just as well (solar uses video capture) , that takes it up to around 17.5kg.

I dont try to image with the Edge while the solar gear is piggybacked.

 

Edited March 2 by fifeskies

[Tom33]

Thanks for the reply

[ollypenrice]

We're running a RASA 8 quite happily on an NEQ6. This will weigh about the same as other 8 inch catadioptric systems. I've also imaged with a TEC 140 on this mount. I don't think a 6 or 8 inch SCT or RC will overload it.

However, that's not the problem. The problem in imaging at high resolution is guiding accuracy. Have a look at your guide RMS in arcseconds while using your refractor.  Fifeskies, above, gets 0.5 arcsecs 'on a good night.'  This is a good value for an EQ6 and represents the best you are likely to achieve, but not all examples of the mount manage this. Anyway, you probably know your RMS or can easily find it. Multiply it by two and this gives you a decent estimate of the best resolution in arcsecnds per pixel that your mount will support. If your RMS is 0.9" there is no point in building a system which is working at 1.0"PP. If your RMS is 0.5" then, yes, that would work.

Your local seeing is likely to impose ts own limit, as well. Where are you based? How stable is your seeing?

Olly

Edited March 3 by ollypenrice
typo

[tomato]

I briefly imaged with an Esprit 150 on an EQ6, and this gave acceptable results, guiding at 0.5” total RMS and imaging at 1.06” per pixel.

[Tom33]

Olly, thanks for your comments. My guiding with an ASI AIR is usually about 0.5 arsecs though I have seen 0.3 on some occasions. I live in South Yorkshire in bortle 6 but I think it’s a bit better than that. I can do really well with a dual narrowband filter and OSC using 300 sec subs and seem to manage broadband with 120 sec subs. I just fancy a longer focal length for the smaller deep sky targets such as galaxies and small nebula.

thanks

Tom

[Tom33]

Screen shot of sub from Pac-Man Nebula showing guiding at 0.27