is their any cheap alternative to Astrotrac???

[neelam]

hi guys i recenly bought a canon 1000d.i am looking for some alternative for asrotrac.i am still a student and cant afford to get one soon.so do u guys have some ideas.i think a 2 to 3 minute exposure with a 18-55 lense would work fine for me.

i have heard that a CG3 or EQ1 mount can be used to track the stars for 2,3 minutes manually without stars leaving trails.

i have also heard of scotch mount(barn mount) but i am too dumb and it is too technical for me to make one.

any idea where i can buy a ready made scotch mount from??

[Milamber]

I'd go for the driven EQ1 option... in fact, there's one on Astro Buy/Sell right now... would do you perfectly...

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

Arthur

[neelam]

is this guy on the forum so that i can ask him for a discount.its still out of my budget.

if i get a manual EQ1 with those hand driven knobs would they work??

[Doc]

Here's a link to my barn door.

http://stargazerslounge.com/diy-astronomer/75703-my-barn-door-mount-project-photos.html

It's not hard to make. If you make the hinge to rod measurement adjustable like I have then if you are out a few mm's in doesn't matter you just readjust.

Only problem with mine I need sturdier hinges so when I get time there will me a Mk2 version wit motor drive as well.

[Milamber]

To be honest, if a s/h driven EQ1 is out of your range at £60 then there's not a lot left option-wise for you to consider, unless you do a bit more research into the Haig/Scotch/barn door mount. The price of the EQ1 RA drive alone would come close to the price being asked for the complete set up. The slow motion knobs would not (in my opinion) be accurate enough for what you are trying to do.

Arthur

[Catanonia]

As said if £60 is outa your reach then you will be scuppered.

Use your 18mm lense and do static 20second shots widefield and do loads / loads of them.

Use stacker to put them together, this is how I started off.

See the attached file for some results using this method.