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SkyMax 127?


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I recently bought a SkyMax 127 http://www.firstlightoptics.com/prod...27SupaTrakAUTO

Thats the model there as im not very good with the technical stuff (more of a theorist lol)

Basically I was wondering if there was anyway to connect this up to my laptop and control it using software such as Stellarium or Starry Night?

Thanks,

Stacey

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Hi, I've got one of those scopes and have been told you can't use a goto handset with it, so I reckon you cant just connect it to a laptop to guide it!

I've seen a site that has software called Ursa Minor, reputedly to guide this mount but it needs a controller box which they show you on the site. A link takes you to their sales agent site 365 Astronomy who I've emailed about the controller but haven't had a reply!

Take a look and see what you think.

Ron

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Thanks Ron, I'll have a look

One of my lecturers emailed me about it there and also suggest Ursa Minor, he also thinks its not just a straight forward job, but he has some ideas.

Here are the links he gave me incase you are interested in doing the same!

HOWTO: Turn a SkyWatcher SupaTrak mount into a GOTO mount...

and

http://rwg.astro.googlepages.com/supatrakmounthacking

Stacey

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are you wanting to image stacey, or at least track long enough to acquire spectra....

in the long term you may want to think about an HEQ5 Pro....has goto and can be autoguided for long exposures.

if the supatrak can be beaten in to submission, then go for it.

which lecturer.....woan?

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Hey Paul,

Yeah it was Dr Woan, he emailed me a few links talking about hacking into the mount.

I also spoke to steven and he thinks it can be done. but him and martin would need to help me with it.

It was really to start with for imaging, but im looking to buy a scope more suited to taking spectra and imaging in the next few months or so.

Whats the price range roughly for an HEQ5 Pro?

Stacey

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about £500, but it will take a wide variety of scopes.

as every imager will tell you. The mount is the most important part.

a good mount can provide accurate goto and reliable autoguiding with a huge variety of scopes. A bad mount wont do any of these things....

an HEQ5 would be an investment.

a mak-cass, which your 127 is, is fine for spectroscopy. A primarily mirror based system is preferrable for spectra as there is no chromatic aberration caused by the refractive index of glass being a function of wavelength. The glass corrector at the front doesnt have much curvature and doesnt cause much CA.

a refractor system will show CA, especially if you touch the grounds of UV/NIR spectra.

which raises the question....what kind of spectroscopy are you after....high res, low res, Wolf rayet stuff.

a sgl member, ben ritchie does some professional spectroscopy. You may want to pm him.

It may seem that imaging is a very expensive hobby. It is unfortunately. At the very least you need a scope, a mount and a camera. And each of those three can be as expensive as you want.

But you are in the right place for advice. This is a great forum, with great advice. Stick around and you wont go far wrong.

as for a good imaging scope. A small good quality refractor will be the easiest to start with. The wide field of view put less emphasis on the quality of the mount. Plus these scopes can be used to autoguide later, for real deep astrophotography. And they make camera lenses and travel scopes. Everyone loves their wee refractor.

I have the William Optics ZS66mm. The gor for about £250 maybe less. They also do a 72mm. Skywatcher have thier own 66 which is probably everybit as good.

good luck stacey, and I am glad you are taking up this wonderful obsession.

Its a nice thing to do along side the degree course. You can see all these objects you learn about for real. They actually exist. Photons from them can travel down your telescope, and reach your eye. You can record subtle details in objects which tell you what is going on....

its incredible really

paul

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  • 1 month later...
Hi, I've got one of those scopes and have been told you can't use a goto handset with it, so I reckon you cant just connect it to a laptop to guide it!

I've seen a site that has software called Ursa Minor, reputedly to guide this mount but it needs a controller box which they show you on the site. A link takes you to their sales agent site 365 Astronomy who I've emailed about the controller but haven't had a reply!

Take a look and see what you think.

Ron

hi Ron,

I can assure you that we always answer our customers if we receive an email. :D

If you contacted us through an email, it's possible that it went wrong way:icon_scratch:, therefore the best way is to click on the Contact Us link on our website...:)

Could you possibly tell me the date of your email, so that I could check out what happened...

Otherwise, I'd like to mention that we work on a FAQ page that will answer many questions about Ursa Minor products...

Cheers,

Zoltan from 365astronomy.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

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