Imaging kit

[rikyuu]

hi,

thought I'd post a couple of pics of my imaging kit as these are the only images I got last night. After looking promising all day, it clouded over completely once it became dark. Still at least I practised setting up the kit.....again!

So here we have a Celestron C8 SCT and C80-ED refractor dual mounted on a hefty WO dovetail bar on a CG-5 GOTO. The SCT has a Hirsch f/6.3 reducer, WO SCT to 2" extention and a Canon 300d attached (complete with automatic shutter timer and LP filter), with a 8x50 finder and 10:1 feather touch focuser. The refractor has a 2" WO dielectric diagonal (just to get the extra tube length in this application) with a Mintron camera attached (with LP filter and a motorised focuser). The cameras can be swapped between scopes to guide with one and image with the other. I have just got an adapter to allow the 0.63x reducer to be used on the refractor, but haven't tried this yet. (The clam shell on the end of the C80 is just to add a bit of weight to balance it better).

The video output from the 300d goes to the monitor in the 'flight case' lid in order to preview the images and help with focusing. The output from the Mintron goes to a USB capture device into the laptop for guiding, which is currently done though the serial port with ASCOM to the handset, but a GPINT is on its way to connect direct to the guiding port on the mount.

Cheers!

[Doc]

Impressive set up. I bet you are itching to try it out.