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£250 to burn...


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Courtesy of the taxman, ive paid zero tax this month and got a wee rebate, £250 of which I would like to spend on some astro stuff. Im into imaging, so anything connected with that is what im after.

Ive been thinking of the following:

Baader Hyperion Clickstop 8-24mm

Baader Neodynium filter

Hyperion Nikon adapter (to connect the Clickstop to my T-Ring/D60 combo)

Or spend a little more and get:

Skywatcher ST80 + dovetail bar (to piggyback on my 150P)

Opticstar AG-131C Coolair Autoguide kit

Which package would deliver the most noticeable improvement? I know the clickstop would give me some great control over magnificaion, focusing and framing of objects. The autoguiding setup would allow for much longer exposures, but I would be limited to the magnification I have now - which is 1500mm F10, thats the D60 & 2x Barlow combination.

Daft question, ifI wanted to mount the ST80 piggybacked on the 150P - what else do I need apart from the tube rings and dovetail plate? Exactly how would I piggyback one on the other? There are two threaded holes on the top of my 150P tube rings (one taken up with camera piggback thread). Im guessing there will be some sort of bolts I need :) would they come with the ST80? Or will I need to buy a few other bits n bobs?

Id love to have both packages, but only in an ideal world :D

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I guess you just need to r evaluate what you need, assess whether you have made the most of what you already have etc..Nothing worse than having money burning a hole in your pocket, I'd put it in the bank cos I always fall for impulse buys and then never really end up with what I actually need....Take your time. Out of what you list I would go for the guiding set up as it provides great versatility and can be reused if you upgrade your primary scope, plus just think of all those lovely pin sharp stars etc you will be able to image.

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I've not heard good things about the Opticstar... or at least the 130 - I believe the 131 has the same chip as the 130 and people have found it really difficult to use./ For guiding, you're better off with a QHY5...

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I'd say the ST80 and the QHY5/QHY5v guidecam (they also work well on the moon and planets should that catch your eye). You'd also need at least one, possible 2 extention tubes to reach focus (I'm using 2) and I'd suggest some teflon tape to pack out the focuser barrel to stop the drawtube slopping about.

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Thanks for that :) It looks like I will be going down the autoguiding route then. But for the QHY5 setup I will be spending closer to £330, still within my budget limit - but only just (350).

So to summarise I will need (correct me if Ive missed anything please!):

ST-80 (£85)

QHY5 camera (£159)

Shoestring GPUSB Autoguide kit (£75) - do I need this??? Or does the QHY5 connect to the mount as well as the lappy?

Dovetail bar (£10)

Extra nuts & bolts for piggybacking the ST80 (hopefully free if I ask nicely)

Clear Skies (Priceless...lol)

Total= £329

Hopfully there will be no weight issues as I would be only be up up about 50% of the mounts load capacity.

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Ahhhhh... Just seen a proper pic of the QHY5, compete with its built in ST4 port... so no need for the Shoestring stuff then :)

I can use some of the saved cash to get a nice Baader filter (im going to need it to cut out some of the local LP) and the extention tube mentioned earlier.

God.... how am I gonna explain all this new kit to the gf?? Questions will be asked, but Im sure I will find some way of justifying it....lol.

Suppose i'd better take her out too, to make up for the time ive spent messing about in the back garden :D

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Something like this?

Lumicon 4.5in Length drop-in Extension Tube 1.25inTelescope Accessories | Rother Valley Optics

Okey doke, will order it over the next few days once im satisfied I have everything I need. I dont want to be in the position where Im all set to go and the show gets stopped by one missing part.

Will probably have more questions on how to align the 150P and the ST80, its not like I will just have a couple of bolts to mess with like when you align a finderscope... it will be a lot more fiddly I think (practical and cheap solutions are welcome!).

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