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NexStar 6se wedge

vulcan

By vulcan
in Imaging - Discussion

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vulcan

vulcan

Posted
Posted

I was looking to get a wedge for my NexStar 6se but they seem to have been discontinued. Worse than that, I have seen reviews that say buying a wedge for a NexStar is a waste of money as the GOTO system can't cope with long exposures even with a wedge. Considering the prices I've seen for wedges, is it better to just get another mount? What are my options for taking longer exposures of DSOs a.) through the NexStar b.) with a 500mm telephoto lens on a Nikon D200?

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adamsp123

adamsp123

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If you are serious about imaging and the costs it will inevitably entail then I would recommend you save up for a good GEM mount, HEQ5 as a minimum and better still an EQ6 as that will be future proof in regards to load carrying capacity which is so important for AP.

my 2Ks worth

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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You can make a "budget" wedge out of Plywood - I made one for my CPC800 before making another out of scrap aluminium plate and finally incorporating one into a pier for the obs... whilst no having the level of adjustment that you would have a in an expensive "metal" one it will allow you to take longer exposures than you can in alt az...

http://picasaweb.google.com/PsychoBillyUK/MyTelescopeProjects#

Billy...

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vulcan

vulcan

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If you are serious about imaging and the costs it will inevitably entail then I would recommend you save up for a good GEM mount, HEQ5 as a minimum and better still an EQ6 as that will be future proof in regards to load carrying capacity which is so important for AP.

my 2Ks worth

Can someone explain EQ 2,3,4,5,6 etc?

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scouse123

scouse123

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I am in the same boat. Bought a 6 SE as the guy in shop told me it could do astrophotography over a 127 SLT. Now I find I need a £275 wedge. mmm. I am thinking of getting a second hand EQ5. Except guiding motors is there anything else i would need.

Awesome set up Physcobilly by the way. What is the scope attached to camera.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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Awesome set up Physcobilly by the way. What is the scope attached to camera.

Megrez 72 FFIII combo with Hutech IDAS P2 LPR filter guiding is either with the 500mm f8 and DSI IIc or using a TS-EOS9 OAG on the CPC800...

Also have a HEQ-5 Based Widefiled setup which sits on a Pier outside the obs...

And an EQ-3 Pro setup for "away days" ....

billy...

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I am in the same boat. Bought a 6 SE as the guy in shop told me it could do astrophotography over a 127 SLT. Now I find I need a £275 wedge. mmm. I am thinking of getting a second hand EQ5. Except guiding motors is there anything else i would need.

Awesome set up Physcobilly by the way. What is the scope attached to camera.

And when you get the wedge you may struggle with tracking accuracy... EQ is a better idea.

Olly

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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Here's one someone made earlier... Reproduced courtesy of "Reggie"

"

My wedge pictures by SkyAndStuff - Photobucket

and being guided with a "66"...

My autoguiding setup picture by SkyAndStuff - Photobucket

Haven't been able to find the plans I drew up a few years aga but basically the angle between the vertical and the sloped face is set to your latitude...

The sloped face is offset to put the COG of the Mounted scope and "accessories" over the middle of the tripod.

Here's some plans I drew up for Reggie...

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8191904/Reggie%20wedge%20v3.pdf

Billy...

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E621Keith

E621Keith

Posted
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I am in the same boat. Bought a 6 SE as the guy in shop told me it could do astrophotography over a 127 SLT. Now I find I need a £275 wedge. mmm. I am thinking of getting a second hand EQ5. Except guiding motors is there anything else i would need.

Awesome set up Physcobilly by the way. What is the scope attached to camera.

Well, he is not wrong. The 6SE is very stable and probably will out perform SLT on planetary imaging. DSO imaging is a very expensive hobby and you will need something better than an EQ5.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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Well, he is not wrong. The 6SE is very stable and probably will out perform SLT on planetary imaging. DSO imaging is a very expensive hobby and you will need something better than an EQ5.

No, I feel that the guy in the shop IS wrong. Astrophotography is not just about imaging the planets with a webcam, where Registax retrospectively corrects the tracking errors. It is about imaging the deep sky and the fork SCT is not, in any real sense, ready to do that when you take it out of the box. Once you have spent a bomb on a lot of other stuff you might, or might not, get it to work. I think it is high time the manufacturers were brought to account on this issue because a lot of people get their fingers burned.

The HEQ 5 is perfectly capable of helping take stunning deep sky images. I don't know about the EQ5 because I have never used one or seen one here in use. But with focal lengths below a metre the HEQ5 routinely delivers a tracking precision which lies within the resolution of the scope-camera and upgrading to a Paramount would make no discernible difference. Most of the time my five grand Takahashi mount is only a little more accurate than my EQ sixes and if the focal length is below a metre the difference simply will not show.

Olly

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

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No, I feel that the guy in the shop IS wrong. Astrophotography is not just about imaging the planets with a webcam, where Registax retrospectively corrects the tracking errors. It is about imaging the deep sky and the fork SCT is not, in any real sense, ready to do that when you take it out of the box. Once you have spent a bomb on a lot of other stuff you might, or might not, get it to work. I think it is high time the manufacturers were brought to account on this issue because a lot of people get their fingers burned.

The HEQ 5 is perfectly capable of helping take stunning deep sky images. I don't know about the EQ5 because I have never used one or seen one here in use. But with focal lengths below a metre the HEQ5 routinely delivers a tracking precision which lies within the resolution of the scope-camera and upgrading to a Paramount would make no discernible difference. Most of the time my five grand Takahashi mount is only a little more accurate than my EQ sixes and if the focal length is below a metre the difference simply will not show.

Olly

Very well put olly, if people knew how much they need to spend on additional equipment once they have a scope they would maybe think twice about it, it amazes me that here in the uk you don't even get a lens shade!, absolutely essential in my opinion, when you buy one. Only nice fracs have that built in, it should be the case for every scope.

Alan

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Sparrow

Sparrow

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I was fortunate enough to have a good guru who I could consult at every stage when I was getting in to imaging. Without this, I agree that I too could have got my fingers burnt and some nasty surprises when it came to buying equipment.

I'm afraid that once more I'll have to champion the cause of the Celestron CG5 GT mount (essentailly the same as the EQ5 Pro) - this is what I use for imaging - it carries a 200mm newt, 80mm refractor for guiding, Meade DSI as guide camera, and Canon 1000D. It images quite successfully with this load on it although I wouldn't put anything heavier on.

Going back to the original question. I would recommend that the mount is priority. Scopes can come later and with a 500mm lense for the camera on the mount, some reasonable results could be achieved.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I was fortunate enough to have a good guru who I could consult at every stage when I was getting in to imaging. Without this, I agree that I too could have got my fingers burnt and some nasty surprises when it came to buying equipment.

I'm afraid that once more I'll have to champion the cause of the Celestron CG5 GT mount (essentailly the same as the EQ5 Pro) - this is what I use for imaging - it carries a 200mm newt, 80mm refractor for guiding, Meade DSI as guide camera, and Canon 1000D. It images quite successfully with this load on it although I wouldn't put anything heavier on.

Going back to the original question. I would recommend that the mount is priority. Scopes can come later and with a 500mm lense for the camera on the mount, some reasonable results could be achieved.

Good to know the CG5 is doing its thing properly. As well as weight, though, you do have to think aboput focal length and budget mounts don't generally handle 1.5 to 2.0 metres without fine tuning or so I gather based on conversations etc.

Olly

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scouse123

scouse123

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Well I am definately not buying a wedge. So going to make one. Need to find my old school pertractor lol.

I am going to keep the 6se and then get a really good EQ mount then look at what scope to go for next. I should be busy enough for the next six months.

Mind you I started this way with RC Helis and Planes and now I have 30+. Atleast i Cant crash a telescope. (drop maybe)

Part of the fun is learning by ya mistakes.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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You can fine tune the azm setting by adjusting the length of the tripod leg... just get the latitude angle in the right place (I didn't the first time so was glad I made a plywood prototype before cutting metal) help yourself to the plans if they are any use... Reggie did away with the Curved cutting for simplicity's sake...

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8191904/Reg...wedge%20v3.pdf

Billy...

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