Guiding

[peter_4059]

I've been playing with my guiding setup for some time but I think I've now settled on something that looks promising. I've switched back to the ZWO ASI120MM for its small 3.75 micron pixels (the DSI II pro was 8.5 micron) so my imaging scale between the guide setup and the imaging train is now much closer to 1:1. I've also anchored the guide camera to the dovetail to ensure there is no flexure in the guide scope focuser. I've only had a short test but the results are looking good. Now I need to play with the aggressiveness etc to see if I can smooth it out more.

[Dennis]

A nice piece of work Peter. Although I have given up side-by-side guiding due to the variable results delivered by the rig, I do hope you manage to tame your set up as it is an effective way of autoguiding.:)

I’m surprised you needed to brace the ZWO, it is such a light weight camera? Elimination of all flexure is the Holy Grail eh! Followed by clear and steady skies…;)

Cheers

Dennis

[peter_4059]

Cheers Dennis - I've gone for a stacked setup for this rig. I've braced the ZWO to ensure there is no chance of movement. I think you are right about the steady skies - hasn't been very stable here for a while.

[RickS]

Good progress, Peter. Here's an interesting article on autoguiding if you haven't seen it before: http://acp.dc3.com/McMillanAutoguiding11-2005.pdf

Cheers,
Rick.

[Dennis]

Thanks for the link to the article Rick, it’s something I’ve been meaning to read up on for a while to unravel the mystery behind the black art!:)

Cheers

Dennis

[peter_4059]

Thanks Rick. There's a lot to take in there.

[peter_4059]

I think I've made a bit more progress last night. Still tweaking the guide settings.

[RickS]

Definitely an improvement, Peter!

[Dennis]

Go get them hallowed, long focal length round stars Peter, a never ending quest!

Cheers

Dennis