Tax Time, Help me Obi Wan Kenobi(s) you are my only hope...

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Folks,

[Start Essay]

OK, here's the deal, I have just done my tax return online and am getting around $1450 back from Aunty Julia and considering the missus said "That's good, you can buy yourself something telescopy with that"...enough said, here I am!:P

Now, my current crop is a 5" SW135 on an Eq2 which has an RA motor for tracking, not bad for visual but no chop for AP. I also have my 12" SW Collapible dob which is great for visual but I am not very keen anymore to stand in the cold and star hop to find things (M104 is great, but I want to find other things which are a bit harder). I also have a Toucam with mod for long exposure and use of my son's Canon 1000D DSLR which I can control for long exposure from the lappy (have the T ring and EP/ 5 x powermate adaptor already)

SO: Here are my choices for the dosh, feel free to comment on the pros/cons or offer alternate suggestions;

1) Ioptron SmartStar A Alt/Az & EQ mount with GPS = $599 (from Andrews) - has 11lbs (about 5kg) capacity which I thought I could mount my short tube 130mm reflector on and get some goto/AP out of. Due to the fact that its both AltAz AND EQ, it can be used both ways. I can also control this from the Laptop which gives me that warm fuzzy techno head feeling in the nether regions....oooerr!

2) SW ED100 (gold tube) refractor = $899 (from Andrews), older PRO model but has all the bits I need and comes in a nice Aluminium case too, so I can pack it away neatly and not scratch it in transit. This only weighs about 3kgs so it should be ok on the Ioptron.

3) Argo Navis for the 12" dob = $996 (quoted off the Wildcard website with AN unit, serial cable, USB converter and SWDob hardware kit). This gives me push to on the dob which makes life easier for the big light bucket (yeah its not THAT big - but still) although doesnt give me any AP capability :(

4) Sell the current crop of scopes for say around $1000-$1200 combined (new prices were $1499 + $500) and put what I can get for these with the $1450 to purchase something more kick arse? Suggestions here please. Perhaps an ED on a goto mount PLUS a better CCD AP camera???

Now, if I combine the Ioptron Smartstar A and the ED100 I come up to $1500, which SHOULD give me access to AP and allow me to keep my current scopes (makes 3!) but I am not sure if its up to the chop. I can still do planets via the dob nudge and the webcam, but this in itself is starting to annoy me....

Before anyone suggests MORE aperture by selling everything, this is not going to happen as I am still left with star hopping and field rotation and no tracking as well as a BIGGER dob to bend over and make my back sore. After seeing Rolf's amazing deep sky stuff that he got from a Toucam, I think I can, I think I can....

See my dilemma?

I await thy divine advice with baited breath....

Cheers

Chris

[Lismore Bloke]

Hmmm, what a dilemma!

I suppose it all boils down to what branch of astronomy is most important to you. Few would argue that an Argo is a godsend for a visual observer and after seeing them in action, that's where my tax cheque will be going.

If imaging is going to be more important, then concentrating resources on a really good mount will pay dividends for years, long after the extra cost has been forgotten. Good luck!!

[bmitchell82]

Paul nailed that one straight up... you have to decide the light or dark side... :):thumbsup:

[AdrianF]

Hmmmm tax time. I know what I am buying, a moonlite focuser for the ED127. Can't make upmmy mind if I get a motorized (expensive) one or a manual (cheaper) one and then buy some filters and a good eyepiece.

Adrian

[Screwdriverone]

Hmm, ok, thanks Brendan and Paul,

OK, the bent of my post is leaning toward AP, since I have been doing purely visual and some pretty crappy attempts at AP with the LE webcam so I think the Goto and tracking of an EQ mount would give me the next step to try using the 130mm with the Toucam to see if the better tracking and EQ gives me some results without breaking the bank or overcapitalising on something that I end up getting dismal results from (or lose interest in)

IF I go to the dark side, then I suspect the first stop would be something like an HEQ5 or EQ6 as I have read enough here in 2 years to know its MOUNT MOUNT MOUNT! BUT, I dont want to spend all my money on the mount and have nothing to effectively put on it. The SW135 tube is OK for visual, but with the built in barlow/correcto may be screwy for AP. Certainly this was the case for planetary. Therefore I assume putting the ED100 on it would give me a quality scope for deep sky AP. Unfortunately the Older ED80's seem to be unavailable as I dont want to spend $899 on the BD ED80 when I can get the ED100 Gold one for the same price?

I like the moniker "good results from modest equipment" such as my dob nudge planet shots, but need to weigh this up against the frustration/convenience factor of having goto with adequate tracking for AP.

I think this might then boil down to whether the Ioptron mounts are good enough for basic to mid level results for AP, something JJJ may know as I think she had a cube and a mini tower in the past?

Too much money spent now may end up annoying me if I lose interest or find "its not enough" to get some results of any worth.

Doesnt really answer the question I think....

Cheers

Chris

[mithrandir]

I'd go with just doing the mount. If you are still unhappy with results you can unload some of the other bits to help fund an OTA. HEQ5Pro SynScan or add a few dollars of your own and EQ6Pro SynScan. When I find out how much I'm getting back I hope to be after a new mount.



The motorised ones save the whole rig bouncing around after you adjust the focus. I reckon mine was worth the extra dollars.

[Alchemy]

if you are wanting to do ap then the mount is the key you can't avoid that one

[Davros]

Might be worth pricing out a second hand HEQ5. Then throwing your short tube on to it.

[Ian Robinson]

Set the refund money aside until next year , and in the meantime do some thorough homework and research , then buy something REALLY GOOD.

Spend in haste - regret it at your leisure.

[jjjnettie]

LOL @ Chris

You can have a heap of fun with the little Cube. I enjoyed pushing mine to it's limits. You'll be able to put your DSLR straight onto it too and grab some excellent wide fields.
ummm have you read the article I wrote about AP with the Cube?
http://www.ioptron.com the images in the article have horrible compression artefacts. I'll try to dig up the originals and post them here.
If, after a while, you find that you want to get "serious" and upgrade, you'll always have it as an excellent little travel mount. :D (it's powered with either AA batteries , 12volt power supply or mains)

[mldee]

Yep, I'd go that route. You may be surprised what you can do with the SW 135 + 1000d on a good goto mount to get you started. I know I was!

If you have any change left over, go for the best (used) refractor you can afford. An 8" f5 newt on the HEQ5 would also be a good next step, they take super astro pics for the price, and all is readily resaleable if you later want to make the jump to the next level.

BTW, a $95 skywatcher electric focuser is a good investment and can be used with home made brackets on all your newts and maybe the refractor too.

I took this route and don't regret it for a minute.

[Lismore Bloke]

This is a pretty good buy:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=61352

[jjjnettie]

aye, a good buy.

[Davros]

A very good buy for that price and a good first step into AP. Not sure if goto could be added later but if it could it would be fantastic.

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

Paul, This has no goto.....only basic hand controller. Hmmmm. Same but different to my EQ2 (yes I know its bigger and better, but still.)

I think if I get a new mount, I would want a goto enabled one.

Maybe I could go the HEQ5Pro for around a grand or a second hand one, however, I think I might be disappointed with the SW135 reflector on that.

Still leaning toward the ED100 on the Smartstar A for $1500. Dont think I can go wrong with the ED100...? And as JJJ says, the cube can drive the DSLR easily and pretty much either the ED100 or the SW135 tube. Plus it has all the toys and interfaces I would want to play with.

I already have a Skywatcher electric focuser for the SW135, really helps with eliminating the wobbles, especially with the crappy rack and pinion focuser.

Maybe a troll around the ICETrades might be the go....

I wont rush in, hopefully....

Chris

[jjjnettie]

You won't be able to use the ed100 on the Cube. :(
When balanced, the focuser will hit the legs. It's the same with my ed80.

But....it would pair up nicely with a Vixen VMC110L.:)
http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-066A

Use the scope for video imaging with the Toucam and shoot wide fields with a DSLR and lens.
I think it would be an ideal set up for the casual Astrophotographer.

[peter_4059]

Chris,

If I was starting out I'd work toward an EQ6 with an ED80 and a DSLR. You can take some awsome images with this gear and it is quite forgiving. You can also use this gear if you want to progress to something with more focal length as the mount will easily take a heavier load.

I also agree with you - get goto as it will allow you to spend more time imaging rather than trying to find the target.

Just my 2c worth.

Peter

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Jeanette, I remember this from one of your older posts, however, what about the fact the SmartStar A has an EQ mode which tips it over? you think this will still have the same problem?

I assume the VMC is a Mak Cas? of so, then due to my penchant for all things Skywatcher, I may go for a 150mm Skywatcher MAK Black Diamond for the same price as the ED100??? This probably has too long a FL for decent deep sky stuff?? One reason for going the ED80 I suppose, being a shorter FL scope....

Too many choices...

Cheers

Chris

[jjjnettie]

Have you gone to the iOptron yahoo group?
It's very active and you should be able to get feed back from someone who has this exact mount.
It's a light weight mount Chris. Really only suitable for small scopes.

[davewaldo]

Hi Chris,

I think if you're looking for a good all-round scope which can also take great images you can't go wrong with the Skywatcher 200mm Newt on an HEQ5 for $1400. Then you can sell your other gear to buy accessories (MPCC and focuser).

RobF on this site uses this gear and makes GREAT images!

I think the HEQ5 mount is a good yet still portable mount. If you think you can handle the extra weight/size the EQ6 would probably be a wiser move as you'll be able to put more gear on it and upgrade the scope over time.

This scope does need some minor mods for imaging to achieve focus. And being a newt it does need regular collimation but it sounds like you might have experience with this already.

Fun times ahead, good luck!

Dave.

[RB]

Chris whatever you decide on, let me know and I'll give you a hand talking down the price. :mad:

:P

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Dave,

Not too sure if I would handle ANOTHER reflector, the two I own have kept me busy with collimation in the past, I like the appeal of a refractor and a 100mm is mid range for what I hope to achieve...

From what I can see, maybe the Ioptron A hasnt got the juice to handle a long 900mm scope such as the ED100?? even if you use the Orion Atlas extension for about $75 bucks.

So, the alternative maybe an EQ5Pro ($899) which can handle 11Kg and doesnt have the issues of the clearance on the tripod like the Ioptron does, is a better place to start?

Obviously, keeping the eye on the second hand ones that come up is preferable to keep the cost down.

Thanks Eliminator, if I am buying new, I will definitely look you up to see if I can get you to make them "an offer they can't refuse....." Thanks for the offer. I appreciate it.

Cheers

Chris

[davewaldo]

Sounds good Chris, you have a nice bit of cash there. I think 2nd hand certainly is the best way to go if you're happy to wait.

The ED100 would be a great scope on a HEQ5, and these mounts come up second hand quite often (not many ED100's around though). From what I've seen around the place lots of people that buy anything less than a HEQ5 often end up upgrading quite soon, whereas many people stay satisfied with the HEQ5 for many years (me being one of them). If you really want to do astrophotography at or near 1000mm focal length I think the HEQ5 is the minimum mount you should consider.

I seem to remember there being a great thread on this site regarding a comparison between the ED80 and ED100 (might have to do a search)... I seem to remember the general consensus was that the ED80 was almost as good for imaging (better for some things) but substantially cheaper than the ED100. Also there is very good info and support regarding the ED80 (reducers, flatteners, focusers, how to get the most out of it etc). The ED80 seem to come up 2nd hand far more often too.... Any reason you prefer the 100 over the 80?

Just my 2 cents :)

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Dave,

Hmmm, ED100 over ED80 - one reason of course!!! APERTURE!!!!

Everyone seems to have at least a 127mm refractor per se.

How about this one? Special package at Andrews...

NEW! 100ED 100mm f/9 ED Black Diamond refractor and EQ5PRO SynScan equatorial mount (white). Complete package $1899.00??

Maybe if I substituted the Pro ED100 (which is $100 cheaper) then it would be $1799.

Otherwise if I got an EQ5 Pro for $899 (11kg capacity) , I might then look around for a second hand ED scope in the $600-800 range. Keeps me within the $1500 area....

Damn, wish I was poor, its easier....;)

Cheers

Chris

[davewaldo]

hehe... poor is not easier :)

There is a big difference between the EQ5PRO white and the HEQ5pro white.

I'm not sure the EQ5 could handle 11kg for photographic work. Most people think that around 11kg is the limit for the HEQ5 so I would think the eq5 would be more like 8kg.

Andrews have the HEQ5 for $1100, and the ED80 (OTA & dovetail only) for $599 at bintel... All up $1700, would that be pushing it if you sold some old stuff? ED80's often go for around $400 or less 2nd hand which would be $1500 bang on.

Or I have seen HEQ5's with goto sell for $700 or less on this site, then you could afford the ED100!

Its fun going over all the possibilities of new gear! One thing though, don't rush the decision. ;)

Dave.

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Dave,

How about the fact that I should only really have the ED100 and maybe a DSLR on it? Surely that isnt going to be anywhere NEAR 8 or 11kg?

I am not guiding (yet) but the ED100 is listed at 3kg for the tube weight, shouldnt there be capacity to spare?

Or am I missing something like efficiency of tracking etc if its too close to the load limit?

Thanks

Chris

[davewaldo]

Yeah, there is a lot more to a mount than carry capacity. The HEQ5 will be a better all round mount, especially if you don't plan to get into guiding any time soon. The heq5 should allow 30sec-1min exposures unguided if you're lucky, the eq5 would struggle to do this. If you already have a toucam I doubt it will be long before you get into guiding and I honestly think the HEQ5 will be better for imaging in both short and long term. And as for a guidescope... many people are having success with finderscopes as guidescopes!

Does the eq5 even have a guide port?

[mldee]

The EQ5Pro does have a guideport on the Synscan controller although EQMOD will get you around that if you want. I recently sold mine. It was a good mount, but struggled with my 8" f6 newt dob which was my first "real scope".

Chris, you won't regret spending the extra on an HEQ5.

Appreciate your aversion to reflectors, but whenever I look though my images, especially the earlier ones, I'm always struck by the high quality of the f5 newt pics. Beat my SCT pics hands down. Throw an MPCC on it and you have a very fast and flat imager at around half the price of a ED100 if you shop around on IIS etc. Twice as fast and not much heavier too. But yep, it is physically bigger.....

The only drawback being price and the "open tube", although an 8" is absolutely simple to collimate and maintain.

To sum it all up, as one who has owned an EQ5Pro, a SW BD100, a 135 reflector and a 1000d, unless you have a bad (lifting) back or such, or want to do comfortable viewing, a basic newt is super for imaging. I will keep my 1000d, newt+MPCC and EQ6 for a long time. The 5 and the BD100 are both sold. Bang for the buck, you can't beat an f5 newt and an HEQ5 for startout imaging in my book. Why so strong on the newt over a nice ED80 (I now have one of those too...) Because as you say: Aperture and cost rule! :)

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Mike and Dave,

Sounds like I can learn from your experience Mike, spooky that you have had ALL of the items I have or am thinking of....

I forgot about the 8 inch reflector on the EQ mount, substantially lower cost, obviously the bigger aperture would give more details etc against the relative complications of collimation and tube cooling.

Now, there are some Black Diamond 8 inch and 10 inch on HEQ5 pros for $1349 and $1549 respectively, not sure if the 10 inch would be too much for the 14kg rated on the HEQ5?

The age old question of do I then go to the EQ6 for $1599? (with 10 inch BD for $2149???

I suppose I should ask the question of the pros of an ED100 over a 8-10 inch reflector (if any)

I suppose right now, my instinct would be for the BD250 10 inch on the HEQ5 Pro for $1549. Right on the money and then (because the missus said I can go to $2K if needed - woohoo) some change left over for say an MPCC? (or something else perhaps, like a small guidescope for the Toucam) This would mean using the 1000D as the primary camera for AP and the Toucam as the guider with a cheap 80mm or even the SW135 (although its F7) as the guidescope? Or even a DBK21 for imaging? Atik 16ic is $549 too???

Oh man, the questions just keep coming....

Sorry.

Chris

[davewaldo]

:lol: That was my recomendation in my first post (see post #20). :P And Mike's from post #11 :P

Check out RobF's images. He uses the 8" f5 newt on HEQ5 and gets great images.

The 10" is WAY too big for the HEQ5 and would certainly need the EQ6.

8" f5 + HEQ5 plus money for accessories would be the way I would go. You'll need an MPCC ($300) and either a new focuser or have an adapter machined for you.

As for a guide scope... aperture is not real important but weight is. A very cheap 60-80mm plastic telescope would be perfectly fine. You can probably even use your guidescope with the toucam.

This would be a VERY nice setup for astrophotography and would also give very good visual views too!

Dave.

[bmitchell82]

hey Chris, the heq5 wont take a 10" tube. not a hope in hell if your looking to get decent images.

Using a 254mm newt you will need the eq6 as a bare minimum, look on my photo page for pictures with a eq6 + 254 + 40d if you want to know what you can do. Do remember though that the 10" dob is not made for photography nor is their GEM version. To make it into a good 10" tuned for astrophotography you will have to do a little bit of work to it.

Jump on the ATM forum and find my 10" SW dob ----> 254 Astrograph, that will give you a fair idea of whats happening and what is kind of needed to make the beast sing.

[jjjnettie]

The advantage of a refractor is that there are no diffraction spikes to line up if you are taking exposures over multiple nights.
Don't forget about dew control for the objectives of your finder, imaging scope and guide scope.

[mldee]

If you can get a new BD 8" on an HEQ5 for $1349, I'd go for it. Since it's new, it would have at least a 1000d-capable Crayford focusser and a finderscope (there's half your guiding system!) and with your electric focusser bolting straight on to the Crayford, you'd be cookin' with gaz with your 1000d! Use the balance of the $2K you save to buy an MPCC and a good LPAS filter. They're both good long term investments too.

Check Peter Tan http://www.tan14.com/gears.htm for filters, etc.

As Brendan says, a 10" jumps you up a level in cost, collimation and size. If you get a serious case of aperture fever from your 8" joys, you can sell it in an instant later to buy your fancy 10" :)

Check that the BD 8" is the 1000mm f5, (shorter and faster) and not the dob 1200mm f6. ( I sold my f6 dob and got the BD f5 used from your expert jjjnettie who lives close by, never regretted it.

[mldee]

I thought you added them later (The spikes...) :)

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi Chris

You seem to be getting plenty of suggestions on how to spend (some of my money?). I think you should save it to help defray the rise car rego, electric, gas, council rates etc that we are going to get this year.

Baz

[bmitchell82]

party pooper! :D

[Screwdriverone]

Thank you to Mike, Brendan, Barry (I pay taxes too ;)), Jeanette and Dave for your responses.

OK then, it seems from all this fabulous advice is the 8" BD on the Heq5 is a good place to start, especially (for $1349) when there is some serious change left over for some other goodies/necessities like an MPCC and dew control of some sort and maybe a power tank + inverter for the laptop

Question is, is the refractor idea dead? HEQ5 with ED100 any good for visual if the mood takes me (compared obviously to the 12" it wouldnt be much chop)? Otherwise I would say that the multipurpose 8" on the Heq5 would probably satisfy my visual AND AP needs moving forward and I could possibly offload both other scopes at some stage down the track to fund the slippery slope if the bug bites hard.

Sound reasonable?

Cheers

Chris

[mldee]

Go for it. Keep your eye out for a good used refractor when you have some spare change. A good fixed FL Canon camera used lens from Ebay on your 1000d will also do wonders for some low cost widefield work, piggy backed on the HEQ5.

Goodluck

[gregbradley]

I agree, an F5 8 inch Newt with a corrector would be better for imaging than an F9 100mm refractor. F9 is quite slow. F5 is a great F ratio to image with. You'll get bright widefield images quickly. You can also barlow to take it to F8 and more zoomed in for visual or galaxy imaging.
8 inches is a decent amount of aperture.

What about the 8 inch GSO RCs? There are plenty of great images coming out of those. They are biggest bang for your imaging buck currently.

Newt images though I agree are often very pleasing and usually have very tight star profiles. F5 is also quite forgiving for tracking so you'll be able to get nice images with moderately accurate tracking.

Greg.

[bmitchell82]

I agree with the price being good with the mount and all a nice little 8" will do the world of wonders when it comes to photography.

with the left over do yourself a huge favor and get a motorized moonlight focuser, trust me on that one you will save yourself A LOT OF GRIEF, and make the over all astrophotography experience more enjoyable!

with the focuser

325 with the rigel hand controller www.focuser.com
200 for the MPCC from www.tan14.com

There will be a few bob left over for the other bits and pieces (you do have a guide camera yes?)

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Mike, Greg and Brendan,

Greg, I think the RC's are a bit out of the price range for now. I don't know if I can pass up the value for money $1,349 8" newt on the HEQ5, looks like it fits the bill nicely.

I may pick one of these up shortly, if its good value for AP as well as provides me some nice, convenient goto visual performance, then perhaps the other scopes may become redundant and then fund any more bits and pieces later on. In the meantime the idea of firing up a goto scope is quite exciting (but may bring a new raft of clouds and rain for Sydneysiders :( )
Sorry about that in advance.

I really appreciate all the fabulous and experienced advice from everyone. Thank you all so much...

Regards and cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Folks,

Well, I don't muck around once the decision has been made, I just came home from picking up the BDN200 and HEQ5Pro from Andrews for $1349 and am looking forward to putting it all together and then staring at some CLOUDS.

Sorry for the inclement weather that will inevitably wash away most parts of Sydney now....

Thanks again to all who contributed to this thread, I will no doubt keep you informed of my progress with the new beast.

Cheers

Chris

[gregbradley]

Good choice of gear. I think you chose well.
The RCs are also more finicky to image with and probably need
some modification to bring them up to being operational.

8 inch F5 imaging will be very rewarding.

You will need a Baader MPCC coma corrector and whatever adapter is needed
to connect it to your DSLR.

Also its good to have a laser collimator. I bought a cheap Antares unit
from Scope Stuff that did the job. I found it very very hard to collimate
my Vixen R200SS F5 200mm Newt without it. But with it it was very
easy and only took about 5 minutes to collimate.

Greg.

[davewaldo]

Good news Chris, you're going to love it!

Gregbradley makes good suggestions above re. accessories.

One thing you are going to have to play around with is getting the camera to focus. See this thread: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=33290

Basically the skywatcher newts have a funny focuser which is great for visuals but the 2" adapter they use is far too long to allow cameras to come to focus. Therefore owners of the scope usually end up cutting down the adapter (see the link) or buying a new focuser. Don't do any of this though until you have an MPCC and know where the focus point is as the MPCC changes the focus point.

The other option is to fit extra long collimation bolts to lift the primary mirror higher up the tube (this is what I did).

Hope this all makes sense. :)

Dave.

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Greg,

I picked up a Baader MPCC at the same time as the mount and I think I already have all the T ring adaptors I need to connect it to the scope as I tried this with the 12" dob previously.

I have a Laser collimator also from the dob days.

Now that I have the hand controller reflashed (after some DARK time when I killed it with my USB to serial converter) I found Geoff's post about using a REAL serial port and she is now working again. SCHWEEET.

Now I can get back to working out the Stellarium to HEQ5 tutorial which wasnt working because the USB to serial had the wrong driver, fingers crossed, I should have that worked out soon.

MAN, I havent even had time to collimate it yet.

Might post a pic soon, this thing is A BEAST, almost 6 foot tall with the tripod legs DOWN! Glad I didnt go for the 10" - that would have been massive.

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Dave,

I will keep all this in mind when (OR IF) the clouds clear and I can go out and use it for some visual work. I really need to slow down and get used to driving the mount first and enjoy the experience before I try taking photos in the DARK.

Fingers crossed, I will get the gremlins out and first light may not be far away.

Cheers

Chris

[bmitchell82]

i find the 10" quite large to the point if i was doing visual work, ide be standing up on the 2 and sometime 3 rung :D, so i got to the point where I just take images and look at things that way :) happy days!

[Screwdriverone]

Well, I just found out that the freaking Celestron Ascom driver the manual recommends DOES NOT WORK using the PC direct setting on the controller, so I downloaded the EQMOD ascom driver and used that instead.

NOW I have the scope sitting in my study connected to my hard wired serial port on my old computer talking to Stellarium and spinning around when I tell it to slew...! :)

Almost there. All I have to do is duplicate the settings on my laptop and try it with the serial to USB (NEVER worked before coz I was using the STUPID Celestron driver like the manual said. JEEZ! It definitely didnt work as the home computer is controlling the scope fine using the EQmod controller. Sweet.

Fingers crossed. The final piece could be coming together for tonight.

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

Yay for me, got the laptop's USB to serial working fine with the EQmod program and the EQAscom driver, which is all you really need to control the HEQ5. Laptop can sync the scope, drive it manually or even goto the cursor in Stellarium just by hitting CTRL 1 - and off it goes!

Yeehah! Now I am cooking with gas, all I need to get now is a powertank so I can use it outside instead of my son's laptop cord and I am ready to go do some visual.

I spose I should collimate the tube before then, but hey, important things come first...

Happy chappy now.

Cheers

Chris

[davewaldo]

Wow Chris it sounds like you're learning fast with this new system! Good work getting it to talk to the computer!

As for getting a power tank, I would recomend steering clear of any product which uses normal SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries. "Normal" SLA batteries are not designed to be deep cycled ie discarged and recharged. I went to a battery specialist and bought a 20AH deep cycle gel battery designed for an electric wheel chair. I think it was about $150 but boy is is good! It doesn't need to be a gel battery, just ensure its good for deep cycle. Otherwise you can kill a battery quite quick if its not designed for the purpose. I'd also recommend one of the battery fighter type of chargers specifically designed for SLA batteries.

There are some good threads on this site about batteries if you search around.

So where are these photos you've promised??? We want to see it! ;)

[Screwdriverone]

Thanks Dave,

Yes, I was little worried about it when the handset wouldnt power up after I busted it, but I found Starkler's post on using a fixed com port and voila, 30 seconds later it was flashed with the latest firmware and database.

I took some photos for you to show you how pretty it is as well as one of my ugly mug so you can see just how big the set up is, as I am 6 foot 9 and the tripod legs are all the way down!

Cheers

Chris

[mldee]

Congrats Chris, a "jump in head first" man like myself.

Just a comment on collimation. You may be way ahead of me on this subject, but I found with my f5 newt that the simple laser + barlow method gave excellent easy to use results.

You may have clouds.....here it's clear skies (and high winds) :)

Cheers

[davewaldo]

Looking good Chris, keep us informed with your progress :)

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Mike and Dave,

I started posting a LONG essay here about my first light tonight, but decided to shift it over to the Obs reports forums instead as a stand alone post here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=63554).

A little bit of wind and clouds tonight but all in all a successful first light (visual only) until the clouds swarmed me and I got a bit cold. Collimation was good, only had to tweak it a bit once everything chilled in the night air, but surprised in the performance of the 200mm scope.

Skip over an have a read of my first light post (or short story - as is my wont) ;)

Cheers

Chris

[bmitchell82]

congrats on the successful first light with the new rig. Just something for you to remember, it will take a little while but give it say 12 months or so and you will be nigh on imaging without having to stand by while images are happening. That is where your 12" will come into play, :) something to do while you set your mount off to do 3 hours worth of exposures.!

[Screwdriverone]

Hmmm, good point Brendan,

Might have to hang on to it for a little while then.

Cheers

Chris