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  #21  
Old 11-07-2019, 03:35 AM
RussellH
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Having slept on it, I’m flip flopping again and am back to looking at the 6”. The focuser upgrade is the bother still.

How critical would focus be on a 750mm scope? Is the dualspeed focuser a must-have? They don’t produce one to fit the 6” model, so the manufacturers obviously don’t think so.

As an alternative, would a motor controlled focuser like the Orion Accufocus provide enough precision on a single speed focuser?
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  #22  
Old 11-07-2019, 11:11 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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Russell

Bintel’s ad for the Sky-Watcher 6” f5 newt is not Bintel’s writing its Skywatchers writing copied by Bintel
SkyWatcher name all their F4 and F5 newts as either Astrographs or suitable for astrophotography
I chose to buy the Bintel GSO 6” f6 newt instead of an f5 as it has a focal length of 900mm which gives you more flexibility with imaging DSO’s , Planets and Moon
I have irrefutable evidence that my 6” f6 newt can image anything in the night sky with good detail from my Canon 600D DSLR at either of my 2 locations both Sydney ( Bortle 8 sky ) and south coast NSW ( Bortle 3 sky ) I’m happy to send more images if more evidence is required or there is any doubt !!
As mentioned previously you must have a dual speed focuser to allow fine focus of your objects for AP. An electronic focuser is an overkill on this scope but you can go down that path if you choose
Bintel can fit a dual focuser to the 6” f6 newt as they fitted mine and it works incredibly well . Speak to Don Whiteman he has done everything for me on my 6” f6 newt ( unless things have changed but he is usually very accomodating )

Cheers
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  #23  
Old 11-07-2019, 12:14 PM
raymo
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I have to disagree with you Martin, the SW $99 electric focuser I put on my
8" f/5 was the best accessory I had; no need to touch the scope and cause
vibration, and amazingly tiny adjustments possible with quick taps on the
focuser button, improved my focussing experience immensely.
raymo
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  #24  
Old 11-07-2019, 12:21 PM
RussellH
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I don’t doubt anything you have said Martin, and I have already commented on your great images, but you had to get things customised to do it, and I wonder down the track if there’s issues, whether that will cause me grief as it’s not a spec machine? Plus my interactions with Bintel haven’t been great so far, even though I haven’t talked to Don, but what if he’s not there when I need help?

Regarding the focuser, I actually like to dabble with Arduino gear, and I found a couple of easy custom focuser mods this morning that look like fun projects. Parts to build one are about $25 - $35 and that allows interfacing to software which will autofocus for you. So while it’s not the easy route, it is heaps more enticing, especially for the price, so I’m not concerned about the 2 speed upgrade at this stage, and if the do-it-yourself fails, I can also get the 2 speed myself down the track. I realised my concerns about light leakage can probably be taken care of just with some foam packing material if needed.
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  #25  
Old 11-07-2019, 12:39 PM
RussellH
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Oh, also I note in their description for the f6 it says no coma corrector is required, but I assume that’s just because they’re marketing it for visual astronomy, not photography. Even with the f6, the coma corrector is still essential? It’s a big chunk of cash
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  #26  
Old 11-07-2019, 12:43 PM
raymo
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You don't have to customise anything with SW Newts, ready to go out of the box, except for the $99 electric focuser of course.
raymo
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  #27  
Old 11-07-2019, 12:44 PM
RussellH
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I’m talking about the Bintel model.
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  #28  
Old 11-07-2019, 12:55 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Dear All
My comments are purely from my own experiences and so far everything has worked ok for me
I’m not suggesting my journey is the only journey but it has worked for me and I just want to help others starting out just like I did
Through great advice from many IIS members ( Raymo included ) doing my own homework, getting out there and observing and imaging , trial and error etc...I’ve been fortunate to get off an running in astrophotography pretty quickly ( and not waste to much money ) with good results and enjoying every minute of it
Clear Skies
All the best !!
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  #29  
Old 11-07-2019, 03:03 PM
RussellH
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Well Martin, you’ll be happy to know, I’ve just placed an order with Bintel for the 6” f6. Don was busy, but the other guy I talked to knew what I wanted, so they’re going to make the mods.

Given the random bits and pieces coming from elsewhere for the guide scope and the autofocusser, it’s going to be a while before I have my final setup, but now at least I can get some sleep without tossing and turning with indecision.

Well, about hardware anyway. Now I can start the software investigation and get confused by the millions of options....

Thanks for putting up with my flip-flopping in this thread everyone and special thanks to Martin for all his input and patience.

Russell.
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  #30  
Old 11-07-2019, 03:22 PM
ausastronomer (John Bambury)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RussellH View Post
Well Martin, you’ll be happy to know, I’ve just placed an order with Bintel for the 6” f6. Don was busy, but the other guy I talked to knew what I wanted, so they’re going to make the mods.

Russell.
I haven't had much need to buy astronomy gear over the past 15 years, as my telescopes are all excellent for my needs, and I am more than happy with the 4 Pelican cases full of eyepieces I have had for a very long time. On the rare occasions I do need something, I always call Don at Bintel.

They may not always be the cheapest, but I am more than happy to pay the very small premium for the exceptional customer service. Don has been an astronomer himself for decades and knows what most people need, unlike many astronomy retailers who merely redistribute cardboard boxes and tell people what they think they want to hear.

Cheers,
John B
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  #31  
Old 11-07-2019, 04:13 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Thanks Russell
I sure you will be happy once you get your head around the set up and running of your mount and telescope

One question I haven’t asked you , what location will you be imaging from ? Urban or country area ?

John
Yes Don is a wealth of knowledge , he’s done just about everything in Astronomy , decades and decades of experience both in Australia and overseas

Russell

I’m happy to let you know what I use in regard to software for Goto and tracking, guiding , stacking and processing but most important get other advice from guys a lot smarter than me

Happy to help where I can

Martin
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  #32  
Old 11-07-2019, 04:37 PM
RussellH
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I’m in the foothills of the great dividing range, west of Brisbane. Pretty much dark out the back yard at least. The highway is in the distance to the north, so some traffic lights from there is all.

Software I’m going to start compiling a huge list of whats available in the hopes it may help others, assuming I don’t give up half way through

Last edited by RussellH; 11-07-2019 at 05:04 PM.
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  #33  
Old 11-07-2019, 05:41 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Russell
Lucky you, nice dark skies !!

For both my 6” f6 and my 8” f5 newts I polar align using the Synscan polar alignment routine ( I have no view of the SCP at both my sites )

For Goto and tracking I use EQMOD , Stellarium scope and Stellarium my planetarium ( all free )

For DSO , Planetary and Moon capture I use Backyard EOS classic edition ( about $65.00 )

For Stacking I use deep sky Stacker ( Free )

For processing I use Startools ( about $ 80 I think )

All the above very user friendly for the beginner and intermediate

Cheers
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  #34  
Old 11-07-2019, 05:47 PM
RussellH
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Great.

I’m hoping todo as much as possible via my iPad and Raspberry Pi, at least up to the image capture stage, processing will still require a PC probably. Not sure I can go completely computer-less, but I hope I can get pretty close.

I’m starting a spreadsheet tomorrow, so will hop over to the software forum as start collecting from there. I’ll add your stuff to the list.

Russell.
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  #35  
Old 11-07-2019, 08:31 PM
ausastronomer (John Bambury)
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Quote:
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John
Yes Don is a wealth of knowledge , he’s done just about everything in Astronomy , decades and decades of experience both in Australia and overseas

Martin
What a lot of people don't realise is that Don is quite an accomplished telescope builder.

In the photograph attached the scope on the left is an 18"/F4.5 Obsession, 2nd to left is Gary Kopff (Wildcard / Argo Navis). In the middle is a 20"/F5 Don Whiteman / Mick McCulloch creation, with a superb Jerry Wilkinson Galaxy mirror, proudly known as "Hector". On the right hand side is a 25" / F5 Obsession and between the 25" Obsession and "Hector" is myself and my then 10 year old son Jake. Hector belongs to Andrew Murrell.

The photograph was taken in 2006. The 2 x Obsessions were pretty new. Hector was built in about 1992 and was 14 years old at the time of the photograph. During the first 14 years of its life, it was one of the most used telescopes on the planet, as can be seen by the varnish wearing off, which didn't affect it's performance. Hector has the distinction of being the instrument used by Andrew in discovering his planetary nebula (Murrell 1) in 2004.

As can be seen in the photograph Hector shares a lot of similarities of design with the classic Obsession style scopes, notwithstanding Don and Mick built it about 6 or 7 years prior to Dave Kreige releasing his book, "The Dobsonian Telescope".
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  #36  
Old 20-07-2019, 02:12 AM
MatthewB (Matthew)
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Hi RussellH i have a Skywatcher Black Diamond 6in 750mm Newtonian on a HEQ5 PRO GOTO mount and i am extremely great Scope you can not go wrong Don was very helpful when i was shopping around and working out what i needed .

I hope this helps
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  #37  
Old 20-07-2019, 03:48 AM
RussellH
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Thanks Matthew.

I’m still awaiting delivery, so haven’t had a chance to check the scope out yet, but I’m getting little surprises in the mail every day from the dozens of other bits and pieces I’ve ordered from eBay to complement the scope and my electronic interfaces to computerise eveything.

Russell.
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  #38  
Old 20-07-2019, 09:41 AM
RussellH
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Well, after emailing them, I’ve just heard back from Bintel and they’re telling me they can’t make the mods I requested, so I’m back to square one and don’t have a telescope They said I’d have to call and talk to Don on monday to find out why he can’t make the mods. I’ve spent all my money on other accessories on the assumption this was the scope I was getting, so now I’m up the creek. Most of it’s not a drama, but if it comes down to eweight issues for the mount again, I’m in trouble.

So, any suggestions what I do now?
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  #39  
Old 23-07-2019, 07:05 PM
RussellH
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Right, if anyone’s still reading this, I just want to finish with the fact I’m going for the Skywatcher 6” f5 and Don from Bintel has sorted my earlier miss-step with the f6 scope, so kudos to the customer service on that one.
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