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Old 09-01-2010, 07:08 PM
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Manav (Yugant)
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Question Need help with with Stellarvue F80M and QHY5

Hi Everyone,

So last night I connected the 13X80mm Stellarvue finder with the QHY5 and PHD showed nothing on screen.

I tried varying the exposure time in PHD and still nothing. To make sure the camera was working i flashed a light in front of the guidescope and the exposure captures the light.

Confused and slightly worried I decided to connect the QHY5 to the main scope (my 250mm OTA) and I can now see stars with slight focus adjustment.

Now I know not many people may have this combination but I really need help in getting this working before the 16th of Jan. I have a feeling this may be something to do with the length of the CCD device to the correct image erecting prism but really need some help so I can get to the bottom of the problem.

Please help

Yugant
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Old 09-01-2010, 09:39 PM
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Hi Yugant,
It looks like your not focused correctly, so try focusing on a bright object or star first. then ...

When you connect to PHD, you select the camera first, then in the "Mount" drop down box on the top, you need to select "On Mount" or "Mount" cant exactly remember, but this will determine how you are going to send the signals to the mount.
When you select this, it activates the output port of the guider camera. You now need to connect the guider cable (6 pin telephone cable look) from the guider to your ST4 (Guider) port of the mount.
Next, start with a 2 second exposure, and let it expose for a few frames. You should see some stars, if they are out of focus still, then, keep looping the exposure until the stars look focused.
Stop the exposure, select a star by clicking on a semi bright star near the centre if possible, and click on the "Calibration" button. This should start exposing and start calibration of the star. When it finishes, it will start to guide. Of course there will be some fine adjustments in the "Brain" setup section, but first see how you go with some default settings.

Theo.
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Old 10-01-2010, 08:11 AM
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Manav (Yugant)
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Hi Gama,

Thanks for the response that exactly what I did with the main scope (Reflector) and it worked but with the guidescope (Refractor) I dont get any stars its just pitch black.

I'm not sure if you need tele-extenders for the QHY5 and F80M maybe that is the issue?
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Old 10-01-2010, 01:48 PM
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Point the scope to a very bright star, or the moon to try and focus to see how far out you are.
But i would say you will need a extender possibly. Are you using at least 2 seconds of exposure ? to start with. You may need to shorten the length too. How do you place the guider ?, is the eyepiece of the guider removed and you try and put the guider in place ?. Does it have a diagonal ?, etc.
An easy way to find the bright star or moon, is to place an eyepiece and centre the object, then swap out the eyepiece for the guider, then focus.
Do it during the day at an object far away.

Theo.
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Old 10-01-2010, 04:11 PM
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mill (Martin)
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When you use the QHY5 on a finder scope you have to make sure that you have focus.
It is very easy to do with a gold colored GSO finderscope because when you replace the back part with your QHY5, you only need to adjust the front lens until you have focus.
Use Rigel for now because the moon will be up only after midnight
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Old 10-01-2010, 05:08 PM
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It's all about the correct focal distance I replaced by RH finder on my 10x60 SV finder with a 2" straight through helical focuser
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Old 11-01-2010, 09:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gama View Post
Point the scope to a very bright star, or the moon to try and focus to see how far out you are.
But i would say you will need a extender possibly. Are you using at least 2 seconds of exposure ? Yes to start with. You may need to shorten the length too. How do you place the guider ? Remove EP and slot straight in and has the RH image correcting diagnonal, is the eyepiece of the guider removed and you try and put the guider in place ?. Does it have a diagonal ?, etc.
An easy way to find the bright star or moon, is to place an eyepiece and centre the object, then swap out the eyepiece for the guider, then focus.
Do it during the day at an object far away.

Theo.

It's cloudy today but I'll see if I can pull the QHY5 back away for the 1.25 slot and get it in focus. If it works then we'll know it was the focal length.
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Old 11-01-2010, 09:45 PM
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Tried removing the RH and replacing it with the 2" straight through helical focuser still no luck. I am officially about to give up on getting the QHY5 to work with Stellervue F80M.

Without sounding too frustrated I need assistance is there anyone in western Sydney that can help me?

-Manav Out

Last edited by Manav; 11-01-2010 at 10:25 PM.
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Old 11-01-2010, 10:54 PM
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Do this, point the scope to a light pole some distance away, or a lighted window, or what ever thats bright.
Pull everything off the back of the finder telescope.
Place a paper on the back and move the paper back and forth until an image is focused. This is the place where the CCD should be.
Find what ever you need to then hold the CCD at that place, and have enough back and forth movement to get sharp focus.

Theo.
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Old 12-01-2010, 08:04 AM
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Will do that tonight Theo! I got a bit annoyed last night after 2 hours of fiddling around. Its quite cloudy so time to do the street light trick you mentioned.
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Old 13-01-2010, 09:58 AM
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Hi Theo!

Tested it on the streetlight after I took out everything out the back including the image correcting prism. QHY5 was able to pick the streetlight on PHD. It seems to me that the prism changes the focal length such that you may need an extender/barlow for it to work.

With straight through connection using the 2" adaptor however it does pick up the image.

It's predicted to rain this week so I'll probably set up the kit next time I get a clear night and see if I can pick up some bright stars.

Thanks for you help as always mate...

Regards
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Old 13-01-2010, 04:43 PM
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The prism actually takes up focal length, so what was happening was focusing way to short, thus you could never get focus..
Anyway, its good now that we figured it out. You should be doing some imaging soon.

Theo.
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Old 14-01-2010, 11:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gama View Post
You should be doing some imaging soon.
On my way mate with autoguiding I can now increase the exposure lengths on the DSLR.

Will probably end up contacting you on a QHY8 mono soon enough!
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Old 14-01-2010, 06:39 PM
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QHY-8 is Color, you mean QHY-9.

Theo.
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Old 15-01-2010, 08:34 AM
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Oops! Yes I confused it with the 8.6MP

Thanks for all the help Theo! Can't wait to take more photos!
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Old 16-01-2010, 07:02 PM
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Hi Manav

I used a similar set up with a Meade DSI for a while - to get to focus, I dropped in a simple 2x barlow - it narrows the field of view and sorts out the focal length. If you have a spare barlow, its worth a shot

Pete
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Old 18-01-2010, 08:26 AM
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Thanks Pete! If I get my hands on a 1.25" barlow I'll give it a shot down the track.
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Old 18-01-2010, 09:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manav View Post
Thanks Pete! If I get my hands on a 1.25" barlow I'll give it a shot down the track.
If you don't need the magnification from the Barlow, you can unscrew the lens.

You can try my straight through extension tube. It worked fine for me but I don't need now I have the flip mirror. I can't see it listed on Bintel's site, but that is where it came from.
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