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Old 24-04-2012, 09:00 AM
Langaandy (Andrew)
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Double check of Mount

Hi all,

I am currently using a 6"dob, its great but i want to upgrade to a mount that can track so i can use the telescope for astrophotography.

i have a canon 60d and am using that for the photos but i have been trying to find a mount that wont need a tracking camera to be effective. and i want it to be able to track and guide if possible

i found this mount and i think this suits my needs and doesnt need anything extra. Is this right or am i overlooking something

http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tr...oductview.aspx

Thanks
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  #2  
Old 24-04-2012, 11:06 AM
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rodroger (Rodney)
Rod Burgess

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Good Choice

Hi,
The Skywatch mounts are really good, I am using a HE5Q & I own a NEQ6 Mount. Make sure it comes with the SynScan Controller, this mount will also take an autoguider. The HE5Q should handle the wieght of the Dob but make sure you balance the scope on the mount properly.
You'll love this mount
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  #3  
Old 24-04-2012, 02:17 PM
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bmitchell82 (Brendan)
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Im just a bit confused by what your actually wanting.

you said you want a mount that can track (im guessing normal sidierial etc)

Then you say you don't want to use a tracking camera?

Then you say you want to track and guide.

Unless your going to be sitting at the eye piece tracking then you will need a camera to stick in the back of the guide scope or on a Off Axis Guider OAG

like this image here

the camera that is not on the axis of the main telescope is the guiding camera and the main camera is behind the big disk (thats the filter wheel). It looks complicated but it really isn't

for a start the HEQ5 or the NEQ6 are brilliant starters if your on a budget. If you think that you may be getting into astrophotography alot more scrimp and save till you can afford the NEQ6 as it will last you longer and hold alot more weight and inveriably give you options and flexibility in the longer term.

The HEQ5 i would rate upto a 8" newt with all the fruit for AP
The NEQ6 i would rate upto a 10" newt without too much experience required to handle it. and upto a 14"-16" CF tube newt if you know what your doing... eg adjustments and tuning of the mount guiding and the like.

The main thing that lets them down with the bigger loads isn't the actual mechanical parts but the motors as they don't have the torque to hold onto the load.

Brendan
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Old 24-04-2012, 06:27 PM
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rodroger (Rodney)
Rod Burgess

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Tracking - giuded or unguided

Hi,
Just to make things a bit clearer here by my understanding of what Lagaandy's means by tracking or guiding.
This, I think he means is to the mounts ability to track an object in the sky.
You do not need an auto guider with the skywatch mounts to take reasonable photos, at least up to 60 second exposures with it unguided as long as the aligment is tight (You wont be stuck at the eyepice or screen, only check the image or eyepiece periodically). The Skywatch HE5Q & NEQ6 scopes also have PEC - Periodic error correction for the gears and motor for accurate guiding with out the auto guider. As I said before I am using a NEQ6 Pro with a Meade LX10 203mm on it and have been aquiring some reasonale shots with out auto guiding. (not to say that I don't want to, just waiting on some extra money to pay for a good one).
Rod
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Old 26-04-2012, 08:43 AM
Langaandy (Andrew)
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Thanks for the help guys,

sorry i didnt explain it very well but rod gets what i meant. i want something that can track without the need for a camera. this mount is supposed to do this.

Rod says:"You do not need an auto guider with the skywatch mounts to take reasonable photos, at least up to 60 second exposures with it unguided as long as the aligment is tight (You wont be stuck at the eyepice or screen, only check the image or eyepiece periodically). The Skywatch HE5Q & NEQ6 scopes also have PEC - Periodic error correction for the gears and motor for accurate guiding with out the auto guider."

This is fine for now until i get cash up to get a few more things.
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  #6  
Old 26-04-2012, 10:59 AM
Langaandy (Andrew)
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I did just find this mount though, and im now just trying to find out if this one can track without a camera for a while as well. if so id buy his over the skywatcher one.

http://www.shopatron.com/products/pr...45.0.0.0?pp=8&
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Old 26-04-2012, 12:52 PM
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Visionoz (Bill)
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Most GoTo EQ mounts can track without guiding with a cam - however it is the quality of the guiding results that will determine the cut-off point whereby you have to resort to using a cam to autoguide

If you can easily get 60secs guiding out-of-the-box experience with the Skywatcher et al - then you're lucky to have one that does so

I had to "tweak" my EQ6 Pro (have had 2 of them) before they could give me up to 2 - 4 mins but they don't now anymore!

YMMV

HTH
Cheers
Bill
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Old 26-04-2012, 04:01 PM
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bmitchell82 (Brendan)
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Furthing to what Bill has just said and ill back him on that you are damn lucky to get a eq6 out of the box that will track unguided for a minute or two without trails...

I don't want to break your heart but there is no magic pill so to speak unless you want to spend 8-10k on a mount.

At the end of the day you have to ask if you just want to have the experience of going out and taking a happy snap or if you actually want to take a astro photo. The two are very different!

Guiding in some sense is essential to get decent Signal to Noise ratios (SNR).

If you where using a little refractor then a small finder guider or mini guider will do just fine they can be had for a good price. Though as soon as you start bumping up the FL, it becomes harder to guide.

So just take a moment turn off the PC, think about what type of photos you want to take, think about how serious you think you are or likely to get about AP, then if your still in positive territory think about the actual types of targets you want to shoot at.

Those questions will answer what is the best mount for you to get in about 2 seconds flat.
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Old 26-04-2012, 05:42 PM
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rodroger (Rodney)
Rod Burgess

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42.1 Second shot - Unguided

Hi Guys,
Heres a recent shot @ 42.1 Unguided on the NEQ6 Pro Mount, I do spend at least 30mins or longer prior, doing a drift alignment using a 2x barlows on a f/10 scope.
NGC 5128 - Centaurus A
42.1 second x 55LRGB
Meade DSI II Colour - Meade LX10 203mm f/5 - Antares x0.5 Focal Reducer
Skywatch SynScan NE6Q Pro Mount
http://www.rodroger.com/images/Astro...k2_curves2.jpg


NGC 5236 - M83
30.0 second x 33LRGB
Meade DSI II Colour - Meade LX10 203mm f/10
Skywatch SynScan NE6Q Pro GoTo Mount

http://www.rodroger.com/images/Astro...urves_mono.jpg


NGC 3627 - M66
This one is also 30 seconds x 66LRGB - 150mm f/5 Reflector - Meade DSI II Colour CCD -Skywatch HEQ5 Pro Mount

http://www.rodroger.com/images/Astro...rves1_LRGB.jpg

I have taken some 60 second shots but not enough so far to show here, the skies have not been kind.........................but it is possible on a still night.
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  #10  
Old 27-04-2012, 08:32 AM
Langaandy (Andrew)
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Cheers for all of the help guys.

I have found out from people using meade systems that this mount should do what i want and got an email for meade saying "Thanks for your interest, and the LX80 does not require a camera to track no, and can keep a target in the observing eyepiece for hours unattended"

so hopefully ill get a minute or so before i start to get trails. trial and error i guess.

and mitchell, thanks for the advice and if you read my earlier post i am planning on getting a guider, but i want to get a new mount first while i am saving up spare cash for a guidance system.

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Old 03-05-2012, 02:23 PM
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John0z (John)
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Hi,

I just wanted to put in my 10c worth - I guess. I have to agree with the comments that have been given so far. The main thing is that if you have a good EQ mount, and the mount is polar aligned well, and if the sidereal tracking is good enough - you will be able to get some good photos (lots of if's). If you want to go for longer exposures, like 10 minutes - none of the EQ mounts will be able to do this and give pinpoint stars without some form of autoguiding. The LX80 will of course keep the object in the field of view of the eyepiece for hours at a time (from quote) but not necessarily in the same position in the eyepiece. As mentioned, PEC will help.

The best way is to go through the process of polar alignment as best you can, then also use an autoguider. If you read through this forum, people are using off-axis guiders, and on-axis guiders and parallel mounted guiders - they all have a learning curve. I haven't gotten that far as yet, but I do have a GM8 which was the best I could afford, and I have been steadily accumulating bits and pieces.

Good luck with your choice of mount and imaging.

-John
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