#1  
Old 12-02-2016, 02:58 PM
benklerk
Registered User

benklerk is offline
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Katoomba
Posts: 266
New to Astrophotography

Hi All

I just bought all new gear to get into astrophotography. I bought a HEQ5 Pro with a GSO 6" RC. I cannot afford a decent camera so Im just using my Nikon D7100 and might buy a D810A later this year.

Just need some help, setting up the polar scope. The manual is hopeless in explaining it. Can someone help me explain it as I do have dyslexia. Can I get around this to do a precise Polar alignment or do I have to use the polar scope.

Also is it worth buying RGBL filters and setting the camera to BW?

Thanks
Ben
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 12-02-2016, 03:14 PM
glend (Glen)
Registered User

glend is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Lake Macquarie
Posts: 7,033
First things first. Don't worry about filters and such, concentrate on getting good colour shots from your dslr - keep it simple as your on a big learning curve. You don't need to worry about the polar scope if you have a compass and can find TRUE south (not magnetc south). A simple low cost incline meter will give you good altitude setting control for the mount. Or you can read about Drift Alignment and do it that way - a useful skill. Now to the RC - they are notoriously hard to collimate for first timers, the combination of parabolic and hyperbolic mirrors give little room for error. Read everything you can about GSO RC collimation and make sure you have the tools to do it - minimum is a Cheshire tube and a laser. I'd suggest you watch the 3 part Utube video on RC08 collimation, that will help you.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 12-02-2016, 03:53 PM
Somnium's Avatar
Somnium (Aidan)
Aidan

Somnium is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sydney
Posts: 1,669
i second that. no need to do RGB imaging on a DSLR. with regards to Polar alignment. they are less helpful in the southern hemisphere due to the lack of a pole star. the best method i found was doing a rough alignment with a compass and then refining through polar alignment

this video should be helpful, though you probable don't need to drift for as long as he does (he goes through polar alignment during the last 10 mins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQB6UnrTEEM
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 12-02-2016, 05:27 PM
billdan's Avatar
billdan (Bill)
Registered User

billdan is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Narangba, SE QLD
Posts: 1,551
Hi Ben,

The HEQ5 you purchased should have the latest firmware installed which has a polar alignment procedure. That is, it will tell you to point at a selected star and give you the error in AZ and EL that you can adjust.

Otherwise drift alignment is the most accurate procedure if you have the patience to wait for the the star to drift away. If I want to do 10 min subs, then I drift align for 10 mins to check and make sure I am close or within a 1 arcmin error.

As your RC06 is new it probably does not need collimation and I wouldn't touch it unless you are convinced it is off (poor focusing or excessive coma).

Regards
Bill
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 16-02-2016, 02:17 PM
raymo
Registered User

raymo is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: margaret river, western australia
Posts: 6,070
In the video it is interesting to note that even though he was using a scope of only around 1000mm F.L. he got the star backtracking along the line, and still got some star elongation with only 30 secs exposure. As the star seemed to be backtracking nicely, what could he do to improve his
P.A? I would have thought that if the star was backtracking along the line, then his P.A. would have been good enough to get round stars for
longer than that.
raymo
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 21-02-2016, 08:41 AM
benklerk
Registered User

benklerk is offline
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Katoomba
Posts: 266
I know at some point I will need to buy a autoguider. What do people think of the Orion package vs prostar LP guide?

What is a good guidescope size 50mm or 80mm?
What is a good why to attach it to the GSO. Remove the finderscope?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 21-02-2016, 09:08 AM
glend (Glen)
Registered User

glend is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Lake Macquarie
Posts: 7,033
Quote:
Originally Posted by benklerk View Post
I know at some point I will need to buy a autoguider. What do people think of the Orion package vs prostar LP guide?

What is a good guidescope size 50mm or 80mm?
What is a good why to attach it to the GSO. Remove the finderscope?
Well since the RC06 does not come with a top rail (although you can buy them from Andrews), mounting the guidescope on the finder shoe is ok, especially if using something like the Orion Miniguider. If you buy the top rail from Andrews and install it yourself then you can use most any guidescope that takes a Vixen rail attachment.

I would suggest you put the RC on the mount and check the collimation with a Star Test before you do anything else. GSO RCs are notorious for being delivered out of collimation but usually it is only the secondary that moves. I would not touch the primary at this point. Once again you really need to do some reading on RC collimation and if you can borrow a TAK Collimation scope that would help you alot.

Don't get ahead of your self and try to image until you have the scope collimation sorted out and can use it visually on your mount. To use it visually you will probably need to add both extension tubes to achieve visual focus, with imaging the camera will probalby only need one extension tube to achieve focus.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 21-02-2016, 09:45 AM
LightningNZ's Avatar
LightningNZ (Cam)
Registered User

LightningNZ is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Canberra
Posts: 951
Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo View Post
In the video it is interesting to note that even though he was using a scope of only around 1000mm F.L. he got the star backtracking along the line, and still got some star elongation with only 30 secs exposure. As the star seemed to be backtracking nicely, what could he do to improve his
P.A? I would have thought that if the star was backtracking along the line, then his P.A. would have been good enough to get round stars for
longer than that.
raymo
For me it's generally because the weight has shifted and I have slop in the gears of my HEQ5, so the whole thing will be juddering around every time the worm turns.
Cheers,
Cam
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 22-02-2016, 10:19 AM
benklerk
Registered User

benklerk is offline
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Katoomba
Posts: 266
Looking at laser Collimators.
What do people think of the Howie Glatter 1.25"/2" Collimator with the Holographic Attachment-Circular.

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx

I don't know of anyone who can let me borrow a TAK Collimation scope.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 22-02-2016, 10:26 AM
Somnium's Avatar
Somnium (Aidan)
Aidan

Somnium is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sydney
Posts: 1,669
Quote:
Originally Posted by benklerk View Post
Looking at laser Collimators.
What do people think of the Howie Glatter 1.25"/2" Collimator with the Holographic Attachment-Circular.

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx

http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx

I don't know of anyone who can let me borrow a TAK Collimation scope.
I have a TAK collimating scope that you can borrow, I am looking for a Howie glatter , as described above, that I can borrow in about 2 weeks when my new scope arrives.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 03:31 AM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement