BTW, I know this topic is of interest to some - I had to add another $9500 to my specified portable items insurance too, this added another $8/month, so all up it is costing me $80/month to insure all my gear ie AG12, ProLine16803, SXVRH694, Atlas focuser, NJP mount and TakFSQ106 plus all associated adapters, accessories, filters, cables etc....I think that is reasonable (about the same as comprehensive insurance on a family car)
That looks like a technological whirlpool of high end components and electrical tape! 47kg? Forget the insurance. They'll never carry all that gear out and if they do they'vre earned it. Looking forward to first light.
Well, pickle me grandmother!!! this scope is simply astonishing!! Pin point stars corner to corner, massive field......Im gobsmaked ...everything has worked perfectly..so far!! Slewing, guiding, camera, dithering everything....unbelievable....shame I got work tomorrow!
Looks great. Very nice. I had the same setup on my last FSQ. Except I was using the smaller filter wheel. As I recall the rings had to be all the way back for balance and the scope focuses most of the way in which is good for less flex.
I also used Robofocus and it handled the weight. Like most focusers though if you went out past focus coming back the other way never seems to be the same distance to get it sharp again. So now I tend to watch for the spike in the focus graph and I have a good feel for what a tightly focused image looks like using the Proline.
The Robofocus can be setup for temperature compensation. I refocus after the first 45 minutes or so with the Honders and then I set the temp compensation to 350 clicks per 1 degree C temperature change in the SkyX and adjusting every .1C difference and it seems to match the focus shift fairly well. FSQ is probably similar.
Robofocus needs the sensor accessory though. The Atlas has one built in.
Very impressive.
Mike if you got your hand on some lead shot you could cast a single weight in fibre glass resin holding the lead shot. You could use two weights to form either end of the molded unit and therefore take advantage of their fasteners possibly.
So I have now spent two nights using this new dual mounted setup and after being, shall we say, quietly concerned, that I had hoped for just a bit too much from my venerable 1994 Tak NJP mount..?..well, check out the attached guide graph So even with around 100kg loaded on the mount, it has slewed to targets happily and this is what the auto guiding has looked like both nights, all night ie. essentially perfect with average guide errors of +/- 0.3 arc sec, or less! ...very happy
Well, I don't see why not, as long as its balanced it's only a matter of inertia when slewing.
When tracking the periodic errors are a function of the accuracy of the gear train, not the load on it. Might even track better heavily loaded as the rotational inertia would dampen any high-frequencies introduced by the corrections in the drive.
Well, I don't see why not, as long as its balanced it's only a matter of inertia when slewing.
When tracking the periodic errors are a function of the accuracy of the gear train, not the load on it. Might even track better heavily loaded as the rotational inertia would dampen any high-frequencies introduced by the corrections in the drive.
Yes, they were my thoughts exactly but hey, theory is one thing, it was still worrying until proven that's a hell of a load
Coming from a formal control-systems engineering background, the theory does work. When it doesn't it's usually because you have made an assumption which turns out to be invalid.
Fantastic guiding Mike. What’s the theoretical loading capacity of your mount? I suspect you are quite past that point...I should then also add another scope onto my mount Have you considered sending both photos to Tak?
Funny you should mention it Suavi and Col....I would love a camera lens system too I do have a spare SXVH9 CCD camera lying around gathering dust, which although it has a small chip, attached to a 50mm lens would provide an approx 10deg X 8deg FOV... could be interesting..?
As for the theoretical load limit for the NJP mount..?...clearly it could be infinite
Dunno bout that? but I did hear that the NJP mount of this pre Temma era was the favourite mount of the father of Takahashi (can't remember his name?) and the guy that made the gears was a master craftsman, in the ER Byers league but he has since passed away...
That looks like a technological whirlpool of high end components and electrical tape! 
47kg? Forget the insurance. They'll never carry all that gear out and if they do they'vre earned it. 
Looking forward to first light. 
...everything has worked perfectly..so far!! Slewing, guiding, camera, dithering everything....unbelievable....shame I got work tomorrow!
I do have a spare SXVH9 CCD camera lying around gathering dust, which although it has a small chip, attached to a 50mm lens would provide an approx 10deg X 8deg FOV... could be interesting..? 
