Autoguider help

[richard omeara]

Over the last few years i have perchesed a eq6pro,sw mak 150,sw ed80.My latest perches was a g star-x to hopfully get a leg in to astrophotography.Could anyone give me some pro advise on an autoguider for the eq6? THANKS

[Zuts]

Hi,

These days people are buying the QGuider from QHY. It is also sold as the Orion Autoguider. By all accounts this works wonderfully well with the EQ6 and PHD. Cost is in the range 300 AUD to 350 AUD.

I have never used the QGuider but got great results with a Meade DSI. If all you want is a guider then if you can get the DSI for around 120 AUD then that would be a bargain and fine for autoguiding with PHD.

Paul

[Ian Robinson]

My Orion Autoguider will be in my not hands in about a month.

Hopefully about the same time as I get my 10" newt back together and the Atlux shows up.

[Omaroo]

Another vote for the Orion unit here - and whilst I'm sure the QHY version is just as good (and some say better due to a supposedly better quality USB cable) I've not used one.

The Orion is pure simplicity to configure and use. One USB cable from camera to laptop. An RJ-12 cable from camera to guide port. The PHD software mates very well to the guider and there is minimal setup - choose the camera from a pull-down menu and you're off. There is no rotational adjustment to make on the camera except getting it reasonably straight in the collar as PHD automagically detects camera skew and compensates for it.

Turn it on, fire up the software, focus and choose a star, wait for calibration to run - and it's guiding.

Brilliant for the money.

Then again - I get nearly the same performance from my webcam and PHD - except for the fact that you then require a GPUSB USB to ST4 adapter box and cable to connect the lappy to the guide port. The above cameras make it so much simpler.

Having a G11 I'm not sure what's involved in putting an EQ6 into its guide mode (called "Photography Mode" on a G11) but I'm sure it can't be too difficult.