illuminated reticle EPs

[Liz]

Wondered what peoples thoughts were on these?
Do you have them and use them, and when do you use them? Aligning, guiding for photography etc??
What brand and size?
Should they be a necessary EP in your case (not for Dobs though)?
I have a new little goto scope (very cute) to play with, and was tempted to get one, to assist in guiding for (basic) astrophotgraphy.

[Alchemy]

Meade has a 12 mm one for astrometry, the quality of the lens is very basic, however the etched protractor and guiding rings is very good, so if you want to do some hand guiding it's very good. I think it's about 189 dollars, but given I sold mine to an IIS member a week ago because he couldn't get one except on backorder....... It could be a while before you get one.
For that sort of money though you should be able to setup a basicautoguiding kit

[cybereye]

Liz,

Mine cost $99.00 - I think it's an 1.25" Orion, but not sure about focal length. I use it for drift aligning my scope and also for centring stars in the FOV.

Cheers,
Mario

[[1ponders]]

I have 3 Liz and i use them often. Especially the 12mm meade standard and the 9mm meade with adjustable reticles

[Liz]

Thanks for that Clive, Mario and Paul.
Do you use them for drift aligning too Paul? 3 eh?
$99 sounds pretty good to me Mario. Dont know much about drift aligning, so will have to read up on it.
Interesting stuff. ;)

[[1ponders]]

No i don't use them for drift aligning. I have a couple of flip mirrors, one for the guiding scope and one for the imaging scope. I use them for centering objects and stars for guiding before an imaging run. It makes things so much simpler and trying to put a guide star on a chip if I have to adjust the guiderings


For drift aligning I always use K3

[jjjnettie]

Liz, if you're using an alt azi mount you won't need one.
A good finder scope is all you need. I don't know what size one came with your scope, but an 8x50 is ideal.
Centre the object with your 17mm ep adjust the finder accordingly, then fine tune it using your 5mm.
Then do your 3 star align.
After that the mount's goto should be spot on and will chug along sweetly with your object staying in the middle of the FOV.
It's really important too, that you have your mount level. Don't trust a bubble level, ever.
I use a couple of small levels I use, sitting them at right angles to each other, makes leveling a breeze. I bought them at the cheap shop for just a couple of $$ each. Best investment you can make.:)

[Rob_K]

I bought a cheap illuminated reticle from Andrews - 'no-name', made in China. I think it is 20mm, not the 12.5 SW which was a fair bit more expensive. I use it with a 2x Barlow for guiding (by hand) to do piggybacked widefields with a DSLR. It performs perfectly well as a 'guider', but I can't think of any other use for it. Don't do drift aligning, just plonk the EQ mount down anywhere in the yard & aim the axis to the SCP (south) by eye. Dec is set - takes 5 seconds & works surprisingly well, much better than using compasses etc. :lol:

Cheers -

[Liz]

Ahha, cheers jjj.
So, will save my $$ instead. ;)


.
:lol::lol: yes, knew that you used one Rob, thats why I wanted one, and enjoyed checking out your fabulous setup again. :thumbsup: ;) You take wonderful pics with a a more basic setup, so thats why I thought I might need one.
As jjj says, I dont need one with this new mount.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p3570_Skywatcher-Skymax-127-SynScan-AZ-GOTO-Maksutov-127-1500mm.html

[Rob_K]

Yep, a Tech 2000 dual axis dob drive + field derotator will get you going Liz. Chickenfeed at a coupla grand and then you never know, might be able to fit the $30 illuminated reticle in there.... somewhere?? :shrug: ;) :P

Cheers -