[kkara4 (Krishan)]

Well I spent 3 hours last night trying to bumble around with getting the QHY5L-II to:

1) Come to focus in the ST-80, despite a 2" extension tube
2) See anything on the screen (EZPlanetary which comes on the CD included), other than lots of horizontal polling lines, and a large fuzzy patch whenever aiming at a focusing target.

I did try using a streetlight across the road as a focusing target (approx 30m), maybe I should use something much further away. I only bought the basic package, so comes with a little screw on adapter for 1.25" filters, and an insertion stop, and some cables.

Can anybody provide advice on:

1) Actual settings to use so I can correctly expose for a common target, such as moon, normal night sky with moderate light pollution, distant tree in daylight, etc?

2) Software to use to test 1) above? Thinking of just using PHD2 directly, but no idea how the program works, does it give you an image preview, and can you adjust settings and the like? EZPlanetary just seems difficult, especially with half chinese manual included on CD.

3) Do I need more extension? I searched extensively before buying the extension tube thinking a 2" would be fine (this is what everyone seems to use, including with Orion SSAG package), and no info to the contrary when using a QHY5L-II. In fact I couldn't find much concrete information on using QHY5L-II with an ST-80, which was baffling since it seems to be a common setup.

4) depending on 3), how far into the extension tube should I insert the camera?

TIA!