Quote:
Originally Posted by Startrek
Many folk, me included, state their guiding error ( arc sec error ) as a measure of guiding performance when they image
Your mounts performance when being controlled by your guiding software has so many variables but generally can be attributed to either mechanical deficiencies or atmospheric / optical quality.
Most sites mention that your guiding performance should generally reach the magical “1 arc second target or below” . However they fail to mention at what image scale and therefore focal ratio / focal length your imaging set up is configured to.
My previous HEQ5 mount which I recently sold to Paul ( South Coast ) was guiding on average at 1.20 to 1.40 arc sec error total rms between 2 sites ( Sydney Bortle 8 skies and South Coast Bortle 3 skies )
I very rarely had this mount down to 1 arc sec total error or below ( carrying a 6” f6 newt with Canon 600D DSLR plus misc gear therefore total
Payload of 9kg ) but I could easily push 5 minute dithered subs ( obviously at my dark site ) year after year with perfect round stars every time
So the moral to my story is don’t get too hung up with guiding numbers and for that matter guiding graphs as my old HEQ5 was a real workhorse and performed extremely well for me ( untuned and untouched ) for the first 3 years of my Astrophotography journey
Cheers
Martin
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Hi Martin,
I see what you are saying with guiding error. I have the WO GT81, WO 50mm slide based guide scope with ASI120mm mini, a filter drawer, zwo auto focuser,ASI1600mm pro run with the ASI air pro and i live in bortle 2 skies and image from my block. From what iv used I find the mount working fine so far and I don't mind the noise. I'm still very new to this hobby and have seen so many people talking about the upgrade of the mount and was very curious of the reasons. Thank you so much for your information, it really does help as a beginner
Kim.