Thanks Alistair. I need to acquire 'all' the accessories for guiding. Until now I have avoided it to minimize complexity. Sorting through the guiding and tracking options has been an interesting journey. Suffice to say, that short of a course in C++ and writing my own drivers, interfacing with the Linux INDI protocol was something of a pipe dream.
This led me down the encoder path. Again strictly limited by DIY precision.
www.explorescientific.com/telescopedrivemaster/
Having said that, I am not about to lie down and buy my way out with all the latest gear. There is little to be learned by that. This is all new and fascinating. A hands on approach has taught me a lot. 2years ago I couldn't write an Arduino program at all.
Dithering is all important. While using a DSLR it was somewhat essential/critical. I developed a system interfacing the hand controller with an Arduino. I'm a convert and wouldn't dream of not dithering these days, even with my SBIG CCD.
No opportunity to get out imaging at all recently to try CCD alignment. I'll spend some time getting to the bottom of guiding and developing the electronics, software etc, while the days are long.
Cheers,
Rowland.