Thanks Brad
I used a 1986 vintage Astro Optical Supplies made "Sampson" German equatorial mount, with brass worm and plastic worm wheel RA drive, manual DEC hand adjustment. I manually guide using a purpose built off axis guider/focusser here
http://www.users.on.net/~josiah/focuser/IMG_9934.jpg
I used to use a guidescope but was getting flexure errors.
I guess with your SBIG its a self guided camera with the 2nd guide chip, so is pretty much like an off axis guider, with no flexure errors to worry about
Youre dead right about the need to get the background to be brighter then any image noise. With mine the 300D camera can show a histogram, I try to get the peak about 1/2 the way along (easy to do from light polluted Newcastle, but only if not using the Ha filter) I imaging it would be harder to reach the sky background well clear of noise from a very dark site.
If I had the money Id love to get a SBIG camera with the AO sytem for my scope, accurate guiding would no longer be necessary.
My mount has considerable PEC, but thankfully its a gradual error, I can keep up with it without too much hassle and its quite regular so a PEC training drive corrector would probably work well with it too. It does not tolerate wind buffet though.
Scott