Got the Scope,mount, & camera

[Jeffkop (Jeff)]

Hi once again to everyone here, I appreciate your inputs thus far and have to once again draw on your experiences. I have bought the following stuff.

Scope : MAK180PRO .. Skywatcher MAK180 OTC
Mount :HEQ5
Camera :Canon 40D and AC power supply
MaxDSLR

I am an electronic engineer so all all power supplies and stuff I can take care of.

Ive been looking at diffferent posts and know I will also require

T adaptor
Barlow
maybe some other adaptors and filters

So if I can have your input as to what else I need, basically so I can connect all this stuff up and start down my learning path. I know there will always be other equipments to get .. seems this hobby would be endless with new wishes, but I just need to know what else I require so I can just get up and running with what Ive got already.

Thanks .. look forward to submitting some of my efforts just as soon as I have something.

Jeff

[Dennis]

Hi Jeff

Congrats on assembling the gear, you're going to have some fun using it, mixed with a little frustration too no doubt!

Personally, I’d first investigate getting the mount polar aligned so that the ‘scope will track the stars (if the mount is motorized) as the Earth rotates around the South Celestial Pole (SCP).

Once you’ve done that (it’s called “Polar Alignment”) then I’d be fitting the Canon 40D with a 50mm to 135mm focal length lens to the scope or mount (called piggy back) and take a few photos, say 3 to 5 minute exposures depending on light pollution in your region.

The next step would then be prime focus astrophotography, where the 40D lens is removed and the 40D body only is attached to the focuser of the ‘scope (via an EOS to T-adapter); effectively, the ‘scope then acts as a super telephoto lens.

Cheers

Dennis

[Jeffkop (Jeff)]

Hi Dennis
Thanks for the reply. Sorry I didnt mention it, but I intend to use the camera in prime focus mode. Ive heard many people mention barlow lens as a way of achieving a better focal length as the telescope is F/12. Im new to this, so thought I would just short cut the learning curve a little by putting it out there for good people like yourself to add to.
Jeff

[acropolite (Phil)]

Jeff, if you're intending on doing Astrophotography you'll want a focal reducer, a barlow is useful for visual sometimes but rarely for photography, your mak at f12 is fairly slow and will have a narrow FOV. If your HEQ5 doesn't have a Synscan handbox (Go-to) then finding targets, especially faint ones will be difficult. It's also possible to interface an Argonavis to the HEQ5 and if you haven't already got the Sysncan handbox the Argonavis would be well worth considering. For longer exposures over a couple of minutes you'll need a guidescope (to provice correction of tracking errors) and some sort of guide camera as well as an interface to connect your laptop to the HEQ5 guideport.

[Dennis]

Hi Jeff

I concur with Phil. I have a 7" F12 'scope and I add a reducer/corrector which brings the f-ratio down to around F9.6, which is still classed as slow. Several IIS'ers image at between F6 and F8, which gives a nice, wide field of view, matches the characteristics of the ccd sensor and is less demanding on the mount in terms of auto guiding.

You generally only use a Barlow if you are taking high resolution, short duration exposures of the Moon and the brighter Planets.

Cheers

Dennis

[Jeffkop (Jeff)]

THnaks Dennis and Phil. My mount has the Synscan so that is covered. I have built a direct link circuit that will enable me to link the Max DSLR guide output back to the mount for guiding . I hope thats covered. So then the reducer/corrector .. I assume thats what they are called. Can you suggest one and where to buy it.

Thanks for taking the time to help

Jeff

[Dennis]

Hi Jeff

I believe that as a general rule, OEM’s such as Meade, Celestron, Vixen, Takahashi, William Optics, etc produce specific Reducer/Correctors or Reducer/Flatteners for specific optical tubes.

The Meade and Celestron F6.3 RC’s are generally interchangeable whereas Tak and Vixen have specific models for their range of optical tubes.

I recall that 1Ponders has experimented with a William Optics (WO) RC on several optical tubes and recently wrote an article.

Might be worth contacting your supplier to see if an OEM model is offered for your ‘scope?

Cheers

Dennis