LXD75 hypertune kit

[Poita (Peter)]

Has anyone had any experience with the 'Hypertune kits' like this one:
http://www.deepspaceproducts.com/hyp...4227_8640.html

Do they really make much of a difference?

[midnight (Darrin)]

Peter,

I performed a hypertune and found the following :

1. You do need a little mechanical/hands on to be confident in stripping it down.
2. The replacement bearings improved my RA "jerkyness" to some extend. After polishing, my LXD55 was a smoother and better for it but not a huge gain though.
3. I found a significant improvement in reducing jerkyness by replacing my RA encoder wheel which I found to have a slight manufacturing defect for original. This also contributed to me being unable to get "smooth as a baby's bum" performance. Beware, those encoder wheels are so easily damaged and bent. Treat with extreme care.
4. I also replaced my Dec motor (Star Optics on the Gold Coast for around $90 from memory) and my old motor was just not happy.

In all, the performance of the mount allowed me to photograph happily at 200mm focal length (guided) with good performance. But I still was not happy with the tripod and even after the upgrade, I still struggled to get a consistent performance at 812mm worthy for astro photography. The LXD55/75 is just not in the same basket as say an EQ6 for photography imo.

If you're going to do astro photography, you really need to assess the current condition of your mount. Is it still jerky? Maybe it is simply the encoder wheels. The LXD55/75 is not really suited for photography beyond say 200-300mm FL.

For visual, I would not perform the upgrade. Just not enough to be gained by spending that money - save it for a future upgrade or an accessory.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Darrin...

[Poita (Peter)]

Oh wow, is it really only good for 200mm length? That is a little depressing.
I was thinking of purchasing a LXD75 for $400, and stripping it down and modifying it to improve the mechanicals.
It doesn't sound like it would be worth it though.
I'm going to have to save up another 12 months to be able to afford the EQ6, but I guess it will be worth the wait, it is the mount everyone seems to recommend.

[Fox]

Hi Peter, I bought the kit years ago before it was 'deep space products'. It was cheaper back then, and personally I don't think it's worth anywhere near the $175 usd. The most important kit items are the DVD, better quaility tiny hex screws for the motor cogs, a set of hex/Allen keys that match the LXD75, and the Autostar cable. Most of the other supplied bits and pieces were of terrible "$2 dollar shop" quality! Also the Teflon bearings supplied in the kit are probably only good for the LXD55, ie. the LXD75 has ball bearings.

Hypertuning eliminated some stiffness in my LXD75, which as a mount, is so entry level it's really only good enough for visual anyway. Also, pulling apart the mount gave me an appreciation as to how it works, so I have no worries with tinkering/adjusting the mount and slack as needed.

Fox

[midnight (Darrin)]

Peter,

Are you primarily focused on photography or visual?

If visual, then the LXD I think is a great little performer for its price where you can still get images up to about 200mm (eg piggyback your camera).

If you are definitely heading astrophotography, better save for a more suitable mount and use that money. I just found the LXD too "jerky" beyond 200-300mm to be of any serious use.

It is disappointing (but in some way expected) as this was my first scope and I love Autostar. I just wish I had Autostar + a Losmandy G11 and then I would be very happy. my new G11 is just an order of magnitude beyond the LXD mechanically and imo simpler in operation. Pity about Gemini 2 which is dodgey as buggery at the moment.

Cheers,
Darrin...

[Fox]

Peter, I completely agree with Darrin, the LXD75 is great little mount to get you started for visual, and probably piggybacking a camera. I love the way its so easy to set up and align - its simple, but quite crude as the same time. For serious through the scope AP however, it won't do. You need the next level up mount as a minimum: CGEM, Losmandy, Vixen etc...

[Poita (Peter)]

Thanks for the advice, yes I am headed for Astrophotography, I'm happy to manually find and track objects for visual, I can see most M objects with the naked eye out here (and I have oddly good night-vision, I can see most everything within a minute or two whilst my friends are still struggling 20 minutes later), and my guide scope broke a few years back, so I have gotten great at pointing the C8 directly at whatever I want to see

I do still enjoy visual, as do the kids when I take them out, but I really am headed down the imaging path, it just has to be s-l-o-w-ly, as a single dad on about $26,000 a year, it means looking for 2nd hand bargains, picking and choosing wisely and loads of waiting

It is great to not be able to rush in in some ways though, you really get to learn from everyone else along the way.

[midnight (Darrin)]

Good Luck Peter with your choice.

I spent over a year on piggyback photography with my LXD55 and this did produce some really nice images.

Your time frame and budget may still convince you to go for a relatively cheap second hand LXD75 with say 6 or 8" SN. But if I had my time again, I would have started with the LXD mount only and then got an 80mm refractor. The 8"SN OTA was quite big (and fantastic images) but I am using my 80mm far more than the 8" Newt.

Just get to learn the quirks with it and the LXD can be autoguided. You use the RS232 port on the Autostar 497 hadcontroller (left port) and hook that up to your PC. Then install an Ascom driver for Meade Autostar and then get yourself a cheap CCD (I used a Neximage CCD) with an 80mm refractor and then use GuideDog to command your LXD to stay on target. You'll get good images up to about 200mm. Have a look at some of the widefield images in the Deep Space Section (esp from jjj and multiweb). When starting, widefield (even 50mm) is quite rewarding for a long time. You should be able to get these from the LXD with a DSLR and DSLR lenses.

I reckon you would go close to getting a LXD75 mount + 80mm refractor + secondhand DLSR + 50mm lense for about $1200 or less.

Some of my photos from my LXD55 and a piggyback DSLR. Quite basic setup.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=76618

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=65244

Cheers,
Darrin...

[Poita (Peter)]

I do already have a laptop and a Nikon DSLR and an f1.4 50mm prime lens, 18-55 zoom and 55-200 zoom, and I have been looking at 80mm refractors as well, as many of the great looking images posted here appear to be from 80mm doublet or triplet scopes, and they look a lot easier to manage.

I'm still tempted by a SN-10 + LXD75 package for $800, and thought I could sell the C8 or SN-10 OTA (not sure which I would keep) and look for a good quality 80mm refractor. I have an old Toucam webcam that I could convert to use for beginning with imaging I guess.

I hate buying stuff twice though, the opinions on the mount are many and varied to say the least!

It makes some sense to get cheaper gear to learn on, but then I'd have to try and find a buyer for it down the track to be able to move up to a better mount, and I'm not sure how well any of that gear would hold its value.

Decisions, decisions...

[midnight (Darrin)]

Peter,

To keep it simple, go for the best mount you can afford. The EQ6 is much sturdier than the LXD75 so if your budget can afford that, go for it.

It is a common theme here that the mount is critical in photography and a piece of hardware you will use all the time and for a long time. You can change scopes, lenses, cameras etc but not mounts easily.

Cheers,
Darrin...

[Poita (Peter)]

That is the way I'd like to go, it will take me another 12 months to save up for the EQ6, so I guess I'll just do lots of reading and experimenting until next July!