please help the noob (me) - mount accessories

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

Hi guys, my heq5 mount is finally on its way. It might even get here before the solar eclipse next week! Anyway, I was hoping for advice on sundries to go with it. I've read good things about align master software to give drift-alignment accuracy without the effort / skill, so I need to get myself an eqmod USB cable to connect to my computer. I also at this stage just have a camera (200mm lens still en route) so I need to get a dovetail plate with a camera mount screw. Can anyone suggest a good / cheap place for these please? I'm hoping to purchase a small scope for photography shortly too - either the ts 65q apo or 80ed which seem to be within budget. What sort of bits do I need to go with this? It looks like the 80ed comes with eyepieces and what not, while the 65q is just an ota but has ring holders. Will I need a new dovetail plate for this or is there some sort of universal one? Sorry about the noob questions, but I've only seen the internet pictures and they never show the attachment end of these things.

In summary, I'll have a mount and a camera and am looking for advice on what else I need to get going. Oh also just realised I need a battery, but I had a discussion on that already. Thanks in advance

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Bintel have the dovetail plate you need. They are also good for advice

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

Thanks Laurie. Might try to get over to see them in the weekend.

[alistairsam]

Hi
Whilst you're looking at the other bits, don't forget the auto guider as well
So either a finder guider like the Orion mini guider package or an oag and a guide camera along with how you'll fit them together
That will help you take long exposures
Bintel should help you out, but look at the classifieds as well

[loki78 (Jon)]

You likely won't get it all at once. Not unless you won the Ozlotto the other night anyway

Start with Orion dovetail adaptor with 1/4" screw for your camera and you can start taking widefield shots with a camera and lens right away. Then when you add the scope, which depending on the scope, you might need rings and a dovetail for that too or it may come with it, then you can start taking exposures of 1-2mins or so depending on your alignment, then after all that you can add the guide setup to allow you to take much longer exposures. Then there's filters and camera upgrades and the list goes on and on and on. They don't call AP the moneypit for nothing. But add to it bit by bit in the right order and you can start doing stuff right away

[niko]

This is my setup which might help give you an idea of a very basic rig.

HEQ5Pro
ED80
Canon 350D
QHY5 guide camera (fitted to modified finderscope)
laptop
USB powered hub
software - all freeware

The mount and scope I bought secondhand here for about $1500. The guidescope rig also came from here secondhand but I forget how much. The Orion rig would be much the same - I think they are under $300.

Keep an eye out for scopes etc in the classified section but as previously mentioned with a dovertail bar you can start straight away and the practice of polar aligning will certainly not do any harm.

good luck

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

Thanks guys. I did actually win something in the ozlotto, but I think it was barely enough to cover my costs. The lady actually laughed at me cause one of the tickets won a massive $1.35!

Niko: what do you use to power your mount? What are you connecting your laptop to the mount with? Are things like dew heaters necessary for camera lenses / small apo refractors?

I was hoping to get some decent unguided subs based on what I've read. With the align master software which should give as good polar alignment as drift alignment, I was hoping for minimum 2-3 minutes at 300mm equivalent. Is that too much of an ask? If I go down the autoguide route, I'll no doubt ask for more input, but I don't even have a scope to autoguide with.

As always, thanks again guys for your valuable input.

[loki78 (Jon)]

2-3mins at 300mm you will be fine with a good alignment. Sounds like you are heading in the right direction already! There are different options to power mounts, the most common being some sort of power tank (which is the celestron name for theirs) but its essentially identical to one of those battery pack jump starters you get from auto shops.

Dew heaters are situational. For long hours in the right conditions (or wrong conditions) you will have the problem. You can go the full route and go dew heaters/straps for your lenses/scopes, or build a shield that extends out past the end of your lens which will slow it down. I think some people also use battery powered small hair dryers when the dew begins to build up but someone else can offer you better advice on that one. Again it's not something you need right away, more something thats helpful you can add later. I think some people even put a sock around their camera lens or over it to assist in this. Again others who have done this can give you more of an idea than me.

[2stroke (Jay)]

We have align master though i can drift align with the ed100 and get 2mins within 15mins-30mins most of the time so it not really needed, the rest is just guided out with the dsi pro and phd. Eqmod is the bomb and it just is the best thing i have ever used and seen, once you use it you will through the hand controller in the bin rofl. Get Cartes du Ciel freeware http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/start and the best because of the low system requirments along with a eqmod direct cable for the heq5/eq5 http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tr...oductview.aspx and grab eqmod and read the getting stated guide and your on your way. We use backyard eso for drift alignment and imaging and is a must have for EOS camera's IMO. As for guiding we are now using a ST80 but did use a 60mm f9 meade, the guide cam is a meade dsi pro mono (bought used here for $100) and is just perfect beside being a tad heavy. As for the battery its a supercheap SCA 1900 amp jumpstart pack, we got ours for $129 on a special they had awhile back. This is the biggest SCA one and you could probably just settle on a 1200 ect, this is really overkill and we only got it due to the price at the time. The heq5 comes with a dovetail so there's no need to buy another one unless it for another scope ect.

[chaffingbuttock (Matthew)]

Hi guys, how easy is it to turn a small scope into a guide scope? I'm looking at getting one of these for my first scope
http://www.sharpstar-optics.com/engl...?c=msg&id=116&
Which is apparently the same as the re branded tsapo65q (but cheaper). However, at a later date I will probably try to pick up a larger imaging scope and then hope to repurpose the small one. I've seen people using ed80 for guiding, so I assume it's doable. Is it just a matter of attaching the smaller scope to the bigger one and getting some sort of adapter for a guide camera? I will be heading to the states in a couple months where stuff is a bit cheaper, so might even consider an ed100 instead if budget allows. Thanks