Fastest polar alignment mount/software?

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

Originally Posted by Astro_Bot

NEQ6? Is that the 3.28 beta firmware with "polar re-align" feature?

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=89312

Sorry - don't know the exact details of his AP setup, we only set our visual gear up together. There's a slight chance he's pulling my leg after hearing my views on 'paying your dues'..., but I'll find out.

[Astro_Bot]

OK. Thanks for getting back to me.

[maxwolfie (Greg)]

I think I have decided on a HEQ5 Pro, simply because it's the cheapest serious mount that I can buy. Celestron pricing is Australia is very expensive.

Anyone got any idea of what else I need for this mount? I will need whatever is required to mount my DSLR, run it off AC power and not sure what else?

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

You can get polar aligned using the CG5 all star polar align feature very quickly , certainly long enough to image at 300 mm..remember it's not going to be enough to Polar align ..beyond a point you are going to need to autoguide, say if you want 5 or 10 minute subs with a low end mount like the CG5

If you get the eq5 you can try the polar alignment feature that is in beta now

[Astro_Bot]

Originally Posted by maxwolfie

I think I have decided on a HEQ5 Pro, simply because it's the cheapest serious mount that I can buy.

Good choice. Beware the manufacturer's claimed maximum payload - it's probably only two-thirds of that in reality (for good performance). But most mainstream manufacturers are like that, AFAIK.

Anyone got any idea of what else I need for this mount? I will need whatever is required to mount my DSLR, run it off AC power and not sure what else?

As far as power goes, this should give you some tips (the HEQ5 Pro needs only a bit less than the EQ6 Pro):
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...279#post866279

Some wooden pieces (I use cut offs of fence palings) under the tripod legs will stop the legs digging into grass/earth ruining your levelling - same sort of thing you do with a ladder, although, depending on the type and slope of ground, that might not be safe with a ladder .

As already mentioned, you'll need a builder's bubble level and a compass.

[silv (Annette)]

you'll need a 12V jumpstart battery if you want to run it in the field.
I have a 900Amp that was 80NZ$ on sale. lasts 2-3 sessions.
that battery comes with a cable which fits into the mount.

- life view on your camera display to use it for star aligning.
or a good (!) finder scope.

some form of 1 1/4" threaded rod to screw on a ball head for your camera. I don't know what's-in'the-box of the HEQ5 - but very likely you will have to invent something to mount your camera directly onto the dove tail. drill a hole, buy a screw - that sort of thing.
When buying a tube, there are tube rings shipped with it. They usually have a 1 1/4" rod for a camera or ball head.

find a spot that's level and has good views to 3 sides. then do the solar noon method there to find an accurate SCP. mark the direction somehow. then level the mount. then ...
but hey - first, let the mount arrive.

[Astro_Bot]

Originally Posted by silv

you'll need a 12V jumpstart battery if you want to run it in the field.

Well, to be a bit pedantic (sorry!), you should use a deep-cycle battery, as they are constructed differently, specifically for deep discharge. Car/jump start batteries may work for a while, but will wear out pretty quickly. You should also recharge the battery after every use (no matter what it is) as the battery will sulfate more quickly otherwise.

[allan gould]

I used to use an HEQ5 pro as my main mount and found the following to be the quickest most reliable method to achieve polar alignment.
First I buried three half bricks into the lawn and using a masonry bit drilled a depression into each brick to accommodate the legs spike. This gives an unseen stable platform for the mount. Make sure you align the tripod N-S with magnetic offset first. This will enable you to reposition the mount and tripod each time with remarkable repeat ability.
I then used two computer programs. The first is Alignmaster which I know works as I assisted Andreas the author to get it going for the Southern Hemisphere. Two iterations of this procedure gets you really close to a good polar alignment. I then use PhDguiding to do a real time drift alignment which gets you spot on.
When returning the mount to the marked position just use PhDguiding to touch up the alignment. This is the quickest most accurate method that I know that works consistently. When I go to a dark site this is the procedure I use.
Hope this helps but you have to put in the hard yards first.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Using PHD, a fast alignment for me is 15-20 mins (1 iteration), slow alignment 30-40mins (2 iterations)

[maxwolfie (Greg)]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all your help!

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by maxwolfie

45 minutes is really beyond what I'm prepared to invest time-wise by about threefold for setup. Considering I will be starting off with my trusty DSLR and 300mm kit lens (i.e. nothing special), I am assuming initial alignment does not need to be absolutely perfect. Knowing this, I am not sure what mount is best to start off with for ease and speed of setting up.

300mm lens and DSLR won't require such precise alignments.

Perhaps consider the Vixen Polarie. David Houghy here has used one and was able to set it up very quickly. You should be able to get reasonable 2.5 minute exposures that way, perhaps even longer.

Greg.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

At 300mm he will need pretty damn good alignment if he wants to expose for any length of time. A 105mm lens will show drift in less than 20 seconds.

[Nico13 (Ken)]

Originally Posted by DavidTrap

A 300mm focal length camera lens is going to be less critical on polar alignment vs a 2000mm focal length scope.

Nonetheless the guys are right, astrophotography is like a sewer - what you get out of it depends on what you put into it! I have done everything possible (other than build an observatory at home) to speed my setup and pull down. Look not just at saving time on polar aligning, but also on cabling and ancillary equipment setup (laptop, power supplies, cables, hubs). I have wiring looms with spiral cable wrap that save me considerable time.

DT

I agree with David here as this has made my setup time acceptable for week nights and what I find very helpful is a check list whether it's a written list or just one you have committed to memory as I have a complete pull down each night so when I go out again the list goes something like this.
Tripod levelling and approx south align
Fit the mount and check Latitude deg angle is correct
Mount scopes and all the gear for the nights work and check balance in RA and Dec.
Lock scope at park position connect all power and camera cables etc.
Power the system and Laptop and check Park in EQMOD and then perform a drift align with PHD as described in an earlier post.

And yes it's about forty five minutes but woth it for the next two or three hours relative fuss free imaging with the ED80 and DSLR on the back.
Still getting round stars after five minutes so I'm happy with that.

No special software just a guide scope and PHD, it's really quite quick once you've done it a few times and I find the most time is lost in the setup of all the gear the actual alignment doesn't take too long usually.

[Poita (Peter)]

I can get an alignment good enough for reasonable subs in under 20 minutes now with the EQ6Pro.

The new firmware has a fast polar alignment routine, you do a quick 3 star align, and then follow the instructions to get a very good polar alignment by adjusting the mount itself according to the amounts shown on the hand controller.

It works really well and is good enough for reasonable length exposures.
You can do a quick drift check/align after that if you are planning l-o-n-g-e-r exposures.
I'm not sure if the same firmware is for the HEQ5Pro, EQ5 etc.

You can use also some simple software like align master (you can add your own guidestars to have ones visible from your backyard) for a quick alignment that is good enough for basic photography.

That sort of alignment is good enough to get nice snapshots of Orion and other bright targets.

I think I know where you are coming from, there are nights I want to setup and get 4 or 5 hours of really solid data, those nights I go nuts getting the drift alignment perfect.

Other nights I just want to grab some pics, kind of like a tourist on holiday snapping some shots to show the kids, and those nights I do a quick align and hammer a whole bunch of targets to see what I get.

My best advice would be to find a way to leave the mount setup outside and covered, (or use Allan's method) then it stays aligned and you just chuck the scope and cameras on and check the alignment and get on your way.

I get the North/South orientation using the Solar Noon method with a Plumb-bob during the day. Nearly impossible to get wrong and is more accurate than a compass.

[Poita (Peter)]

This page is an interesting read if you want to get your head around alignment:
http://celestialwonders.com/articles...entsurvey.html
http://celestialwonders.com/articles...ent/index.html

[DavidTrap (David)]

Originally Posted by silv

you'll need a 12V jumpstart battery if you want to run it in the field.
I have a 900Amp that was 80NZ$ on sale. lasts 2-3 sessions.
that battery comes with a cable which fits into the mount.

Just to be pedantic Sliv,

While these 12V jumpstart batteries are capable of supplying 900amp to start a car, they are only a 7 or 12amp/hr battery inside the box. This will power a mount for a 10-20hrs, but don't expect them to power anything like dew heaters, cameras or a laptop.

A 900amp/hr 12volt battery would be >250kg.

DT

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by DavidTrap

...
they are only a 7 or 12amp/hr battery inside the box.

I even doubt they are that.
During my time at Jaycar, I sold many replacement batteries for these Jumpstarters.
The original batteries were marked as 7 or 9 or 12Ah, but were about half the weight of the ones I sold them with the same Ah rating

[RobF (Rob)]

Originally Posted by Poita

This page is an interesting read if you want to get your head around alignment:
http://celestialwonders.com/articles...entsurvey.html
http://celestialwonders.com/articles...ent/index.html

Excellent and practical info to put up Peter - I'd forgotten about that one, but it influenced my thinking a lot. Realtime average Dec Drift number which you can relate to a specific adjustment for your mount/gear (knowing required direction and estimate of correction required) is hard to beat if you're constantly setting up portable gear, but just so many options and all worth understanding.

[Terry B]

I have not had a HEQ5 but did own an EQ6 and I assume the polar scope is similar. I never had any trouble finding the little asterism for the south pole in the finder even with a full moon. This would be similar to city light pollution. Move the mount til the stars line up to the asterism.
I then oriented the scope to point at the pole by releasing the clutches and whilst looking through the scope rotate it around the RA axis. When the image just rotates it is parallel to the RA axis. There is a little easily seen asterism at the scp that you can print out for a reference. You can then fine tune the orientation of the mount by centering the SCP in the eyepiece from a printout of this asterism. This entire process takes about 2 minutes.
The first time you do it it will take longer until you have the alt correct but the next time is easy as long as you level the mount before you start.
This method isn't perfect because the actual pole isn't exactly where you want the mount to aim due to refraction etc but for a short focal length camera it will be plenty good enough for up to 5 min exposures. I used this method for a long time with my 1800mm fl scope until I made my permanent setup.
To be more accurate you can drift align after doing it and you will find that it requires little correction.

Cheers

Terry

[RobF (Rob)]

Thanks Terry. That's another one to add to the toolkit I hadn't heard of!