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  #21  
Old 02-11-2012, 01:31 PM
Jethro777 (Jethro)
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Hi Murphy,

Your results look great! I am after a 80mm ED EPO, and not too many are looking to sell those. The others bits and pieces are another matter of course!

I am trying to get a few things second hand.
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  #22  
Old 02-11-2012, 05:49 PM
Jethro777 (Jethro)
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A Hioptic Hybrid Beast of thing... The plan...

Thanks to the excellent help of the forum members here, especially Laurie, I am happy to say I think I know what I want and where to get it.

If you see anything you can contribute to the build (criticism or suggestions), let me know. The objective was to buy what was needed only once, and not to scrimp on equipment (just price!).

If you have any of the bits I need and want to sell, let me know!

For the benefit of anyone interested in the same, and for my benefit (if you know where to get something cheaper, or have thoughts on anything) here we go.. :

Scope

80mm ED APO Triplet Scope (North group) Awaiting quote $

Focuser

Moonlite Focuser w/10:1 fine focus, 4.5" Drawtube w/ compression ring & Triknob w. Focus lock $461 inc. postage to AU

Diagonal (????)


Actually, just checked, North Group do not supply a diagonal. I'm up for suggestions.

There are bintel versions here. Is there a better one? Thoughts?


70 degree eyepiece bits (lol!) (North Group) Awaiting quote $

SWA15
SWA32
SWA10
2" 2X Barlow

Right angle finder

Orion 9x50 illuminated Right-Angle correct image

Scope Camera Adaptor (for Sony Alpha)

2" UltraWide Prime Focus Telescope Adapter $79+freight
(replaces ring system and is supposedly better)

Mount

HEQ5 Pro Go To Andrews Communications $1199

Auto guider (future purchase)

Orion Starshoot Autoguider w/ 50mm guide scope from Bintel $399+freight

Field Flattener (future purchase, we'll see what I get without it)

Williams Optics - Flattener P-FLAT 4 Bintel $149
(this scope is recommended for 500mm+ - Does anyone KNOW whether it works on 480mm?)

Light Pollution Suppressor (future purchase, could be short term considering where I live and pollution levels)

Hutech LPS P2 48 48mm (2" eyepiece) LPS Filter $189+freight

Love to hear what you think!

Last edited by Jethro777; 02-11-2012 at 07:14 PM.
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  #23  
Old 02-11-2012, 06:00 PM
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Larryp (Laurie)
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Jethro, by eyepiece attachment, do you mean a 2" diagonal?
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  #24  
Old 02-11-2012, 06:05 PM
Jethro777 (Jethro)
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Just checked again - No afraid not. It was an error, thanks for finding it. I just updated it, it does not have a diagonal from northgroup, so I need to source one from elsewhere, unless the one they supply is just great the way it is. Considering I am getting half of it from elsewhere anyway, I'm not under huge pressure to get one there unless it really is a good idea. Do you have the Northgroup "2 inch/50.8mm 99% dielectric diagonal (silver color)" diagonal Laurie? What do you think of it?

Last edited by Jethro777; 02-11-2012 at 07:16 PM.
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  #25  
Old 03-11-2012, 12:45 AM
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whzzz28 (Nathan)
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I see you have a lot of visual equipment on your list (eyepieces, diagonal and Barlow).

For astrophotography you won't need a diagonal, and if your like me, your eyepieces will only ever be used for aligning the finderscope during the day. I do have a diagonal, but it came with the scope. You may need an extender though to reach focus without a diagonal, but they are a lot cheaper. A 50mm extension tube is a few dollars, compared to the $100+ for a diagonal.

My suggestions would be to ditch the diagonal and all but one (or two) eyepieces, also ditch the barlow as its almost useless for imaging and the ED80 doesn't have great focal length so planetary imaging isn't a good idea on the scope. ED80 excels at DSO (nebula and some galaxies).

With regards to the focuser: The moonlite is great. Do you think you would want to motorize it in the future?
I ask because it is a lot easier (and slightly cheaper i think) to purchase the focuser with motor attached from Moolite than it is to attach it yourself. Its abut $700/shipped for the motor version (with PC controller). Something to think about, not a necessity.

The scope is fine. The autoguider is a good choice as well.

Right angle finder: this is a personal preference but i found a red dot finder to be better for astrophotography. If your going to be doing visual then stick with the right angel finder. The red dot finders are pretty cheap ($35 from bintel) and simply put a red dot at where the scope is pointing. If you align it properly while there is still light then it can be very accurate.

Light pollution suppressor: wait until you have a month or two under your belt before grabbing a filter. You will have a hard enough time learning the ins-and-outs of the mount without worrying about a filter

Field flattener: I haven't used a William Optics flattener with my ED80 but i have used a HOTECH - SCA Field Flattener and Televue TRF-2008.
The Hotech is purely a field flattener where as the Televue is a field flattener and reducer (widens the field of view).
Both work well, although the Televue is a bit expensive in Australia at $399. Its cheaper from the US at $282. The HOTECH is a little cheaper at $245 US. Just providing some alternates.

Mount is fine. The HEQ5 is what i started out with and handles an ED80 perfectly fine.

2" UltraWide Prime Focus Telescope Adapter $79+freight
This concerns me. The field flatteners i mentioned, and the William Optics PFLAT4 all use a standard t-thread. This adapter is an ultra wide adapter, which is larger than a standard t-thread. You won't be able to use a field flattener unless the field flattener is made for wide adapters.
Instead i would recommend this (or any brand/similar equivalent):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._for_Sony.html

With that adapter your image train would look like this:
Scope -> Field Flattener -> T-Ring -> Sony Camera.

One other thing you probably havn't thought of is a power source for the camera. Do you have multiple batteries that you can swap out? My Canon goes through a battery every ~2hrs, with the back screen turned off. You may be able to get an AC adapter for the camera so you wouldn't need to go replace the battery all the time. Ebay has them normally for a few bucks from China.
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  #26  
Old 03-11-2012, 11:25 AM
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Larryp (Laurie)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jethro777 View Post
Just checked again - No afraid not. It was an error, thanks for finding it. I just updated it, it does not have a diagonal from northgroup, so I need to source one from elsewhere, unless the one they supply is just great the way it is. Considering I am getting half of it from elsewhere anyway, I'm not under huge pressure to get one there unless it really is a good idea. Do you have the Northgroup "2 inch/50.8mm 99% dielectric diagonal (silver color)" diagonal Laurie? What do you think of it?
I have a Televue 2" diagonal and all Televue Nagler eyepieces, Jethro. But I have used a North Group diagonal and it is fine.
If you are a novice, I would go for all the visual gear first and forget about astrophotography for now. You need to learn how to use your telescope, how to use your mount and learn the night sky first.
If you look in "show us your equipment", there is a photo of my NG102mm set up for lunar/planetary photography.

Last edited by Larryp; 03-11-2012 at 11:32 AM. Reason: additional information
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