New to this HELP!

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by kingy2511

Okay, i might come and check out some rigs, Cheers for the invite ..

I message that lady about the EQ6 for sale in the Classy's.. It's 2year old, asking $950, sound right?

Cheers

2 y.o. for $950

Sounds GREAT! if it is in the IIS classifieds. I'll go have a look at the ad.

EDIT: Ahhhh, no Hand controller with it! Need to check how much they are. It might end up cheaper buying a new mount with controller.

[allan gould]

Originally Posted by kingy2511

Okay, i might come and check out some rigs, Cheers for the invite ..

I message that lady about the EQ6 for sale in the Classy's.. It's 2year old, asking $950, sound right?

Cheers

There is no handset with it and they can be very expensive to replace. From memory $300+ (Im willing to be corrected on that).

[kingy2511 (Nathan)]

Oh okay, so why would the handset be removed? Isnt this required to operate the mount or is that what she was talking about controlling it by the computer?.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

EQ6 Hand Controller:
Hmmmm . . . Bintel don't seem to sell them as a seperate item. Andrews only go up to EQ5 Hand controller.

MyAstroShop has this one: http://www.myastroshop.com.au/produc...p?id=MAS-022K2
but I'd check with Steve at MyAstroShop to see if it is the one you need for that mount

I don't know how much the cable would be.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Andrews has the EQ6 Pro for $1699 New, and it has the stepped head to take either Vixen or Losmandy rails

EQ6PRO-W SynScan "Go-To" equatorial mount and tripod
has a newly designed stepped wide/narrow dovetail head!

$1699.00 AUD
In stock!

Australia-wide A$70 freight

Under Skywatcher here: http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Woaw !! awsome advise ,,
But these days you dont need to spend big bucks to acheave good results ,, ..
Here is a photo snapped thru the eyepiece ( admittably thru a 17mm Nagler ) but any will do , using a camera in a phone , and like the really good photos seen here , it takes lots of PATIENCE ... but results are there to be had in this digital age ,,
Here is a moon shot taken with my HTC phone .
So start small and work up , oh and yes that $950 EQ6 is a beauty , snap it while its still there ,, My ED80 with hard case , for you is $400 posted .
Brian

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

PM me if interested , other wise it will go on the classifieds .
Here is another moon shot using an 8mm Radian , a little more magnification .
Brian.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

OOPS!

[Barrykgerdes]

If the EQ6 is supplied without a controller it will need to be operated from a computer using EQDIR, EQMOD and ASCOM

The hand controller would normally be the Synscan GOTO handset on the Pro version but the earlier cheaper form just had a simple clock drive and slew buttons.

Barry

[kingy2511 (Nathan)]

Fo you know where I might be able to pick up a Synscan hand Controller? I imagined Skywatchers would sell them but I could t find anything on there website :/

[kingy2511 (Nathan)]

http://www.astroshop.com.au/products...p?id=MAS-022K2

Will That do the trick?

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by kingy2511

http://www.astroshop.com.au/products...p?id=MAS-022K2

Will That do the trick?

yes that's the one

[kingy2511 (Nathan)]

http://astronomiser.co.uk/images/products/asthbss5.jpg

With this cable and i should be set

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by kingy2511

http://www.astroshop.com.au/products...p?id=MAS-022K2

Will That do the trick?

Yep, I just gave you the link to that one back at Post 24

[kingy2511 (Nathan)]

Haha wow i never saw that? Sorry Ken, just alot of info to take in and i must have just blanked it out!. Thanks

[traveller (Bo)]

Better still, come to a star party, like the one at Snake Valley you will meet lots of friendly people, pick their brains out and look through some wonderful setups.
I think Ken mentioned there are still plenty of camping spots available, you wont regret going!
Bo

[kingy2511 (Nathan)]

Hey guys, so I got a couple more questions after a big weekend!.

So I purchased a eq6 and now am looking for scope to go with. There is a couple for sale on the forum. The first is a Skywatchers 150mm F9, second Vixen ed120 F7.5..

Should I be going for a Shorter Focal length? And is F9 too narrow field of view for astro-photography?..

Cheers

[wysiwyg (Mark)]

Originally Posted by kingy2511

Hey guys, so I got a couple more questions after a big weekend!.

So I purchased a eq6 and now am looking for scope to go with. There is a couple for sale on the forum. The first is a Skywatchers 150mm F9, second Vixen ed120 F7.5..

Should I be going for a Shorter Focal length? And is F9 too narrow field of view for astro-photography?..

Cheers

Nathan,

Great to see that you are taking an interest.
Like you, I started pretty much down the same path, made heaps of mistakes along the way too. That is the learning process I guess.

When you say you want to do astrophotography, what do you exactly mean by that. Its a broad term these days and it comes in all shapes and sizes.
What sort of photographs do you want to take, moon, nebulas, galaxies etc?
The reason for asking is that the choice of OTA will limit what you can and cannot photograph. Wide field refractors like the ED80 will pretty much limit you to just that, widefield photography of objects like the moon and some of the large nebulas like M42 (Orion Nebula) and Eta Carinea. Its also probably one of the best places to start as an astrophotgrapher IMO. Widefield is far more forgiving and provides you with a very solid learning foundation once you decide to climb the focal length ladder.

Longer focal length telescopes are much harder to master for serious astrophotography as the margin for error is very small.

One other thing I found as a must in this hobby, you need to be very computer savvy. To get your mount tracking precisely, you will need a guide scope ( A second scope purely designed to track a star and convey corrections back to the mount). This requires a computer and software. Its another learning curve to master, but its necessary.

I still use a widefield scope to this day for astrophotography. I have seen too many people start at high focal lengths and quit soon after due to frustration but mostly through getting themselves into the deep end from the start.

My opinion, would be to start off with a small refractor, a cheap guidescope and guide camera and go from there.

Wish you all the best!

Mark

[Poita (Peter)]

I'd be looking for a faster scope, say F6 or less, but if it was between those two scopes I'd definitely get the ED120.