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DeepSpace67
sage
Reged: 05/13/06
Posts: 448
Loc: Kansas City, KS, USA
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Hi,
Considering getting into video assisted astronomy, and have read some on CN, including Q&A FAQ on this forum. Observe mostly from a tree lined backyard with magn 4 skies. Have a couple of questions about equipment.
1.) Should I try to build a system around my 10", f4.9, $500 Dob by adding a EQ platform ($700), or would the wiser choice be to buy a GEM goto mount, and add a new OTA.
2.) If buying a new OTA, what are some good choices in the $1500 range? Suppose it is best to get something fast, < f5, perhaps a refractor, or would it be better to add hyperstar to a SCT?
Thanks.
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Matthew
10" Antares Dobsonian, 8x50 RACI, Telrad, Green Laser
Apogee RA-88-SA, Custom Mount, Green Laser
Garrett Gemini Lightweight 11x56 Binoculars
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smokin oakum
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/24/07
Posts: 1426
Loc: Wilmington, NC
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Quote:
Hi,
Considering getting into video assisted astronomy, and have read some on CN, including Q&A FAQ on this forum. Observe mostly from a tree lined backyard with magn 4 skies. Have a couple of questions about equipment.
1.) Should I try to build a system around my 10", f4.9, $500 Dob by adding a EQ platform ($700), or would the wiser choice be to buy a GEM goto mount, and add a new OTA.
2.) If buying a new OTA, what are some good choices in the $1500 range? Suppose it is best to get something fast, < f5, perhaps a refractor, or would it be better to add hyperstar to a SCT?
Thanks.
Hi, and welcome to the forum. I have a Orion XTi 12"er that I have been doing some great work with. I do have it on a Round Table Platform, which alows it to track, and the COL alows me to have push to gotos. All of this is a simple setup and takes only minutes to setup and break down.
After doing this for a while though, I have found myself wanting more apeture, and faster optics with better gotos. My answer to all this has been the Celestron 1400CGE faststar with a hyperstar to bring it's native F/11 down to a very fast F/1.9, and the CGE will give me gotos that are tack on. Is this nessecary, no, but it will be a upgrade over what I have already.
Bottom line with the MallinCam like devices is, tracking is a must!
Neil
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Broadcasting live views of the night sky @
Sparkcast
C11 CGE / Hyperstar
MallinCam Hyper Plus Color
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
MoonLite Focuser
Round Table Platform
12" Parralax rings
Cape Fear Astronomy Club
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 1612
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Matthew, the choices are not black and white, but some basic principles apply: get or use decent aperture (it always helps) and use a scope that has decent tracking. If you are good at star hopping, your 10 inch on a platform will do great. If you have sky commander or some other type of encoder system, that will help that much more because you will be able to find things more easily. If you want to choose a new system, a decent competitive 4 inch refractor is in the $1000 range; a lower end GEM mount (CG5 or LXD75) will add 600-700. If you choose an SCT, an 8 inch will fit fine on either mount and BIG vendors offer options. Many enjoy the fork mount just as well (they are a bit more intuitive). I think the 8 inch SCTs start at about 2000.
Bottom line: choose aperture that you would like to have without the camera and a system you know you will enjoy using....all at a price you are satisfied with. This presumes decent tracking is part of the what you choose. Go To is nice to have. Then when you put the camera to the scope, you can be reasonably sure that it is going to give you a good jump off the foundation you are satisfied with.
You will enjoy astro video immensely.
Roland
PS To frame my comments, I use a 4 inch refractor on an LXD75; a c8 on the same mount; a 12.5 Dob on a platform to reach farther and see more. We use a C-5i once in a while but tracking is not as good as I need for astro video.
rb
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ZielkeNightsky
sage
Reged: 10/01/06
Posts: 230
Loc: Denmark
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Hi
I think tracking is important, but the scope can almost everything.
I've got stunning views with 80mm. APO, 100mm. refractor and 10" F/6.3 Newton, with and without f-reducer.
BTW my mount is the LXD 75 for all the OTA's. No guiding.
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Lars
10", 8", 4" Newton
80mm Scopos
4" Achro
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HendyPhoto
Sith Lord
Reged: 08/09/06
Posts: 1491
Loc: Bountiful, Utah
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Why not do what Neil is doing and put your 10" dob on an EQ mount? I just love EQ mounts, but they do put your newt focuser at some wierd angles! BUT with a mallincam attatched, it doesnt matter. It's also easy enough to rotate the tube in the rings to get the EP where you want it. Just one of those things! lol After my last few nights, I think I want a little faster system than my 14" SCT at F/11. BUT with the MFR-3 and 2-10mm rings, I am getting great results. I just wish I had a little more FOV. I am going to test the mallincam with my f/7 APO, and f/4 newt sometime in the next week, and after that I can give a little report on my findings. i have a feeling the newt will win! lol
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~jon
SparkCast
CGE1400XLT w/HyperStar
90FD 66SD C6-R SN-8
CPC1100XLT Hutech 20D
Manny-Mod Vixen Porta
Mallincam MCHP
SPC900NC
CG-5 GT
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity;
and I'm not sure about the universe." --Albert Einstein
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DeepSpace67
sage
Reged: 05/13/06
Posts: 448
Loc: Kansas City, KS, USA
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Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! Headed in the right direction now.
Quote:
Many enjoy the fork mount just as well (they are a bit more intuitive). I think the 8 inch SCTs start at about 2000.
See some are using AltAz mounts like the CPC1100, but won't field rotation be a problem?
Thanks.
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Matthew
10" Antares Dobsonian, 8x50 RACI, Telrad, Green Laser
Apogee RA-88-SA, Custom Mount, Green Laser
Garrett Gemini Lightweight 11x56 Binoculars
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greg
sage
Reged: 01/25/05
Posts: 389
Loc: Central Ca.
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Quote:
Hi,
Considering getting into video assisted astronomy, and have read some on CN, including Q&A FAQ on this forum. Observe mostly from a tree lined backyard with magn 4 skies. Have a couple of questions about equipment.
1.) Should I try to build a system around my 10", f4.9, $500 Dob by adding a EQ platform ($700), or would the wiser choice be to buy a GEM goto mount, and add a new OTA.
2.) If buying a new OTA, what are some good choices in the $1500 range? Suppose it is best to get something fast, < f5, perhaps a refractor, or would it be better to add hyperstar to a SCT?
Thanks.
Don't forget about the Meade LXD75 10" S/N F/4
A fast 10" scope with GOTO and tracking good enough for use with a MallinCam.... $1500.00 new and sometimes $1000.00 or less used... right in your price range.
F/4 with some focal reduction should be able to get down arround F/2 or so???? pretty close to an 11" running at F/1.8 but a lot less expensive, and you don't have to change out the secondary mirror to change the f/ratio... just remove or change focal reducers at the camera...
Also with the LXD75 Mount you could use it with other smaller OTA's...
Greg
Edited by greg (04/28/08 05:59 PM)
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 2452
Loc: Colorado
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Matthew,
Yes for those folks who are using an alt az setup they do start to see egg shaped stars especially when using a Mallincam at 56s updates.
As for a scope choice. As the guys said tracking really helps. A fast dob on a tracking platform is probably the best bang for the buck if you want 10" or more aperture ... but using a tracking platform does come with some limitations. As you've probably read the MC and other video setups really like faster F ratios, plus faster newts are shorter newts and those are much easier to manage on a gem.
If I was starting over I'd consider something like an F4.5 10 or 12" newt with some serious weight reductions (light weight mirror, no rotating rings, low profile focuser, light weight tube material, small finder, etc.). I'd set it up to to handle a focal reducer of some form (MPCC or the like). The issue with the focal reducer is going to be getting good field illumination with the right size secondary and more importantly have enough in focus travel with the FR. I'd put it on an Atlas/EQ-6 with some upgrades to the saddle, dovetail plate and tripod to improve stability with that big scope.
An alternative in the same price range ($2500) would be a used C11 tube on the Atlas and some additional focal reducer combinations. Might get that down to $2000 if the mount was used as well.
If you want to keep the whole thing under $1500 then the same game plan applies only with less aperture. An 8-10" newt on a CG-5, or a used 8-10" SCT on the same mount.
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED
Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s, 8x56s, T-Mount Light, and Mark 1 eyeballs
Modded 350D, SPC900, Mallincam
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DeepSpace67
sage
Reged: 05/13/06
Posts: 448
Loc: Kansas City, KS, USA
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Thanks, Greg and Mark!
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Matthew
10" Antares Dobsonian, 8x50 RACI, Telrad, Green Laser
Apogee RA-88-SA, Custom Mount, Green Laser
Garrett Gemini Lightweight 11x56 Binoculars
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