1392 replies to this topic

[lucutes]

 

The SGP arrived on time! I was lucky to enjoy a September clear sky in the Pacific Northwest (a real oddity) and take it out for a spin. Here are a couple of pictures:

 

 

 

 

A few thoughts:

 

1. It barely balances with the Zenithstar 61 and Panasonic Lumix G9 with F61 flatener. No way to add even a scope. My plan is to replace the G9 with a Canon Rebel T3i, which might help a little (100 grams). 

2. Wow! It's really difficult to position a telescope using the RA and DEC adjustment. Considering that the 4/3 sensor turns the Z61 into a 720mm lens, I couldn't find Andromeda. Again, I'm hoping that the APS-C wider sensor in the T3i will help, but I will probably need to get more familiar with positioning an equatorial mount with no GoTo capabilities. Challenge accepted!

3. The good news is that I was able to capture Vega and its surroundings (see picture above) with a 60 second exposure and minimum trails. Aligning the SGP with polaris is not as easy as I thought, and already ordered the 90 degree viewer plus the 3D printed adapter (thanks for the tip!)

 

All in all, very happy with this setup. Portability comes with a price, but I think it's worth it.

 

Thanks everyone for your tips and guidance.

 

 

 

 

It helps to purchase a second 3lb counterweight from iOptron.

[lucutes]

Here's one sub of M31 from the ASi071 on the Z61 & SGP setup.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[timmbottoni]

I'm really curious if anyone can say what their Periodic Error is, as measured by several runs using PHD2 is.

 

I have a Canon 60D and a ZS61 with flattener, and have a trip planned to the Big Island of Hawaii next Summer, and can't bring any sort of laptop for autoguiding, so I would be mostly interested in finding out how long unguided I could possibly go with this sort of set up to bring with me and shoot images from the Visitor Information Station at 9300ft on Mauna Kea would be.

 

Thanks!

 

Timm

[dciobota]

Hi Tim,

 

Heres a post from a few months ago that talks about the measured PEC on mine:

https://www.cloudyni...e-it/?p=8547055

[StarCyclist]

Ok, the Canon Rebel T3i is here, also the extra counterweight. I improved the Polaris scope with a right angle viewfinder and the 3D adapter from the French site (Thanks @Neicul for the suggestion, super fast shipping, highly recommended). Finally, I got a better ballhead from Induro, which has helped tremendously with positioning. I'm now just waiting for a green laser pointer to help with locating the targets. Here is one of the first pictures that I took with the new rig:

 

 

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I finally found Andromeda last night, but ran out of time to get enough exposures.

Edited by StarCyclist, 20 October 2018 - 12:10 PM.

[lucutes]

Here's the final M31 with the SGP

https://flic.kr/p/2bQtBRf

[andrewweeks]

Here's the final M31 with the SGP

https://flic.kr/p/2bQtBRf

WONDERFUL Ben! 

 

Here's my effort with a 300 mm lens with a Canon 6D. 

 

https://flic.kr/p/2azMzJp

 

I just picked up a quality Tamron lens to get rid of the Magenta stars and some chromatic aberration. Hoping to try it out tonight... despite the moon.

[Mick97]

Hey everyone,
Really some helpful advices and interesting setups in this post!
As everyone here has got the Skyguider Pro I‘d like to ask something that‘s bugging me: I‘ve only used the Skyguider now for a couple nights in the last month and recently I saw that the Polar Illumination Light is ALWAYS on, even when I don’t have the specific Light mode selected. Of course it only illuminates the scope close to the 12 o‘clock position but shouldn‘t that be impossible when I‘m in for example one of the normal tracking modes ?
I just don‘t get how that is technically possible that the Light is on when it is not even selected, do I have to contact support?
Thanks in advance

[lucutes]

 

 

I don't think there is anything you can do about the light. You can turn the brightness up or down but thats about it.  The SkyTrackerPro is the same. I doubt the little LED is pulling much power from your battery though.

Edited by lucutes, 21 October 2018 - 11:42 PM.

[Rich139]

Hi everyone, first post here, just a couple of quick questions.

 

Been using my skyguider pro for a few months now and have been managing some 1min exposures at 300mm and enjoying it. 

 

Last week I upgraded the set up to include an autoguide system and finally got it working, calibrated and guiding just as the clouds rolled in last night (typical!). My first question is: when autoguiding using phd2 can you still use the ballhead to locate targets, or do you have to locate using RA and DEC axes only?

 

Also, even when I have tightened the RA clutch as much as I can, there is play on the RA axis is there a way to tighten this up?

 

Thanks!

[dciobota]

Hi Rich,

 

Welcome to CN!

 

As to the first question, that's interesting, but I don't think it would be a problem, since during calibration PHD figures out the ra camera angle.  So even if star movement in ra will generate pixel movement that's not perpendicular to x or y in the guider image, PHD can deal with it.

 

As to RA play, there is a post on here that has an iOptron pdf that shows how to open up the mount and check for worm play and adjust the mointing block.  But first check the two grub screws that hold the RA mounting block (where you attach the ball head or dec adaptor) to the RA shaft.  Mine had gotten loose at one point. They're located on the sides of the block close to the clutch.

 

Hope this helps.

[Rich139]

Ok perfect thanks for the reply, will give the grub screws a check first and then try and hunt down the pdf!

[Rich139]

Have had a look at the grub screws and one appears to be spinning in its thread and not gripping, which is suspicious. Any ideas how to repair the thread?! Will email Ioptron for support on this. 

 

The only pdf I can find is for aligning the polar scope with the DEC bracket that exposes the worm gear, but then I would have no idea how to tighten it up! http://www.ioptron.us/Support/SGP_PolarScopeRotating.pdf

[dciobota]

Hi Rich,

 

Hmmm, that doesn't sound good, I would definitely contact ioptron and maybe send it back.  Usually if it's just a part (like that head piece, which somes off), they will just have you ship the part and send you a replacement.  I'm thinking that's probably your best bet, I wouldn't attempt to repair it.  This is probably a good time anyway with the moon still up.  Maybe they can expedite shipping.

 

Also ask them about instructions on how to adjust the block.  I could've sworn that it was on here somewhere.

 

... ok, I found it, it was on page 6:

https://www.cloudyni...e-it/?p=8710252

 

I wish there was some way to edit my very first post and add it there.

 

Btw, do test once you get the grub screws fixed, you may not need to open the mount at all. 

 

Cross fingers.

[Rich139]

Thanks Dan, yeah I have contacted Ioptron so will see what they say. Did a test last night and the head was actually stable. Thanks for the PDF, will check it out in more detail once they get back to me!

 

Cheers. 

[Rich139]

Ok, second stupid question about guiding with the Skyguider Pro - when calibrating, do you calibrate looking near polaris, or when you have framed your target, and do you have to recalibrate every time you change target, and does anything happen if you cross the meridian line when switching targets? Sorry for all the questions, this place is so helpful!

[dciobota]

Not a problem Rich, there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers.  ;P

 

So, calibration, I take that to mean guiding calibration?  If so, I always calibrate when at the target, it's the most accurate.  Since you can't do any dec guiding, and there are no encoders to report ra and dec to phd, you can't use the option to calibrate anywhere then tell phd to adjust ra according to dec location.  So as far as what I do, I recalibrate when choosing a new target, unless it's very close to the last one (like a couple degrees at most).

 

As to meridian flip.  Since the skyguider pro doesn't do one, you don't need to worry about that.  But if you do move the scope after passing the meridian (basically doing your own flip) you will have to recalibrate.  The reason in this case is due to the ST4 connection, the ra guide commands to the motors should be reversed.  PHD won't know about meridian flip, so you can't use the option to automatically reverse commands after a flip.

 

But unless you're doing a lot of targets, calibration shouldn't eat too much into your imaging time, especially since it's only RA.

 

Hope this helps.

[SHFT]

William Optics has developed a beautiful wedge for the Skyguider, William posted earlier on their Instagram.

 

 

https://www.instagra.../p/Bp13I2_hDvr/

[George from georgia]

Hi, new here. I searched all over where to ask this one question. there is no info anywhere. THE RA CLUTCH on SKYGUIDER PRO  what is that thing its driving me crazy. How tight is tight enough? if i lock it hard in place how is it able to rotate when powered on?? should i keep it loose just right enough so it wont rotate or should i apply force to lock it very hard? feels like if locked hard then mechanism inside will break or something, otherwise i dont udnerstand how it spins around....

Tell me how you do it ive searched all over the web for this info.          

[Neicul]

Hi, new here. I searched all over where to ask this one question. there is no info anywhere. THE RA CLUTCH on SKYGUIDER PRO  what is that thing its driving me crazy. How tight is tight enough? if i lock it hard in place how is it able to rotate when powered on?? should i keep it loose just right enough so it wont rotate or should i apply force to lock it very hard? feels like if locked hard then mechanism inside will break or something, otherwise i dont udnerstand how it spins around....

Tell me how you do it ive searched all over the web for this info.          

I think you misunderstand what the clutch does. If the clutch is LOOSE, the SGP will NOT TRACK. That‘s important so you can move the axis without damaging the motor. If the clutch is them TIGHTENED, the motor is then connected to the axis. This way, the motor can track. That is the basic principle of a clutch, same as in a car.

[dciobota]

Hey George, I pm'd you but Neicul is right, the clutch when engaged connects the shaft to the RA gear.  When loose, the shaft and gear can rotate independently.  So you can tighten it as tight as you want, just bear in mind you may have trouble loosening later if it's overtight.  Also when tightening the clutch you lut force on the gear teeth against the worm teeth.  They're both metal but they can strip if you go crazy on it.  Just tighten until it's firm.

[zvidrih]

Hi to all,

I am Skyguider pro user for about a year now. Here are some images i took with it.

I use it with my Nikon d7200 and Sigma 150-600c mostly ... Streched and edited in Pixinsight and Photoshop.

At the moment i am looking to upgrade my setup to some proper mount, but that is for another topic

Clear nights to all from Slovenia

 

 

 

Pinwheel galaxy

 

Pleiades

 

Orion nebula

 

Andromeda

 

Milky way wide shot with moon eclipse and Mars

 

Blood moon

 

[TerryB]

 

Hi to all,

I am Skyguider pro user for about a year now. Here are some images i took with it.

Hello, zvidrih.

 

Looks like you have your SGP mastered, and have produced some very nice images,  I especially like your post-production work on Orion Nebula.  Could you share some of the technical details of these images for the forum, please?

 

Thanks,

Terry

[groupoid]

I have a quick question: once the clutch is released, should RA axis rotate completely freely? In my case, there is a certain position where the rotation is more tight.

 

Also, when the clutch is engaged, it's not parallel to the mount surface, there is a gap on one side of it.

 

The scope seems to be aligned ok. When I rotate RA, the field of view moves, but the crosshair points at the same point.

[groupoid]

Also, one more question after this evening: does anyone know the size of the screw that holds the mount in the dovetail saddle? I just lost mine in the snow. Maybe there is one that fits on ebay or amazon?

 

There is another longer screw with the same thread in the DEC mounting bracket.