86 replies to this topic

[Borodog]

In another thread someone asked for pictures of my rig, so here they are. But I would be interested in seeing other people's rigs as well, as well as descriptions of how they have gone about solving different problems.

 

 

This is my 1100 EdgeHD, riding on my CGEM. Under the snout, screwed to the dovetail plate with a 1/4"-20 screw, is an SVBONY SV165 30mm guide scope with an SV305 camera, used as an "electronic finder." It's used for plate solving, slewing, and syncing the mount, plus visual fine adjustment of the pointing to get on target. Because the SV165 does not have adjustable rings, I can't align it exactly with the main camera. That's where the green laser pointer mounted in the top side finder shoe comes in. It's made for use as a rifle laser sight, and hence has very fine pointing adjustments. So the GLP is aligned with the main imaging camera. In SharpCap, I plate solve and slew to the target (say Jupiter), which centers Jupiter in the SV305. Then I briefly switch on the GLP and place SharpCap's crosshair reticle on the tip of the laser in the SV305's field of view. Then I just manually slew the target over to the crosshair position and voila, the target is in the main camera's FOV. The electronic finder + GLP combo allows me to polar align, slew & sync and get on target in about 2 minutes.

 

The optical train is currently a GSO dual speed Crayford focuser with an EAF attached with a bracket from Buckeye Stargazer (this avoids mirror shift when focusing, although that was always minimal with this scope), ZWO ADC (via an M42 - 2" adapter to 2" extension tube slid into the GSO's compression ring; I would prefer threaded connection to the focuser body, but alas it is unavailable with the GSO), 2" filter drawer (for swapping UV/IR cut filter for an IR685 pass filter), to the ASI678MC. The ADC-filter drawer-camera are all threaded, meaning this configuration has little control of the camera orientation. I used to use a camera rotator in there, but it added 11mm of back focus, and I am already out of spec a bit because of the length of the GSO Crayford, which can start to matter for lunar imaging; the 1100 EdgeHD has a 146.5mm back focus and I am already slightly above that at full retraction of the focuser. If I ever get around to using the ASI676MC, it has a built in UV/IR cut filter, and I can swap out the filter drawer for the slimmer camera rotator and kill two birds with one stone.

 

Thermally, I use a simple plastic & velcro dew shield in conjunction with 2 layers of Reflectix and an R-Sky dew strap & controller. I live in a swamp in Florida (literally; where my neighborhood is used to be a swamp), so I have their heavy duty dew strap & controller. However, I actually need very little heat to keep the dew at bay because of the shield and insulation. The strap is installed underneath the insulation, direction on the OTA behind the corrector cell. In the future I will be moving it to the middle of the OTA between the corrector and primary mirror.

 

The cables for the SV305, the EAF, the main camera, and the dew strap are bundled into a sort of umbilicus. The cable for the dew strap splits off and goes to the dew heater controller, which is just strapped to the hub of the mount with velcro. The SV305, EAF, and the dew heater controller are all plugged into a powered USB hub that rides on the tripod spreader. The hub and the main camera cable are plugged into USB3 ports on my laptop. A USB to RS232 adapter cable connects the laptop to the hand controller of the CGEM, allowing SharpCap to control the mount via ASCOM for plate solution, slewing, and guiding.

 

I am happy to answer any questions about this rig. It has evolved a lot and is still evolving over time. I would also very much like to see other people's approaches to this hobby.

 

I don't have a permanent observatory, so the rig gets broken down, carried outside, and setup whenever I want to image. Moving at a leisurely pace it take about 15 minutes to set up.

Edited by Borodog, 22 January 2025 - 12:30 PM.

[Andrea Salati]

Here is mine. Neither its size nor my skills allow me to "compete" with Christopher Go or Damian Peach but that was never the spirit for me.
My plan was to have a rig small enough I could lift and carry out of the front door in a single trip. Everything, I mean, including the power source (see the TalentCell battery pack secured to the tripod's leg).
It is a pleasure to use and the OTA is swapped out every time I can capture the Sun (I have a small AT60ED based rig dedicated to doing just that).

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[Borodog]

Here is mine. Neither its size nor my skills allow me to "compete" with Christopher Go or Damian Peach but that was never the spirit for me.
My plan was to have a rig small enough I could lift and carry out of the front door in a single trip. Everything, I mean, including the power source (see the TalentCell battery pack secured to the tripod's leg).
It is a pleasure to use and the OTA is swapped out every time I can capture the Sun (I have a small AT60ED based rig dedicated to doing just that).

Very nice and compact rig. I see you're up in Jacksonville. Get any snow? I am in St. Augustine and we just missed it, much to my son's dismay. I heard there was snow over in Fruit Cove.

[dcaponeii]

So here are some pics I've taken over the past few months of my rig.  The scope is a 16" Orion xx16g GOTO Dobsonian telescope.  I constructed a roll-off building to house the scope on a concrete pad.  I used a computer cart (which remains in my shop when not in use) that has a capture computer on the lower shelf and a finder and controller computer on the top shelf.  The optical train is fairly compact (about 5" overall length) consisting of an ASI676MC, ADC, and a 2x Barlow element with spacers that yield an f/10 focal ratio.

 

Here is the scope in the stored arrangement.  The ends of the building are split into an upper and lower half which are removed manually and leaned against my property fence.

 

Here is the entire system in use.

 

Another view of the entire system

 

My optical train (note:  This is a duplicate set up with the ASI678MC camera installed.)  It's all threaded except for the 2" spacer that slips into the 2" eyepiece holder on the scope.  The 2x barlow cannot be seen in the photo as it is threaded to the scope side of the ADC barrel up inside that 2" spacer.

 

I MacGuyvered this $75 focus motor onto the slow-speed spindle of the scope 2-speed Crayford focuser (this is my spare).  It is operated by a 9V bi-directional variable speed hand controller.

 

[Andrea Salati]

Very nice and compact rig. I see you're up in Jacksonville. Get any snow? I am in St. Augustine and we just missed it, much to my son's dismay. I heard there was snow over in Fruit Cove.

Not here (I am on Kernan) but a friend got a few flurries downtown early this morning. Almost all of the bridges have been closed, at some time, due to ice and, in particular, due to drivers getting in pile ups.
Tally and the panhandle are a different story, I am sure you have friends there as well and the pictures I have seen are hard to believe.

[Borodog]

Very nice setup, Don. Can't really picture what this means: "The ends of the building are split into an upper and lower half which are removed manually and leaned against my property fence." The construction looks very heavy to pick up and lean against a fence. I must be missing something.

 

Your optical train is virtually identical to mine if I swap the filter drawer for the camera rotator. I have experimented with a 2" 2X Barlow element on the end as well, but of course the resulting magnification is much too high for my SCT. I used to have a configuration where I had the Barlow element directly (via an adapter anyway) screwed to the nosepiece of my ASI183MC, and that worked excellently, providing about 1.3X magnification, perfect for the 2.4 micron pixels with that camera.

[Andrea Salati]

I forgot to mention the specifics, other than the obvious.
First a clarification. You may have noticed that at the beginning of my optical train, immediately behind the SCT-T thread adapter, I have a Baader Heavy Duty T2 Quick Changer. That is because I am lazy and this rig is also used for visual (the 10" dobsonian is preferable for many reasons BUT this mount tracks like a champ and I greatly enjoy that feature when observing the planets). See the picture where I show how easy it is to go from the visual configuration to the imaging one. What is even better is that both are within 1/3 of a millimeter of the optimum back focus as recommended by Celestron for the C5 (5 inches).

Inside in front of the camera I have an old but surprisingly good Made in Japan barlow's nosepiece which gives me a magnifying factor of 1.53x. See it in the second picture. That barlow was pimped up by me, I documented the process here.

Finally, I have an orchestra sheet music stand I bought at Goodwill for $10 that I use for the computer. I made an "enclosure" with a cardboard box which you see in the last picture. It ain't a beaty but it works like a charm.

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[dcaponeii]

Very nice setup, Don. Can't really picture what this means: "The ends of the building are split into an upper and lower half which are removed manually and leaned against my property fence." The construction looks very heavy to pick up and lean against a fence. I must be missing something.

Your optical train is virtually identical to mine if I swap the filter drawer for the camera rotator. I have experimented with a 2" 2X Barlow element on the end as well, but of course the resulting magnification is much too high for my SCT. I used to have a configuration where I had the Barlow element directly (via an adapter anyway) screwed to the nosepiece of my ASI183MC, and that worked excellently, providing about 1.3X magnification, perfect for the 2.4 micron pixels with that camera.

You’re looking at the end of the building with the end wall pieces already removed. There is a bottom half that slides into the wall segments on either side. The upper half matches the roof line and pins into the lower half thus completing the end wall.

[Borodog]

I see. So the remaining part in the photo rolls off on those low wall sections.

[kennhk]

Here are my two humble rigs. Only recently have I really upgraded the setup with this nice standing table so I can access the camera better. I also switched to Onstep Ipad that makes things much easier to control. 

[dcaponeii]

I see. So the remaining part in the photo rolls off on those low wall sections.

Exactly. You can see the aluminum plate I used to cap the rails. The building is sitting on seven rollers (3 on each side wall and one riding the center rail at the center of the rear wall. There are latches all around to secure the building when closed. It’s survived several major thunderstorm wind events without issue (although I had to add additional weather stripping and drip edges to keep wind-blown water out of the enclosure.

[Borodog]

Ken,

 

Here there be monsters.

 

Beautiful scopes.

Edited by Borodog, 23 January 2025 - 09:51 AM.

[RMay]

Add an iPhone, and that’s it for me. (If I was a serious astrophotographer, I’d get a better telescope.)

 

😉
 

Ron

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[sfugardi]

Guys, here is my latest C14 revision. A bit over the top - utilizing 8 fans: 2-70mm fans blowing in across mirror, 2-70mm fans blowing out under corrector, 3-50mm internal fans above mirror acting as a vortex and 1-60mm fan blowing in from the rear and 1-60mm fan blow out from the rear. I gave up on insulating the tube, recirculating the OTA air and trying to apply heat to the OTA in an attempt to balance the temperatures. I have 1 thermocouple attached to the back of the mirror and 1 dangling in front of the mirror. My best results have come recently using 5-5.5v on the variable DC supplies and rear cell air blowing in. I crank the fans to 10v during cooldown and then dial it back during viewing or imaging. While turning them off always looks great initially, within minutes the thermal instability returns. Personally, I don't recommend this level of extreme modification since there is no way to go back to original. My 7' homemade dome was rebuilt with a steel pier, new walls and wood platform after it was used for 15 years in CT with a concrete pier and floor. 

 

Regards,

Steve

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[sfugardi]

When I am in NY, I use my 12.5" Portaball originally intended for visual, but I compulsively needed to image with it. Not the best scope for imaging but it has a very nice Zambuto mirror. I have been using a small box fan to aid in the pre-cooling. The flimsy Al trusses were replaced with carbon fiber and the upper dew shield was extended.

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Edited by sfugardi, 23 January 2025 - 08:14 PM.

[LiamMcD71]

Here's my little wonder.

 

I first started about 15 years ago with the 8se, using the first gen Celestron NexImage (think that was horrible so I modded a webcam), running on a CGEM I mount. But then we had kids...  so I only took up the calling again middle of last year.

 

Discovered that trying move around a 34kg (75lbs) mount was easier in my early 40's than my middish 50's.  Flogged that and some other stuff and upgraded to the ZWO AM5n, and a new camera 

 

 

Main imaging cam is ASI678MC, there's a JMI Event Horizon 2cm (that I MacGyvered to work with the EAF as the analogue motor was a bit outdated).  I use my Guide Scope as an electronic finder (for Polar Align, Plate Solve etc.) and it makes life much easier to get those orbs center on the chip!

 

 

The EAF is the Gemini one from AliExpress, works a treat.  And then I use (quite badly) the ZWO ADF.  Depending on what is being imaged, I sometimes throw a 3x Televue Barlow into the train, with mixed results (binning not really meant for OSC, but I try anyway )  I also have a Dew-Not dew heater from the old days that is permanently on scope.  Capture software is mostly SharpCap.

Clear skies!
Liam

 

Edit:  Yes, my cable management is in dire need of some help!

Edited by LiamMcD71, 24 January 2025 - 03:48 AM.

[Borodog]

Steve,

 

That's a lot of fans. I would worry about vibration. Not a problem? 

 

I understand the compulsive need to image with absolutely every hunk of glass you have laying around. 

 

Liam,

 

You should insulate that thing. :O)

[Jan_Fremerey]

See here.

[Borodog]

See here.

 

Wow. That's a fascinating instrument. So basically it's a tubeless Newtonian without the secondary mirror to redirect the image to the side? 

[Jan_Fremerey]

without the secondary mirror to redirect the image to the side? 

A rotatable 90° flip mirror box can be attahed to the camera holder:

 

 

[Borodog]

Is the scope of your own design and construction? Forgive me if this is covered on your page; Ich spreche sehr wenig Deutsch.

[Space Cowboy]

Some very impressive setups on show! I'm very jealous of people who have a permanent rig especially those with an observatory.

 

Here is my simple 10" Skywatcher Flextube Dob which I've had for nearly 15 years now. It was the auto tracking model before the more expensive GOTO Dobs came out though I do sometimes use a GOTO handset from my first setup which was a Skymax 127 GOTO.

 

I keep the Dob  upstairs in the house and carry it down to the back garden for each imaging session which is probably why I've not upgraded to a 14" model just yet!

 

Currently using the QHY585c & QHY462 mono cams.

 

 

 

[Borodog]

SC, nice scope. I have the SW Classic 250p, with an EQ platform, although I rarely image with it (and never planets any more).

Edited by Borodog, 24 January 2025 - 03:42 PM.

[KpS]

So the GLP is aligned with the main imaging camera. In SharpCap, I plate solve and slew to the target (say Jupiter), which centers Jupiter in the SV305. Then I briefly switch on the GLP and place SharpCap's crosshair reticle on the tip of the laser in the SV305's field of view. Then I just manually slew the target over to the crosshair position and voila, the target is in the main camera's FOV.

Very interesting solution! I can't risk that, unfortunately. The international airport is only eight kilometres away and the two largest hospitals with their heliports only four. The traffic is considerable.

 

My C11 XLT is on the loggia.  Three years now because of my back. It has a few advantages. The polar alignment is pretty stable and it doesn't take five minutes to get ready to observe. Same all over again to stash and close the sliding glass sheets. When it's freezing I go to the room to a PC with remote access. But there are more disadvantages. The view is limited not only in azimuth but also in altitude. This is especially unfortunate now that both Jupiter and Mars have high declination. But most importantly, local seeing is rarely satisfactory. Especially in cold weather, the steam rising from two nearby heating plants contributes to this.

 

The loggia is too narrow so I can't walk around the telescope. I have to control everything from my laptop. For the same reason I rely on an electronic viewfinder: the SW Evoguide 50ED and the ASI220MM-Mini camera. At the end of the tube is the Baader Steeltrak focuser, followed by the Vixen FlipMirror which also allows visual preview. Then the ZWO 8x1.25" EFW, the GreatStar ADC and now the ASI678MC camera. From the rear end, a total of six cables lead between the Losmandy dovetail and the mounting head. One feeds 12V, the others are connected to the USB hub. This hub is connected with a single cable to the Thunderbolt port of the laptop and provides sufficient power to all devices.

 

 

Edited by KpS, 24 January 2025 - 04:30 PM.

[Borodog]

Karel,

 

The GLP can be on as little as one second if I needed it, just long enough to place the reticle in SharpCap.

 

Very nice setup. Even if it isn't ideal, there is much to be said for convenience.