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I have always been wondering if I could lower the weight of my set-up since the
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GPD2 mount is already in its maximum load capacity. It has been carrying
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the Megrez 90, the Zenithstar 80ED, guidecam and the DSLR plus the mounting plate and rings. A friend even commented that the Zenithstar 80ED is an overkill for a guidescope as it could be a respectable imaging scope. So, with all these overcast skies and rains, my hands were itching to do something that can relieve the heavy guidescope. After a quick inventory of my astro toys, I noticed that I have a William Optics 7X50 finderscope that was seldom used. My challenge was to adapt the QHY5 guider to the tube. Dismantling the finder, I found out that it had an M42T thread so all I need to look for is a M42T to 1.25 inch adapter. Fortunately, I had a Vixen flip mirror which have two M42T to 1.25 inch adapters. I quickly set up the finder with the QHY5 camera, focused a distant building and measured the required distance of the adapter. Without any hesitation, I got a hacksaw blade, wore my gloves and goggles and started cutting the adapter tube to the desired length. I used a fine file to grind the rough edges and finished it with a sandpaper. The finished adapter mated smoothly with the finderscope half. I inserted the QHY5, and tested the whole assembly. To my pleasant surprise, the finderscope focused perfectly to the distant building. Now, I will just have to wait for a clear night to test it on a star and see if it is worthy to be renamed "guidescope"!
3 comments:
Hi Tani,
I was wondering if you tried your guidescope in the end. I have a Megrez 90 on my GPD2 and have a DMK21 lying around. I might buy a ccd and was wondering if your setup was good enough for guiding wide-field imaging. Did you try it?
thanks,
Thibault
Hi Thibault!
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I did try the guidescope. Ever since I made it, its has been working satisfactorily. I never had any problems locating and choosing a guidestar. Not sure how big is the chip on the DMK but the guidescope works great with the QHY5. The Megrez 90 by the way is a very good scope for widefield imaging. I'm using a Borg flattener. How do you intend to guide the GPD2? I modified the DD-1 controller to accept guiding commands. Feel free to ask if you have some questions.
Regards,
Tani
Hi Tani, I never saw your reply until now, sorry!
I am looking for a 7x50 WO finder as of now, pretty tough to find.. Just missed one 2 days ago on UKastrobuy&sell, they look superb to go with the megrez and the clean look..
I am driving the GPD2 with a Boxdoerfer MTS-3SDI via serial lx200 control, I can route PHD guide commands through Equinox Pro to which the controler is connected, but I need to build a special ST-4 cable if I want to use straight ST-4 commands.. so I will first see if the lx200 pulse commands are fine in case I will bypass the st-4 setup, easier!
I think the chip on the dmk is the same size as the qhy5, but I am on mac and qhy is not supported so.. :) But I didn't really started astrophotography (deepsky, I'm on planetary imaging for now), so I'm slowly building a good setup, I like the easy straightforward use of the finderscope as a guide, need to find that WO 7x50!
Thanks for the tips! cheers,
Thibault
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