Another Pimp my scope.

[Mac]

From this


To this.


15 mins.

to this.


and my final set up is now this.


Mark i took your advice and got the ADM dovetail for the top scope,
Fantastic, I even found out that they have a standard camera screw for their ring system.
Just need to order another two clamps for the Nikon.
Only one problem though.
Weight.

Has anyone got an unwanted 10kg weight i could purchase?
as the total weight is just over the 10Kg for the two scopes.
havent added the nikon yet.
need to find out the maximum weight for the eq6.

As well as collimating the 10", still not happy with it.
Might completely loosen the secondary and start from scratch.
Rather then muck around tweeking

Also I was going to repaint it, to allow it to cool down quicker.

Mac.

[Ian]

that looks fun. And heavy.

It's a little late now, but putting the piggyback on the side would reduce the moment of inertia lowering the dynamic loading on the mount...

[Mac]

It's a little late now, but putting the piggyback on the side would reduce the moment of inertia lowering the dynamic loading on the mount...

I did order a dual bar but that was currently out of stock, so in on back order,
Next week is the earliest.

so i've set it up as so.

Question for peeps.

It says the EQ6 Pro mount will hold 25Kg, is that including the counterweights?
Other sites say for other mounts the weight of the telescopes it can hold?

Haven't stuck this on the scales yet, but its going to be close to 25Kg with the weights, possibly a tad over.

Mac.

[Carole]

Mac,

I've got a 5kg weight I'm currently not using, which you are welcome to borrow for the time being if that's any use.  I don't want to get rid of it permanently because I might want to have a bigger telescope in the
future.

Carole

[Fay]

Mac I have a dual bar you can borrow at DSC

[Fay]

Mac, what attachments did you use for your Nikon?

[Mac]

I'll borrow the 5kg carol and see how i get on.
As for the Nikon.

On my other mount, i've got a 1/4 Whitworth bolt for the camera.
Somewhere i've got a few spare bolts if you want any.

As for that dovetail system, Their bolts for their rings are camera standards.
They also do a camera dovetail for their bar.

http://www.admaccessories.com/



Mac.

[Carole]

I'll borrow the 5kg carole

I'll bring it to DSC

[MarkS]

Mac,

That looks really good - I'm sure you'll find the EQ6 *so* much easier (and stable) than the wedge.

As for weight - don't worry too much.  I never know if the 25kg refers to scope or scope+counterweights.  However, my C11 + guide lens + Canon needs 4 of those 5kg counterweights and the EQ6 still works very happily.  And sometimes I even add another DSLR + lens for widefield.

As for piggybacking - you must piggyback the guidescope on top just as you have it (and not hanging off the side) otherwise you'll never be able to balance the Dec direction but only the RA.  Or you must use a side by side bar.

Respraying is a great idea - can I suggest yellow

Mark

[Ian]

As for piggybacking - you must piggyback the guidescope on top just as you have it (and not hanging off the side) otherwise you'll never be able to balance the Dec direction but only the RA.  Or you must use a side by side bar.

unless you can adjust the scopes on the bar with the mount under the centre of mass.

how about solving your counterweight issues by mounting the piggy back on the counterweight shaft?

Note: Ideas we're not short of. Good ones can prove harder to find...

[Mac]

Cant quite decide on the new colour for the scope.


I quite like RAL6005 which i believe is British Racing Green.

Any other colours take your fancy?

Mac.

[Carole]

Personally I like it as it is, don't know why you want to paint it Mac.

Carole

[Tony G]

RAL4003   

Tony G

[Mac]

Personally I like it as it is, don't know why you want to paint it Mac

To help it cool down quicker, and also to reduce the amount of dew.
Lighter colours cool down quicker so they tend to have less dew.

I was thinking of RAL4003 as well. Just need to find a Flower stencil though.

Mac.

[Tony G]

Mac,

moving away from the subject slightly, iI remember you saying you had a little money put aside for an addition, well I saw this and thought of you.

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76457/show.html?tduid=07e2c89993859a46513a42e887c6e3d2&url=http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76457/show.html


Tony G

[Mac]

You must be kidding mr G.

Its only a 200mm

This is more like it.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-400mm-2-8G-AF-S-Nikkor/dp/B000VDF5JC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266332381&sr=8-2

or even this one 600mm f4
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-AF-S-600mm-IF-ED-warranty/dp/B00319IWLQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266332466&sr=1-2-spell

They did make these lenses, but they are a tad slow / Heavy / LONG.
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/zoomsMF/12001700mm.htm

With my f3.3 I can get the scope to be 770mm @ F3.3

With just a small amount of spherical aberration.

[MarkS]

With my f3.3 I can get the scope to be 770mm @ F3.3
With just a small amount of spherical aberration.

Hmm...  I tried that - F3.3 with my C11.

Trouble is, it doesn't really cover the full frame of a Canon or Nikon DSLR does it.

[Mac]

Trouble is, it doesn't really cover the full frame of a Canon or Nikon DSLR does it.

Couldn't really tell as i've only used it with the H9.
and to tell you the truth i wasnt impressed.
However saying that, I'm not too sure how much of that was down to the fact the collimation is still very bad.
and /or the focal reduction aberation.

Cant wait to try it through the D3, I can still change the CCD size from

FX format (36 x 24): 4,256 x 2,832
5:4 (30 x 24): 3,552 x 2,832
DX format (24 x 16): 2,784 x 1,848

so that might get round the vignetting ect.

Might have to borrow your artifical star, unless i can get round to building one before the weekend.
Now where's my powersupply and LED.

Mac.

[MarkS]

Might have to borrow your artifical star

I always bring it to DSC but you're welcome to PM me and pick it up in advance.

I never managed to get good results with the F3.3 reducer.