Thinking about a dual set up

[Carole]

Just wondering what you guys think of this idea and can you see any problems?

Seeing as we have a lot of cloudy nights the idea has come to me to use a dual set up using both my ED80 and ED120 simultaneously to capture.  I am thinking of using the QHY8L on one scope and the Atik383L using Ha on the other.  
Hopefully I should be able to mount them piggy back instead of my ST80 guide scope, and use a Skywatcher finder guider instead of the ST80.

If I am using different capture software for each do you think my laptop will be up to the job of capturing two lots of images and guiding, or would I be better using separate laptops?

If I'm dithering I'll need to co-incide the subs (tricky) but with a reasonable gap between subs it could work - or not, suck it and see I guess.  

Will need to work out the orientation of the scopes and cameras to get a close FOV.  

Going to need 2 flatteners I think. 

I am used to combining data from different scopes and cameras now, so I am reasonably confident this would work.  Can you think of anything I have overlooked?

Carole

[Carole]

Well I spent a bit of time this afternoon swapping the ST80 for the ED80, and I have realised that this is a better set up anyway, since I don't have to swap everything over every time I want to change scopes, I can just swap which one is the guide camera and which is the imaging camera.  so once I get a finder guider I can try for the dual set up.

Carole

[Fay]

Sorry Carole, cant answer, as it gives me a headache thinking about it!!!!!

[RobertM]

Sorry, when I first saw the heading I thought it said 'duel setup' - you might have had a forum argument somewhere and I didn't want to get involved in personal combat scenarios !

On the dual front it sounds like you need the three scope (inc. guider) setup though I'm not sure that you won't get any flex with that.  Most setups I've seen tend to fix the bottom two scopes via something more rigid than the thin skywatcher/vixen dovetail setup.

Hope that helps
Robert

[Fay]

  you are funny Robert

[Carole]

I'm not sure that you won't get any flex with that.  Most setups I've seen tend to fix the bottom two scopes via something more rigid than the thin skywatcher/vixen dovetail setup.

Yes that thought did occur to me Robert, So I think I'll just try out the finderguider and dual telescope set up first before I start thinking about getting extra flatteners, then if it doesn't work I won't have spent too much.
At the moment I just have the mounting rings from both telescopes bolted together, I was wondering whether to use a metal bar between for more stability, but then I would need longer bolts, I'll see how it goes.  

Sorry, when I first saw the heading I thought it said 'duel setup' - you might have had a forum argument somewhere and I didn't want to get involved in personal combat scenarios !

Carole

[Rocket Pooch]

I was thinking of a dual tuner set top box as well

[Carole]

Well finally we got some clear skies this evening.
Tried the finderguider out and it works well, in fact the guide graph was a lot better than I normally get.
Tried QHY8L out with various software and finally settled for APT - still to process.

Then I tried to add the Atik383 to the 2nd scope so I could do Ha simultaneously and this is where things started to go a bit pearshaped.  

Realised I had no 2nd flattener, so scrabbled together some 2" extension tubes so I at least had a nosepiece and thought I'd do without a flattener as this was just an exercise to see if it all worked.  Used my spare 12nm Ha filter and then tried to focus with the Atik.   Also realised I did not have a spare USB extension cable for the Atik as it was now being used by the QHY8, but I thought I could get away with it as the camera end of the scope was close(ish) to the laptop.  

Decided I needed to go to a bright star to focus the Atik, so I set up the QHY8L doing darks while I fiddled.

Well that did it, asking the mount to slew to a bright star made it decide to do a Meridian flip and I just managed to stop the mount in time before my short Atik USB got pulled out.  Shut down Artemis and continued with the Meridian flip, but having 3 cameras on and dew heaters - by the time the flip was over all the cables were mangled up.

So stopped and unmangled them, having to shut down various software and cameras etc whilst doing so.  

Tried to re-start it all but by that time the mount was confused after stopping it and having various cables strangle it, so called it a night.  

But the outcome is that I have hopefully proved it will all work once I can get a further USB extension lead and second flattener.  Just need to start it all off at the same time next time.  

Carole

[Carole]

Well the dual rig has been well and truly bu******ed up by my purchase of  newtonian.  Bought a Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS.

It was fun while it lasted.

Carole

[MarkS]

Why does the Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS prevent dual imaging?

Mark

[Carole]

It probably would be possible Mark, but what I meant was I have had to de-rig it all to put the Newtonian on the mount and currently want to concentrate on using that.

Maybe once I have everything running OK I might think about it.

Carole