Hardware:All of the equipment shown on the page was sold in 2004 to fund the upgrade to the Takahashi BRC-250 set-up. I never thought I'd sell the AP, but in the end there is no perfect telescope - except the one you haven't owned yet. So I'm hanging on to this page just to record the journey, and show some of the equipment set-ups that have worked out for me in the past.
This is my primary telescope, an Astro-Physics 130mm f6 StarFire EDFS. Astro-Physics is a marvelous company, and their equipment (scopes, mounts, and other accessories) set very high standards in the industry in terms of design performance and manufacturing quality. This particular scope was part of the 2001 production run, and I am very happy with the way it performs. It is focused remotely by a Technical Innovations - RoboFocus (held securely in place by the now famous RoboBracket by Mark Jenkins). Focusing can be handled manually (through a control box or through the computer interface) or automatically through a program called FocusMax. The camera is made by SBIG, it is the ST-8E (parallel interface camera) with a CFW-8 filter wheel. All the operational connections for the cameras, mount, and other controls are made through my Network Interface. I access the system remotely from my laptop over an wireless router to run the imaging camera, guider camera, and all three serial interfaces. I am currently using an Astronomik filter set (RGB TYP II + Ha), and include a Hutech IDAS LPR filter when imaging at under less than dark skies (like when I'm at home).
The guide scope sitting on top of the AP130 is a Takahashi FS-60C, which is a marvelous little 355mm fl (f5.9) APO refractor in it's own right. I really think it's underutilized as just a guide scope. I've installed a focal reducer to increase the FOV and reduce the focal length down to 264mm (f4.4). This set-up gives me a larger FOV on my guider than my main CCD, and the shorter focal length seems to improve guiding. I do plan to shoot some very wide field images with the FS-60C and the ST-8 at some point in the future. The actual guiding is handled by an SBIG ST-237 (or a PixCel 237 in this case). I used to use an STV for the guiding duties, but ended up trading it for the ST-237. While I love the STV's features (wish I could have kept it and just added the ST-237) I'm really looking to automate the system and run it remotely. This mode of operation is just not the STV's strength. I attach the ST-237 CPU to the mount with a Mueller's Atomics STV PierShelf, which I've recently relocated lower on the pier and to the rear to avoid interference and possible contact. I operate the ST-8E and the ST-237 using MaxIm DL/CCD.
The mount may be the most important part of an astro-imaging system, and I've been fortunate to be able to pick up a recent model Astro-Physics 900 GOTO mount. This is just a GREAT mount! It is rock solid (more mount than is needed for a 780mm fl scope), has very low periodic error, and the GOTO feature makes the most of your time in the dark. The mount is supported by an AP 48" Portable Pier, and the whole system rides around on a set of JMI Wheeley Bars with the optional 5" wheels. The Wheeley Bars allow me to roll the assembled mount and scope in and out of the garage saving hours of set-up and disassembly. The overall height is about right for visual work with the AP130, and quite stable for CCD imaging.
This site was last updated 05/17/09 |
