From: "Mark Gaffney" <markgaffney@mac.com>

Date: March 3, 2008 2:11:31 PM MST

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: Auto-Guiding and photography..

--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com, Milton Aupperle <milton@...> wrote:

Hi Mark;

On 3-Mar-08, at 4:38 AM, Mark Gaffney wrote:

Hi Milton, Could you describe what you mean by "erratic flexure  

issues" when using the

guide-scope and GPUSB.

By erratic flexure I mean the amount and degree of movement changes  

each time I use it.

The C8 has some (I think it does) mirror movement issues, the focuser  

for my cheap guide scope had some play in it, the rail and rings  

mounted on the C8 Tube had some play, and the total mass of the guide  

scope, cameras, C8 were almost at the limits of what the HEQ5 can  

handle weight wise.

To fix most of it would probably mean buying a saddle plate so that I  

could mount the guide camera and C8 in parallel and mounting the  

optics for the Guide scope and guide camera on a non adjustable solid  

aluminum rail. But the C8 mirror movement would still be an issue.

Your comments about the OAG and more recent ones about the

Dage-MTI cameras are noted. If I do have to buy a new camera,  

perhaps a higher resolution

or basic model of this type might be the go. I`ve been following  

your advice about the larger

pixel size on the Flea cameras and now these.

The problem is that most cameras that have larger pixels and bigger  

image areas are very expensive CCDs.

I could eventually use the present IS camera, a

DBK 21A F04 AS to guide camera!?

It makes a good guider. People have taken some interesting DSO images  

with the IS cameras too.

I`m waiting on a pricing email from Dage.

So am I. My suspicion is that these cameras will be very expensive,  

much more than the Fleas and probably in the Grasshopper range.

Have

postponed the Moonlite focuser for a couple of weeks further into  

April whilst I update to

Leopard. Mark

I have left all my G4 / G5 Macs at Tiger and likely will not be  

moving to Leopard for 6 to 12 months until it's stable. My x86 boxes  

is set up for a dual boot into Tiger or Leopard, but I spend most of  

my time in Tiger. Just too many inconsistencies.

Milton J. Aupperle

President

ASC - Aupperle Services and Contracting

Mac Software (Drivers, Components and Application) Specialist

#1005 - 815 14th Avenue. S.W.

Calgary Alberta T2R0N5

1-(403)-229-9456

milton@...

www.outcastsoft.com

SBIG make a self guiding camera, the ST-2000XCM but you`re probably right about 

exhorbitant pricing on this and the Dage-MTI cameras! By the way I eventually managed 

to basically polar align by printing a FOV chart in Astroplanner and reversing it twice! 

Mark.