I image in northern RI, about 10 miles northwest of Providence, and about 50 miles away from my hometown near Boston. The light pollution is moderate, and there is skyglow near the southeastern horizon from Providence. The Milky Way is faintly present on most nights, the average LVM is about 5.5, and the site is class 5-6 on the scale.
Initially, I used a upgraded to the Gemini L3 v1.13 EPROM. This is a good mount for the money, but I noted inconsistent tracking once I added the FSQ106 (which is a relatively heavy scope), especially near the meridian. This resulted in lost imaging time due to many subs with less than perfect stars. I spent many hours tweaking the G11 but finally concluded that I needed an upgrade. In the summer of 2007, I moved to the Takahashi NJP mount with Temma 2, shown above, which has been a great performer. has kindly created a driver for the NJP Temma system that allows computer control via ASCOM. The is a great resource for the G11, and the also contains useful information. The is a great resource for Takahashi products, including scopes and mounts. Other items/features present in the photos include JMI Wheeley Bars (a great backsaver!), and a red tool cart from Sears (a convenient way to store, transport, and organize equipment both during and after the imaging session).
The Takahashi Sky90 shown in this older photo above is attached to the Losmandy dovetail plate system with a set of which fit perfectly and are beautifully manufactured. There are miscellaneous items such as the f4.5 field flattener (highly recommended), spacers, T-mount, and the Camera Angle Adjuster in the imaging train- please consult with appropriate vendors to tailor the Sky90 components to your needs. In the image, the Camera Angle Adjuster is first, followed by the focal reducer, followed by the CA35 adapter and then the wide T mount, which connects to the filter wheel. The True Technology Slim Design Filter Wheel uses the SCTM-T-LR and SCTM-TF adapters (available from Adirondack Video Astronomy). The camera connects to the other side of the filter wheel via the T thread. The provides a good starting point for determining the correct distance between the CCD chip and the focal reducer, although some experimentation is required to get the best results (backfocus is 72 mm for this arrangement, which includes the 17 mm flange to CCD chip distance of the SXV-H9, or the 28mm flange to CCD chip distance of the Maxcam CM10). The curvature map of my Sky90 at f4.5 with the Maxcam CM10 camera (10mm x 14.9mm chip size) is
Takahashi FS102:
I wanted a lightweight, longer focal length scope for imaging galaxies and planetaries in greater detail and decided to purchase the Vixen VC200L, which is a modified Cassegrain design (shown above). This scope has an 8" aperture and a native focal length of 1800mm at f9. I mounted it with Parallax rings, and I attached a Losmandy dovetail plate on top to mount a 60mm guidescope (227mm at f3.7, with the ST402 autoguider) described more fully in the "Autoguider" section below. The imaging train also includes the True Technology thin filter wheel attached to the Apogee U32 camera. I use this scope in either f9 or f6.1 configuration. For the f9 set up with the U32 camera and TT filter wheel, the required adapters were purchased from Hutech and consist of the following Borg parts: #7901, 7602, 7601, 7522. A close up of this arrangement is shown below (this image shows the rotating ring, Borg part #7352, which I no longer use because it introduced some tilt into the imaging train):
To attach the Robofocus (shown below), I simply used the metal bracket provided by Technical Innovations and shaped it as required to accomodate the focuser lock screw as shown below. I used a few washers under the lock screw to prevent it from actually locking the focuser tube in place. I find this to be a simple and very sturdy arrangement that permits accurate focusing without noticeable play.
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Initially, I used a upgraded to the Gemini L3 v1.13 EPROM. This is a good mount for the money, but I noted inconsistent tracking once I added the FSQ106 (which is a relatively heavy scope), especially near the meridian. This resulted in lost imaging time due to many subs with less than perfect stars. I spent many hours tweaking the G11 but finally concluded that I needed an upgrade. In the summer of 2007, I moved to the Takahashi NJP mount with Temma 2, shown above, which has been a great performer. has kindly created a driver for the NJP Temma system that allows computer control via ASCOM. The is a great resource for the G11, and the also contains useful information. The is a great resource for Takahashi products, including scopes and mounts. Other items/features present in the photos include JMI Wheeley Bars (a great backsaver!), and a red tool cart from Sears (a convenient way to store, transport, and organize equipment both during and after the imaging session).
The Takahashi Sky90 shown in this older photo above is attached to the Losmandy dovetail plate system with a set of which fit perfectly and are beautifully manufactured. There are miscellaneous items such as the f4.5 field flattener (highly recommended), spacers, T-mount, and the Camera Angle Adjuster in the imaging train- please consult with appropriate vendors to tailor the Sky90 components to your needs. In the image, the Camera Angle Adjuster is first, followed by the focal reducer, followed by the CA35 adapter and then the wide T mount, which connects to the filter wheel. The True Technology Slim Design Filter Wheel uses the SCTM-T-LR and SCTM-TF adapters (available from Adirondack Video Astronomy). The camera connects to the other side of the filter wheel via the T thread. The provides a good starting point for determining the correct distance between the CCD chip and the focal reducer, although some experimentation is required to get the best results (backfocus is 72 mm for this arrangement, which includes the 17 mm flange to CCD chip distance of the SXV-H9, or the 28mm flange to CCD chip distance of the Maxcam CM10). The curvature map of my Sky90 at f4.5 with the Maxcam CM10 camera (10mm x 14.9mm chip size) is
Takahashi FS102:
I wanted a lightweight, longer focal length scope for imaging galaxies and planetaries in greater detail and decided to purchase the Vixen VC200L, which is a modified Cassegrain design (shown above). This scope has an 8" aperture and a native focal length of 1800mm at f9. I mounted it with Parallax rings, and I attached a Losmandy dovetail plate on top to mount a 60mm guidescope (227mm at f3.7, with the ST402 autoguider) described more fully in the "Autoguider" section below. The imaging train also includes the True Technology thin filter wheel attached to the Apogee U32 camera. I use this scope in either f9 or f6.1 configuration. For the f9 set up with the U32 camera and TT filter wheel, the required adapters were purchased from Hutech and consist of the following Borg parts: #7901, 7602, 7601, 7522. A close up of this arrangement is shown below (this image shows the rotating ring, Borg part #7352, which I no longer use because it introduced some tilt into the imaging train):
To attach the Robofocus (shown below), I simply used the metal bracket provided by Technical Innovations and shaped it as required to accomodate the focuser lock screw as shown below. I used a few washers under the lock screw to prevent it from actually locking the focuser tube in place. I find this to be a simple and very sturdy arrangement that permits accurate focusing without noticeable play.
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