Autoguiders

[dawson]

Does anyone have personal experience of using standalone, laptop-free autoguiders?

There seems a real mixed bag of opinion on SGL, with the hard core imagers (olly et al) saying you need a laptop for guiding, and some run of the mill imagers (which is what i aspire to be) saying standalone guiders work for them.

Guide scope would be a short tube 80mm refractor, mount azeq6, main tube 10" newtonian, and imaging camera canon 600d. I can't be bothered (at present) with having the laptop "in the field". Targets would be simple, relatively bright targets, m31, m57, m27 etc, aiming for 5 minute subs.

Thanks.

James

[Guest Kheldar]

They are very marmite I'm afraid ... I had one and despised it

[dawson]

Thanks Stephen.

 

Did you manage to sell your autoguider easily enough once you'd realised it wasn't for you? This was one thing I was thinking I could just do if I really didn't get on with it.

 

James

[philjay]

I had one, used it about 5 times and only had one occassion where it actually worked. Sold it and got a qhy5.

They are a pain to get working imo and experience, screen is too small for me, focusing was a faff and the screen always ended up in the wrong position also they arent sub pixel guiding.

[Guest Kheldar]

It was a struggle to sell it to be honest ...

Edited September 19, 2013 by Kheldar

[Perkil8r]

I knew somebody who had one, swore by it, but he went the full on route of guiding not that long after. I think that speaks volumes IMO