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Telescopes  Observatory  Setting Circles  Guiding  Imaging  Miscellaneous

I received my first telescope, a Meade LX10 8" SCT, in June 1997 and for the first 6 months used it purely for visual observation.  As with many amateur astronomers I then became tempted to try CCD imaging lured by the prospect of recording much greater detail than I could see visually.  To this end I purchased a Starlight Xpress MX516 CCD camera in December 1997.    In March 1999 a Meade 10 inch LX200 was added to the equipment used at Woodlands and in February 2000 an SBIG ST-7E CCD Camera and CFW8 Filter Wheel.  In October 2005 I replaced the LX200 with a Meade 10 inch RCX400 Ritchey-Chretien.  I also upgraded the SBIG ST-7E to an ST-2000XM with AO-7 adaptive optics.  In 2008 I decided to move my main imaging setup to a Takahashi TOA-130 130mm refractor and an STL-11000M with AO-L adaptive optics.  In 2010 I completed construction of a sliding roof observatory to provide a permanent home for this setup

 

Takahashi TOA-130 130mm Refractor

                    

In July 2008 I took delivery of a Takahashi TOA-130 and an EM-200 Temma II Goto mount. At the same time I purchased an SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera with AO-L adaptive optics.  While I had taken many good images with the RCX400 there were issues with its operation that could often lead to frustrating imaging sessions.  The tracking of the mount on the RCX-400 is not up to prime focus imaging even with autoguiding.  I had used the AO-7 adaptive optics with my ST-2000XM CCD camera to overcome this but there were times when the RCX400 guiding would not operate when the guide star had moved to the edge of the AO-7 mirror.  This would involve rebooting the scope in the middle of the imaging session to get things working correctly again.  The Takashi EM-200 German Equatorial Mount is much higher quality with better tracking.  I have found that I still need to use adaptive optics to get perfect tracking but the mount always responds to the commands to recenter the guide star when it reach the edge of the mirror.  So far the Takahshi has performed flawlessly.  It is easy to get it to reach a crisp focus and it stays in focus a lot longer than the RCX400.  The GOTO is very accurate and so is the mount tracking. One great thing about the Takahashi is that combined with the STL-11000M its field of view is a large as that of the ST-2000XM with the FS-60C.  That makes the TOA-130 a great widefield imaging system while still being able to get down to 1.5 arcsecond/pixel resolution using the 7.4 micron pixels of the ST-2000XM. In 2010 I completed a sliding roof observatory to house the setup.  The TOA-130 and EM-200 mount are supported by a Pier-Tech 2 pier.  This pier can be raised in height at the touch of a button without losing polar alignment.  This allows the telescope to be raised high enough to see low down in the southern sky even with 6ft high walls in the Observatory. 

 

Meade RCX400 10" Ritchey-Chretien   

                    

In October 2005 I purchased a Meade RCX400 10" Ritchey-Chretien.  It has the same GOTO and PEC function as the LX200 but has a number of advantages for the CCD imager.  The Ritchey-Chretien optical design has a fixed primary mirror, so there is no possibility of the mirror moving during a long exposure and affecting focus and/or image position.  Focus is achieved electronically using the Autostar to control the movement of the secondary mirror so very precise adjustments are possible with no shift of the image.  A USB hub is provided on the OTA which allows up to three CCD imagers/autoguiders to be connected, eliminating dangling cables and cable wrap which may affect tracking.  The USB hub is connected to the PC via a single cable attached to the base of the telescope.  This USB attachment also allows the PC to control the telescope using the supplied Autostar suite or other third party software, eliminating the need for the serial cable required on the LX200.  All cameras and the telescope can now be controlled from one USB connection to the PC.  The RCX400 also supports electronic collimation via the Autostar hand controller or PC with Autostar Suite.  Good collimation is very important if you want to produce good images, especially of the planets.  On the LX200 collimation of the secondary mirror has to be done by manual adjustment of screws on the secondary.  This can be very awkward as you constantly have to move from the eyepiece to the secondary and back making small adjustments until collimation is achieved.  With the RCX400 you just use the arrow keys on the Autostar to adjust the secondary mirror while looking through the eyepiece the whole time.  It makes collimation a whole lot easier.  Another useful feature is the built in heater around the corrector lens, which removes the need for third party dew removal systems.  The RCX400 comes with a much sturdier tripod than the LX200 helping reduce vibrations during a CCD exposure.  Meade has produced a new Superwedge for use with the RCX400. However I found the RCX400 and its new tripod fits my old LX200 Superwedge perfectly and the combination works well.  The optics of the RCX4000 have proved to be very good for high resolution astrophotography and I obtained many good images of galaxies and nebulae which can be found on the Favorites page.  However, the tracking of the mount on the RCX-400 is not up to prime focus imaging at the full 2000mm focal length even with autoguiding.  To obtain well tracked images I used the AO-7 adaptive optics with my ST-2000XM CCD camera but there were times when the RCX400 guiding would not operate when the guide star had moved to the edge of the AO-7 mirror.  This would involve rebooting the scope in the middle of the imaging session to get things working correctly again.  This eventually led me to decide to move to imaging with a Takahashi TOA-130 and EM-200 mount.

 

Meade LX200 10 inch SCTMeade LX200 10" SCT

In March 1999 I added a Meade LX200 10" SCT to the equipment used at Woodlands.  Its main advantages over the 8 inch LX10 (other than aperture) are computerised GOTO, a more accurate RA drive with periodic error correction and sturdier fork mounts.  The optics are excellent. I got stunning views of the Orion Nebula on my first night out. The GOTO works as advertised and is very accurate.  The RA drive was more accurate than the LX10.  With the PEC trained it was possible to take well tracked long duration autoguided exposures using an f/3.3 focal reducer. The LX200 is shown here attached to the Meade Superwedge.   This is very sturdy and much easier to adjust than the LX10 wedge when performing precise polar alignment.

 

 

 

Meade LX10 shown with the MX5 CCD camera attached to the Lumicon Superfinder for wide field CCD imaging.  Click on an accessory for more information.

Meade LX10 8" SCT

The LX10 was the first telescope to be used at Woodlands, though I sold it a couple of years after purchasing the LX200.  I found it to be extremely portable and easy to set up.  Its optics (the same as the 8 inch LX200's) are excellent and the field tripod and fork mounts provide a very stable observing platform.  I have seldom been troubled by any vibration even when taking CCD images.  The LX10 has a DC regulated RA drive.   This drive is perfectly adequate for visual observation.  However, when taking CCD images the drive is only accurate enough to take exposures of approximately 20 seconds without the need to make guide corrections in RA.  RA corrections can be accomplished on the LX10 by means of the (optional in the UK) hand controller. It can either stop the RA drive for Eastward correction or run the drive at 2x sidereal speed for Westward correction.  With the addition of an optional DEC motor, the hand controller can also be used make 2x corrections in DEC.  In my opinion the hand controller and DEC motor are essential items for anyone considering using the LX10 for astrophotography, as is the purchase of a guide scope or an off-axis guider.  I believe the LX10 is excellent value for money as an entry level SCT which is capable of producing good astrophpotographs providing the user is willing to do a lot of manual guiding

 

Accessories for Takahashi TOA-130

A number of the CCD imaging accessories I have used on the Takahashi TOA-130 are shown in the pictures below.  Point and click on the piece of equipment you are interested in for more information.  Alternatively, click here for a complete list of accessories used at Woodlands.

 

Accessories for Meade LX200 and RCX400

A number of the CCD imaging accessories I have used on the LX10, LX200 and RCX400 are shown in the pictures below.  Point and click on the piece of equipment you are interested in for more information.  Alternatively, click here for a complete list of accessories used at Woodlands.

 

CCD Accessories.  Please click on an accessory for more information.

 

Complete List of Accessories

CCD Imaging

Guiding

Digital Setting Circles

Miscellaneous