Back to forums

Autoguiding question for an AVX mount

Celestron Advanced VX Equipment Guiding Beginner
7 replies•458 views
Oscar avatar
Oscar avatar
I have a 1000mm Newtonian on an AVX mount, and a EOS R5 camera. 
Is autoguiding strictly necessary when first starting out in astrophotography with an AVX mount (and with such a long focal length)?
Well Written Engaging
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
If you keep your exposures short and you are very good with your polar alignment you won't need autoguiding. Obviously how long they need be depends also on the position of the object you're imaging in the sky and how well the mount tracks.
Helpful Concise
Oscar avatar
Oscar avatar
Okay. I think experimenting with the exposure time is the best choice for me then. Thank you.
Well Written Respectful
Jim Raskett avatar
Jim Raskett avatar
It can depend on the copy of mount you  have.
I know several folks using the AVX and they are not all the same (as are many mass-produced Chinese mounts).
I used to own an AVX (my first mount) and started imaging with a 714 focal length refractor. I PA’ed well (Sharpcap) and limited exposure to 30-45 seconds. Still I had to toss about 40% of the frames due to horrible star trailing, probably due to stiction (they all had trailing, but 40% were completely unusable).
I started guiding and it made a world of difference. I could increase exposure time to several minutes and didn’t have to toss many frames. Never got great stars, but they were acceptable enough for my experience level.
You might get decent enough tracking using short exposures at 1000mm without guiding, but you will have to see how well your mount performs. 
If you have a large number of unusable frames, there is a good chance that guiding will help.

Jim
Helpful Insightful Respectful Engaging Supportive
Oscar avatar
Oscar avatar
It can depend on the copy of mount you  have.
I know several folks using the AVX and they are not all the same (as are many mass-produced Chinese mounts).
I used to own an AVX (my first mount) and started imaging with a 714 focal length refractor. I PA’ed well (Sharpcap) and limited exposure to 30-45 seconds. Still I had to toss about 40% of the frames due to horrible star trailing, probably due to stiction (they all had trailing, but 40% were completely unusable).
I started guiding and it made a world of difference. I could increase exposure time to several minutes and didn’t have to toss many frames. Never got great stars, but they were acceptable enough for my experience level.
You might get decent enough tracking using short exposures at 1000mm without guiding, but you will have to see how well your mount performs. 
If you have a large number of unusable frames, there is a good chance that guiding will help.

Jim

I will test it.
If it doesn't work out for me, I was thinking of buying an ASIAIR mini with an orion starshoot autoguider and scope
https://www.telescope.com/Orion-StarShoot-AutoGuider-amp-60mm-Guide-Scope-Package/itemGUID/711d4a7bb49d4c9294576da200ad0a16/p/115000.uts

What do you think?
Jim Raskett avatar
Jim Raskett avatar
Check out this by Agena Astroproducts concerning attoguiding.

https://agenaastro.com/articles/guides/selecting-a-guide-scope-and-autoguiding-camera-for-astrophotography.html

The Orion package should work well. My first autoguiding setup was an orion Magnificent Mini Autoguider. It’s a 50 mm guide scope/ SSAG package that might be a bit pricey, but works very well and was really easy for me to setup.
I’ve had it for five years and it works very well with my 102mm refractor.

I have heard a lot about the ASIAir, but I am a N.I.N.A. fan. The Orion should work fine with the ASIAir.

If your AVX acts up when imaging unguided, the guider should help a lot. Also, if you plan to get deeper into AP, guiding will be a must.

Good Luck!

Jim
Helpful Supportive
TurtleCat avatar
TurtleCat avatar
It can depend on the copy of mount you  have.
I know several folks using the AVX and they are not all the same (as are many mass-produced Chinese mounts).
I used to own an AVX (my first mount) and started imaging with a 714 focal length refractor. I PA’ed well (Sharpcap) and limited exposure to 30-45 seconds. Still I had to toss about 40% of the frames due to horrible star trailing, probably due to stiction (they all had trailing, but 40% were completely unusable).
I started guiding and it made a world of difference. I could increase exposure time to several minutes and didn’t have to toss many frames. Never got great stars, but they were acceptable enough for my experience level.
You might get decent enough tracking using short exposures at 1000mm without guiding, but you will have to see how well your mount performs. 
If you have a large number of unusable frames, there is a good chance that guiding will help.

Jim

I will test it.
If it doesn't work out for me, I was thinking of buying an ASIAIR mini with an orion starshoot autoguider and scope
https://www.telescope.com/Orion-StarShoot-AutoGuider-amp-60mm-Guide-Scope-Package/itemGUID/711d4a7bb49d4c9294576da200ad0a16/p/115000.uts

What do you think?

The Orion guide scope is fine but if you plan to use an ASIAIR then the Orion camera (which is very old and obsolete IMO) isn’t compatible. You might consider one of the ASI mini cameras instead. There are several options available. For good or bad, with an ASIAIR you need to stay with ZWO products.
Well Written Helpful Insightful Concise
Oscar avatar
Oscar avatar
@TurtleCat 
I will get a zwo asi120mm mono guiding camera instead, with an asiair mini.

@Juno16 
I will read the agena article.

Thank you.