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Main
Date: 06 May 2007 01:56:34
From:
Subject: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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Good day
I would like to hear from someone who has used the 100ED or 80ED on
the Sirius mount.
What is your opinion of the mount's quality - tracking, etc.
For CCD imaging, what would the limiting magnitude be for the 100ED?
Regards
Vic
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Date: 07 May 2007 13:46:13
From:
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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Thank you all for the information!
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Date: 07 May 2007 12:22:58
From: Rich
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 7, 12:41 pm, johan.the...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > Is that mag 13 with a CCD camera or visual?
>
> > Visual. With a high enough magnification, I don't have any trouble
> > picking out a star or three in M13 with a 4-inch from a decent enough
> > site, and its brightest stars are at about 12.x - 13.0
>
> And with a CCD? If I want to do minor planet work?
You'd be better off with a bigger reflector.
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Date: 07 May 2007 10:31:26
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 7, 11:41 am, johan.the...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > Is that mag 13 with a CCD camera or visual?
>
> > Visual. With a high enough magnification, I don't have any trouble
> > picking out a star or three in M13 with a 4-inch from a decent enough
> > site, and its brightest stars are at about 12.x - 13.0
>
> And with a CCD? If I want to do minor planet work?
Hi:
I think Chris answered this very well, but to generalize, you can
easily get to magnitude 16 plus without too much trouble, which opens
up a world of asteroids.
Unk Rod
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Date: 07 May 2007 09:41:13
From:
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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> > Is that mag 13 with a CCD camera or visual?
>
> Visual. With a high enough magnification, I don't have any trouble
> picking out a star or three in M13 with a 4-inch from a decent enough
> site, and its brightest stars are at about 12.x - 13.0
And with a CCD? If I want to do minor planet work?
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Date: 07 May 2007 17:17:16
From: Chris L Peterson
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On 7 May 2007 09:41:13 -0700, johan.theron@gmail.com wrote:
>And with a CCD? If I want to do minor planet work?
How good is your camera? How long do you want to expose? What kind of
S/N is acceptable to you?
Figure that a typical camera with a full frame sensor will have a dark
current rate of about 0.1 e-/s and a QE of 50%. Assuming an exposure
long enough to minimize the effects of readout noise, and assuming you'd
like at least ten times more signal coming from your object than from
dark current, that means you need about two photons per second. With a
100mm aperture, that's what you get with a mag 20.5 star.
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
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Date: 07 May 2007 08:07:13
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 7, 5:05 am, johan.the...@gmail.com wrote:
> > Suffice to say, you'll see some 13th
> > magnitude sparklers in globs, but they will not put your eye out.
>
> Hi Rod
>
> Is that mag 13 with a CCD camera or visual?
Visual. With a high enough magnification, I don't have any trouble
picking out a star or three in M13 with a 4-inch from a decent enough
site, and its brightest stars are at about 12.x - 13.0
Unk Rod
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Date: 07 May 2007 03:05:27
From:
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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> Suffice to say, you'll see some 13th
> magnitude sparklers in globs, but they will not put your eye out.
Hi Rod
Is that mag 13 with a CCD camera or visual?
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Date: 06 May 2007 13:34:37
From: thad@thadlabs.com
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 6, 11:22 am, RMOLLISE <rmoll...@hotmail.com > wrote:
> [...]
> Hi Thad:
>
> While the new programmable Synscan controller is a definite move in
> the right direction, it still lacks some of the features I like in the
> Nexstar controller. Yeah, I know it looks almost identical to the
> Nexstar, but it ain't (since the mount and the EQ-6 use steppers
> rather than servos, I guess Synta just couldn't easily use a Nexstar).
> Fewer objects.
I believe we're basically in agreement the Sirius/Atlas EQ-G mounts
are
great value for the money. Synta has come a l-o-n-g way in the past
several years, and I'm very pleased with my 5 (yes, five) Synta GOTO
mounts.
The "fewer objects" being a minus is arguable. :-)
For the expected range of OTAs possible on these mounts there's more
than enough in the database (13K objects) for most people. I find
myself
often just keying-in RA/Dec for those not in the database; no big deal
since I usually order my evening's targets earlier in the day by RA so
I
can maximize my time at the scope(s).
About the only thing I've found annoying is the 'Guided Tour". About
half,
it seems, of the objects selected for a Tour are at such low altitudes
viewing is difficult at best (air mass issue, landscape obstructions,
etc.)
> The alignment routines aren't quite as sophisticated as
> those in the programmable Nexstar controller. No polar alignment
> routine.
Since firmware version 3.12 they solved the problem for my purposes.
Coupled with the extremely easy to use reticle in the polar finder,
the
SynScan displays Polaris' HA. Accurate-enough for most imaging,
alignment can be achieved in about a minute or so; very acceptable.
I have no idea how it'd work south of the equator, though.
In case it wasn't obvious, the SynScan system (Orion and SkyWatcher)
is FLASH RAM upgradeable over the 'Net; takes about 2 minutes. And
Synta has been listening to users' requests esp. with the improvements
in the 3.12 firmware. Synta is catching up rapidly and is definitely
a
company worth keeping an eye on; some of their stuff is really good.
> Can't use Nexremote (you can use EQMOD). As I THOUGHT I
> implied, however, this is not a huge thing; the HC is quite useable
> and EQMOD is "adding" features all the time. ;-)
Definitely! :-)
Though I only use the handcontroller, many others use a variety of
planetarium and control programs to drive the system. It was funny
reading one person's question after he misstated the Celestron-
equivalent mount type to his program and received the "not yet
implemented" response from the EQ-G regarding pulseguide! :-)
> [...]
> Actually, you CAN use pulseguide, but this will have to be via EQMOD.
For the time being! :-)
> If you haven't been following EQMOD, take a look...what these folks
> are doin' is pretty amazing:
>
> http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/testimages/
>
> Shoestring now makes a little coverter/cable that means you don't have
> to dig into your HC and modify it to use EQMOD
>
> IMHO, these two mounts, the HEQ-5 (Sirius EQG) and the Syncan EQ6
> (Atlas EQG) are some of the best values out there right now.
I agree wholeheartedly! And I believe the pending competition from
Synta
may "push" both Meade and Celestron for a win-win for everyone! :-)
And, yes, I realize Celestron is now part of Synta.
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Date: 06 May 2007 11:22:28
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 6, 11:36 am, "t...@thadlabs.com" <t...@thadlabs.com > wrote:
> On May 6, 7:15 am, RMOLLISE <rmoll...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On May 6, 3:56 am, johanli...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > > I would like to hear from someone who has used the 100ED or 80ED on
> > > the Sirius mount.
>
> > > What is your opinion of the mount's quality - tracking, etc.
>
> > > For CCD imaging, what would the limiting magnitude be for the 100ED?
>
> > You're talkin' the Sirius EQ-G? Good mount. Definitely a step up
> > payload wise from the EQ4/CG5 level. If I were to offer any
> > criticisms, it would be that the software is a little less than full
> > featured.
>
> In what way is it less than "full featured"?
>
> Assuming we're talking about the Sirius EQ-G with the SynScan GOTO
> handcontroller (vs. the Sirius EQ-G with the Dual-Axis controller), it
> has
> every feature and capability on a par with the GOTO scopes and mounts
> from Celestron and Meade, especially when one adds the GPS module,
> and its GOTO capability is simply amazing for the price.
>
> For imaging, it has a standard AutoGuide port identical to those on
> the
> Meade and Celestron scopes, and it can also be guided via serial port
> commands. The only thing it lacks in this regards is the pulseguide
> serial command, but it recognizes it with "not yet implemented". Given
> only the latest scopes from Meade and Celestron have pulseguide, no
> big.deal.
>
> About the only criticism I could make is its database size, but given
> the
> payload capacity limit of 30 lbs it's not going to be carrying an OTA
> capable of using a larger database. One can always explicitly enter
> either RA/Dec or Az/Alt to the controller for a GOTO.
>
> > Synta is continuing to upgrade it, however, and it is
> > certainly more than useable. And...you can use EQMod rather than an HC
> > and basically make the mount do whatever you want.
>
> True. The relevant support groups are on Yahoo per:
> "EQ6" for the Atlas/Sirius/SkyView_Pro/Synta EQ-6/-G, and
> "EQMOD" for the ASCOM stuff.
>
> FWIW, the identical firmware works on all of the Atlas/Sirius/
> SkyVIew_Pro/Synta
> GOTO mounts.
>
> > [...]
> > As for limiting magnitude. That depends so much on observer
> > experience, sky quality, and magnification that it's impossible to
> > give a hard and fast answer. Suffice to say, you'll see some 13th
> > magnitude sparklers in globs, but they will not put your eye out. ;-)
>
> > This is a 4-inch scope, and not exactly a powerhouse on the deep sky
> > because of that.
>
> Precisely. :-)
Hi Thad:
While the new programmable Synscan controller is a definite move in
the right direction, it still lacks some of the features I like in the
Nexstar controller. Yeah, I know it looks almost identical to the
Nexstar, but it ain't (since the mount and the EQ-6 use steppers
rather than servos, I guess Synta just couldn't easily use a Nexstar).
Fewer objects. The alignment routines aren't quite as sophisticated as
those in the programmable Nexstar controller. No polar alignment
routine. Can't use Nexremote (you can use EQMOD). As I THOUGHT I
implied, however, this is not a huge thing; the HC is quite useable
and EQMOD is "adding" features all the time. ;-)
Actually, you CAN use pulseguide, but this will have to be via EQMOD.
If you haven't been following EQMOD, take a look...what these folks
are doin' is pretty amazing:
http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/testimages/
Shoestring now makes a little coverter/cable that means you don't have
to dig into your HC and modify it to use EQMOD
IMHO, these two mounts, the HEQ-5 (Sirius EQG) and the Syncan EQ6
(Atlas EQG) are some of the best values out there right now.
Unk Rod
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Date: 06 May 2007 09:36:21
From: thad@thadlabs.com
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 6, 7:15 am, RMOLLISE <rmoll...@hotmail.com > wrote:
> On May 6, 3:56 am, johanli...@gmail.com wrote:
> >
> > I would like to hear from someone who has used the 100ED or 80ED on
> > the Sirius mount.
> >
> > What is your opinion of the mount's quality - tracking, etc.
> >
> > For CCD imaging, what would the limiting magnitude be for the 100ED?
>
> You're talkin' the Sirius EQ-G? Good mount. Definitely a step up
> payload wise from the EQ4/CG5 level. If I were to offer any
> criticisms, it would be that the software is a little less than full
> featured.
In what way is it less than "full featured"?
Assuming we're talking about the Sirius EQ-G with the SynScan GOTO
handcontroller (vs. the Sirius EQ-G with the Dual-Axis controller), it
has
every feature and capability on a par with the GOTO scopes and mounts
from Celestron and Meade, especially when one adds the GPS module,
and its GOTO capability is simply amazing for the price.
For imaging, it has a standard AutoGuide port identical to those on
the
Meade and Celestron scopes, and it can also be guided via serial port
commands. The only thing it lacks in this regards is the pulseguide
serial command, but it recognizes it with "not yet implemented". Given
only the latest scopes from Meade and Celestron have pulseguide, no
big.deal.
About the only criticism I could make is its database size, but given
the
payload capacity limit of 30 lbs it's not going to be carrying an OTA
capable of using a larger database. One can always explicitly enter
either RA/Dec or Az/Alt to the controller for a GOTO.
> Synta is continuing to upgrade it, however, and it is
> certainly more than useable. And...you can use EQMod rather than an HC
> and basically make the mount do whatever you want.
True. The relevant support groups are on Yahoo per:
"EQ6" for the Atlas/Sirius/SkyView_Pro/Synta EQ-6/-G, and
"EQMOD" for the ASCOM stuff.
FWIW, the identical firmware works on all of the Atlas/Sirius/
SkyVIew_Pro/Synta
GOTO mounts.
> [...]
> As for limiting magnitude. That depends so much on observer
> experience, sky quality, and magnification that it's impossible to
> give a hard and fast answer. Suffice to say, you'll see some 13th
> magnitude sparklers in globs, but they will not put your eye out. ;-)
>
> This is a 4-inch scope, and not exactly a powerhouse on the deep sky
> because of that.
Precisely. :-)
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Date: 06 May 2007 07:15:49
From: RMOLLISE
Subject: Re: Orion Sirius 100ED Refractor
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On May 6, 3:56 am, johanli...@gmail.com wrote:
> Good day
>
> I would like to hear from someone who has used the 100ED or 80ED on
> the Sirius mount.
>
> What is your opinion of the mount's quality - tracking, etc.
>
> For CCD imaging, what would the limiting magnitude be for the 100ED?
>
> Regards
> Vic
You're talkin' the Sirius EQ-G? Good mount. Definitely a step up
payload wise from the EQ4/CG5 level. If I were to offer any
criticisms, it would be that the software is a little less than full
featured. Synta is continuing to upgrade it, however, and it is
certainly more than useable. And...you can use EQMod rather than an HC
and basically make the mount do whatever you want.
As for limiting magnitude. That depends so much on observer
experience, sky quality, and magnification that it's impossible to
give a hard and fast answer. Suffice to say, you'll see some 13th
magnitude sparklers in globs, but they will not put your eye out. ;-)
This is a 4-inch scope, and not exactly a powerhouse on the deep sky
because of that.
Unk Rod
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