The following image train description is outdated. In the meantime I modified numerous details. As I think the information in this section might be helpful in some cases, I kept this section online. Find the MkII configuration at a separate page.
The Telescope
Now the above mentioned telescope is mine and I don’t regret this step. It offers f/5.5 with the original Flattener (threaded) and f/4.1 with the Riccardi (also threaded). After the first 9 months I have the feeling that the picture quality with the Riccardi is even better than with the original reducer. So I run this scope almost always with f/4.1 thus it gives a wide view angle with my KAF-8300.
Coming from f/6.7 down to f/4.1 reduces the required exposure time down to 37% for non-stellar objects. In practice this difference gives a dramatic effect, because I keep the times more or less in the old range (10 min for RGB and 20-30 min for narrowband).
Together with dew shield, tube rings and mounting plate the scope has about 8 kg mass, which is not really lightweight – don’t forget the CCD camera, Flattener or reducer, the filter wheel and the guiding scope with camera, also.
It can be used visual as well as photographic. In the latter case I have the original M48 Field Flattener or the M63 Riccardi available, see below.
The Focuser
Reviewers of the first exemplars complained about the Focuser, which is the one of the most important parts of the image train. The scope comes with a rotatable 3” CNC-machined 11:1 dual-speed Linear Power Focuser. The load capacity seems to be by far enough for my Atik 383 with filter wheel. The smooth focus motion and 11:1 fine focus wheel allows precise adjustment.
I noticed focus-shifting during focusing, but once focusing has stopped the system is stiff enough. Even aftfer telescope movements nothing has channged or defocused. After a few years of use I’m thinking about to replace the Focuser with a Feather Touch.
First Attempt
One of the first actions was to adapt a motor focus. My first approach was to drive the fine focus shaft with a stepper motor. With that approach my system showed slip in the 1:11 planetary gear. This usually happened if the Focuser had to lift the camera weight vertical. This prevented a reproduction of focus positions. The slip was only e few steps, but after moving 10 times in and out one sometimes I had a summed error of about 1/10 mm. A no go for automatic focusing! Consequently I run a second approach without driving the planetary gear. Needless to say, this behaviour does not play any role during manual focusing or visual use.
Second Attempt
Now the final set-up utilizes a geared stepper motor and drives the Focuser’s main shaft directly by a NEMA 14 motor with a gear ratio of 1:19. Transmission to the Focuser shaft is done via a toothed belt drive with a gear ratio of 1:4. In total this gives a ratio of 1:72 which is by far fine enough for a precise focusing. For green light at a focal length of 415 mm the critical focus zone for my Atik with 5.4 µm pixels is about 40 µm. On the other hand the NEMA 14 motor has 200 steps per revolution which results in a step width of about 1.75 µm per step (measured 571 steps per mm). I purchased the motor earlier at Stepper Online for my GP motorization, but replaced it later by another type. The datasheet of this geared stepper can be loaded down here.
The Image Train
Matching the proper distance of the focal plane to Flattener or reducer is of great importance for best photographic results. Usually for a given Flattener or reducer it depends on the telescope. So the task is to find the optimum back focus distance for the Skywatcher Esprit with the original Flattener as well as with the Riccardi.
The back focus distance for the original Flattener given by Skywatcher is 63 mm from the M66x1 thread. During my tests I could verify this value. In the range of accuracy I reached the tested filters did not show any reproducible influence on the distance, consequently I’ve chosen 63 mm as the nominal value for following set-ups.
Adaption of a DSLR and original Flattener to the Skywatcher Esprit 100
The Esprit is quite good corrected for full format chips. For this reason a image train for my 5D was mandatory for me. Unfortunately the CLS XL-Clip filter for EOS cameras produce a very slight vignetting at faster optics. It is not really bad and can be corrected with a flat, but I found an easy way to bypass that and it is documented here.
Adaption of a CCD Camera and orignal Flattener to the Skywatcher Esprit 100
My main imaging system is an Atik 383 with filter wheel. It needs 39.5 mm back focus. Since the optimal reducer distance was clear it was easy to design an adapter from the M66x1 of the Flattener to the M54x0.75 thread of the filter wheel. The difficulty with the needed adapter is the material-saving design of the filter wheel, which has very small wall thickness and therefore only a low thread depth.
The parts for testing the optimal distance I made on my small lathe in my workshop. For the final part I wanted to assure best possible precision and quality, hence I ordered the parts from Gerd Neumann. Find a drawing of the adapter ordered here. The quality of the final adapter is out of any question and in a similar situation I will go to Gerd Neumann again.
Adaption of a CCD Camera and Riccardi reducer to the Skywatcher Esprit 100
The picture shows the image train of the Esprit with the Riccardi, EFW2 filter wheel and the Atik 383. Here the adapter is not anodized yet. Since I received a some questions regarding this adaptation, I detailed it a bit more in a separate page. You find there a sketch of the adapters, as well.
Dovetail Clamp for Guider and Handle
Since one of my personal system requirements is portability, also the handling of the system is a factor. The telescope ready for shooting brings about 10 kg. I can’t hold this by one wrist while clamping it with the other hand. Hence I had to think about a handgrip.
Another point is the guider set-up. In order to be portable it should be removable as well as attachable reproducible. The aim is to reuse the PHD calibration even though the system was fully disassembled and stowed. Moreover the wiring of the system components should be separable, i.e. without firmly attached cables.
The above given requirements can be fulfilled by a dove tail clamp. As no model with matching size was available commercially, I decided to build my own. The main sets of requirements have been clear soon: The clamping shall be done by one clamping screw; the clamp parts shall be pushed apart by a spring in order to keep the empty clamp always open. Therefore a guiding of the moving part by fitted bolts seemed reasonable.
After a few hours in my workshop the clamp shown in the picture arose. A „wannabe“ drawing can be found here.
The other picture shows matching hand grip. Basically it is a kitchen hand grip out of the DIY store and a milled dovetail. It is secured against slip out by a brass plate at both sides. I had the situation that after a cold night the clamp was ice coated and even tightly clamped the dovetail slipped out! This is avoided with the brass safeguards.
Guider
The guiding scope is a standard 60 mm f/4.0 finder combined with a Starlight Xpress Lodestar – in my opinion a very powerful combination. The guider axis is always adjusted parallel to the main scopes axis. Anyway, I had never missed a guide star. Even in the dark vicinity of the Coma Cluster a guide star is available always. All parts of the optical train are threaded in order to avoid shifting effects. I modified the helical in a way that the play is reduced significantly and the position can be locked. The price to pay for is a rotation of the camera, if focused.
The drawbacks of this system are the short focal length in combination with the comparably large pixels of the Lodestar and the fact that this image train is separate from the imaging image train. In my opinion in case of off-axis guiding or long guiding telescopes the Lodestar is out any question. However, with this set-up one has to be aware that the guide system really has to realize a precision in the order of 0.1 pixels due to the system scale of about 7.0” x 7.2”. My experience is positive, anyway.
The heating band is self-made. Is draws about 0.9 W from a 12 V supply. In combination with a neoprene overcoat upon the dew cap the lens never had even a trace of dew.
The substructure of the guider comprises a compartment for electronics. Mainly this is a USB 2.0 Hub, a switched DC converter supplying the hub with 5 V and a 12 V power distribution. The lower cap of the compartment is realized as a dovetail. In order to reduce mass the dovetail it is significantly thinner than commercially available ones. Nevertheless the 9 mm thick dovetail gives the needed amount of stability. The electronics give the opportunity to keep the cabling of two cameras, one filter wheel and two heater bands as simple as possible. Find a drawing of the substructure here.
