Best mounts to talk to Sharpcap?

[seanjacksontc]

Please would you recommend make(s) of mount that talk to Sharpcap nicely for planetary imaging?
I would like the mount to be guided by Sharpcap's feature tracking.
My tube is a Celestron 8".

[admin]

Hi,

feature tracking can be an awkward thing to get working nicely (see several long threads here on the forums). There are improvements in SharpCap 4.1, but it still can be a challenge to get everything set up right. This will be particularly challenging because of the focal length (2000mm) of your Celestron 8" SCT.

Having said that, you need to have a GOTO mount with an up-to-date ASCOM driver. Skywatcher mounts work nicely with EQMOD as the driver (there is also an ASCOM driver made by Skywatcher themselves). iOptron mounts work nicely too, although a slight workaround may be needed in SharpCap 4.0 for the latest iOptron ASCOM driver.

In either case, you would want a mount that has minimal backlash for a good chance of feature tracking working well - that means a belt drive mount is better than gears.

Do remember that the load capacity of the mount as stated by the manufacturer is probably a maximum for visual observing, and it is often suggested that you should only use 1/2 the maximum load capacity for imaging (again, particularly true for a long focal length telescope like the SCT).

Finally, you need to think about usage and setup - most mounts that are accurate enough to meet your other criteria are likely to be equatorial, which means that you will need to set up with polar alignment each session.

cheers,

Robin

[seanjacksontc]

Dear Robin,

Thank you for taking the trouble to explain all this. Much appreciated!

Do you think feature tracking is likely to work with a 10micron mount?
It does not seem to be listed here:
https://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/reqindex.html

[admin]

Hi,

they have their own ASCOM driver and do not use EQMOD. Some details can be found here : https://www.10micron.co.uk/2020/01/15/1 ... om-driver/

One particular feature you need to check for is support for the 'MoveAxis' command in the ASCOM driver. A few drivers do not support it, and without it, SharpCap cannot run feature tracking.

Please do be aware that feature tracking is an 'Experimental' feature in SharpCap, so be prepared for the possibility that you may not get it to work nicely even if you buy a mount that could work with it. If it is a key feature for you, I'd suggest trying to find another SharpCap user who has had success with it and is using a mount that you might consider, so that you are not being the pioneer who is doing it for the first time!

cheers,

Robin

[seanjacksontc]

Thank you. I shall give it a try with my own 10micron mount in the observatory
when we get some clear nights.

The reason I was asking about other makes is that I am thinking about a telescope to travel with
to an island with better seeing than here in Cambridge.
I would like something more portable than the 10micron. So thank you for telling me about
the other makes.