Side-by-side for Better Guiding

[Baskevo]

Hi guys! I wanted to share my latest endeavor with AP equipment, as recommended by [mention]JayTee[/mention]

A new side-by-side set up by Losmandy: http://store.losmandy.com/404.asp?404;h ... om:80/vsbs

I got it when I was experiencing the same clockwise weight issues that I did with my AVX, caused by my finder scope being too heavy on the west side of my scope.

the side-by-side setup It is pretty heavy, and balancing was hard at first, but once you get the hang of it is pretty cool how it all works out. and it looks awesome! It will allow me a lot more control when balancing. I did not have a dovetail plate for my guide scope, only the vixen-style finderscope base that it came with. I ordered a dovetail plate, but in the mean time, I just installed the rings directly on the side-by-side plate. It took me about an hour to get it all set up and balanced. The hardest part was readjusting the guide scope.

Anyway, I can already see that my guiding is better. I will have an update at the end of the night to let you know how it goes. Thanks JayTee for the recommendation!

[JayTee]

Very Cool.

Did you balance it on both axes? Pitch and roll? If not, you really should for the best performance from your mount.

Cheers,
JT

[Baskevo]

Very Cool.

Did you balance it on both axes? Pitch and roll? If not, you really should for the best performance from your mount.

Cheers,
JT

I am pretty sure I did! I followed this video:

I checked the balance for both east and west, in both axes, making sure it stays in each and every orientation I could think of. STUPID clouds rolled in and I don't have a lot of data with the setup yet, but the 15 minutes I have been able to guide through the clouds has been pretty good, with RMS error for both DEC and RA being below 0.8" At the meridian and closer toward the horizon. With dithering too! So I'm pretty confident it is working pretty well

[JayTee]

I have an old triangular-shaped drafting ruler that acts as a fulcrum so I can get a pretty accurate balance point. I watched the vid and the guy basically does it the same way I do.

Cheers,
JT