Well, the new adventure starts now with a CEM25P. I have just purchased one.
I will be selling my HEQ5 Pro and the Megrez 72 in the next few weeks.

As for the scope, I will swap the Megrez 72 (a cracking scope) for a Sharpstar 61 EDPH triplet with focal reducer bringing the f ratio to f4.5 (my Megrez 72 is f6.0).
My observatory is in a very dark site and I want to take advantage of this a lot more. The new scope purchase is not yet done and might change as I have in mind the SharpStar 15028HNT
I was thinking about using a camera lens but... they are not really designed for it, I know there are a few new ones out there astro dedicated but they have no motorised focuser.

TBC...

Consider the WO RedCat Series. f/4.9, 250 mm focal length. Superb optics. Here my setup with a 3D printed autofocuser on a CEM25P.



Happy to share the STL files with you. With the linear algorithm it nails perfect focus every time.

I was also looking at the RedCat series too, the scope will decide the size of the new box.

I recently bought 2 SharpStar 94EDPH telescopes with flattener and I am not happy with the flatness of the field. As a matter of fact, I will very likely return them and ask my money back. I read similar reports on CloudyNights regarding the 61 EDPH. Can you share the source with us that made you consider this telescope?

Later this week a RedCat will arrive here and hopefully we will be able to test it out soon!

This thread www.cloudynights.com/topic/659803-has-an...e-sharpstar-61-edph/

Thanks, I hadn't seen that thread yet. Looks very good indeed! Much better than the results we got with the 94EDPH...

I've read again the thread on CN about the "SharpStar 15028HNT" and what I can say is that it requires a full rebuild before using it...
You also need a very expensive collimation laser tool for it. Only after lots of work it can be used to produce good images.
For the price, I wasn't expecting this. And I don't think this scope is going to be easy to use at a very remote location like mine...

I have received it today, quick setup, quick run, I like it.

Stephane:

If you have a chance, can you measure the current limit (max current drawn when slewing) for the RA and DEC motors? I suspect that my worse guiding in DEC with the CEM25P is the result of a lower current limit set on the DEC board than on the RA board.
The RA motor in my CEM25P draws 160 mA when slewing, the DEC motor only 110 mA. As a result, I am seeing missed steps where the correction pulses do not elicit a mount movement.
I need a comparison reading of a few other CEM25Ps to determine whether that is an inherent setting of the firmware or the result of motor that is mismatched to the board. Of course, if you could connect an oscilloscope and post an image of the wave form the stepper controller is producing, that would be even better.

Best
Jo

hello Jo,

is there an easy way to do that? If there is, please let me know and I'll check it for you.

Easy... da liegt der Hase im Pfeffer...

I am using a tool like this one, but you need to put a female 12V connector on the input and a male connect on the output side.

smile.amazon.com/McIgIcM-Digital-Voltmet...+%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-4

I use that routinely to measure power consumption of all sorts of electronic gadgets. Between 4V and 28V it does not need its own power source, it will be powered off the input.

It readily showed that the RA and DEC motors in my CEM25P at least are not matched.

Alternatively, you could just plug the CEM25P into a standard 220V Watt meter, but that will be less precise. The CEM25P does not consume much power and the motors only draw a little over 1 Watt, so not much.

Thanks.
I'll put it on my every so growing to-do list, I can't say when I'll get to this.