Let’s build the ULTIMATE beginner’s rig(s)

[wild patrol]

Hey all, I want to hear what YOU lot think would be the perfect beginner rig(s) for deep space astro. As someone planning to upgrade my camera from a DSLR, I wonder what the best value for my budget would be so that I can for sure say I have done a good job at upgrading, I don’t just plan on a dedicated astro cam, but also accessories such as guiding, filter, mini pc such as the ASI Air, and possibly power supply options. Let’s help each other out in finding what suits best.

Let’s build the ULTIMATE beginner’s rig(s)

[kindred fern]

sure

(no asiair)

[surreal moon]

No budget?

Mount - Ragdoll 17 Pro or 20 Pro
Scope - depends on a lot so no recommendation. Maybe an SQA or F series refractor.
Guide Scope - SVBONY 60mm / some OAG if big scope
Guide Camera - asi120mm
Mini PC - Mele Quieter 4c
Camera - TOUPTEK 585 mono bundle with filters
EAF - Gemini EAF

[bleak basin]

thats kinda mid-high budget for begginer

if no budget i would go all in

[surreal moon]

No budget I could easily make it 25k but I’m restraining it a lot

It’s a modest rig

[bleak basin]

in a hobby like this, you really need to set a budget

[wild patrol]

I should probably mention (for me rn) I have a budget of around 1.5k to 1.8k, this obviously varies for everyone and it wouldn’t shock me if we get budgets lower than this. 👍

[surreal moon]

ok so throw out my entire list

[wild patrol]

Honestly, in future years I could see myself looking into this stuff, doesn’t sound bad for an intermediate or advanced, but yeah maybe just budget wise, it might not be suitable depending on how much someone is willing to spend, but hey maybe someone does have the budget to go for that starting out in this hobby. 👀

[surreal moon]

I’m 1 year in and that’s basically my rig minus mono

[wild patrol]

That’s awesome!

[bleak basin]

what do you currently have?

[wild patrol]

Star adventurer gti with tripod, WO Z61 with flattener, Canon 2000D (Stock) with shutter cable, and a cute lil power box which does the job.

So fire will be happy to know there are no ZWO products here lol.

[bleak basin]

shutter cable? do you not use nina or other software?

[wild patrol]

I only have Nina on my PC which is indoors and unable to connect to the equipment, I would use it if I owned a laptop though.

[bleak basin]

hmm

well star adventurer gti and the scope are great, weak link here is the camera. So next imo thats the next upgrade, I recommend looking into player one or touptek cameras really good for its price.

but

you will need a laptop or mini pc to controll it then

[wild patrol]

Yeah I had a look at the bundle Callo mentioned, looks pretty good in price especially for mono.

[wild patrol]

Yeah

[bleak basin]

yea its cheap but dont forget the filter prices and the filter wheel

[wild patrol]

Yeah

[bleak basin]

I think they have a bundle deal with camera+filters+filter wheel for like 999 bucks

or euros idk

[wild patrol]

I think I may have clicked the wrong link cause I searched for the bundle.

[bleak basin]

its on their official website

https://www.touptekastro.com/en-eu/products/atr585m?variant=49714669257016

but ye camera is the best upgrade, and buying all the accessories you need, like laptop or mini pc

If you get the mono bundle, then that with the scope might be slightly on the heavier side for the adventurer gti, you will need perfect balance and probably guiding

[wild patrol]

I noticed a bundle here with the 1600MM, when I searched the europe site for this I couldn’t find anything

[bleak basin]

or just go for some used harmonic drive mount

[wild patrol]

Yep

[bleak basin]

technically if you spend your money the smart way, you could probably fit a color imx585, guiding and some used better mount within that budget you have

[wild patrol]

True true, I’ll do some calculations of prices to see what it’ll be like

[bleak basin]

well IMX585C is like 550-600
Guiding 150-200max
leaves like 1-1.1k for a used mount

youll save even more if you can find guiding and camera on used markets

[wild patrol]

Oh damn, that’s pretty good

[wild patrol]

Yeah I have a marketplace on facebook that I’ll have a look on

[surreal moon]

You should upgrade to an Astro cam, guiding, and get a mini pc. Then get a new mount.

[wild patrol]

Oh my god that is a bargain

Alr, I’m tryna stay away from ZWO tho

Anyways, after consideration, I have added the touptek 585C camera to this list. Additionally, the Svbony 60mm guide scope with the asi 120 cam, then the mele quieter 4c mini pc.

[sleek grail]

70 for an am3 lol

[wild patrol]

Using some of these suggestions from Callo and DeMonT, I’ve tried putting them together and from what I’ve found, they can work out great

[wild patrol]

Exactly lmao

[sleek grail]

i think you have the counterweight shaft or something selected, not the mount itself

[wild patrol]

It’s genuinely tempting

[wild patrol]

Possibly

[sleek grail]

Why 60mm guidescope tho?

Don't you have the gti

30mm would work fine

[wild patrol]

Yeah lol but still, much cheaper

[wild patrol]

Just an idea

[sleek grail]

Don't overload your gti

It's a small mount

[wild patrol]

I think the WO guide scope would be fine honestly

It’s pretty much the Juliette to the Romeo that is the main scope

[surreal moon]

No way that’s real

[wild patrol]

Yeah I was mistaken

So the mini PC, I can use Nina to work it, should I buy a laptop for nina?

[surreal moon]

Mini pc will be better

You can mount it on your rig

Cable management is better, you won’t need to carry a table or figure out how where to put the laptop

[wild patrol]

So is it like fully automated? So I just plug all the stuff in once it's set up and I don't need to worry about it?

[surreal moon]

no

you need to start NINA, PHD2. Connect your devices, select a sequence in NINA, and run it

Actually before the sequence you’ll polar align using TPPA.

[wild patrol]

Ok

[surreal moon]

But once you got NINA and PHD2 tweaked where guiding is good, and everything setup.

You run the sequence, and it’ll go run all night long

Itll stop when you want, start when you want. Do what’s in the sequence

NINA can connect to your dslr too, so no shutter or intervalometer needed.

You can connect to the mini pc using chrome Remote Desktop, or windows Remote Desktop. Then control the mini pc on your phone

There’s also a NINA app that works like an ASIAIR. But guiding is separate in PHD2 still

[wild patrol]

I see, only thing is I haven't been able to connect to my equipment with Nina

[surreal moon]

Which equipment

[wild patrol]

This equipment

[surreal moon]

The gti? Or dslr? Or both

[wild patrol]

Both

[surreal moon]

You may need to install EOS Utility, it can’t be running when NINA is though

For the gti install ASCOM. And GreenSwampServer (GSS).

It’ll show up as GSS something in NINA I think

[wild patrol]

I've had ASCOM installed on it, just not GSS so maybe that's why

[surreal moon]

Did you have Skywatcher’s software?

SynScan

[wild patrol]

Yeah

[surreal moon]

You first connect the mount through SynScan or GSS

Then NINA

[wild patrol]

I have the mobile app but I don't really like it

[surreal moon]

No on a laptop or mini pc

[wild patrol]

I've got synscap installed on the pc

[surreal moon]

ok

You connect to it before NINA?

[wild patrol]

I think I put it into nina

[surreal moon]

GSS is better than SynScan so try that

Both should work though

[wild patrol]

Kk

[surreal moon]

Ping me screenshots when you try next time if it don’t work

The default baud rate on the gti is off too I believe. I think @signal summit knows the proper one

[wild patrol]

Yeah I spent a while setting up Nina for the gti and I think I did it correctly however I was never able to control the mount whilst it was outside

[surreal moon]

It was on a pc right?

[wild patrol]

Yeah

From indoors

[surreal moon]

A desktop… inside… away from your mount

No wonder it didn’t work dude

[wild patrol]

lol

Yeah

[surreal moon]

It needs to be a usb connection

99% sure

[wild patrol]

Yeah that’s why I’m considering a laptop

[surreal moon]

Go with a mini pc. I found a laptop a hassle for Astro

[wild patrol]

Well it makes 100% sense to me ahaha

[surreal moon]

Mini will prob be cheaper too

The Mele Quieter series is good, commonly recommended. I don’t have one myself though

[wild patrol]

Okay

I would need Nina tho… so

The only way for me to have Nina is a laptop

I think

So I can do PHD2 and all that

[surreal moon]

What

Why

[wild patrol]

I’m very confused right now lol

[surreal moon]

A mini pc. Is a pc. It runs windows. The same way a laptop does

NINA is windows exclusive. It works on a mini pc

here’s my mini pc

[wild patrol]

So can I control the mini pc from a pc indoors or does it need a wired connection

[surreal moon]

Yea you can use it indoors

[wild patrol]

Ye

[surreal moon]

Over remote desktop, either chrome or windows built in one

[wild patrol]

I watched Cuiv’s review

[surreal moon]

The mini pc just needs wifi

[wild patrol]

Yeah

Its a nice feature that if I’m ever remote it can create its own hotspot

[surreal moon]

My mini pc will automatically create a hotspot, so even if there’s no wifi I can connect to it

yep

[wild patrol]

So once it is connected to the pc, I can do the fun part of Nina

[signal summit]

It's meant to be 9600 or thereabouts if you use the serial -> usb port but something like 152000 or sth like that if you do usb -> usb

[surreal moon]

JJ when are you upgrading

[signal summit]

I'm not even imaging lol

[kindred fern]

Dont buy touptek stuff from AliExpress lol

[surreal moon]

why 🙁 🥀

[signal summit]

was never my main hobby lol

[surreal moon]

you told me but I forgot

[signal summit]

im doing it once in a while when i feel like it

[kindred fern]

blasphemy

[surreal moon]

wow

[kindred fern]

what a nerd

its my only hobby and i dont even do it

[surreal moon]

admins demote this mod

[kindred fern]

admin abuse on this mod

https://tenor.com/view/jjk-jujutsu-kaisen-admin-abuse-gif-6147468202007544702

[signal summit]

https://tenor.com/view/jjs-jjk-jujutsu-shenanigans-jujutsu-kaisen-mod-abuse-gif-972857828353028601

i love how this gif was one of the first ones that popped up

LMAO

[surreal moon]

if you aren’t imaging can I have your mono cam

[kindred fern]

Buy from ToupTek directly

cheapest and easiest

[wild patrol]

Yeah lol, I’m british bruv

[signal summit]

the people who sell it on aliexpress already paid touptek so like

order wherever's the most convenient for you lol

not like you're taking their money

[wild patrol]

True

I just can’t buy from touptek directly Fire

Buying astro stuff from Aliexpress ain’t bad lol

Unless you’re the guy here who almost bought a guide cam from chinesegirl with whatever numbers were at the end of their name

[kindred fern]

..still lol

its not like theyre a shop that only sends in china

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1248873743116140586/1273203966024487003/ezgif-2-db49a54415.gif

[wild patrol]

Well I can’t find a UK supplier other than ali lol

[kindred fern]

ToupTek delivers to the UK

buying from Aliexpress would just.. send the same product from the same country to you but with a distributor jack and an indirect connection

[surreal moon]

I think Proxisky sells them cheap

Try there

oh no 585

[wild patrol]

I don’t mind a 533 to be fair, that’s actually the sensor I’ve looked into as of recent

Turns out this is the official UK supplier for Touptek

[kindred fern]

Unfortunately they don’t have the kits

Nor the Black Friday deals that ToupTek has

I don’t see why you don’t want to just buy from ToupTek directly

Your choice but still

[wild patrol]

Buying from Touptek directly doesn’t allow me to pay in £

[kindred fern]

Paypal Currency Conversion

Only a small upcharge

[wild patrol]

I don’t have paypal lol

[kindred fern]

Well small is relative but you’re still going to have a better price than any distributors

[kindred fern]

Know anyone that does

[wild patrol]

Nuh uh, and they all broke as hell

[kindred fern]

I see I see

Uhhhhh

I can dig through some stuff if it’s possible with bank transfer

If you want

[ruby umbra]

Yeh buy from direct touptek

Much cheaper

[wild patrol]

What’s so wrong with not buying from touptek directly lol

[bleak basin]

usually the suppliers in your country are a bit more expensive

[ruby umbra]

the only thing is

does touptek cover the VAT when importing things into europe?

if touptek does that then its a no brainer

[kindred fern]

yeah

[wild patrol]

I know a fello who has a Svbony guide scope and he has offered it to me, should I take it?

[surreal moon]

Which one

For free?

[wild patrol]

I believe it’s the 165 30mm and yeah for free.

[surreal moon]

I have that one

Focuser sucks, but it works

It’ll save you like $50 so yea take it

[wild patrol]

Cool cool

[ruby umbra]

It's about the same as the zwo guide scope thoufh

Which is 2x the price

[surreal moon]

Probably

[ruby umbra]

Although it can lead to flexure

I had tons of guiding issues that were fixed by just tightening things down on the guide scope

[surreal moon]

Tightening what

[ruby umbra]

Connection to dovetail saddle, connection to guide camera, focuser, tube rings

[surreal moon]

Your guide scope has rings?

[ruby umbra]

Yes

[ruby umbra]

You can see it here as well

There very slight

And only have one screw

But they're rings

[surreal moon]

oh I never noticed those were rings

[wild patrol]

You learn something new everyday I guess. 🤩