resurrecting an old classic - Anjal Sharma's Astrophotography Pages

RESURRECTING AN OLD CLASSIC
THE S.H.S.U. TAKAHASHI EPSILON-200 ASTROGRAPH
Anjal C. Sharma, Ph.D.
Brazos Valley Astronomy Club
Huntsville Amateur Astronomy Society

NJP Mount
WHAT IS A TAKAHASHI EPSILON-200 ASTROGRAPH?
S-ELL HD
Tripod
Epsilon-200
Astrograph
PD5-XY
Drive
Controller
(Non-Goto
and
without
Autoguide
Port)
• Primarily designed for astrophotography,
with a fast focal ratio, a flat photographic
field and a large 56mm fully illuminated
image circle.
• Modified 8inch (200mm) hyperbolic primary
mirror Newtonian design at f/4.
• Hyperbolic mirror surfaces provide better
spherical aberration correction over
traditional parabolic or spherical primary
mirror surface designs.
• A dedicated field-flattener lens provides an
extremely flat photographic field with a fully
illuminated image circle large enough to
cover most large format sensors – including
Pentax 120 medium format roll-film.
• Also offered packaged with the ultrasmooth
(+/- 6 arc.sec P.E.) medium heavy
duty (70 lbs load capacity) Takahashi NJP
German Equatorial Mount.
• First introduced in 1984 and stayed in
production for about 10 years.

INTERVAL 1
APRIL 2006 TO DECEMBER 2007

THE (RE)DISCOVERY OF THE ASTROGRAPH
At my first HAAS meeting at the SHSU observatory in 2006, Mike showed me the astrograph sitting unused and forgotten in one
corner of the teaching classroom at the observatory. I was appalled at the callous treatment of this rare classic – missing parts,
dust and gunk all over, and mold infestation throughout – c’mon, I realize government research grant money bought this
equipment, but shouldn’t it be in better shape, like maybe getting used in the teaching programs or as a research tool?

THE SORRY STATE OF THE ASTROGRAPH
This *&^%$!!#
humidity is
killing me!!
1. MISSING PARTS.
2. DUST AND GUNK ON THE OUTER
SURFACES.
3. SEVERE MOLD ON THE MIRROR
SURFACES (high humidity and
improper storage will do that).
4. MOLD ON THE FINDERSCOPE
OPTICS.
5. MOLD ON AND INSIDE THE FIELD
FLATTENER LENS ELEMENTS.

FIRST REDISCOVERED VISUAL LIGHT
• Mike scrounged through the University storage areas and
found most of the missing parts.
• We re-assembled the instrument on a later date – attached
the counterweight bar, counterweights, eyepiece adapters
and a Meade Research Grade 20mm Erfle.
• We hauled the instrument just outside the door of the
classroom (Mike, Brian N. and I) and visually looked at the
Lagoon Nebula, M22, and the Wild Duck Cluster.
• It was clear that the optics were mis-collimated and although
the mirrors were still reflective, the mold wasn’t helping the
views.
• This was a fully manual test, without engaging the drive
motors and using just the slow-motion knobs to manually
track the objects.
BUT, THIS TEST SHOWED US THE POTENTIAL OF THE INSTRUMENT!!

FIRST RESURRECTION INSTALLMENT – CLEANING THE ASTROGRAPH
• We (Mike, Brian and I) decided to clean the instrument to the best of our
abilities.
• Mike and Brian took a wet towel and paper napkins and cleaned up the outside
of the instrument as best they could. Most of the cobwebs and insect body
parts were thusly removed. Thanks for cleaning the exterior, guys!!
•The scratches and a small dent on the optical tube were and still remain nonfixable
– that color touch up paint isn’t available…way to go, Takahashi.
•We disassembled the primary and secondary mirrors from the optical tube and
immersed them in a tub of nanopure water (courtesy of Lynntech, Inc. – the
company I work for) with a little soap and let soak for about an hour.
• Using clean cotton balls we gently cleaned up the surfaces of the mirrors of the
dust and mold that had collected. This took three iterations to be satisfactory.
• We completely air-dried the mirrors. There is a drying sleek on the primary
mirror but I doubt that it affects the views or photographic performance of the
scope to any great extent.
• We re-assembled the mirrors back in the optical tube and did the best we could
as far as collimation goes inside the classroom using a peep-sight through a
plastic cup held square on the focuser. It is a fast f/4 instrument, so this was a
very rough collimation result.

Cleaning sleek
A closer look inside the cleaned optical tube. Perhaps flocking the interior is in order?

VISUAL TESTS AFTER CLEANING THE INSTRUMENT
• We performed visual tests with the instrument after
cleaning out the mirror surfaces.
• Deepsky views were noticeably brighter and crisper.
• The Orion Nebula, the Double Cluster etc. looked very
impressive.
• We visually saw nebulosity around the bright stars in
the Pleiades.
• The collimation was off. What do you expect? A
simple sight tube won’t work well with a fast f/4
instrument.
• The field was flat all the way out to the edges with the
Meade RG Erfle and the 15mm Panoptic.
So, we decided to move on to the NJP mount and were met with some nasty surprises.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE PD-5XY DRIVE CONTROLLER
• The NJP mount had motors on both the
R.A. and DEC. axes, and a PD-5XY
controller for motorized sidereal rate
tracking of objects.
• Unfortunately, the instructions were in
Japanese. However, Mike figured out the
operation of this PD-5XY controller and
we were able to try and use it.
• The slew speed was agonizingly slow.
The grass on the observatory grounds
probably grew faster than the slew
speed provided by the PD5-XY drive
system.
• It was easier to undo the R.A. and DEC.
clamp levers, manually move the optical
tube and point it to the object and tighten
the clamp levers.
• Visually though, tracking appeared to be
excellent.
• HOWEVER, IT HAD NO AUTOGUIDE
PORT!!

PHOTOGRAPHIC SYSTEM CHART – TAKING STOCK
I had Mike Mercer at Lynntech make us a
replacement for part 17.

FIRST RESURRECTED PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHT – THE ORION NEBULA
Date: December 5, 2007 Personnel: Mike, Brian and Anjal Camera: Modified Digital Rebel DSLR
Parameters: one and half minute long to 10 second long UNGUIDED images and processed in Photoshop.
The result shows that the system has good photographic potential!!

INTERVAL 2
DECEMBER 2007 TO DECEMBER 2008

SECOND INCREMENT OF RESURRECTION – PD-7XY DRIVE CONTROLLER
• It became clear that autoguiding would be essential with the system.
• We sent the PD-5XY handbox to Doug Anderson at Shoestring Astronomy with the
department’s permission – the idea was that perhaps it could be modified to add an
autoguide port.
• The handbox unfortunately could not be modified to add an autoguide port
(Takahashi proprietary circuitry…..don’t wanna make things easy for us, do they?)
• I then used astromart and the astronomical discussion boards to post help needed
ads – I inquired whether someone would donate or sell a later generation drive
system controller such as the PD-7XY to us to use with the astrograph.
• Some kind soul (name withheld per request) agreed to send us an almost complete
PD-7XY system. He would also include the drive motors for the NJP mount, but he
cautioned us that the DEC motor was kaput. He basically donated the entire set
to us and didn’t even ask for shipping charges. God bless him.
• So, we dismounted the PD-5XY system except the DEC motor on it and placed the
newly obtained PD-7XY system on it.
• The new drive system was wonderfully easy to use and provided higher speed slews
even with a 12V power supply (a field battery).
• I acquired an inexpensive used ST-4 conversion adapter to hook up to the autoguide
port on the PD-7XY drive controller.
• The electronics were taken care of – or so we thought……

PD-7XY DRIVE CONTROLLER – WHAT WAS INCLUDED
PD-7XY Dec. Motor
(non-functional)
PD-7XY Bearings
and Bushings
(not included)
PD-7XY R.A. Motor
PD-7XY Drive
Corrector Unit
PD-7XY Hand
Controller

CHEAP GUIDESCOPE + PD-7XY DRIVE CONTROLLER – THE PITFALLS
• Scrounging up the PD-7XY system took all the way until March 2008.
• I had James Magnuson at Lynntech, machine a holder for my Meade department
store 60mm refractor on the top bridge plate of the Takahashi rings for the
astrograph.
• This refractor had worked well as a guidescope on my short focal length (404mm)
Takahashi Sky 90 refractor (which I no longer own) for the Celestron AS-GT mount
(which I no longer own either).
• Here’s the rub – the focuser on this scope is entirely made of plastic.
• When mounted on the Takahashi Astrograph, I noticed a fair amount of
flexure with the Meade DSI guide camera.
• And, here’s the kicker – the PD-7XY system wasn’t designed to run the PD-5XY
DEC. motor although we were using it for such.
• As a result the R.A. autoguide calibration worked quite well, but the DEC. calibration
routine always failed in PHD Guiding.
• So it became clear to us that the DEC motor from the old drive system along
with the department store scope were the weak links in the chain here.
• Despite months of searching, I could not find a PD-7XY compatible DEC motor.
• Oh, misery!!

CHEAP GUIDESCOPE + PD-7XY DRIVE CONTROLLER – HORSEHEAD
THAT FIELD FLATTENER LENS NEEDS PROFESSIONAL CLEANING!

CHEAP GUIDESCOPE + PD-7XY DRIVE CONTROLLER – HORSEHEAD
ELONGATED STARS – DRAT!! (60 sec. subframe)
RESULT OF THE DEC MOTOR MISMATCH AND
RESULTING DEC AUTOGUIDE PARAMETER
CALIBRATION FAILURE ISSUES.

MY RESPONSE TO THE GUIDESCOPE AND GUIDING ISSUES
MORE ELONGATED STARS – AW, NUTS!!
*%(*$%# PIECE OF $%!^!!
YOU SUCK!! I’M GONNA
KICK YER @$$!!

INTERVAL 3
DECEMBER 2008 TO FEBRUARY 2009

THIRD INCREMENT OF RESURRECTION – TEXAS NAUTICAL TO THE RESCUE
• By this time, Prof. Oeticker, a faculty member in the Physics and Astronomy
department at SHSU was well aware of our resurrection efforts and all the hard
work we’d put in.
• After we made him aware that our resurrection efforts had hit a brick wall and
there was not much else we could do without financial support, he agreed to
advocate our cause to the department.
• With his involvement, the department finally agreed to provide us with financial
support. The Caveat – Nothing would be called “resurrection” or “repair”. It had to
be dubbed “Upgrades”. We got quotes to get these “upgrades” done.
• Art Ciampi and Fred Garcia at TNR upgraded the NJP mount to the latest
Temma 2 goto drive system.
• They also disassembled and cleaned the optics on the finderscope and flattener
and these are now pristine.
• Mike procured a decent laser collimator, and an SBIG camera CCD adapter.
• We loaded the Temma 2 ASCOM driver onto our own laptops.
• The laptops were able to connect to the Temma 2 drive system on the NJP using
planetarium programs (HN Sky and Cartes du Ciel tested – both work).
• Mock indoors goto commands appeared to work perfectly.
• Finally – progress (and in the right direction)!!

The shiny new Temma 2 goto drive system panel.

HOUSING AND TESTING THE SYSTEM
• We obtained permission from Prof. Oeticker to house the entire system in one
of the Roll-Off Sheds.
• The Shed has a nice concrete raised pad with an electrical outlet.
• The diameter of the concrete pad is just slightly bigger than the tripod leg
spread.
• Prof. Oeticker and the department have promised us a permanent pier set up
installed on this concrete pad to better support the astrograph.
• With the department’s permission, I went to Texas Nautical and picked up the
Takahashi dedicated high quality 24V power supply to allow 350X high speed
goto slewing on the mount.
• I also exchanged out the SBIG camera adapter with a low-profile CCD camera
adapter to allow a wider range of cameras to be attached – extension adapters
would be used to get the right metal-back distance.
• I also drilled and tapped two additional M8 threaded holes on the Takahashi
ring top plate to mount the clamshell for my FS-60C refractor for guidescope
duty.
• First “real resurrected” light of the instrument was on a cool and crisp winter
night – Sunday January 18, 2009.

My daughter, Harshali poses in front of the Astrograph Shed – note the firm grip on
her personal “binoculars”. No, she doesn’t share…

SHED ROLLS
BACK TO
EXPOSE THE
ASTROGRAPH

RORY GLASGOW’S SON,
BRYAN, POSES IN FRONT
OF THE ASTROGRAPH

WHAT IS THIS
GRUNGY LOOKING
GUY DOING? AND
WHO TRUSTED HIM
TO WORK ON THE
ASTROGRAPH,
ANYWAY?

TECHNICALLY, THIS IS THE FIRST “RESURRECTED” LIGHT IMAGE. RORY
TOOK THIS WITH HIS POINT-N-SHOOT THROUGH THE EYEPIECE. THIS IS
TEXAS, SO IT’S NOT SURPRISING THAT THERE WOULD BE A WASHING
MACHINE ON A PICKUP TRUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD.

COLLIMATING THE ASTROGRAPH WITH A COLLIMATED LASER COLLIMATOR
(TOO MANY COLLIMATIONS).

Takahashi NJP Temma 2 Mount Control Via Cartes du Ciel – Setup Screen
Any planetarium program can be used to control the astrograph via ASCOM

Imaging Session in Progress – Screen Capture
With so many resource intensive processes running, a powerful control PC is required!

FIRST REAL RESURRECTED LIGHT – THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY
Date: January 18, 2009 Personnel: Mike, Leslie, Harshali and Anjal Camera: QHY8 Guidescope: FS-60C
Guide camera: DSI Pro Parameters: 17x5min subs, processed in Nebulosity 2 and PS CS2.

Date: January 31, 2009 Personnel: Rory, Brian, Harshali and Anjal Camera: QHY8 Guidescope: FS-60C
Guide camera: DSI Pro Parameters: 10x5min subs, processed in Nebulosity 2 and PS CS2.

NGC884 and NGC886
Date: February 15, 2009 Personnel: Rory, Brian, Harshali and Anjal Camera: QHY8 Guidescope: ED80
Guide camera: DSI Pro Parameters: 7x5min subs, processed in Nebulosity 2 and PS CS2.

BRYAN AND HARSHALI PLAYING JEDI AND SITH WHILE LOOKING AT THE
IMAGES FROM THE ASTROGRAPH

DONE FOR THE NIGHT – TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

MY CO-CONSPIRATORS – THEY AIDED AND ABETTED IN
THE RESURRECTION OF THIS RARE CLASSIC

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE UPGRADES/IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED
• As of the moment, the astrograph is fully functional and useful for both visual and
imaging duty. In either role, it is an impressive instrument.
• I have already built a powerful desktop PC to provide complete Astrograph and
imaging control and image processing ability.
• A Meade DSI Pro guide camera has been assigned for guide camera duty.
• An Orion ED80 refractor has been assigned for guidescope duty [until such time
that a more permanent guidescope solution can be worked out].
• Users bring only a suitable CCD or (D)SLR camera for imaging duty or a few
select eyepieces for visual work (~ 20mm – 7mm focal length range).
• However, additional improvements and upgrades are still required.
• The mirrors require stripping and recoating, the inside of the optical tube requires
flocking and a microfocuser or automated motorized focusing solution needs to be
installed. The department may pay for some of these upgrades in the future.
• The Roll-off shed operation is manual and requires two people to perform. Any
engineers in the house? Help us devise an automated roll-off shed operation
scheme and help us set it up, please.
• The tripod on which the mount rides has a fairly large footprint. Any engineers in
the house? Help us design a permanent pier and help us install it for the
astrograph, please.

Our overall vision for this astrograph is to eventually enable it for remote operation –
i.e. from the comfort of your own home, log in, boot up and begin imaging.
We’ll make it so simple that anyone with minimal training will be able to operate the
instrument. We’re still quite a ways off though and it may take a while.
The instrument will be made available for student education, amateur visual and
imaging use as well as professional research projects
I will offer a training program to allow interested users to receive authorization from
the department to operate the instrument.
The BVAC/BRASS group should take a field trip to the SHSU observatory on a
clear, dark evening to see the astrograph in action.
Any and all help, financial, equipment donation, etc. towards our astrograph
resurrection effort is greatly appreciated.