Asterisks denote "required" items (or equivalents) FOR B&W, I USE THE FOLLOWING: *Questar 3.5" *Questar's PowerGuide II 32mm Brandon eyepiece (wide field is useful for polar aligning and finding things) *Sturdy tripod (mine is a discontinued Tiffen Davis&Sanford) Questar's geared TriStand equatorial head Rigel Systems QuickFinder JMI Digital Setting Circles *Questar Camera Coupling set (swivel coupling, 3 extension rings, and 2 filter/eyepiece holder inserts) *Starlight Express MX-916 camera w/ USB computer interface *AstroArt from MSB Software MaximDL Aip4Win Photoshop *Dell Inspiron 4100 Laptop computer (1.2GHz, 30 GB hard disk, 1.2 GB memory) Red Plexiglass screen to cover laptop LCD panel. *Lightbox for making flat-light-field images. Essential for extended objects, like the moon, M31, etc. I made mine from a 4" PVC coupler, some diffuse milky colored plastic (to diffuse the light), and one of those battery-operated, stick-to-the-wall, low-wattage closet lights from a hardware store (Home Depot). ------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR SELF-GUIDED IMAGING, THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL ITEMS ARE USED: *Questar's Declination Drive *Questar modification to PowerGuide-II to accept guider inputs via RJ-11 *Star2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR FAST (LOW F-NUMBER) IMAGING, THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL ITEMS ARE USED: *Meade 0.33x (aka f/3.3) focal reducer *P-to-SCT thread adapter ring (to connect focal reducer to swivel coupling) *T-to-P thread adapter ring (to connect other end of focal reducer to extension tubes and camera) ------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR COLOR, THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL ITEMS ARE USED: *Astronomik's RGB filter set (comes with IR-blocking too) *Astronomik H-alpha filter *AdirondackVideoAstronomy's microfilter unit (MFU) ------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR AUTO-GUIDED IMAGING, THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL ITEMS ARE USED: *Supercircuit's PC-164C video surveillance camera *75mm focal-length C-mount lens *2x doubler *Imperx video capture card *VCE camera control plugin for AstroArt (a freebie) ------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR PIGGYBACK PHOTOGRAPHY, THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL ITEMS ARE USED: 200mm focal length camera lens w/ Pentax screw threads ($30 from local camera shop) Questar Piggyback camera mount Some sort of counterweight to hang off the back---I use a 35mm camera attached to the camera coupling set. ------------------------------------------------------------------- MISCELLANEOUS USEFUL ITEMS: Light (from auto supply store for use under the hood of a car) with 20 watt red bulb. Long AC extension cord w/ 3 outlets (computer, camera, and light). Red flashlight. Illuminated magnifying glass with bulb covered with small piece of rubylithe. Velcro (I leave the PowerGuideII and the JMI DSC's velcro'ed to the tripod ---the fewer things to setup and takedown the better) Table w/ some sort of overhang (to prevent dew accumulation)---I use the hatchback of my minivan. Chair. Warm clothing. ------------------------------------------------------------------- THINGS I HAVE AND USED TO USE BUT NO LONGER FIND NECESSARY (make me an offer ): AdirondackVideoAstronomy's (AVA) eyepiece parfocalizing gizmo (an extension tube with a lock ring to adjust height) VernonScope (now called Yeier?) ring that allows one to attach Meade/Celestron filters Brandon eyepieces (required to attach parfocalizer to Brandon eyepiece) Rubylithe film (a red film to cover the computer screen which is too bright otherwise) Hartmann mask (can be made out of cardboard but I use a 4" PVC endcap w/ 3 1" holes drilled in it). True Technology's RGB filter set (comes with IR-blocking and clear too) Scopetronix piggyback camera mount for Meade ETX-90 (fits 3.5" Q perfectly) Meade 12mm illuminated reticle eyepiece (for longer guided shots--not necessary but convenient).