I have now made some tests with the SkyWatcher SynGuider autoguider I have recently acquired along with a Celestron 80mm guide scope attached to my good old Meade 2080 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. My experiences with it so far are pretty good. It can take a long time to find a good guide star to lock on to (up to 1 hour so far) but since the ratio of usable light subs is increased from 10-30% without autoguider up to 100% with the autoguider, it definitely pays off using it. However the added weight of the guide scope and autoguider required me to also purchase a third counter weight for my mount and I’m afraid I’m now at the limit of the mount’s specified carrying capacity.
