Ultimate Portable Astro Setup

On a more practical and lighter note today, I'm happy to have my portable astrophotography setup finally ready. This has been several months of trials and errors and iterative approach. The goal has been to have something that gives me the most precise tracking while keeping the weight low (and I do mean low) and being able to fit everything in a carry-on case. That includes a 71mm scope (William Optics Star 71 71mm f/4.9 APO refractor), a camera body (D810A) and several lens.

Some examples of my baby steps in this category are available on my photo blog (It's All About Light). Living way away from any dark sky location, but traveling a lot, having a portable balanced setup has been a priority for me.

The set consists of:

1. Really Right Stuff TFC-24 Series 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod. The sturdiest/lightest I could find. Very solid legs, no center column, The biggest that fits in a carry on. Mine weighs 1474 grams. RRS are a class of their own. This tripod is stellar. Absolutely worth the price ($965.00).
   
   
   
2. Fornax Lightrack II tracking mount. Light (1275g with the magnet attached - see below) and affordable (€430.00 + VAT). The most precise tracker on the market today. The manufacturer claims less than 2" periodic error. The closest alternative is Hobym Crux Mini (+/- 20" w/PEC +/- 3"), weighs about the same but costs 10x more.
   I have modified my unit by embedding a USB-C socket with a circuit that negotiates 12V from a USB-PD (Power Delivery) source. This allows me to use a standard power bank to drive the mount and avoid multiple voltage conversion steps, which simplifies the setup and makes batteries last longer.
    
3. Fornax FMW-200 Wedge. Heavy (1206g) and expensive (€299.00 + VAT). I tried several lighter options and have come back to this one. The wedge must be as stable as the tripod (it holds the entire setup) and must allow smooth and precise adjustments during polar alignment. This one does the job.
    
4. Magnet for holding the tablet. After trying numerous options, both off the shelf and custom, I ended up with this one. Ripped apart a strong 6-magnet magnetic tablet holder and attached it to the Fornax with an epoxy resin. Works like a charm, adding minimum bulk to the setup. As the tablet is needed only for a polar alignment procedure, I take it off when done and start the tracker. There are variety of similar magnetic mounts, pick any you like, as long as it has multiple magnets and is designed for holding a tablet (single-magnet phone mounts are not strong enough).
    
5. Aukey 10000mAh powerbank with USB-PD (Power Delivery), capable of negotiating 12V output (needed for the Fornax motor). 228g / €32.99. It is a pretty standard powerbank, the only requirement is that the USB-C port can provide 12V when asked (over the Power Delivery protocol). The good thing about standardizing power on USB-PD, you can use any standard USB-PD charger (wall, car) and use the powerbank to recharge other equipment (phone, tablet). I do love standards. Why would anyone now use anything else than USB-PD...?
   The powerbank has also a 2nd USB output, I have been tempted to use it to drive an anti-dew heater. Unfortunately when a standard USB device is plugged into it, the powerbank resets the USB-PD output to 5V and the mount motor stops. This is clearly an unwanted "optimization" of the electronic circuit inside. Another model I tried, the Anker PowerCore 10000 PD, can drive outputs at different voltages, but surprisingly does not have a 12V option (jumps to 15V from 9V). There is hope though in the Omni Charge project on Indiegogo. It seems they would not want to skimp on separate output inverters.
    
6. USB-C cable for connecting the powerbank to the Fornax.
    
7. KPS R&D T5D Geared Ballhead. Not cheap ($955.90), but the lightest (761g) very sturdy / high precision head that allows for fine adjustments of a camera / scope. The head must match the quality of the tripod / wedge / mount combo. I love this head. It is much smaller / lighter than comparable geared alternatives. And very precise.
    
8. QHYCCD Polemaster. 168g / $299. After investing that much in sturdy and ultra-precise mount / tripod / head combo, you don't want to fail on polar alignment. I know there are people who have mastered little optical polar scopes, I just can't. The Polemaster is easy to use. Initially it required lugging a laptop or a Raspberry-PI headless controller plus a tablet, but now the mPolemaster app does decent job assisting polar alignment.
   When getting the Fornax, make sure to ask for the adapter for a Polemaster (€39.00 + VAT).
    
9. Mini-USB to USB-C cable. 25g / $15.68. Expensive for a cable, but a very clean way to have the Polemaster connected to the tablet. No extra dongles required.
    
10. Android tablet. Sorry, an iPad would not work. The mPolemaster app is available for Android only. Nowadays software really defines what hardware to use. I picked the 8.4" Huawei MediaPad M5 (377g with silicone case, €349.90). It is a beautiful tablet. It is even better with a beefy microSD card, with lots of room for offline maps and photo backups.

So here it is, a great high precision, portable tracking setup for deep night sky photography, at 5.4kg (12 lbs). I do not see too many (if any) options to shave or improve. Perhaps someone could come up with a lighter wedge, but I did try some alternatives and there were not acceptable. This setup is also pleasing aesthetically (if you care) - just two short cables and standardized power option. Most of the time the setups people use for astrophotography are extremely messy. Tons of gear, miles of entangled cables. It does not have to be like that. But yeah, making things simple is difficult. Making things complicated is easy :)