StevieDvd

It may not have been mentioned that much in SGL but it has been selling like hot cakes over in the US and has generated a bit of a frenzy over on the CloudyNights (CN) forum. CN can be a bit pedantic about posts in the wrong forum sections, so because the Dwarf can be used for EAA you can't post any post processing comments in that section (those are moved to the image processing section(s). Up to now it was only sold direct and shipped in batches to each country for onward internal shipping to individuals. The biggest gripe over at CN is the shipping wait. I have not had the heart to let them know that we could now get one overnight from one of the reputable astronomy suppliers here in the UK (15% Easter offer saving £80 due to end soon). YouTube is awash with reviews of it, and by some of the more noted people like Cuiv the Lazy Geek. The makers have been very quick to address issues and add functionality, possibly because this is their only product currently on sale (as far as I know). It must be making waves as ZWO has just brought out a similar product (ZWO SeeStar S50) at the same price point, though details of it are very sparse and I've only seen pictures. Given the delays in getting software changes for the AsiAir Pro/Plus I don't think ZWO will be as agile at fixing/enhancing their product. However, even though the product is not available most of the UK Astronomy sellers have added the images and sparse detail of the ZWO product (ZWO have bigger marketing budgets). If I was still working I would have bought one no question, but my next gear addition is likely to be a ZWO 533MC Pro camera to add to my AM5 setup.

I had mine (AZ-EQ6 GT) pier mounted and left in situ for over 5 years - it's since moved on to new owners. Did not need a service and looked as if it was a year old at most. To protect it I used a barbeque cover as first layer and then a quality scope cover over that. Then used some ratchet straps to provide a good tight seal around the pier tube.

Have you got .Net turned on in Windows features? On Win 11 do a search for features and you should see 'Turn Windows features on/off Control Panel" It's not enabled by default as per Ascom notes here

May as well put it on charge now in case the clouds have a short break later.

Does it do that every morning, hard to tell with all these clouds 😁

If you get better results using a diagonal that would indicate you may need to use the focus extender that should have come with the scope. Which is the opposite of what I thought would be your problem. The 130P & 200P had issues in getting a dslr to focus and needed them to be closer to the tube, which is why they brought out the 130PDS & 200PDS for astroimaging. A quick google for 200PDS with cameras is a bit sparse in results but from some of the images with a DSLR and ASI cameras they do seem to be connected without extenders or diagonals. Perhaps a picture of the connection and how you are achieving the 55mm focus would assist someone spotting the problem.

The screenshot shows the answers to the other questions. Your fov is correct, the index files are the ones needed. And it also says you don't have enough stars. Could it be you are using bin 2x2 otherwise the usual suspects will be gain & exposure times?

What if the astronomer wears glasses 😀

1. Have you got the latest ZWO drivers loaded. 2. Try with the scope cap on (but the smaller cap removed) to reduce need for shorter exposures 3. Try the USB2 port - there was an issue with some cameras using the USB3 port (was supposedly fixed in driver) 4. Try sharpcap it's auto settings might do the rick to work out the exposure/gain values. 5. Try a re-focus on each setting you may be wildly off 6. If it's clear like here the darkening skies may help - but you can still use a distant object to get rough focus value.

You are probably doing the same thing I had been doing. It's just a question of timing, especially if you have the auto refresh on. I found it helps if you allow the Asiair to settle a little after each adjustment is shown. I found the same advice given on a youtube video when checking the semi-manual PA process for a Celestron AVX user. See here 5 minutes into the video.

There is a rocker switch which can be set to On/Off/Charge - have you got this set to On?

Thanks, The 100mm looks like a good choice, similar to the size used by allskyoptics and keeps the enclosure size reasonable. I made the installation harder by choosing the Rpi 64bit and indi-allsky, this meant adding the indi libraries by compiling them, which took several hours. But it works okay and needs the enclosure and some decent skies.

I've planned for a sky camera as well. Have loaded up allsky on a RPi4 4gb running well and need to sort out the dome & enclosure. Not planning to have the Rpi in the enclosure, just running the usb cable from the garage to the camera so the RPi will be dry and accessible. Which dome did you get, is it okay? Thanks Steve

It's a tricky one to answer without better specs from SkyWatcher (SW). It can handle a single scope at 6kg or a total load of 10 kg as per the specs. Whether that means if 6kg on side then up to 4kg on the other, or as I think your question is does it allow 8kg and 2kg load. You could ask SW: What is maximum weight on one side if two scopes used? Does the 6kg limit still apply or can it be increased as long as both sides don't exceed 10kg (e.g 9kg & 1kg)? The second question is deliberately weighted heavy on side side to get to them to consider the options. On an eq mounted scope, when we balance a load with counter-weights, the weights can be lighter than the scope but further from the balance point. We can't do that with the AZ-GTix so much trickier to work out the equilibrium. So, 'possibly' as a rule of them then adding double the weight over the 6kg to the other side (not exceeding 10 kg) should work. For example 7kg with 2kg weight offset. But of course SW may clarify the limits better than our suppositions.

Having removed the cell assembly (to get the objectives cleaned) on my Lyra - it was the front of the dew shield that needed to come off. If you think of the design logic it is probably the lens cell holder that stops the dew shield from coming all the way off the main tube. On my scope the lens holder simply unscrewed. Hope the same logic holds true to the Vixen scope for you too.

As a power extension, be that the 12v outputs or using the USB ports for power, it will work. But it is not a USB hub (as far as I am aware) so any data devices would not be seen by another computer other than the AsiAir. What do you use the ethernet for, and are you using the Asiair app to control the power ports?

Not quite. Let's say an imaging plan is started by you, via your Ipad, and you go out of range or switch it off, the plan will still be running and you can connect on the same device or another and see the process status as if you'd been connected all the time.

If you are using a remote connection and it gets disconnected the host machine would still be running. For example when I would remote connect into servers in various countries running WIndows or Linux as the main user I could get kicked off if someone else logged in remotely using the same user/password. But the processes running on the server still carried on. It's similar using the astro systems running on a Rpi (like the Asiair) as you don't have different user profiles for every connection.

It's been debated on forums a few times. I still can't understand how people assume that Celestron would make a fortune if they sold the units to fit any scope/mount. A large company like Celestron would know that far better than the average person. So the need is profit.

@Dr_Ju_ju given that the post is in DIY Astro I think this is related to Bahtinov type masks 🙂

Whn platesolving the focal length of the scope is used to refine the field of view and the index files to use in the plate solve search. If the image you pass to plate solve is captured using a different field of view than that calculated using the wrong focal length it can mean the image is not solved. If the focal length is omitted the software can do a blind solve but that takes a lot longer. In the Asiair app the focal lnegth can be entered or set at zero, then the app works out the focal length for you. Not sure if SharpCap has a similar option, but if you can enter the detail it would be best to change it when you use a different scope.

Not sure what thread these are but RVO sell them here https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-north-locating-pin.html Surprised that JWT did not offer them as an option if they use an odd thread size.

This one on ebay looks like a better bet for parts, depending on bids: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325565354275?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818143230%26meid%3D81f93d173a014dcb8c646d5613efa8e9%26pid%3D101224%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D295558144083%26itm%3D325565354275%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWeb%26brand%3DTasco&_trksid=p2047675.c101224.m-1

Are there usually good offers/discounts for buyers of new equipment at this show? I would not be going for talks but wondered if any savings on prices would be enough to cover the petrol costs.

It will need a fair bit of TLC to get it into a working condition and the purchase of the missing parts (legs & tray for the tripod). Also, the eyepieces it would use are no a standard size fit we use today. The expense to get it back in working order would probably be more than it's resale value so I'd also recommend looking at a new item as suggested by @dweller25 which may cost less than getting the old scope working and would probably be easier to use/store.