StevieDvd

If you hold your mouse pointer over the numbers you'll see a 'helpful' pop-up explaining them. Though, in respect of the speech bubble number, this help is simply the addition of the word 'posts'. 😄

The specs for your Lenovo V145-15AST 81MT show an A9 AMD processor with 1 usb2 & 3 usb3 ports so should be able to run an astro capture program. If you search for your issue on SGL, ZWO or SHarpcap sites others have had the same error and resolution was a firmware update, changing settings in Sharpcap, or using the usb2 port on your computer and not the usb3 which you would normally use.

The AM5 recommends a 12v of at least 3A, and the output port can be up to 5A. The mount can use around 1.7A for goto, 0.4A standby & 0.6A tracking. So logically you could use a 12v 5A supply to the mount to allow the pass-through to have 3.3A available. I don't know if the pass-through could use 5A if the mount was powered by a 10A psu. Currently, I am using just USB ports on my Asiair Plus so using a single power supply to the mount and the pass-through to the Asiair is not an issue and keeps the cabling simpler. With a power cooled camera and dew heaters added to my setup I'd likely err on the side of powering them individually.

The point was that Firecapture was handling the error with the camera and would run it on USB3 port - not a generic does Firecapture work on USB3 in general. Your laptop has a graphics chip otherwise yo'd have no display, you may just have a basic one built into the cpu. I doubt that's your issue. It is more likely to be the camera (driver or firmware) there was an early isse with ZWO using a non standard USB setting (Firecapture was one of the few programs that allowed for that). However, if you look at this link on ZWO support it could be a firmware issue. Also, note the recommendation to try connecting the camera to the USB2 port of the computer - hence my earlier (poorly explained) suggestion to try USB2

Try connecting it to a USB2 port. I had an issue with a ZWO camera that SharpCap and ZWO Studios would not connect to via USB3. Firecapture worked though and an updated set of drivers helped but it seemed the issue was with the USB3 speed settings hene why USB2 worked. A stab in the dark that this is your error though.

Sorry to say that the original poster (John) has passed away and is sorely missed.

Hopefully you don't have an issue but as @900SL had mentioned possible issues needing some spacers for fixing tilted camera, you would not need spacers as your camera has the option too adjust the tilt (if needed). Sorry if I have worried you.

The camera fitted in the pictures looks like it has tilt adjusters in case that's an issue for @ninjageezer I could be mistaken though.

There are a few changes going on that are affecting the compatability fails/passes. The TPM 2 security chip, that Win 11 looks, for can now be mitigated by a bios firmware update on 'some' systems. There is also talk of MS reviewing the cpu coverage too, but the longer this goes on the less likely the oldest cpu they support now will be changed. I have had Win 11 as a previewer for a long while, it was only towards the approach of the official release thet it then stopped allowing me to update as I had an old cpu and no TPM chip. I have updated my main PC anyway and made sure the new system was fully Win 11 friendly. As I understand it the TPM allows Windows to reduce the possibility of Ransomware type attacks affecting your system. The CPU changes are more for options like the Android sub-system support (not sure what other options it was the Android part that I came across. I have a Win 11 Developer Preview running on my rugged laptop and until recently it still allowed me updates even though that had an older TPM chip and processor. Last update failed and I had to do the registry changes to keep it updating. See here for options to change the registy for updates/upgrades, note there is a MS supported change for some systems. Is it worth it? I think so the system seems faster and more secure and oncle you get used to the style changes you can use the new options like running the Asiair app on your PC in Android mode.

You don't mention setting up the system for the new camera. Have you gone through the profile you made for your previous working setup or created a new one, if not your system is possibly still looking for a DSLR and causing the problems. Not many systems would automatically spot a camera switch and load the correct driver, especially a switch from DSLR to an astro cam.

If you need/prefer to add the rotator back, then perhaps there is an extender available for the focuser.

It depends on how ambitious you are getting into astro imaging. The AsiAir is great for the new to imaging on a limited budget for hardware (mounts, cameras, filters etc) and provides a reasonable interface for polar aligning, guiding and capturing. I would say it has a limited level of expansion for the really serious imagers and lacks the many options that NINA can provide. What irks me a little is the bad advice given by users who have low power equipment saying it will power mounts and cooled cameras with dew heaters etc just because their setup works. Others plainly say you must run the mount off it's own power and likewise the cooled cameras. It really is as simple as checking if the power requirements of your equipment will be handled by the AsiAir or whether you need more than it can handle. A bit puzzled by the comment you'd not be using 90% of the AsiAir, more likely you will be using most of it. You can't use it just as a usb hub & power centre and still use NINA, if that was your desire, as the usb ports are only accessible to the AsiAir. It's meant to be used instead of a PC. I think it is be possible today to use a small computer as a remote host and access the devices (mounts, cameras etc) it connects to over a network using Ascom/Alpaca but that's an area I've not dipped into yet and not sure the Asiair software would play along. Should you need any clarification just ask. I'd hate to scare you off the Asiair if that would suit you better. But equally would not want you to waste money on one if a Powerhub, with USB hub, is all you really need. Steve

If your happy using NINA then I'd not suggest the Asiair (though I use them myself). The Asiair can be picky with the power output as it's limited by its own power input 12v @6A so a DC addon for you would seem a better choice.

Two things: 1. You can probably check the in/out focus range during the daylight if you have a far off building/aerial etc 2. Your EAF is not hitting a limit is it? And not the focuser itself maxing out.

Looking at the data for the reducer and your scope as you have it setup then my calculation for the adjuster setting is about 8.7mm Reducer Back focus 64.1 Camera sensor inset -17.5 Filter Drawer -21 Spacer -17.5 Add filter refraction 0.6 Adjustment needed 8.7 That's assuming your PlayerOne camera has a 17.5mm spacing, the filter drawer takes up 21mm, you have an added 17.5 spacer and the filter adds about 0.62 to the spacing. As you now have a rotator before the reducer the focuser has had its adjustment range reduced. Any error that increases the spacing distance is going to reduce the adjustment range further. The 55mm value is based on a DSLR with a standard adapter for the camera fitted, for telescopes having a 'standard' 55mm back focus. So an adjustment of 9.1mm would be correct for a DSLR without the filter drawer. HTH Steve

I downloaded your file to see if it was linear and if I could process it to show such a nice image as you posted as I'm still learning PixInsight. All I did however, as the image had been strecthed was to image solve it using the imagesolver script. That was so I could then run the PhotometricColorCalibration to see if that made the colour nearer to the blue you were looking for. I had to set the Saturation threshold from 0..75 up to 1.0 to get it to work. That takes just a couple of minutes, so you can repeat that easily and tweak as you feel fit. However, as I have BlurXTerminator (BXT) installed I ran that as well but as per the results below is less sharp and you may prefer without BXT Solve & PCC (no BXT) With BXT Bear in mind my processing skills are still kindergarten level.

Yes you can buy one like this at FLO. Or if you have a spare car socket plug wired to say a 2.1mm tip you could cut that and put a female phono plug on. That would mean it runs at 12v (as does the FLO one listed above) and at full heat. A cheaper option could be a female phono to 2.1mm tip that could then connect to your 9v power socket and run at a lower temp or the a 12v supply with a 2.1mm socket. Other vendors are available and diy is easy.

There is a good picture of the impact of the sensor being too close or too far here and your camera has a marker for the sensor plane (as seen in your image) so easy to measure the backfocus setting with a ruler. Your mention of the sensor being too close matched the diagrams shown on the above link. So allowing for the filter (0.66) and the tolerance +/- 0.5 I'd try a total of 56mm or 57mm and see if that shows as being too far. Then you know the distance is between your 42mm spacers (should read 55mm using the sensor plane line) and 57mm. using the sensor plane line).

I have not seen the program author post here for quite a while and there appears to be no updates to the web page either after the 1.8 release.

I did add may & possibly in my comment. But unlike a fence the car port could be deemed as part of the building and covered, or the owner may not be able to claim at all. It all depends on the policy wording. But if @Craney finds the cost for repair/replacement is just above his excess (if his policy even covers this) it may not be worth making a claim or even reporting it if his insurance company then raises his premium.

It's a little unclear whether a car port is covered in the UK. It may be counted as part of his building if it was attached to it and possibly covered by building insurance if he has any. Your last resort should be to get your insurance involved without checking what your excess is and if you are covered. As I said above if they see you have incurred a loss they can hike your premium.

Your neighbour is liable and may be able to claim on their insurance. Check what is damaged and a price to replace, if it is not too much they may prefer to settle with you directly rather than through insurers. I'd be wary of any suggestion that, if you have insurance you can claim via that to get them off the hook. I had a burst pipe which cost less to fix than my excess but on renewal they increased my premium as I had incurred a loss. I checked this with other insurance providers and several also said this would impact my premium. I did find one that said this was unfair and went with them. If making a claim on your insurance you'll need to cover the excess and could have a premium rise for the claim (and as above even if you pay it yourself).

Yes it's down for a few days as per the Siril member on Cloudy Nights. Possibly, for the next version update.

There's no balancing option on these mounts. I guess the idea is that the motors are not bothered by the weight as much as other types of mount. A little noe in the AM5 manual mentions checking for stability so it should only be used by people with common sense 😄 A heavy refractor should be easier for it to handle (compared to a SCT f the same weight) as the weight is closer to the centre of balance. The danger of the 0.7m refractor (and camera train etc) touching/crashing is dependent on whether the user checks for free movement or not. I'm happy with my current setup needing no counterweight, I can hold the mount fully loaded with scope/camera/guidescope/asiair in one hand - though of course use the other hand as well when carrying it to the pier or tripod. But I do have an extension bar that fits and some small weights if I put a larger scope on, as I have this mental image of Scotty from Star Trek telling me you can't change the law of physics.

I was interested in the details of the Rainbow RST-135 as a comparison to my AM5 and came across the youtube video of what happens in the event of a power loss to these mounts - referred to as backdriving. The video shows several examples of a heavily loaded mount going into an uncontrolled spin. It was interesting to see him put his full image train at risk to demonstrate the lack of a brake and the impact was quickly stopped on any power restoration or simple manual intervention. Even when he allowed it to crash the impact was so slight the sponge around the tripod leg was sufficient to bring it to a halt. So the AM5 only having the RA brake is not such a negative on this kind of mount.