StevieDvd

I have the one John has linked to. Note there are 2 versions that SVBony do, the more expensive one is aluminium adding roughly £10 to the price of the one I have. So many adapters make it essential you select the right one, as the adapters on their own are quite expensive compared to the focuer & adapter pricing. The 2" one I bought was based on the fact that a standard 2" to 1.25" adapter had the same filter thread to fit on the SVBony spotter scope, and it did indeed fit perfectly.

Sorry did not realise this mount had dual encoders (they detect manual movements). You may need to disable these (temporarily) to try this test, and re-enable them after the first goto is manually aligned. Should be an option in the handset but check the manual first.

It occurred to me that the zoom this comes with would share some design with other SVBony zoom eyepieces. So I looked to see if any 1.25" nosepiece would fit but could not find one. The thread on the supplied zoom is smaller than any of the nosepiece adapters I tried. It seems a shame to waste it when it could be used on another scope for basic duties (probably a small scope used with the grand-children). Anyone have an idea of the thread size or an adapter? Thanks Steve

I think t's the same as the SW AZ-EQ5. You mention the MEL & MAZ values - this reminds me of the Polar Alignmet in the Synscan handset which allows you to do iterative adjustments to get a better PA than just the start alignment process (as per the manual). Evne if you have good PA (and presumably the correct time/location) you still need the scope/mount physical view to agree with what the mount thinks you are pointing at. If you do a goto on a known star you'd recognise and if not exactly centred then release the clutches and cenre it manually. Then you know your view matches the synscan expectation. If the next goto is not centred then check for loose clutches, loose Alt/AZ adjusters or one axis being overly tight (with clutches loose).

Does it lower when you have the blade fully down and pushed as far back as possible? It could be an extra safety guard for the exposed part of the blade from the rear.

The manual says to set 0 as fully extracted for standard saddles and for curved saddle I quote exactly "The 0 position is recommended to be set near the focus of the focus of the focus holder". That's why there is a reverse setting, though I don't follow why the saddle type should make a difference. You should really set the range to limit the focuser travel to protect the stepper motor. Most times the questions about settings arise after the motor has been fitted, so to get the range value I'd suggest: Set the focuser to fully extended first and bring it back in a little as a tolerance setting. Set this as zero. Move the focuser until almost fully retracted and note the position count. On startup the stepper motors tend to default to zero and don't save the current setting when powered off. Hence, I use my zero point as almost fully in and use that as my startup & switch off position. Most focuser software allows the option to set current position to zero so I find it easier to do that from a retracted position as it makes the scope easier to pack away. If your normal 'in focus' position is nearer to fully extended you could make fully extended as your home/zero position. I have a clutch on my moonlite focuser so can easily move the focuser without engaging the motor, but my lakeside motor is fixed. It was from following the lakeside manual that I 'assumed' the correct way to setup was with 0 almost fully in and to be fair their setup instructions were more informative and detailed. The ZWO manual is a little brief so it' s not surprising the setup questions pop up so often. It will be interesting to see what others have as their zero point (fully in or out) and why. I'm not averse to being corrected/advised on better methods. Steve

Sorry our posts crossed. Looks like the mount is only really making a slight contact in the central bolt hole, I would have expected a little wear on the base of the outer circle. Again, a plastic milk bottle washer to fit in the shallow circle may allow the central bolt to get a better grip on a larger surface area, may be worth a try.

Sounds like a job for a plastic milk bottle diy solution. If you make a short length strip say around 2cm x 6cm (adjust to the size/depth of your mount/tripod). Try that between the tripod & mount vertical face opposite the azimuth to see if it improves any. If better but still loose use a longer strip.

Check that the azimuth peg is long enough, you could be tightening the azimuth bolts over the top (or partly over) and not getting a good enough connection to the peg. I've had similar issues when using the wrong peg size on my Berhlebach tripod and switching between a Vixen GP & EQ5 (they do different length bolts for these). Also, check the diameter of the base of the mount versus the diameter of the opening, this is in case a previous owner used an adapter to use the tripod with an EQ5 mount. Is there any exposed metal either on the base of the mount or the recess it fits into in the tripod? Steve

RPi4 8gb recommended for 3 reasons: Will be better if a 64bit OS is used. A few Linux distros are 64bit, won;t be too long until others go 64bit. Extra memory is used for speedier transfers of data (good for image capture) - based on tests done by Tom's Hardware You can't add memory later

If you are going to transfer your images for processing then perhaps 2 x 64gb would better. It's a good idea to get used to having a spare setup sd-card in case an update comes along and causes an issue. The writing to/from sd-card of the OS image takes longer based on the card size (not the amount of data used) - writing your first image to the sd-card is the start but learning how to save a working setup and write that back to another sd-card is just as easy once you done it a couple of times. Do you plan to remote control the setup? As a starting point image capture and mount tracking (and Polar alignment) are easy enough to setup. Focusing remotely and later guiding for other than lunar/planetary gets a little trickier as it does on a PC setup. If your PC/Laptop has no ability to read sd-card* you'll need a USB adapter too. * sd-card referred to is actually a micro sd-card which tend to come with an sd-card converter.

Yes but a little bit diffivult to do so in reality, besides would Texans lke the cloud cover and rain they'd end up with? 😆

For anyone who has bought the SVBony mini mak, or those ready to get one: I took a chance and got this SVBony helical focuser from Amazon (£20.79 as a Black Friday deal - saves £5.20 but ends today). The 2" adapter threads onto the M48 thread on the mak without a fuss (just unscrew the zoom eyepiece). And for those who wanting to buy the mak it's got £10 off voucher ending 30/11/21 dropping price to £75.99 Steve

Thanks, the stock levels of the parts needed is the bigger problem, I'll keep looking. Update I found a self-centring adapter I had fits the 48mm thread fine but have ordered a SVBony helical focuser with a 48mm adapter to try out as well. Now wondering whether the existong zoom eyepiece can be adapted to a standard 1.25" nose piece as well.

Would an M48 to 1.25" adapter be a straight fit on this like this one? Or is it better to go for a T2 (M42 x .75) solution, either an extender or focuser - no real preference? Steve

Best option is to go direct the handset is not needed.

Either an eqmod/eqdir cable or the Skywatcher WiFi unit will give you eqmod control. If your mount is a recent purchase and has it's own USB port then a simple USB A-B printer type cable could be used. Given the times I've seen people needing to replace cheap eqmod cables I'd suggest one of the main dealers or put a wanted ad here on SGL. If you prefer the Wi-Fi then of course look for the best deal as it's the same unit. If you go the cable route make sure you get the right one, I picked up one for my AZ-GTi as the buyer bought the wrong one.

There have been a few reports of the camera not initialising on connection, some here on SGL. Some have downloaded other software to try and that connected, and so did Sharpcap thereafter. I'd be inclined to send a report to Sharpcap, as that's the software SVBony use in their advertising. He may be able to get you a resolution, though I have read SVBony have good support too.

The confusing advice is probably about the Asiair Pro and some of the EQ6 USB mount types. The advice was probably to buy an eqdir cable. The problem was the lack of update of the Raspberry kernel on the asiair Pro not handling both versions of the usb driver the eq6 mount needed for both to work. Those that worked without issue using a USB type A to B cable set the baud rate to 115200, the others had a choice of using a technical fix from ZWO or buying an eqdir cable (those need the baud rate set to 9600). I would hope the issue is not present on the asiair plus as that has been released well after ZWO fixed the problem on the Pro. In short try the USB cable first, if it does not connect then contact ZWO (or at a push buy the eqdir cable) HTH Steve

Yep that clarifies it as not being a lack of focus adjustment. From a quick google the only other thing I found was the settings in Sharpcap and unchecking an option which limits the exposure settings see here on CN As SVBony use Sharpcap themselves in their blogs and manual it must be a valid combination. There is an updated driver and other links on the SVBony site here which may be worth trying as well.

If you can focus both the camera and eyepiece on distant trees then that is good. It's likely though that you don't have the same focus position for the camera and eyepiece. During the day do the same focus on a distant object with the camera fully inserted and note how far the focuser has extended. Measure with a ruler if the focuser does not have markings. Hopefully, you will be able to focus correctly but still have the ability to move the focuser either way. If your focuser is fully extended and you need to pull the camera out of the diagonal little then that means an extender could be required - this is typical when you don't use a diagonal with the camera. A good tip I was given in my early use of cameras on scopes was to have an eyepiece that had the same focus as the camera. You focus with the camera and lock the focuser position, then take the camera out and try an eyepiece - you need one that only focuses when it is not fully inserted. This is called a parfocal eyepiece for the camera but you have to be able to put the eyepiece in the same position each time. You'll a small ring that fits over the eyepiece nose which can be kept in place (may have come with a camera) or else try a ziplock. Now you centre and focus using the eyepiece and just switch over to the camera when needed.

Have you tried with indigo_ccd_ptp driver in INDIGO?

Set the camera up in the scope and focus on distant trees and leave the focuser locked for a night viewing. That tells us that the focusing is possible so the issue is most likely the exposure being to bright and overwhelming the view. Try with the shortest exposure settings and a street light as a target, the moon would need a shorter exposure but the street light will let you practise. If that works check the edge of the moon and you should only need minor changes to get correct focus and exposure.

That's a shame - though if using an INDI capable program such as KStars it should be able to use a DSLR via indi lib.

Thanks, I reloaded ASCOM 6.5SP1 (without the Ascom Remote part) and was able discover the mount on the Rpi from my PC, downloaded Cartes Du Ciel and connnected, and moved, the mount - which was connected to an AZ-GTI via handeset port/usb lead. INDIGO was fairly intuitive to setup. So if a device works in INDIGO there is a fair chance it will work with a remote alpaca setup. The mount used the indigo_mount_syscan driver and I don't think there were any alpaca drivers pre-loaded in astroberry.