StevieDvd

Do you want it to be inter-changeable between the existing Celestron mount and your other scope(s)? If by fitting on a Twilght 1 you mean a EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC Twilight I I don't think that's feasible. The fitting on the Celestron mount lets the Starsense unit rotate both in Az & Alt but I can't see it fitting on the side of the Twighlight 1 as that would only rotate on one axis. However, I do believe an adapter could be made to mimic the mount part of the twist mechanism. The adapter would need to have something like a findershoe, dovetail etc, so it can fit either on top of a scope or at the side keeping the phone aligned (in an almost upright portrait position) as the scope moves. If that all makes sense and you wish to progress then post a picture of the part on the mount it twists into and let us know what scope(s) you intend to use it with.

I did have one connected like that a while ago. It was a pain to get it like that as I typed the password wrong and had to sit out the wait time for it to reset. It's either faulty or the later versions allow switch back to AP mode if the station mode does not connect within a short time. hAVE YOU CHECKED FOR BAD CAPITALS IN PASSWORD 🙃

The modular mounting that @Ratlet has made would be a cheaper alternative for Starsense mounts that have a holster type connection. Especially with the option to mount sideways or upright.

I believe the Starsense cradle for you configuration is connected via a twist & lock type mechanism. I know this as I was looking at options for mounting my Starsense in a similar manner. Can you add a picture of the part affixed to the mount? That's likely what will be needed for making a 3d print adapter for it.

Not justifying anything for them, it's based on real world experience and answering many questions where the info was available on the internet quite easily. Like what's True North and what are the operating temps for the Seestar S50!! Do you expect us to contact ZWO (for example) and pass on your comments? There's an old adage that says "You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink"

Give it a year or two and the scopes would also do the post processing as well, though if they get too smart they may sulk because of the weather.

Even if the more detailed information was on their web page or in their manual (more detailed than they have already in the specs & downloads for the product) in my experience most don't bother to read them. It's more likley they will to ask on a Forum or Facebook when things don't seem to work or go wrong.

All the specifications are on https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/zwo-seestar

Accoroding to Jackery "The Jackery Explorer 240 Portable Power Station can be charged within 5 hours with a SolarSoga 100W solar panel." So figure that's based on a US sunny day, and a for UK day I guess it would be twice that at least.

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind as a backup solution. It would be for putting my Altair Sabre mount on a carbon fibre tripod. The base of the Sabre is not a flush fit on the base plate of the tripod and my sense of a proper safe fit is prompting me for a good solution. Whether that's getting an adapter made or using one like you have bought seems a good idea. Steve

@DaveL59 I was looking at these but was not sure of the sellers as the prices varied so much. Do the two parts screw together (looks as if they are threaded) and locked with a single screw. And what are the other screw holes for, any user guide come with it? Also, do you mind me asking which seller and how much it cost including delivery etc? Thanks Steve

The Celestron Zhumell Z100 looks almost the same as the SW Heritage 100 so at the prices you mentioned would be a good choice. I'd check to see if it can also be mounted on a tripod (the whole thing) as the Heritage can be. The experience of setting up a cheap EQ scope (which can be difficult for first timers) and they are usually flimsier can be off-putting. So a simpler Alt/Az like the small dobsonians can help.

As you have ASIStudio already I'd suggest doing a daytime focus on a distant object. If you have SharpCap it may set the exposure automatically for you which helps. With the camera during the day use short exposures well under half a second may need to be as low as 1/1000. That should help getting the focus almost right for night use, as you'll know roughly what position the focuser needs to be. Once in focus you could swap to an eyepiece, but don't change the focus - instead pull the eyepiece out a little at a time until it's in focus and note how far out the eyepiece is. You can mark this with a felt tip or use a parfocal1 ring or even a zip lock. 1 A parfocal ring is used on eyepieces of different focus needs so they can be swapped without refocusing.

Based on your comment on leaving it out on the street, then my reponsse would be to try getting the bearing back in place (if it does not look completely ruined) and see if it works. If it's just for visual use and the goto/alignments are near enough then perhaps it will do for a while. Other than that if a new bearing is only a few dollars you could try that or sell it for spares/repairs.

I'd need to see the NINA controls but you won't need to unmount the EAF. Part of the setup of an EAF is to set the inner & outer limits and number of steps. And most control apps allow you to reverse the directions. If NINA/Ascom don't let you do that try ZWO ASIStudio. I'd do a quick google for setup of the EAF for the procedure for setting/resetting the positions if I were you.

Not finding position won't be affected by alignment. It works on platesolving so a poor image (dirty mirror or camera lens) or bad location data are the most likely culprits. Both of which have been posted about a few times.

It would seem a simple test to try using a Nyloc nut and tighening until the dovetail/tube does not move freely. Then see if that stays put and aligns properly. If it does not align well try a loosen of the nut first, if that is the same or worse try a tightening adjustment. If it works okay then monitor over time.

I ordered some allen headed bolts for a vixen/losmandy clamp to add to a mount. I measured the screw depth at about 6mm. What came in the post were some bolts 6mm in total length, an immediate gasp when I opened the pack. I realised the mistake was my eye to brain interface, remedied by a smack to the forehead and the magic incantation of "D'oh".

If the loctite repair does not hold try a proper glue such as this one. I won't but another tube of loctite or gorilla superglue again. With grand kids and the missus regularly giving me almost impossible breakages to repair the above glue (and a similar product) has been a godsend and actually worked where supermarket packaged glues fail. I recently knocked a raspberry pi off a shelf and managed to snap the sdcard (it hit a concrete floor) - used this glue to stick it as I thought the main memory part may have been okay. The glue did the job but the card was not recognised. As it was heading for the bin I decided to test the glued joint and was able to snap the card, but suprisingly in another place - the glued join was still intact.

The exposures are 20s and have a pause between them, but there are no trails in the images either side that are visible. The flares are only on a single image. I spotted them on the startrail imge and had to find the images taken by narrowing the time they appeared on the startrail and found just one. I'm glad the title of the thread was appropriate.

I don't think physically picking the mount up and rotating is right that could upset levelling. The mount is rotated in AZ with the clutch released, whether fine or not. IN AZ mode the adjustments are stored in the mount and set using the app keys to centre a star. In EQ mode the Alt/Az bolts on the wedge would be used for fine adjustments.

They do in the manual state True North for setting up home position (AZ mode). Your home position, levelling and location/date & time are used to help align the mount by centering the alignment stars and the mount compensating for inaccuracies. The uptake of plate-solving has made these inaccuracies less of a problem, as the software would be able to centre the target after a plate-solve. Using a manual polar alignment system such as a polar scope, the correct axis is found by knowing the position of Polaris in relation to the NCP and placing that in the right hourly position. So when the PA is correct, and the mount rotated, Polaris would spin around in a circle with the NCP in the middle. So if your time/date or location is wrong that position you centred Polaris in would be wrong and hence the assumed position of the NCP would be out as well. Note we have not used a True or Magnetic North for this manual process, but the NCP would be True North (no magnets or compass used). So True North is best to use, but if Magnetic is close then the alignment error correcting should compensate for either of them. If the degree offset is large then True North should be used, if Magnetic gives a better result then there is a compensating error. https://gisgeography.com/magnetic-north-vs-geographic-true-pole/

Refitted my all sky camera into a new housing to remedy some dew ingress and the results of last nights timelapse shows a possible 2 meteors. The images below are individual exposures: I need to redo the darks as my first set somehow made the images completly black. That may have eradicated the hot pixels but at the expense of a blank image.

Ahh the link had me confused too. Not much use for the NexStarSE series unless they are on a wedge. Aimed presumably at the EQ mounts based on their own 'Best suited for' list. But I agree a bit pricey.

As @bosun21 says the Nexstar mounts have been around for ages. The latest adverts are just reminding you that the new products launched since then are compatible, the Starsense AutoAlign camera for example uses the same aux connections.