StevieDvd

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.

Sorry I mistook the tif files for your processed results and looked for a Mac solution in software I have used. The tweak's can be done in Siril and have some planetary processing videos on you tube that you could follow.

Here's a quick edit of one of the first set. I opened it in Siril which is available for Mac and used the wavelet function. It is subject to personal colouring and could do with a sharpen but shows that data is there.

If you can attach the image after the stacking as a .fits or .tif perhaps someone can tweak it with PC (and hopefully Mac) software where the start & end result change can be explained for you to try. I believe that ASIStudio is available for Mac it has stacking and some basic post stack options.

Your data is seemingly quite good. Having seen the difference between initial video and final image processed & tweaked from others, I'd say it's the learning of the tweaking that is all that you need to improve. Have a look at this video - it shows the tweaking in action.

I'd literally just finsihed watching that video. Was trying to see if there was a levelling routinethat would prevent the end user setting it up in eq mode. Not sure if the Dwarf had a firmware change to allow users to do their own 'EQ' thing. I was not seriously suggesting that ZWO would do an eq wedge as we all know that PA is a drawback for the first time user wanting a turn on & get result product. Well done for getting the thread back on track guys 🙂

ZWO will probably add their own wedge for it before changing the software for EQ mode, and a way that only ZWO wedges will be able to be used!!!!

Yes the ZWO only gear is a bane but that's more the Asiair than the AM5. It's probably based on the Apple Mac concept of user our hardware and we don't have to support every other brand combination/drivers etc. The PA for me with the AM5/Asiair is a dream come true, so easy & quick to do. Yes, annoying the weights bar is not included given the price of the AM5, but then again a lot of setups won't need weights at all (one od the plus points of a harmonic drive mount). Welcome to the club and good luck imaging with the new setup it should be easier & more fun.

You've probably got the same issue as others got to, including me. Have you got a wifi name like ESP*** instead. If so then the solution here is what I and others did.

I did not see a mention that you have the Synscan app loaded on your computer. It may be that the firmware software updater needs some of the files that are installed with the Synscan app for connectivity. I had that as the first point in an older thread which helped a few others with their upgrades. I managed to hit the failed update which changed the wifi name back to a factory default, but it is still possible to reflash the firmware even in that dire circumstance. I understand that SW have that catered for now in the latest loader version. I'd been trying the update right next to my network hub and it only worked for me when I moved away from that - though I bought a usb/serial cable as a backup anyway.

If you open the Ports section in the devices manager do you see a COM1 port? If another number is present uncheck the automatic port on the firmware panel and enter the port number manually. If there are no ports it may be that you don't have the driver for the USB serial cable and it's flagged in the other devices as not working. The other solutins that others have mentioned in the past is that the home network wifi drowns out the synscan so to try the update away from your home network if possible (via a laptop in garage or garden shed for example).

What a lot of people forget to add in to their price guestimates is the post sales support that Celestron & the app authors have to provide. Several members here have had issues with phones on the compatability list who can attest to this. So it's not the same as the Celestron Nexyz phone holders which are hardware only which go for £50 or more and share a modular design with the Starsense to reduce costs.

Did you get a Com port when you connected the cable to the PC? You may need to change the Synscan settings to pick up the port or set it manually.

If you were Celestron would you sell them standalone if that earned less than selling complete scope/starsense sets? They've most likely worked out what's best for them!