RayWUK

Ah, didn't know the was a LHS/RHS Eq firmware option. There was not choice when i installed the EQMod firmware over a year ago. But i am using the mount in EQ mount mode. Ive looked at the flip setting settings but it only give Auto, off (once) and Forced (once) whatever that means. None of them seemed to make any difference. There's also a 'Trail Point Meridian Flip' whatever that is. Theres also an 'Altitude Limit' in the settings, never touched this so no idea what that is. Upper Go To limit =75, Lower Go To = 0. Location is correct.

Been trying to use my AZGTi in EQMod without the aid of my ASIAIR but having a problem. I manage to do a polar align ok but when doing a two or three star align with stars on either side of the meridian stage things happen. Start off in the home position, weight down, telescope pointing up towards Polaris. Set Betelgeuse as first star and Caph as second. When i start align procedure the RA turns through approx 270degress through the bottom of the mount and eventually ends up with the scope pointing near Betelguese. Then when going to Caph it goes back about 230 degrees through the bottom of the mount again. Surely it should go over the top of the mount. I've tried end to ending the scope on the Dec axis but it makes no difference. Anyone else had this? Should add, it works perfectly with the ASIAIR.

Can anyone recommend a telescope for this mount for Galaxy hunting. My Redcat51 doesn't have the reach once you go beyond M33. I have tried M51 and M81 but I'm really cropping into get a decent sized image

Thanks, I’ll check that out.

Is it possible to Polar Align the AzGti in EQ mode without the aid of a computer/ASIAIR just using the SynScan app say?

Hi All, not been here for some time due to lack of interest over the summer months with al the light evenings. Thought it was time to get back into doing some imaging so powered up the rig this afternoon just to make sure it was still working and the first thing that happened was the ASI Air decided to update itself to version 2. Ahhhhhh another learning curve. Added to that i purchased a ZWO mini filter wheel and a few filters back in the summer so that has to be fitted as well. We've had a few nice clear nights recently but its been much too windy for imaging. Watch this space. Ray.

That's very odd, you haven't got it set for lower latitudes? The peg that the two thumbscrews act against has two positions, one for low latitudes the other for high. In the UK you need it set for high latitudes. It's easy to change, just remove the latitude clamp bolt, move the peg to the other position and reassemble. I think its held in place with a set screw.

Just a tip, start of with the latitude too high, that way you're not trying to lift the weight of the rig with the thumbscrew.

Manage to do a quick process my data of M51 taken during the same period as my M81 photo shown earlier with the new ASI533MC. Only 54mins of data (108x30sec) and again heavily cropped. No filters and Bortle 5 skies.

Nice thing about my Redcat, no Field Flatner required 🤣

I bought 12v Lynx Astro Dew heaters which come fitted with 2.1 plugs and plug straight into the ASIAIR. The leads were much too long for me as my ASIAIR is mounted on the scope so i shortened the leads and re-soldered the plugs on.

I've been watching a youtube video 'Deep Sky Astrophotography with CMOS cameras' by Dr Robin Glover of SharpCap fame. He suggests (if i've interpreted right) that theres not a lot to be gained by long exposure subs beyond the 'ideal' for your 'Bortle and Light Pollution Rate'. Its all a bit techy but if what he says is true and i've got the right numbers in my spreadsheet, for my setup, my ideal sub is somewhere between 20-50 secs (Bortle 4.5) or 10-30 secs (Bortle 5). Hence my 30sec subs. The downside is the longer processing time due to the number of subs to get a decent total exposure time.

Thanks Steve, i'm hoping that i've got the image capture side more or less sorted now but being as this is a new game for me i expert there to be a few hurdles down the line. So i need to focus more on the image processing side and work out what turns an average image into a great image (or not so average). I guess i need to look at some 'pro' images to see what i need to aim at and work out how to get there. When you say slightly overdone do you mean over stretched?

Thanks Lee, yes quite pleased with the first image from this camera. I don't strip down my rig so it sits in the dining room by the patio doors so when i get the chance of a clear night its just a case of picking up the whole rig , through the patio door and onto the patio. I have some marks where to put the legs of the tripod so PA is just a final tweak which is a breeze with the ASIAIR and the WO wedge. Because of the light evenings now its about 10:30 before i venture out which only gives me about an hour of imaging before i call it a night, hence the three nights to get 2.5 hours of imaging. And the ASIAIR takes all the heart ache out of targeting an object. The nice thing with a portable rig like the AZ-GTI, its 'pick up and go'.

First light with my new ASI533MC Pro and the AZ-GTI, M81/M82 (Bodes Galaxy). 320x30sec subs taken over three nights, guiding mostly around 1-1.5 arcsec. Quite a small target for my focal length (247mm) so cropped in to about 1/3. Just a quick process with APP and StarTools to get something out, im sure it'll clean up a bit with some more work.