Starflyer

I gave up trying to keep my prolific adapter working, I'd apply the the fix and then a Windows update would break it again at some point in the future.

Is this true for reflectors with a coma corrector?

I'd expect a replacement for an almost new camera that clearly has a manufacturing defect. Check out the Consumer Protection Act 2015. If you reported the fault within 30 days of it being delivered to you then you have a right to reject it and get a full refund, although the retailer will most likely prefer to replace itif you point this out. If you're outside the 30 day period for rejecting goods and getting an immediate refund these two points would apply and I'd still ask for a replacement or refund; - a repair or replacement would cause you significant inconvenience - the repair would take an unreasonably long amount of time

I had an AZ EQ6 GT for a few years and it was a good step up from my old EQ6 Pro. The encoders are very low resolution and I had much better guiding guiding with them disabled. EQMOD was even modified by the author to allow them to be disabled. I can see the benefit for visual use, but for imaging they're worse than useless.

I've found the moon useful when setting up an OAG too, big and lots of detail for focussing on.

What do you plan to mount it on and are you looking to do DSO imaging through it? Both scopes will be challenging to image through and unless you have a serious mount it'll be frustrating. Both are big scopes and the long focal length will mean something like an NEQ6 Pro upwards for imaging, even with the focal reducer. The standard 9.25 doesn't have mirror lock so be prepared to budget for an OAG and sensitive guide camera.

They weren't great mounts when they were in new condition, are you sure you want to take on a challenging one?

This shows how to fit them, I've never crimped them and always solder them on.

One of these and a Startech industrial USB hub - bombproof and they'll last forever.

I'm on SGP V3, the focussing algorithm has been improved, although I had no problems with the previous way it functioned. I can't see that I'll upgrade to V4 and will probably move to NINA or Voyager in the summer when I have time to learn new software without risking losing precious imaging time. IMO NINA and Voyager are better now than SGP v4 and their development is proceeding at a far faster pace than SGP. It seems to take the guys at SGP forever to implement new features, it's GUI is full of foibles, click something out of sequence, or twice by accident, try to cancel platesolve etc and it locks the whole thing up. I've learnt to live with SGP over the years, it still frustrates me regularly though.

Are you shooting Raw images and stacking in DeepSkyStacker? Try choosing 'RGB Channels Calibration' in DSS, this should give you a better colour balance. Your images will look very lacking in colour after stacking, the colour will be there and come out in processing in PS. This page gives good explanations of the various settings and where to find them, look for Stacking / Background Calibration. There's a cracking image in there Carl, just fiddle som more with the stacking / processing.

I made a base years ago and your photo of the pieces lined up reminded me, thanks, good memories. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/19459-diy-dob-mount/?do=findComment&comment=217333

Are you masking the edges of the filters? I've got some of these on order, still waiting for the camera and FW to be delivered too. https://buckeyestargazer.net/Store/FilterMasks.php

Try flipping the filter over, not sure it'll help but with a try.

The spec looks good, go for an NVMe M.2 SSD or two as the OS / apps drive they blow standard SSDs out of the water. 32GB of very fast RAM will likely out perform 64GB of slower RAM, either way setting up a good sized RAM disk for PI swap space makes a big difference. Look at the PI benchmark site for similar specs you're thinking of and you'll soon as the difference that different components will make.

You can find most types of screws on eBay or Alliexpress quite cheaply.

How old are your scopes? I know the focuser you mention and my first two VX10s had these, cracking focusers. More recently, a year or two ago, they started using a clone of the Skywatcher duel speed low profile focuser and this is nowhere as good as the one they were using.

For DSO imaging I wouldn't go bigger than a VX10 on an EQ6, for visual a VX12. I moved from a VX10 to a CT10 and with tube rings, the better mirror cell etc the CT10 was heavier than the aluminium tube. It was too much for my AZ EQ6 and I had to upgrade the mount. The only reason for me moving to the CT10 was for the reduction in needing to refocus as the temp drops. With the VX10 I was refocusing every 1.5°C drop, with the CT10 I don't see any shift in focus position until 5 or 6°C drop.

My thoughts exactly, great piece of kit but there's no way I'd lock myself into using only their gear. There's a recent thread on CN where someone has gained root on the Asair and is experimenting with loading drivers for other kit. To be frank, I'd rather run a Win10 mini PC, it's been over two years since Windows update broke anything on my setup and it's been absolutely stable for me.

Any news on Baader filter stock, I hear there was a distributor problem?

I had an AZ EQ6 for a few years and they're great mounts, at the time the best mount available under £2.5k. It handled 16KG of 10" newt / camera / filterwheel / OAG etc with round stars at 600s exposures. First thing; disable the encoders, they're such low resolution that they're only useful for visual use and will adversely affect your guiding. The option in EQMOD didn't used to exist, it was added specifically to solve the encoder / guiding problems on AZ EQ6 and EQ8 mounts when they first launched. Second; don't overtighten the clutches, that will also mess with your guiding on this mount. The purpose of the clutches isn't to lock the axis solid, they only need to hold the axis so they can drive the scope without slipping, and if balance is reasonable a light lock is all that's needed. Third; you say you've had it apart a couple of times, so did I and this is what I learnt. More grease isn't better, if you pack the bearings then stiction will cause jumps in your guiding as the friction builds until the drive can overcome it, a light smear on the bearings is all that's needed. This also makes the axis feel looser and so easier to balance. Set the belt tension correctly, easier said than done, but too tight is as bad as too loose. Don't aim for perfect balance, it's often said that you should have perfect balance on all belt driven mounts, it's simply not correct. All a belt drive does is to significantly reduce the backlash from the transfer gearing, it does nothing to reduce the worm to worm ring backlash and this what offsetting balance helps with. The final thing, are you sure everything's solid and it's not differential flex between the main and guidescope? The guidescope looks solid enough but the focuser on the main scope is out a long way, maybe an extension tube would allow it to be further in and better supported. Persist with it, they're great mounts and it will easily handle your frac. If you insist on upgrading then I'll help you out and take it off your hands for £500 😉

This is great information, thank you, I have the same setup on backorder and expect that it's still a few weeks away. I don't have you challenges and only need 55mm BF but want to get the filters as close to the sensor as possible. Like you I have a Lodestar X2, for a while I've been contemplating changing it for something with smaller pixels. I think the ZWO ASI 174MM Mini would fit the bill and also give you another 4mm. Not a cheap solution, but a solution nevertheless.

As the title really, I see the window is described as AR, I guess this isn't UV/IR blocking? The camera will be used under dark skies, Bortle 3, so no other filters in the mix.

How are you reporting your problems and requesting support from SGP? Their forum is the best place to ask IMO.

Difficult to judge, the focus looks to be quite far off on the Optolong filter test.