matija

Hi, I'm in the process of upgrading my astrophotography setup and considering the Apollo-M MAX camera with the IMX432 sensor for my 2000mm focal length RC telescope. Currently, I'm using a ZWO 294MC camera and wondering if the Apollo-M MAX would provide a worthwhile improvement. Primarily, I'm interested in capturing deep space objects. The 12-bit depth and lower resolution of the Apollo-M MAX caught my attention. I'm concerned about how these specifications might negatively impact my images compared to the ZWO 294MC. If anyone has experience with both cameras or insights into the potential drawbacks of switching to the Apollo-M MAX, I'd greatly appreciate your input. Additionally, any considerations specific to pairing this camera with an RC telescope would be helpful. https://player-one-astronomy.com/product/apollo-m-max-pro-usb3-0-mono-camera-imx432/ Thank you for your time and expertise! Matija

@tomato Yeah I'm looking at the mk2 as i'm buying new. The bolt system scares me a lot.

@ollypenrice, I'm looking at the Mesu200 variant that has three screws in the middle of the angled wedge. No other form of PA. Is it still easy in that case? Matija

@Elp Thanks for the reply, Yeah, I don't mind the wight. Do you use the 3 screws on the canter of the wedge to PA? And what software do you use? Thanks!

@licho52Upgrading to CEM120/Mesu200 and and NINA/PHD2

Hello! I've had an EQ8R for a while now but I want to upgrade as the guiding performance is not good enough for my 2000mm telescope. A while back I came across mesu200 while browsing some stuff for my other big telescope that uses SiTech, and it got me thinking. Is the mesu200 easy enough to polar align from scratch every night? I can get within a few arcmin with a laser but then its onto the screws. I've been traveling with the EQ8R for over a year now so I'm used to the weight(I think the mesu is even lighter). My only real concern is the polar alignment and maybe balance. Can it be done quickly? Thanks! Matija

@vlaiv Is there any way to prove that the error is caused by the mount / that its a mechanical problem?

@dan_adi Im trying to get one but the seller refuses to accept the mount is faulty. He says its 100% perfect and that the error is coming from outside the mount.

Ah yes, I forgot. this graph is from when I used a guide scope. 240mm is right

@vlaiv I have a 10" RC at f8 so 2000mm and am ASI485MC with 2.9um pixels that ive set to bin2.

@windjammer My problem is the two up spikes and then a down dip of 2.5" that repeats every 189s or 1 worm rotation.

@vlaiv The mount has been tuned and is in the best possible working order. I tried all possible settings but it still has +-2.5" movements. A thing I noticed is that it guides ok (+-1") near NCP and very bad everywhere else. Especially the south. Here is the guide log: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y-N9JJ4s8g2SWP23eYG_GLFiTeztDZ4A/view?usp=sharing I cannot do PEC on asiair. Thanks!

Hello! For the last few months I've been having a lot of trouble with my EQ8R-Pro. The thing is moving up and down when guiding by 2.5"-3", making it useless for astrophotography. I already sent it back to get repaired but the problem persists. They don't want to refund the money so all I'm left with is to try and find an answer here. Like I said, the mount guides terribly(I will attach 3 examples). I tried everything from better PA, better balancing, making sure its level, making sure seeing is good, making sure there is no wind, making sure its on solid ground, making sure there is no gable snag and so on but nothing seems to fix the issue. I am using an ASIAIR but the same thing happens on PHD2. I unfortunately do not have guide logs but my PA is 30". I tried pretty much all settings, guide rates, aggressions and exposure times. Same thing all the time. I am using a 12.8V battery to power the mount. SW recommends 13.7V but I'm not sure if that's the problem... or can it be? I'm guiding with an OAG on a 2000mm 10"RC with 5s exposures to prevent seeing effects on guiding. On a few of the graphs I drew the worm rotation period(189s) This error repeats every worm cycle. What else is there to do, check or fix? I'm lost here. I spent all my savings on this rig that I now cannot use and I feel miserable. Thank you! Matija

@Stuart1971how can I tune the RA?

@Stuart1971 My RA axis scrapes a lot and loudly when slewing. Has this anything to do with it?

@Stuart1971 I use asiair and guide with the built-in guide software

Hello! My eq8r has been guiding rather poorly. The main problem is the huge jumps in the RA axis. I'm on asiair so I don't have PPEC. I'm perfectly balanced and very well polar aligned. I use a 240mm fl guide scope and a 485mc. Ill attach a few images of my guide graph that displays the issue. Any help is much appreciated! Matija

@vlaivThat sounds great. Ill capture data in BIN1 and then perform that after stacking. Now the real question is(sorry if you already answered in more technical terms because I'm a little slow and don't quite get all the details of AP:)), will it fix the effects of bad seeing?

@vlaiv So binning my 294MC (BIN3) won't ruin my colors and data as some said? I find that 1.41"/pix is quite perfect for my usual conditions. So when imaging, I select bin3, and that is it? Thanks!

Hello! I have a 10" RC on the way with 2000mm of focal length. I also have an ASI294MC Pro camera. My resolution with this setup is 0.47"/pix which is not good at all for my average seeing. I was debating getting a reducer, but that would ruin my nice FOV, so I decided to ask around about binning on this particular OSC camera. The MM variant of the 294 has a mode that when binned 1 has some very small pixels and at BIN2 it works normally. The MC variant is not like that. Its working normally at bin1. I wonder if binning 2 will actually work and let me image the night sky under poor seeing conditions. Thanks!

Hello. Recently I've been getting terrible-looking stars despite what looks like perfect collimation. All my stars look elongated. I will post pictures to help answer this question. I use a Cheshire eyepiece. My telescope is a SkyWatcher 250PDS. Thanks!

Hello! I'm wondering how I can get PPEC on my asiair plus. My mount likes to have high PE and guiding just isn't enough. I know the synscan app has some option for PEC but nothing can be found in Asiair itself. I connect the mount to the air via an eqmod cable if that's important. Its a skywatcher mount that allows for PPEC. If you can help me get this working it would be great! Thanks!

@Tomatobro the 12v dc input port on the side of the mount is connected but the one on the bottom back of the mount isn't. My volt meter isn't showing any output on the 3 out ports.

Hello. My EQ8R Pro doesn't want to power my asiair with its power out ports. Why is that and what can be done? My mount gets 5A trough the power cable. Any ideas?

And @vlaiv at 2.9um and a 1/1.2" sensor, do you think, id be possible that a part of the problem is the very inaccurate backfocus? I'm missing 48.5mm of it.