knobby

Should be doable I reckon, I managed this (out of focus though 😒 ) in Lapalma. About 80% full moon. We had 2 nights where the sun set well before the moon rose.

Nothing special but sounds way darker where you're going. All the best of luck.

My 120 mm (old usb2 type) does that pretty frequently, no reason just randomly ! Very annoying, I've started using my 224mc which seems to be ok.

The ZWO 120 mm mini is supposed to be a good choice if you're looking at replacement.

Noticed you're on Win 7, I'm on Win 10 so it's not OS dependant .

HI, the black ring indicates you were probably out of focus, Venus will appear as a very small but really bright dot in most scopes. If seeing is good and you can focus accurately you should be able to make out the phase (not round, a bit like the various Moon phases)

Thanks for the suggestions chaps, the pic above is oldish - using a ZWO 120 mm screwed direct to guidescope now and I will look at using more of the dovetail ! although it does feel very secure as it is.

Hi all, can someone give me a reality check please 😁

I'm getting pa down to excellent using Sharpcap ... After imaging for a while and looking at PHD2 logs it's saying polar alignment error of around 3 to 4 arc mins ...

Guidescope is rigid / no play, could the wedge be slipping maybe ?

Edit ... Scrub the 90 seconds @ 335 mm, that was @ 105 mm 

Did someone mention me 😁

Yes , I love my AZ-GTI. Make sure you buy it from a good dealer (FLO) they are very random in quality, you'll need a wedge ( your star adventurer one is fine ) and a counterweight ( eq1 if you can find one if not the star adventurer one with an M12 to M8 adaptor ) As Kat mentioned the EQ firmware from Skywatcher site.

Mine is good for about 90 seconds unguided at 335 mm focal length and I've managed 300 seconds guided with 1.5 to 1.8 arc seconds fairly consistently.

I noticed in the last sysnscan app that there is a right assension speed adjustment so maybe the unguided accuracy can be tweaked.

Hope you get a good one 🤞

Pics below

Heart neb @ 300 seconds

Horsehead @ 300 seconds

PHD2 screenshot

Mount

Makes sense, I'm using finder guider and ZWO 120 mm which works out at 4.3 "/pixel . Imaging at 335 mm ZWO 1600 pro  at 2.34 "/pixel.

Cheers Vlaiv, I must say that I'm really impressed with the little mount (so far) and the 1.5 to 1.8 figure seems about right as I'd say that's probably where it normally sits. Just wondered why / how I'd managed below 1 on a few occasions ... 

.APK is the android installer package. Download a file explorer from play store then open the APK with it.

Might need to Google ' allow non play store apps' before it will install though.

Quick question for the PHD gurus ... I'm getting mixed success with my AZ-GTI, some nights just under 1 arc second but others hovering around  the 2 arc second mark .

I recently noticed the seeing index on Meteoblue and it rarely ever goes below 2 arc seconds for my location. 

Question is, is my guiding limited by the seeing ?

On the bad nights I've tried longer guide exposures ( normally 1 second and tried up to 5 ) but no real improvement.

How's life in Malta ? looking for envious emoji 🙂

Good news is a 17ah battery is only about £30 so no need to pay out £105 again. Just check what type it has inside and make sure charger is compatible.

Looking good, Altinak showing a bit of microlensing but lovely and smooth.

Cheers Ahmed, I have one for the mount / camera and another (slightly less impressive looking) one for the dew heaters. Could have probably got a bigger battery but I like the idea of light weight kit since I damaged my shoulder , also prefer having separate supply for the draining dew heaters. 

Hi Mark, I'm an Android user so probably not the best person to help 😄, maybe try using a laptop instead to see if it's the phone ? Are there any settings on the iPhone to make it stay connected even though there's no internet. Also try moving away from other WiFi . Are you at home ?

keep an eye open here https://www.astroboot.co.uk/ab.php

Occasionally have bits available.

Disgusting 😒

1 hour ago, JamesF said:

Dew heater for my 127 Mak:

Sadly I'm not organised enough this evening to try it out.

James

I like those James, I have one on my C8, 72ED and finder guider. Really nicely made and can be used without a controller.

Not used a DSLR with APT but I'd check the Canon drivers and the USB port power save settings as a start.

2 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

I've posted in another thread about having issues with getting an error message upon mount connection : here https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/347246-eqmod-overflow/?tab=comments#comment-3777347

 

Another issue I was having was some syncing issues after a platesolve, especially after a meridian flip. After digging around i noticed on the EQMod website that the AZGTi should have a custom gear ratio. Up to now I was simply using the HEQ5/EQ6 option in EQMod. It was working, tracking and guiding so never thought it was an issue. Might explain why the mount was rejecting some platesolving syncs?

Custom settings for AZGTi :

Total steps 2073600

Worm steps 14400

Tracking offset 0

 

http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/reqindex.html

I went back to the windows synscan app, found it more stable ... Still use the cable though as it means I can remote in to the laptops WiFi and watch what's happening from the front room 👍

Keep an eye on here https://www.astroboot.co.uk/AstroBoot they have loads of bits and bobs but not sure about shipping to Algeria, all the best and good luck

Have you checked which com port it's selected ?

Now using 1.5 or 1 second exposures, Ra and Dec aggression at 100 or 90% and min move at 0.15. Getting periods of less than 1" errors but averaging out at around 1.5 which I'm happy with for a £250 portable mount.