knobby

Looking good Si ... Yes, we need to get out when the weather / full moon god's smile on us again 😉 Steve, maybe an AVX is the answer ... Or an Ioptron 25 or 40 ... Or an EQ6 ... Maybe go really light and try an AZ GTi on your star adventurer wedge 😂

I love my AZ GTi, polar alignment is awkward though as no real polar axis, however with Sharpcap PA feature it is a doddle !

Heads up ... The SAM app now dithers 👍

There is a spot in Margaret Roding thats pretty decent, I'll try to find the info and post later. edit - Link added https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/51%C2%B047'00.2%22N+0%C2%B018'54.8%22E/@51.782787,0.3118951,1107m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d51.7833889!4d0.3152222

Finally had a chance to play with it , no imaging just watching guiding. Wonder if any PHD gurus would take a look as I'm not really sure what the numbers mean. PA was excellent according to Sharpcap but not so in PHD2. Wonder if it's because Polaris just clears my roof so pretty unsettled air where I'm polar aligning. The wonky calibration is (I'm guessing) due to the mount not knowing where it was pointing as only PA'd and no star alignment. Very slightly East heavy using finder guider Comments gratefully received. PHD2_GuideLog_2019-06-08_224702.txt

Glad you stuck with it, well done 👍

The moon is actually quite bright, try ISO 400 f6.3 ish and 1/200 sec as a test, then tweak as needed

Not a Canon man but did you have auto ISO turned on ? the higher the ISO, the more grain/ noise

Si @skywatcher250 has just got a scope so maybe we'll try Margaret Roding one night soon ?

On the plus side ... it does work some nights 🙂 I think the AV X is a fairly 'luck of the draw' mount, some good / some awful. I've been fairly lucky with mine til it sat unused for a year + due to a gammy shoulder, it was stiff as a stiff thing form planet stiff on national stiff day (the mount and the shoulder) Just stripped and cleaned it, seems much better now, just need to try it out. It used to be pretty active on here but over the years it's died a death. I'm still here !

Cheers, yes the ASI 1600 mm ... Mono beginners luck !

Don't forget, mono doesn't always mean black and white ... Various Photoshop methods of false colour can be used. 45 minutes in 90 second subs bottle 6 Ha filter mono. I've dreaded (although understood the pros of mono) but am so glad I with it. This is easily the best image I have taken and only just started getting to grips with the new camera. Good luck with your choice.

Well, it works 👍 guiding was a bit hit and miss but hopefully can be tweaked a bit ... Forgot to set up East heavy in my haste to see if it survived my surgery , Dec guiding spot on ( was reasonable before operation) Ra was up and down just above the 3 px mark on the graph.

Just spent 4 hours resurrecting my AVX mount, it had become so stuff in RA it just wouldn't track at all. Googled as much as I could find and used the http://rocketsparrow.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-i-made-better-celestron-avx.html?m=1 as a guide. Decided to use a bearing as discussed in thread. I chose the https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p503131/32007-Premier-Budget-Metric-Single-Row-Taper-Roller-Bearing-35x62x18mm/product_info.html?backstep=1 as the dimensions were perfect ( almost perfect, bearing is 2mm too thick but works fine) Cleaned all the gungy grease off and used thin layers of superlube. It's so much smoother now and I can actually balance the mount. Only problems I had were the 2 bolts that hold the RA and Dec assembly together stripped the mount ! Soft cast ally by the looks of it but there are 4 holes for 2 bolts (almost like Skywatcher knew 😂) and refitting the motor worm assembly is tedious to get backlash adjusted . Can't wait to try it out. Ps the new bearing wouldn't quite fit til I put the mount in the oven @ 80 degrees and the bearing in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Not bragging but mine is bright enough, it only needs to be dim really ... Just enough to show the reticule markings but not too bright to over power the stars. Make sure it's proper dark when you use it. ?

Is there any identifying mark on back, maybe AliExpress would have it ?

Top job David

Why not use UK Astro buy and sell ... No fees from Mr eBay and you might find a CPC 800 or similar on there .

If you look back through the thread there is discussion of using the small screws in the t adaptor to make a virtually free rotator.

Not too sure but I think the focuser is rotatable for framing when imaging.

They're great and they will look after you ?

Don't forget it can be used in EQ mode (beta firmware on SW website) as well !

Weird, I'll check my settings tomorrow

Did you check the connection type in settings - connect settings - choose network, mine was on serial.

Can't comment on your set up but I use the app on my Win 10 laptop to connect to AZ-Gti with no probs so it can work. Check the connection type in settings - connect settings - choose network