SteveNickolls

Intersting question. SkyWatcher produce a weekly webcast, more here. https://youtube.com/@SkyWatcherUSA?si=IMaR3Aa4yywmToFH Maybe worth posing the question to them though I don't expect a necessaily straight answer. 🤐 Cheers, Steve

Well done catching such an early sliver of a Moon. Cheers, Steve

Thanks for sharing. It will be intersting what comes from NEAF this year on this product and the price of course. Cheers, Steve

In my 'umble opinion this is all because so many SeeStars were sold that the karmic balance of the Universe was broken and attempted repairs have since run into serious problems. It's like the repairs to the A1(M) only taking longer. 😁 Cheers, Steve

Hi, interesting post. As regards polar alignment you might consider taking advantage of the fov through one of your telescopes + camera pairings when in EQ mode and directly polar aligning using SharpCap Pro's (SCPro) polar alignment tool. SCPro does require a fov between I recall 0.5 to 5 degrees. If you are intending planetary/lunar/solar imaging just don't bother trying to make an EQ set up just go Alt-Az. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Cheers, Steve

HP laptop (Intel 7500U) with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Use SharpCap Pro to capture DSO's and Deep Sky Stacker for stacking then StarTools to process. With lunar/solar data I capture with SharpCap Pro and then stack and process using AstroSurface. Cheers, Steve

Hi Ratlet, thanks for sharing how you got on last night. Agree about night time not being good for resolving IT issues. 😬 Was the issue with the iPolar down to new software? I've not used mine for a long while now preferring SharpCap Pro's polar alignment tool. The GEM28 is indeed a very quiet mount and am really glad you have found you can save money not having to get another mount for your 102ED. I presently use a holster that came with my CG-5 to hold the hand controller of the GEM28 but you could have a nice business selling printed adapters for the iOptron. 👍 Here's to more clear sky nights ahead. Cheers, Steve

Hi, sorry to hear of your issues. You can safely deal with OneDrive in Win 10/11, more here- https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0#:~:text=You won't lose files or data by uninstalling OneDrive,signing in to OneDrive.com. Windows Updates are a constant source of bother, who'd have thought? It might pay you to turn off automatic updating to give you some breathing space to either check updates before manually installing the safe ones and avoid known issues at least for a month or so. The overriding issue with our hobby is that sometimes an astro-programme will require the latest Win updates to function. Cheers, Steve

AstroSurface will also stack and process .ser data. Cheers, Steve

Hi Cindy, pleased you have devised your own means of setting a good 'Zero Position' to begin sessions. The GEM has four RA lock positions-the 'Zero Position', an 'East', 'West' and storage positions. The 'Zero Position 'is the one with counterweights pointing straight downwards, the 'East' and 'West' positions can be useful when you employ the iPolar or some other polar alignment tool that requires you to move the mount by 90 degrees. Now I've found that these three lock positions are more felt by the fingers than can be visually seen-when the rig is in just the right location (be it the 'Zero Position' 'East', or 'West' position the lock will fully engage. It feels like a definite engaging clunk. Maybe it was designed that way to be able to feel the right lock position at night in the dark (and after all the lock knobs and mount are all black coloured)? Let's call it an iOptron feature. Rather envious of your conditions allowing you to actually get out and use your mount-enjoy! Cheers, Steve

Hi, thanks for your feedback on first using the GEM28, your results with such a big fl are especially very encouraging. As Elp mentions the axes are very sensitive to imbalance and its my suspicion the internals aren't symmetrical-the GEM28 has connections for an iGuider which I think helps balance things. Enjoy what you have and I hope you have more clear nights to image and test things out. I did find moving from having to star align the mount to plate solving quickened the set up time and it can be done from indoors. Getting out under the stars can be good fun too. Cheers, Steve

Hi Cindy, thank you so much for your very kind post. Yes, it's usual to get rain after buying new astronomy equipment but hope that soon clears away so you can properly use the GEM28. I also hope you find this thread of continuing value-please do feel free to post any comments, successes, ideas if you can to help anyone else in the market and thinking of buying the mount. I haven't any personal experience in pairing the GEM28 with an iPad unfortunately and a lot of sleeps have passed since I looked into the wi-fi aspect of controlling the GEM back in October-November 2021. When I first got the mount I did sucessfully try out all ways of controlling the GEM28 including wi-fi but that was to my laptop running Windows 10. subsequently I have moved to controlling the mount from indoors using USB over Ethernet which is very useful in the Winter. You likely know the wi-fi module for the GEM28 is located in the handset and is similar if not the same as iOptron's iStarFi adapter that other mounts have to add as a separate module. I think each owner finds the way that best suits their use of the mount and their circumstances and we amateurs are never afraid of trying out new things. Do let us know how you get on and we wish you clear and dark skies. Cheers, Steve

Yes, there's a few cameras now with NIR ability. Wish I had enough ££ to buy more things. I recently also contacted ZWO regarding a future ASI678MM. Cheers, Steve

Seems not. Cheers, Steve

Further to my recent post I've had confirmation from ZWO Support in the US confirming the ASI585MC-Pro comes with an AR cover slip. Cheers, Steve Added 29.2.2024 13.44 PM-FLO now list the camera as having the AR slip cover/protection window-