groberts

Thanks Alan, much appreciated. Graham

OK I now have the ZWO ASI120 MM and the William Optics 50mm FL200mm guidescope which are connected up fine with the USB 2.0 port on the rear of the ASI294MM and seems OK, they're certainly 'talking' to each other - inevitably there's also been weeks of clouds (sorry guys!) so am just learning my way around the AM5 and ASIair plus indoors. Whilst I appreciate this may vary with sky condtions, what's the best gain setting for this camera when used as a guidescope? Graham

Great, that's reassuring - thanks Neil. Graham

I've always used the excellent Starlight Express Lodestar X2 camera for guiding in the past but currently putting together a new rig built around the AM5 mount and ASIair, so have to go full ZWO! I have therefore purchased a ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono camerea paired with a William Optics 50mm for guiding. Just want to check: That the camera only needs to be connected via the USB-C port on the camera to a USB 2.0 port i.e don't use the ethernet cable supplied too? Does this have to be a USB 2.0 port on the ASIair or can it also run through one of the spare USB 2.0 ports I have available on the back of the ASI 294MM Pro imaging camera being used? Graham

Many thanks for your patience, very much appreciated and further help - will proceed as instructed. 🤞 Graham

OK - so do I need to download the ASIair app to the mobile phone too to do this or just connect via the phone - what do you mean by data connection?

Sorry but what do you mean by 'cell connection'?

Thanks for the feedback. 🫰

Just about to embark on using the ASIair plus using an Android tablet and wanted to ask: What is the newest version of the app I should be using - seems to be v2.1 on the ZWO website but doesn't say which in the Google Play app library? Anythiung else I need to know / problems others have encountered dowloading and setting up the app? Thanks. Graham

Thanks for the comments, which suggests the ASI 120MM mini is the way to go; it was just that I'd see some using the ASI220MM and (I think) ASI290MM? Graham

I need to purchase a suitable ZWO guide camera to go with a WO UniGuide scope and ASIiair plus. The ASI 120MM mini seems to do the job ad is popular but from personal experience, is this camera OK for this purpose or are there other contenders to consider? Graham

Thanks.

I have just taken delivery of a ZWO AM5 mount and a ASIair plus, and would like to control the mount and equipment via an Android tablet. Couple of questions before purchasing a suitbale tablet: What are the minimum / best specs for the said tablet e.g. RAM, memory, speed, Android version etc.? What tablets are others succesfully using? FYI - I'm considering the Lenovo M10 Plus (3rd Gen) 10.6" Wifi - Tablet 128GB, 4GB RAM which comes with Android 12 installed. Graham

6.30am from East Surrey today, courtesy of my wife - I was still in bed!

Thanks for the advice - I've managed to install Firefox v115 for Windows 7 and so far so good, it looks good. 🤞 Graham

I'm using a Samung 5 laptop for astrophotgraphy - mount control / guiding / image capture - which still works OK. However, being an old 64bit computer running on Windows 7 neither Windows (Edge) or Google (Chrome) browsers will now work. Can anybody point me to a bowser that will still work with Windows 7 please? With some research, it seems that Firefox v115, might be OK but I cannot find where to download this version or are there other alternatives? Graham

Located along the western edge of Milky Way in the southern section of Lacerta, is the large but faint emission nebula SH2-126 AKA the Great Lacerta Nebula. Consisting of red filament structures with a size of over 3 degrees, the nebula forms a "stellar funnel" at the centre, whilst snaking away to the right is a molecular cloud designated LBN 437 or Gecko Nebula. This somewhat elusive object requires significant integration time to bring out detail and colours, moreover, despite this I found processing to be very difficult, though I’m pleased with the outcome. Graham Image Information: 17th Nov 2022 + 8-nights between 5th Sept & 9th Oct 2023 Redhill, Surrey Samyang 135 & f2.8 + ASI 1600MM-cool camera HaLRGB & Ha starless versions Total Intergration: 21hr 8min Ha 136 x 300 sec L 87 x 180 sec R 39 x 180 sec G 33 x 180 sec B 37 x 180 sec

Thank you all for the comments so far - I'm erring towards the ZWO 107 or its Askar equivalent but really wondering how much more I'll get moving up from the WO GT81 I already use. If anyone has either of these, do you use it with a focal reducer or not? Also, ASI 294MM Pro or ASI 2600MM Pro? Graham

For some years I have been successfully using a WO GT81 with a SW AZEQ6 GT mount and a ASI294MM pro camera for imaging, which has been excellent + I also have a Samyang 135 rig + ASI 1600MM-Cool camera for widefield. Notwithstanding, I find the mount increasingly difficult to move around, especially down the garden, which is the only location I can see the north sky from (my house obscures Polaris etc. from my main astronomy site) and as an alternative have been following the development of the lighter Harmonic drive mounts over the past 18-months with great interest. Last week I pushed the button on the ZWO AM5 which has just arrived and, I hope, will provide several possibilities but mostly portability (1) to establish regular imaging platform at the end of the garden all those lovely north sky objects I’ve been missing and (2) maybe travel to dark sky sites. I'm therefore now thinking about a scope with more reach than the WO GT81 (which I will continue to use) but not too big i.e. more suitable to galaxies etc e.g. longer FL and greater aperture. Whilst not ruling out something like the Celestron Edge range, though first and foremost I'm really a refractor fan and would prefer to go down this route if possible. Ideally it would be good to run the AM5 without balance weights i.e <=13kg total weight, so I'm thinking light weight is important (maybe carbon fibre?), and perhaps 100mm to 120mm aperture, probably combined with either another ASI 294MM Pro camera or the ASI 2600MM? I’ve been trawling the internet over the weekend and a few that have got my attention: the new ZWO 107 APO refractor range or ASKAR (103 or 107) equivalent, Starfield 102 ED + SW Esprit 100ED or Stellamira 90, though these maybe too close to my WO GT81? Anyhow, I would appreciate any thoughts / recommendations please, particularly those with first-hand experience? Graham

Came across this and wondered if it could be used with the ASIair to improve oits range? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vonets-VBG1200-Industrial-Ethernet-Extender-2-4Ghz-5Ghz/dp/B0B425SXXN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=VEN2LB1W23KX&keywords=Vonets+VBG1200+Wifi+extender+for+ZWO+ASIAIR+Pro&qid=1698315848&sprefix=vonets+vbg1200+wifi+extender+for+zwo+asiair+pro%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Thank;s Bryan, that's helpful - do you run ASIair too? Unfortunately, I do not have power at the end of the garden but it is the one cable I'm prepared to run down the garden each time. Not sure I understand the link you've referred too, is that really just a fancy WiFI extender, like the one (BT) I already have in the house to boost the signal in the lounge for the TV? If so, could I plug one into the said extension cable and link to that + would it be reliable? Hitherto, I've stuck with cables only from the mount / camera etc into the house and PC as their almost 100% reliable. Graham

Thank you all for the comments. Sounds like the PA will be OK but will need to ponder a while on the wifi issue - I'd really like to do away with long cables - except power. Graham

As is the usual practice, I've spent hours reading various online posts and reviews on this mount, which mostly confirm my interest in pushing the button on the AM5. I'm attracted by a number of features but mainly it's weight, as my current mount (SW AZ-EQ6 GT run via USB cable) is getting too heavy for my back & knees! I can get it out the back door from where I do most of my astronomy but would also like to use it at the end of the garden from time-to-time for views on the north sky (see comment below). Notwithstanding, the many useful reports from those already using the AM5, I have two outstanding questions, the answers to which will have a major bearing on my decision to proceed: My main astronomy location is on the rear patio of my south facing house - which provides reasonalble views of the south sky but absolutely nothing of the north sky i.e. I cannot see Polaris as mu hose is in the way! As a result I currently use the PHD2 drift aligment sucessfully to establish Polar Alignment, which thankfully produces a decent result. Given this problem, is it also possible to estimate PA with the AM5 without seeing Polaris & if so how? I'd really like to operate the AM5 remotely and would also probably pair it with the ZWO ASIair Plus, which I currently have no first hand experience of. What is the maximum reliable range this set-up can be operated in this way, preferrably from indoors? As previously mentioned, I'd like to use the mount from the end of my garden in order to acces views of north sky objects (+ Polaris!), which would be up to 25-metres from a suitbale indoor operating location. Is this too far? Graham

Hi Steve + thanks for all your comments. I've used this camera + ZWO EFW and filters with APT since 2017, first with the WO GT81 and then now with the Samyang 135 on the same laptop all the time, which has been faultess so far. Will take a deeper look at settings + software but nothing obvious springs to mind, unfortunately. Graham

No recent calibration frames as I'm working from a library, though it's an interesting thought and will give it a try when I'm next set-up. However, I image with a William Optics GT81 + ASO294MM Pro camera as well, also using APT image capture and have no problems, as you can see from this recent L sub below, with the data distribution nicely bunched towards the y-axis. Which, I think rules out LP? Graham