Dr_Ju_ju

Hi Peeps, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I've just been in contact with Ralph, to check on conditions before I set off, & I'm sorry to say that he tells me that they've had to cancel the party !! 😪 as there's just been another torrential downpour, with more forecast....

There's a learning curve with all software, also consider the value of all your equipment compared with the value of quality software to drive it all..... Having said that BackyardEos, APT, SGPro, SharpCap etc. on the windows side, while on the Linux side, you have Indi\Ekos .....

No, you don't need a 9x50 finder, just follow the requirements section of the Sharpcap polar alignment tool....

I must admit, I have 2 600D's, one modded, one not, which for the adhoc, OSC shooting I do, suits me fine....

As reiterated elsewhere, the lower the numbers in a Canon camera series, the better the camera... So the 60D(a) will be better than the 600D(a) camera.

I'd go with the wait, but keep an eye out for a 600d or similar....

Forget the 300d, its too old, but then even the 400d is past its sell by date....

<My Rant> I believe the impetus to start observing the night skies, must first lie with the parents\family, and then with the education system. For the parents\family, the constraints levied by the work\life balance of modern society, and the light polluted location where most people live, act to inhibit any form of wider enquiries as to the nature of the environment we all inhabit. This is compounded with the media pushing a daily dose of dross, trying to ensure that product placement & purchasing are their primary concern, with educational programming sadly falling behind, and what is broadcast is often reduced to the lowest common denominator.... Then there is the education system, which is only judged on generic 'core' subjects, to the detriment of any further studies. A simple example of this is 'Science', where all disciplines, Physics, Chemistry etc., are combined into a generic 'science'. While at least some form of science subject(s) are taught, any in-depth studies are sadly lacking till much later, by which time it may well be too late... <End Rant>

In that case you cane get 2mm nitrile o-rings on the bay e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2mm-Cross-Section-O-Rings-Nitrile-Rubber-Metric-O-ring-Seal-many-sizes/254479498798?hash=item3b4028fe2e

You get what you pay for......

Then maybe this mob https://www.drivebeltshop.co.uk/round-drive-belts.html I think they may be able to make one for you, but you'd need to know the required diameter....

Try looking here https://www.beltingonline.com/

For my garden pier, I use a standard ATX power supply that not only powers the local computer, but the mount, hubs, cameras, focusers etc. For use at star parties, I use both a large (heavy) linear supply and the smaller monolithic 'bricks'.. All of which can be found on the bay\amazon etc.

I upgraded the motors on an old EQ5, but then I was going from the 'simple' SW battery driven direct coupled motors to a full blown remote goto solution, with high torque motors, belt drive etc......

It would depend on the driver\motor combination, SW usually uses 4 pole bipolar motors, so as long as any replacement motor, works with their driver, and it fits the mounting, then you should be ok... But why change them in the first place ?? if they are being driven correctly, then there's no point. you may well have issues with worn gears, but that's another problem.....

Just update the ASIAir, try: sudo apt update sudo apt dist-upgrade -y

Its more of a safety thing in that higher voltages have the potential to short windings etc. so putting 100V into a thing wire, will probably make it act like a fuse & blow..... BTW, I get my motors from OMC (https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/OMC-StepperOnline?_trksid=p2047675.l2563) they are actually good quality and reasonably priced, just make sure you get motors that are sourced in the UK, else you could be waiting a while for the delivery from China.... EDIT: I also use motors with gear-boxes as these not only give finer control, they also hold position without having power applied, which, over time can heat the motor....

stepper motors are current driven, not voltage, so as long as the driver is able to provide ample current pulses, all will work ok....

Before getting too disheartened, If you were able to update the mount, using your PC, as a test, and if you have EQMod\Ascom & CDC installed then you should be able to connect to the mount and 'drive' it..... If that works, then the issue is with the ASIAir, not recognising the mount via the EQDirect connection, this may just require addition drivers being installed on the Air....

yep it all works with 12v fine, note that my board doesn't have the 7808 regulator, which is only used for powering the Nano, & I've never had any issues driving it with 12v, which is what they are rated for anyway ! I was considering reworking the board so I may well then add it in. I've only had one failure, which was caused by a spider getting to a nice warm spot, but shorted out the powerline to the driver module.... since then I've packed the 'open' end with poly foam to stop anymore getting in....

Yes, I'm in the process of building a focusser for a dslr lens (500mm) and didn't want the size of a nema 17, but I've found its powerful enough to do anything, including a Canon 600D on a Newt...

A couple of pics, the first is the control box etc. & the 2nd as its mounted on my ED80

No. Eqmod is intermediate software between the mount hardware & Ascom & driving software e.g. PHD2\CDC etc.... You can upgrade the mount firmware using the eq-direct cable to connect your PC to the mount, but you must use other software, which can be downloaded from here http://skywatcher.com/download/software/motor-control-firmware/ and the site also has the instructions of how to do it....

I've built a number of them, using both the Aisler PCB, and my own PCB layout\build, which to be honest I prefer, as the board orientation has an "in" side and an "out" side, I've also taken into consideration the display\switches, which are housed in a separate enclosure, and a temperature probe that is cabled upto the focuser motor. If you want any more info, I'll gladly supply.....

You maybe able to ask FLO\the supplier you bought it of ?? and then there's Dark Frame https://www.darkframeoptics.com/product/service-60-skywatcher don't know how good reliable they are mind.... If you lived closer, I'd offer to have a look, as I said there are plenty of strip down guides etc....