Adam J

My issue is more that the prices will not go down if it slips back in the other direction.

I hope so too, I just recognise that they need new cameras for that to come about.

Just go gain 200 in the first place it still leaves you with plenty of dynamic range.

You have to set limits in eqmod like any other eqmod mount.

Little bit of Ha from the FMA180, only 1.5hours infact. Added 3.5h of OIII, Messing about with starless processing. Clearly still loads of work left to do on this one. Adam

It's got It's got small pixels and very low read noise, at least in the playerone version something weird going in with the ASI version. The size of the sensor makes it good for galaxy imaging at about 700mm along with the low read noise making it suited to short exposures so that you get the most out of it in terms of resolved detail. There is also scope to bin as the pixels are so small. Generally fast optics low read noise and high QE mean that you can make efficient use of the camera in duel narrow band despite it being uncooled. Higher read noise and lower QE would require longer exposure and so benefit from some cooling.

It's a front illuminated sensor with lower QE than more modern back illuminated designed , it's actually just been replaced at the compact 4/3 sensor by Sony. This combined by small ish pixels and high ish read noise in comparison to modern CMOS means that I would not choose this sensor. The 533 and the 585 are just better sensors, especially if uncooled as the dark current also much lower in all the 5xx series sensors I am aware of. So I would look at 533 for most situations and then the 585 only if you wanted to image small bright objects or had really fast optics.

Yeah no idea what thats about buy it directly its not worth £550 sensor is not that big as to justify that price point. Adam

Well I am having no issues with the polar scope with the illumination on or off so its not a general design issue. Myst be something wrong. Have you pointed it to the horizon and seen that you can see though it clearly in daylight? Or perhaps try pointing it towards a brighter star than Polaris. Adam

If it stops working after the flip then its likely a balance issue. trouble settling could be balance combined with backlash. Have you wiggled each axis to see how much play you have. It should have some but only a fraction of a millimetre of movement / play at the end of the counter weight shaft. Try listening to the RA as you move it at max speed. How does it sound? Does it change pitch at any point in the motion or produce a droning sound with an quickly oscillating pitch? That would indicate binding at different points around the main RA gear. SW are not the best in terms of quality control and so you very often find that the distance between the worm and the spur is not the same for all RA positions. In that instance you need to find that tightest point and then adjust mesh for that location. A little backlash in some locations is better than any amount of binding. But if you find its a very bad example you would consider returning it. Have you flashed the motor controllers to the latest version? If you do then make sure that you do it via the USB and not the wifi connection as it is way too unreliable for that. Adam

Typical guiding for tonight. Scope west pointing east, target clsoe to meridian. Neutral balance. Thats 200 pulses at 1.5seconds so 5mins of guiding total end to end of log and it did not trip up once. Ill weigh my rig at some point to let you know the load but the counter weight is about 3/4 of the way towards the bottom of the bar. Peak errors did not even exceed 1 arcsecond per axis in the entire run, with the RMS being 0.59 arcseconds. Adam

double post, someone please remove.

and here is the answer, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/779874-imx585-chip-coming/page-2 Looks like Playerone modified the HGC read mode of the sensor so that it kicks in at a alower gain and ZWO have not. The sharp cap results above effectively confirm this. Not sure they can modify that in drivers or not..... On that basis I know which one I would buy. Edit: for the noobs its the player one. Adam

As I said then, for some reason ZWO are using a different read mode and they are ending up with poorer full well / read noise at any given relative gain. Also potentially why @Bignose13 was suffering at gain 150 as he effectively had almost 6e read noise in comparison to what would have been 1.69e on the player one at the same relative gain. Very confusing. Can anyone look and see if the ASI585mc has different read modes selectable in the ascom driver? Adam

Why on earth would you do that instead of using the usb port? Sorry that was directed @StevieDvdin respect the the Star Adventurer GTI can't change the quote now.

that is why i would go with the Playerone version it switches to low read noise mode at a lower gain: http://player-one-astronomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IMX585-performance3.png Hence 1e read noise but still 12 stops of dynamic range. Adam

Am shocked to hear that. But I did re-grease it from the get go.

I have not touched my illumination setting from default and I can see Polaris. Check the following. 1) You have focused the polar scope. 2) you have removed the polar scope cap. 3) you have rotated the deck to position the hole in the deck correctly. (look down through the hole from above). Adam

Is there not a park command built into the asi air?

Odd I have a cheap 50pound Svbony 30mm guide scope with an IR cut filter on the camera. No bloat worth mentioning. That ZWO one must be a bit rubbish then. It won't be much but in a mobile rig I take every bit I can get, not needing that second counter weight would be a big advantage. Did not know the red cat 51 was so heavy. Counter weight is about half way down with my FMA180 setup .

That's way more guide scope than you need on that setup. Get a little 30mm and you will save quite a bit of weight.

Honestly if it's that noisy then it's probably binding or needs new grease as mine is perfectly acceptable for late night garden use.

First image, (no processing). Painful experiance all in all but i dont have the energy to expand on that right now. Adam

I have a mini pc attached to the pier extender.

no only had it setup spend first day working out that the USB connection will not work unless you flash the motor controller. Few things about this saying rushed to market. Adam