Adam J

Exactly can it guide with short exposures as required by some modern harmonic drive mounts while using a narrow duel band filter. I think that the AA will work out just fine. But I would make sure its the latest version as rising cam have a new version of their camera and it will inevitably filter down to the clones. Adam

The problems are inherent to the sensor not the camera it is placed in and so the 294 is going to be a pain irrespective of brand unless of course you happen to luck out and get a good one as the effect changes from sensor to sensor. Adam

When I am discussing backlash I am talking about a mm or two not a CM. The mechanism I am talking about above would not allow such a large amount of movement. You have a different issue possibly something wrong with the clutch or maybe the worm itself is moving laterally. Above is a tuning issue, what you have is a fault and not normal as Steve says. Adam

so fan won't start unless you have both power to usb an to 12 volts. check the usb cable and that the port it's plugged into can supply sufficient current. If you have other things on the same usb buss the can drain too much power, so unplug other devices.

just that you can get larger targets in the FOV at the same focal length. Adam

yes you can.

in what way is it not working for you? If it is working for you then....

yes that one and others come to mind.

I dont recommend using anything more than a UV/IR cut for galaxies and other baud band targets, has a bad impact on colour, in terms of emission nebula there are better filters available than a L-eNhance. Adam

Why would you not be able to use APP? Assume Astro Pixel Processor would work just fine with Rising Cam? Adam

I am off to Tenerife in two weeks to shoot this with the same scope and mount. Seeing whats possible from the UK gives me hopes of a good result. Adam

You would get as much additional FOV by selling the 533 and buying a rising cam 2600 equivalent and have more change left over than buying a redcat. Adam

So this link shows the board in question. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/808906-star-adventurer-gti/page-29 User Steve6291 on CN having opened the RA for exactly the same reason I did (mesh adjustment screw coming loose), several others in the same thread. He also notes the short cables. But the two he points out are not the motor drive as he claims they are for the Snap port and the USB connection. My solution to the short cables was different though, as I know those type of surface mount connectors are delicate (hence my broader concern about damaging the board) I decided against tugging the cables out and instead removed the worm drive assembly to enable sufficient clearance for the screw driver to reach the main board mounting screws. A more fiddly but safer option. Adam

If it's moving ok then it's probably user error or possibly a good idea to try flashing the motor controller (found on SWs web page) before jumping to conclusions and sending it back. Also make sure you are using the most recent version of the app. Blinking red light is normal during operation from memory.

Got to be honest I don't think a precedent has been set, it's up to the retailer in question. Also on reflection I think it was a mistake for me to bring it up. As above my experience in servicing it means I would recommend that they don't give permission in future, for this procedure or anything that required work on the RA, the Dec is a different matter that's very easy to access. As pictured above four screws and you are in. It's about being sensible no one gains anything from having to arrange return of an item and lose use of it for a period for the sake of removing a cover and plugging something back in or tightening a screw. But if that process carries additional risk sending it back under warranty is the way to go. When I asked permission to do this the mount was totally new on the market so doubt even FLO knew what was involved in accessing the RA drive and no tutorials existed online. On the other hand if SW have made those cables longer in the later batches, it's less of a problem, but I would not bank on it. Adam

All as above, no issues with FLO I could have sent it back if I had wanted under warranty at any time, I am just a hands on person and so like to get dug in myself. If your reading irritation into my post it was off the back of a tricky and annoying job (once you have dropped a screw into the body of the mount a few times at 1am you can get a little grumpy about it) and nothing to do with anything else. Steve I have never had an issue with your service at FLO. Yes, I decided back in September that I would live with tweaking it from time to time but it got annoying that the mesh was not holding so I decided to try the fix at this time now that i am not using it due to loss of astro-darkness. I thank you for the original permission, it was a while back but I did not perceive it as being a time limited permission. It is done now and working better than ever in any case, so no harm done, time will tell if the thread lock will hold the screw. I only mentioned I had discussed it with FLO as I did not want people to think that I was advocating this procedure at the expense of invalidating a valued warranty. This level of flexibility, it is one of the things i like about you as a supplier. Having said that though with my acquired knowledge of the mount I don't suggest you allow anyone to do the same. As I say no real issues just fiddly, but at the risk of sounding arrogant it is not something I think anyone should try, so my main goal here is to warn other owners. Most will still be inside warranty but not forever and I know that there is a large community that will want to tune the mount to improve performance irrespective, so better forewarned with knowledge if they are going to do it anyway. It is a harder nut to crack than the AZ GTI and some danger exists if your not careful (irrespective of experience) due to the configuration and short cables. That is the message I want people to leave this thread with, all in all I would still recommend the mount. Cheers, Adam

It was not my intention from the outset to inform other of an issue as when I started taking it apart I did not know it would be so difficult and once I had it apart I was fully focused on getting it back together again. Adam

Ah got it. Adam

You can access it externally but on mine it kept coming loose requiring frequent adjustment and so i needed to remove the RA cover to add lock tight to the thread. The Dec is easy to access as seen in the picture. Also several seasons? It only came out in August last year? and announced some time early 2022. Adam

Just reading this again, I am not talking about the clutch, I am talking about the worm gear setting screw that is hidden under a label and would not normally need adjustment. Adam

Noticed over time, I kept having to re-adjust it as it kept coming loose. You can access the screw it's under the label. But once set it should not move and yet it does, very annoying. Mine was one of the first in the UK so might be teething problems on the first batch. There is a thread about it on cloudy nights with some others reporting the issues.

Oh they do sometimes make a good one, I had a HEQ5 Pro that was the best tracking mount i have ever used. <0.5 RMS on a regular basis.

Yes but 'how' would they (SW not FLO) 'fix it' if I had chosen to send it back under warranty?? Would they just re-adjust the screw only for it to keep working its way out again and again?? There is also the fact that if it had been done properly (using purple lock-tight or equivalent) in the first place I would not need to be doing it at all. Honestly in many ways I have more confidence in myself when it comes to a lasting fix, but this one did stretch the skill set for sure. Adam

Two years I think for most things. Adam

As above, as it was under warranty I had asked permission to attempt the maintenance myself before proceeding. In the end, I managed to avoid the potential pit falls and it was a success. Adam