Adam J

6 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

Whas the clue that the AA 533 is the newer version? The AA cameras come with IR Cut don't they?

Shape of the heatsink cut away. Not sure on options for AA I know Rising Cam offer both. 

Adam

32 minutes ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

Yeah, I saw Cuiv's latest video on that. Whats the best option, AR glass or the IR Cut? RC give you the option. 

I would never consider anything but AR coated. Better to be in full control of what gets to your sensor. Looking at AAs 533m it is the newer version most of the other cameras are not pictured as such yet. 

Adam

On 18/06/2023 at 10:36, bottletopburly said:

13.5 hrs on the jellyfish nebula, unheard of having a good run of nights, zwo533mc 200pds ,L Extreme filter , stacking in Siril processing in Startools 9 ,

Very nice, never heard it called the jelly fish before only the crescent nebula. 

Adam

On 20/06/2023 at 15:45, Anthonyexmouth said:

Duo chip sounds nice but would want to see how the guiding copes with a dual band filter in front of it. 

Whats the 26c lacking to make it £600 cheaper? Or is ZWO just taking the P now they've trapped so many into the ASIair ecosystem? 

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

On 09/06/2023 at 17:20, gaiden said:

Hi!
I'd like to upgrade my setup for DSO with a cooled camera. (actually I'm shooting with a Canon 500D defiltered)

I'd like a color camera, in a budget around 1000€; then here we are: or IMX533 or IMX294

533 is a newer sensor with a lot of benefits but my worries are about his size.. maybe too small for my 80ED+0,8x reductor?

294 could be the right one but... in ZWO Camera I read a lot of troubles about this sensor: flats, darks and dark flats difficult to obtein and an incompatibility with narrow band filters (l-extreme) wich brings red halos hard to remove in PP. 
My question is: this sensor has da same problems in the Player One Artemis too?

someone has any kind of experience with this camera? 

thank you so much!

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

On 11/06/2023 at 02:33, recceranger said:

Hi Steve, I’ll check with the Mrs. She bought me the mount for last Christmas and she usually purchases from FLO. I’ll come back to you and TY

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 

On 03/06/2023 at 22:36, Anthonyexmouth said:

Pretty sure this is a return to ZWO situation but asking here anyway. My 294mc pro won't connect, red light comes on but fan doesn't start up and no usb connection in nina or device manager. 

Sent my 290mc for repair last year and was fast and quite cheap, anyone sent an out of warranty 294 back and what did it cost? 

 

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. 

On 06/10/2022 at 16:18, iwols said:

thanks whats the advantage of large sensor?

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

Adam

1 hour ago, astro mick said:

I.'I know you can use narrowband filters with OSC CMOS cameras,but can you use them with OSC older ccd cameras?

Normally you would use with mono these sensors.

Thanks.

Mick.

yes you can. 

On 28/05/2023 at 22:38, Martyn Heard said:

Hi all I know it's been ten year, and I'm still using my QHY5, but thinking of upgrading,  does anyone have data sheet on the camera, as I would like to get something similar.  Thanks all.

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

2 hours ago, Sarek said:

Were you thinking of the L-eXtreme filter for example?

yes that one and others come to mind. 

On 27/05/2023 at 10:32, Sarek said:

I live in a Bortle 4 area. Helpfully (for very late imaging sessions) most street lights in my village are turned off after midnight.

I am thinking of replacing my IR/UV cut filter with the Optolong L-eNhance filter for use with my ASI 5333MC Pro

Interested to hear opinions on whether or not people think this a worthwhile upgrade

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

21 hours ago, Martthebass said:

Good idea but I’d be completely lost without my AAP 😂

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

Adam

15 hours ago, Snoani said:

Hi all

I've dreamt about capturing the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex since I started this hobby but living in the UK I have resisted, hoping for trip to southern Europe in which I could take some equipment.  But alas the opportunity hasn't arisen yet. 

Living at the bottom of the Isle of WIght I am lucky enough to have a southern sky with little light pollution and so I decided to experiment this week.  

From my location Rho Ophiuchi sits between 12 - 17 degrees above the horizon at its peaks and so there is a lot of atmosphere to image through, which is far from ideal.

In total I captured about 7.5 hours of data which I narrowed down to 4.5 hours used and processed in Pixinsight.  All in all I am really happy with the outcome given the limitations.  I'm sure that the colour and detail would be better under better circumstances and would still love the opportunity in the future to try from a location where it is high in the sky.   

Equipment used was an Askar FMA180 Pro with a ASI 294MC Pro and a Skywatch Star Adventurer GTi, guided.  This is just my second outing with the Askar and so far I have to say that I am loving it.  It is a great little scope.  

Thanks for looking.  

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 

16 hours ago, Martthebass said:

I’m currently using a 90mm triplet apo with a 533MC and would like to look at doing some more wide field views than that offered by the 432mm reduced focal length offered by my existing setup so I’m considering looking at adding a Redcat 51 to facilitate this. I’m not exactly flush with cash and so will have to persevere with the 533 at least for a while which I’m aware isn’t technically a good match. Does anyone have a good experience (or bad) with this arrangement?

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

On 20/05/2023 at 19:06, Steveshshoshie197 said:

Hi 

i just purchased and received the sky adventure gti from sky-watcher. It was relatively easy to polar align and using 3 stars. 
 

couple of questions - for the life of me, it does not track. It goes to flawlessly and I love how easy it is.  It’s a fresh new pair of 8 batteries (although it has a blinking red light). It’s balanced. It’s not over weight. 
 

any susggetions.  It’s as purchased from bh photo after a long wait due to back log. 
 

Thanks

steve

 

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. 

6 hours ago, malc-c said:

Steve,  to be honest I knew it wouldn't be anything else.  There are several examples where you guys and the guys over at RVO have gone that extra mile.   I listen to a daily consumer show and it's surprising how many big names including the likes of John Lewis who don't follow UK consumer laws and push the customer to the manufacture should an item develop a fault once the warranty period has expired, even on items like TVs costing thousands. 

I think your approach really does show how things should be.  Adam approached you for advice before opening the mount.  You were well within your rights to say warranty void but didn't, it's been documented that permission was given and the warranty would not be affected.  Now whether this has set a precedent, and others will say that as an exception was made for Adam it should be made for them, only time will tell 🙂   

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

2 hours ago, FLO said:

Oh my!  Where to begin? 

We agree.

Compact astronomy mounts can be difficult to service so if you own a Star Adventurer GTi that requires attention, we recommend you contact your supplier. 

@scotty38 is right. Sky-Watcher have not designed the mount for home servicing. They are very clear about this. 

None of this is a problem. We have the necessary knowledge and tools in our workshop. 

Remember, this mount was not designed to be serviced by the owner. 

Currently, this is not true. It is only speculation. 

FLO is Sky-Watcher's largest UK retailer, and the Star Adventurer GTi is a very popular mount. If it had an inherent fault, we would know about it. 

This year, so far, only two problems have been reported to us: One mount arrived without its bubble-level, and another had a faulty tripod leg. In both instances, we simply posted replacement parts. 

If you own a Star Adventurer GTI mount. Don't worry. The odds are in your favour. And if, sometime in the future, your mount does need attention, you need only contact us (assuming it was purchased from FLO) for support. 

This is true. In this instance, Adam's supplier is FLO. There is no issue. No argument. There has been no falling out of any kind. 

FLO's service and support is over and above what is required by UK consumer law. It always has been 😇 

Adam wrote to us back in Sep 2022 (eight months ago) to say he wanted to open and adjust his mount. We like to help, and we know he has previous experience working on mounts, so we agreed he could do so without it affecting his warranty. We made an exception for him. 

HTH, 

Steve 

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

12 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

~

This posting provides a service to existing and/or potential users of this mount.

Photos taken during these procedures would have proven invaluable, in my view.

 

.

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

2 hours ago, drjolo said:

Several sessions - six nights or so, as I recall in the backyard and one starparty. I received mine at the end of February. 

I do not use it with batteries but checked what you described, and yes - I cannot place a polar scope cover when the batteries are inside. 

Ah got it. 

Adam

10 minutes ago, drjolo said:

I have been using my GTi for several sessions already and did not touch the RA screw since the first time I adjusted it. The total RMS guiding error is consistent at about 2". 

RA screw is accessible when you remove the label sticker. The DEC cover comes out clean and easily

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

1 hour ago, Astroscot2 said:

I wonder how common it is for the RA adjustment screw to become loose on this mount?  Reason I say this  is that Ive owned my SA GTI for nearly a year and used it a lot,  during normal operation I do loosen the DEC axis so I can view through the polar scope but rarely touch the RA adjustment due to my set up.

Adam was this an issue from when you received the GTI or noticable over tim?,  something I may need to watch out for.

 

Mark

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

1 hour ago, Astroscot2 said:

I wonder how common it is for the RA adjustment screw to become loose on this mount?  Reason I say this  is that Ive owned my SA GTI for nearly a year and used it a lot,  during normal operation I do loosen the DEC axis so I can view through the polar scope but rarely touch the RA adjustment due to my set up.

Adam was this an issue from when you received the GTI or noticable over tim?,  something I may need to watch out for.

 

Mark

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. 

1 minute ago, 900SL said:

I decided a while back never to buy anything from Skywatcher ever again. Whilst they do provide a gateway into the hobby, They are not that cheap when you factor in how badly they are designed, manufactured and assembled. Basically money down the drain in my experience. 

It's kinda amusing that for a product that requires precision, they churn out anything but.

I should TM 'making mechanics out of astronomers'

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.