adyj1

Thanks for trying to explain @Gfamily, but you're going to have to talk to me like I'm a five-year old... 😉 I said "surely it needs some idea where North is?" and you answered "not really" then clarified by saying it knew it was pointing at the moon "and so it would know where North is" 😉 I can see that if the mount knows a) your location b) the time and c) what the mount is currently pointing at, then it can roughly work out North. I hadn't gleaned that information from the 'just level your mount and point at it' comment that I first queried...

This. There are three posts that say 'just level the mount'. Ady (I was writing my previous reply when you posted this and so the posts are a bit out of sync, apologies)

Thanks for trying to clarify. My confusion is caused by this statement; "as long as the mount is level" whereas I would have thought it would be; "as long as the mount is level and was pointing North when you switched it on." You've said it doesn't need any star alignment routine, but surely it needs some idea where North is... once I work out what I'm supposed to be doing I will 😉 Cheers, Ady

I'm confused - If you haven't done any form of star alignment, then surely this has to be at least 'level-and-north' (the AZ equivalent of a rough polar alignment)?

Have you heard of the 300 rule? (or 500 if you have a full frame). Divide 300 by your FL to get a rough approximation of exposure without trailing. So 300/50 = 6 seconds. It is more of a guideline than a rule, so zoom in on a test exposure to check for trailing/eggy stars and adjust accordingly. It is definitely worth spending a few minutes checking this (and focusing at the same time) as the results will be much better.

I use an eq6 tripod with my GTi and use the flo adapter just like the above. I normally look for diy solutions, but felt that I would benefit from the stability of the dedicated adapter. Works well.

If you bought it from Auntie FLO then get in touch with them - they have a very reasonable approach to fixing issues on the AZ-Gti with options that don't result in the voiding of your warranty.

I reckon the mechanicals inside are likely to be the same as the GTi, so I can't see it needing any different firmware. (although that is just a wild-assed guess 😉 ).

Laurance, You may want to tidy your link up to just: https://skywatcher.com/post/advertisement/AZ-GTiX/ as the current link goes through Facebook first... (and it gives people an idea as to what they are clicking on) HTH Ady

Well done - that looks very sturdy! (Much better than an off-the-shelf shed) Looking forward to seeing your progress. Ady

It is a hugely useful update in remote functionality and I wouldn't be without it. I particularly like that with the right plugins and config settings you can send a print directly from the slicer (Cura and others) to Octoprint. However I have been using it so long that I can't really remember how much of learning curve there was for a beginner... As long as you are prepared to put up with a bit of fiddling and getting your head round slightly different concepts (it is software after all) you should be ok. If you feel out of your depth you can at any time switch off the Pi and go back to the "footery" SD card, however once you've got it working properly you won't ever want to 😉. There will be a wealth of Octoprint experience amongst the astro 3d print enthusiasts, so I'm sure you'll get plenty of help if you get stuck. Ady

Here's the link to the ZWO page that explains the spacing (assuming your flattener requires 55mm) https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/tutorials/best-back-focus-length-solutions-55mm.html

Check out the ASI website, they have diagrams to show the layout of spacers and filters. You'll need the filters in front of the flattener and as a bonus that will help make up the the 55mm (or so) space needed between sensor and flattener.

Thanks @Gfamily Found something about the 100Wh here; https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/more_info/?hazmat=7#:~:text=Size limits%3A Lithium metal (non,person in their electronic devices. It says airlines might allow you larger if you ask

Are you allowed to take that on a plane?

To be honest, that pretty much describes my entire 3D printing experience. 😂

Oh, I wish! I had the Creality removable magnetic bed and I tried a glass bed clipped over the magnetic base for a few weeks as a test. The glass bed is now stuck like No More Nails... 😱 On the upside, I don't need to use clips any more 😂

It was a game-changer for me, but each to his own 😉 One thing I found with pritt stick on a glass bed (I've tried em all 😁) was that if I left a large print to cool it would sometimes be very difficult to remove the print - to the point that I worried about the glass...

Do you have an auto bed levelling device like a bltouch?

One thing to ask is did you check your z-offset? (the distance between the nozzle and the bed when it thinks it is at 0) that's the most frequent reason for my failed adhesion on a previously-working setup, esp if I've moved anything...

If you do decide to move your Windows 10 install to the NVMe drive, Macrium Reflect can do this for free.

I have had update problems on my observatory PC which sound similar to yours yours, but I don't get any glitches on the screen. It seems that if I haven't restarted NINA in a few days an update download will complete correctly but the button doesn't switch to 'update' it just returns to 'dowmload'. If I stop and start NINA then try again I have to download again but the update button works correctly. In case it helps...

A trick I have used is to print the internal areas that surround bolt holes at 100% infill (whilst still printing the rest of the print that doesn't come under stress at 20% infill). I know then that when I'm tightening up a bolt the plastic all around that area is solid and won't fail through overtightening... You use Cura's 'Support Blocker' to create a cubic area of the print, then 'Modify Setttings for Overlaps' to customise the infill of that area. I've added a picture but it isn't necessarily that easy to work out what's going on, so here's the Filament Friday video that I got the tip from - https://youtu.be/su_m5zV9rvA?t=129 (in this one he's strengthening a loophole, but you get the picture). HTH Ady

Good to hear. 👍

A tip I saw from 'the guy with the Swiss accent' on YouTube was to always print your holes slightly small and then ream them to the size you need with a device like this - much more accurate; As long as your part isn't too thick it works quite well. Ady