Jkulin

Yes, I removed mine and then used Williams optics rings so that I could mount a Losmandy mount underneath and use a SW Guide Mount on the top, it made a massive improvement, just take your time and it works perfectly. Attached a couple of pictures, not very clear but you can see what I have done. Hope that helps?

Scroll down this thread and you'll see the link to m,y pier and photo's

I did this image June 2017 on my SA unguided Nikon 800 with a Samyang 14mm F2.8 for 450 secs, it wasn't balanced as I forgot my counterbalances and the arm but was PA ISO160....I know it should have been a lot more than that but you live and learn. The mount has now been Hypertuned so should produce even better results.

Yes the flattener is very important and I used it originally with my 383, it really is important to achieve 55mm backfocus as well or your stars will not be perfect.

Yep the update patch fixed the issue.

I love my two Esprits, but just made a few mods. For the 80 I bought some WO tube rings and a couple of ADM Metric Losmandy bars, I then mounted the OTA and extended the base bar so that I can insert my USB hub and Windcamp Anderson Power Supply and then mounted my SW Guide Mount on top of the rings and locked my guide scope down firmly, nothing can budge and it stops any chance of Flexure. I don't do standard stuff if I can modify to make things even better.

Yep I had the same problem last night, it could not retrieve any information and just kept coming up with a X dialogue box. Hopefully SGP will sort it quickly?

Hi Kev, My mate owns an engineering company and he drew up the attached drawings, in the slots I then bolted one of Ian's pier plates from Altair Astro which originally accommodated my AZ-EQ6-GT but now allows my iOptron to fit: - JK-Model.pdf JK Pier Drawing.pdf The pier that my mate made has an owls nest that allows you to bolt the pier plate down and as it is slotted you can rotate to align approx. and then you can adjust when doing your PA. It is really important to make sure you bolt the pier the right way round or it won't rotate enough. I've attached an image showing the owls nest with my CEM60EC mounted on it. When the builder laid the concrete it was virtually flat, it has settled in the last year but without any adverse effect on the PA. BTW my mates said he would make more of these piers up if people asked, you won't get them in your normal boot as it took three of us to lift it off his pickup bed. HTH

I deliberately made my pier so there was no adjustments and made the concrete as level as possible, not chance of any flexture.

I'm a businessman and always work on the precise of you are only as good as your last order and people will only comment on the bad things about a company and rarely about the positive things, well here's my little tale. Altair Astro are the main distributors of iOptron Mounts in the UK, so when I wanted to place an order for a CEM-60EC I hunted around and then approached Ian saying that I have found it cheaper elsewhere and what could he do to sweeten the deal, knowing that I wanted extra weights and a Polemaster adapter, Ian agreed a deal that was equal if not better than any elsewhere, so I placed the order on the precise that Ian said it would take 7-10 days to arrive as he was just placing an order that day with iOptron and they had to come in from the US. 10 days passed and Ian was always good at replying to my emails, after a few more days it transpired that my order had been shipped to another dealer in Europe and that Ian had to wait for them to be shipped back to him to correct the order, hardly Ian's fault but nonetheless I did give Ian a bit of grief as I had sold my AZ on the basis of it arriving by now. Finally after a nearly a month my new mount arrived, less the weights as they were being shipped from another company and didn't arrive until the following day. Ian has always been attentive to my emails and phone calls and when I called him yesterday to ask if he could send me a couple more leads, without even worrying about payment they arrived this evening and I am still nagging Ian to send me an invoice for the tripod and this latest order. So on reflection Ian was attentive and always polite to my needs, he was patient when I was annoyed and sent items out on trust to me. Astronomy is still a cottage industry and one really can't expect the vast stock holdings of some companies, which I think a lot of us forget. So praise where praise is due, Chapeau to Ian, thank-you for your patience and understanding from a grumpy old man like me.

Well my new Moravian G2-8300 MKII arrived lunchtime after waiting 3 months for it! I'm still waiting for their New 8 position 50mm External Filter wheel and OAG which could be a couple of months yet ? At least when we get a clear night I'll be able to test the camera. I just need to rebuild my darks and biases library that will no doubt take a few days!

I shorten mine to about 10" by cutting a crimping a new plug onto it, dead easy and keeps things tidy.

Hi Sara, I've been away on business all week and left the catchup of this section until today as I really enjoy this section, all I can say is wow, it is so beautiful I called my wife to show her and she loves looking at Astro images without knowing what they are and she exclaimed "Beautiful, you could earn a lot of money from that" So there you go....go and earn :-)

Hi Hamza, I think you might have missed what Ray I asked so have quoted it as it is really important and I am just about to install the trial.

No, PRISM is entirely self-contained and standalone. In my remote observatory, all I have installed is: PRISMv10, ASCOM and my equipment drivers. This is one of PRISM's most powerful features, it absolutely needs now other software, none! Thanks Hamza, so does Prism have a guiding software built in then? The reason I ask is that you demonstrate the above image with no guiding using the NOVA120, but sadly many of us don't have mounts as good as that so need to guide?

Thanks Hamza for the extra info, I haven't signed up and downloaded yet, just wanted to check that we can setup multiple equipment profiles and set up individually? Does the equipment need to be connected to set up Is there a choice of platesolving or are you aligned to a preference. Can I also ask if you can use PHD2 as an option for guiding? Thanks.

Wow Hamza, what a beautiful image! I'm going to look at your software and see how it fits my needs, do you have a forum for discussing technical issues and advice? Have a link to your YouTube Videos? Thanks for taking your time to reply to this subject.

Beautiful piece of kit, if only they made it to carry heavier systems.

Hi Rodd, Just a small comment, currently I use a Lodestar 2 with my RC F8 which is 1625mm and I use an ST80 guidescope, absolutely no problem guiding with it, however I am switching over to a Moravian OAG and to go with my Esprit 80 & 100, only as an experiment when my new G2-8300 arrives, total backfocus of the Camera, OAG and FW is 55mm which is perfect for my Esprits+FF. NB. Just to add to minimise flexure I use a Skywatcher Guide Mount, that lock everything up brilliantly.

Interesting bit of kit, as SteveA said and I agree if I were FLO I would remove the video of the demonstrating looking at the sun with no filter on, really quite silly to promote that as some people will think it safe to do so, even if FLO just put in Bold under the video that you need to have a filter otherwise risk frying your eyes.

So Happy-kat you are using SharpCap to capture your time lapse, have you found that the best for the time lapse?

I'm actually doing exactly the same thing with the same lens but using a QHY5L-11C camera. I purchased off fleabay a couple of the 5mm extension tubes and just screwed them together, not sure if it will be enough but they do other sizes as well, so there should be enough sizes to get it to focus. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-FAST-SHIP-C-CS-Mount-Lens-Adapter-Ring-Extension-Tube-For-CCTV-Camera-5mm/272950505030?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I also purchased a 4" Dome to go over it from this link: - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Indoor-Outdoor-CCTV-Clear-Acrylic-Camera-Dome-Housing-Cover-Replacement-UK/152638376140?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I got the lens for £30 by making an offer, so don't pay the full price: - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fujinon-DF1-4HB-L1-Fish-Eye-C-Mount-Lens-with-Lens-Protectors-Brand-New/252289716694?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Sara, if you remove the existing extension collar, then these wills crew straight into the C Thread, I made the mistake of not checking how the lens would screw in, until someone on here put me right. I plan to get a small project box from Maplins next time I am out that way and mount it in there. I only plan to use it when I am imaging, firstly so I can keep an eye on the clouds and secondly so I can capture the night sky. What software are people using for the time lapse?

You can buy an adapter if the standard fittings doesn't work: - https://www.primalucelab.com/astronomy/sesto-senso-33mm-adapter.html Having paid for two Moonlites that came in over £600+ and two lakesides that came in at £300+ I have to admit that if I had seen these first then would have bought them as I automate everything so no need for a hand controller. The Lakside motor is agricultural and I like to fasten my dew controller to the outside which you can't do easily, the Lakeside controller is significantly;y better than the moonlite standard controller. If I buy another scope then will deffo go the Sesto route.. Ray does it look like it will fit your Esprits?

Had confirmation from Peter at Lakeside that the Moonlite and the Lakeside pin outs are the same, so no reason to think either temp control won't work with either.

Where are you launching that SXCamera Setup app from as I can't find that on my system?