michael.h.f.wilkinson

Managed to take the brand-new AM5 out for a quick spin yesterday, and am very impressed so far. The build quality is excellent, stability great. I set up the Meade SN6 6" F/5 Schmidt-Newton, first with the Nagler 31T5, later with the equally hefty ES 12 mm 92° eyepiece. The mount skewed rapidly and tracked effortlessly, vibration damping easily on a par with the venerable Vixen GP-DX. Had some nice views of the Ring Nebula with the 12mm EP in particular. I still need to sort out polar alignment and go-to functions better (will probably use the ASIAIR-Plus for that), but I am very pleased so far. With the power supply I was using, I did get an occasional message of low voltage in the AM5 app, but only when slewing rapidly. The LiFePO4 battery I just got had no such problems, so I need to use a more powerful 12 V power supply when using mains voltage. What I like is that you can also just slew around with the joystick, ignoring all advanced go-to stuff, although the controls do take some getting used to.

I am not going to image, just have a play with the new mount, learning the alignment procedure, etc.

Against all probability, after arrival of new kit, the skies are clearing. I have attached the Meade SN6 6" F/5 Schmidt-Newton to the AM5. Clear Outside suggests it should stay clear until 1:00. Fingers crossed

Indeed it can. It can also work in EQ mode from pole to equator, and on to the other pole

And now the tripod has arrived Looks really good, feels really solid

There should be one in the plug (I will double check), and all the plugs of the appliances I attach have their own fuses. Certainly something to add.

Got a good deal on a 12 V 50 Ah battery, complete with charger and charging port, so just added a 12 V cigarette lighter plug. Will put this in a suitable box with carrying handle later. Love the light weight (6.4 kg)

wonderful shot!

Very nice indeed.

I have a similar scope (Meade SN6 6" F/5 Schmidt Newton), and am very happy with both the Nagler 31T5 and the 22T4. The view with the Nagler 31T5 is excellent, and the 3.3 deg true FOV almost makes the finder scope surplus to requirements. The sky background is of course little brighter than in the 22T4, but I used both EPs in this scope recently to catch comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS).

Thanks. I hope I can thoroughly test this on my upcoming trip to France Cheers Michael

A shiny new AM5 mount. Now all I need is a carbon-fibre tripod I had ordered with it.

Spotted it last night with the Meade SN6 6" F/5 Schmidt-Newton (which is a brilliant comet sweeper with 3.3 deg FOV when using the Nagler 31T5). Difficult in slightly hazy skies, but definitely visible in averted vision, slightly easier in the Nagler 22 mm. Also had a good look at M10 Raised a tot of Laphroaig Quarter Cask to that

Got the comet, with more difficulty than expected. The skies were really rather hazy, and even M10 was a bit washed out. Still, managed to locate the right spot with the Nagler 31T5 in place, spotted a little hazy blob, and switched to the Nagler 22T4, and it showed up more clearly.

I am just going to observe. Best of luck imaging

Clear (sweltering) skies, so finally giving C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) a go with the Meade SN6 6"F/5 Schmidt-Newton. Scope collimated, just waiting for such darkness as can be expected.

Just got news mine should arrive tomorrow (clear skies predicted for tonight, clouds for tomorrow, go figure!)

Interesting stuff. I am awaiting the arrival of the AM5 some time next week.

Just spotted it again, with difficulty. It should be easier in proper astronomical darkness. Best of luck in Spain. On Monday I hope to get it with the 6" Schmidt-Newton

The AM5 also travels a lot more easily by plane

I used a second-hand Skywatcher EQ3-2 mount for tracking and stacked a few hundred 60s exposures. I use APT to control the camera

The lower of the two images would be roughly the same with a non-modded camera, as it does not contain H-alpha emission. For the top one you would need at least twice the exposure time to get a similar result, because modding the camera more than doubles the sensitivity to H-alpha. M31 with my old EOS 700D shows what can be done with a non-modded camera All images above were taken with my APM 80mm F/6 with 0.8x reducer. Below is a 200mm telephoto shot Modding a camera yourself is possible, although I have never done it. There are several modding services

Just got this second-hand camera in yesterday, to complement my ASI183MM-Pro. Maybe I can build a dual rig with two Samyang 135mm F/2 lenses, couple the mono to one, and the colour to the other, and grab LRGB simultaneously

Older DSLRs can give really good results, especially if astro-modded. My old, modded 550D works just fine The 75-300 isn't Canon's best zoom, the 70-300 being rather sharper at full aperture, but I have no experience with the former, so cannot comment on how good it will be

Eye relief is the killer issue for me. The XWs are perfect in this sense, and having a Nagler 31T5 (a.k.a. Panzerfaust), a 22T4, and ES 92 deg 12 and 17 mm EPs, the XWs seem really lightweight to me.