Oyaji

As we say in the States, "Thanks, Y'all." I guess I'll keep my 12V EAF at least until Prima Luce comes out with Sesto Senso 3 that runs off the coarse focus knob--or until ZWO comes out with an EAF2 with a clutch that allows manual focusing. In answer to a question from Newbie Alert, however: NO, I have never set min and max with the EAF. It reliably starts beeping when it can't go any further in or out! Plus, by moving the camera in or out of the focuser a bit, I always make sure that I'm achieving rough focus with plenty of room on either side of the rough focus point for NINA to autofocus. NINA has never driven the focuser to the limit.

I'm thinking of buying a Sesto Senso 2. I have a 900 mm f/l refractor that I use mainly for astrophotography but on occasion, for visual. It is equipped with a ZWO EAF, which does not allow the scope to be manually focused--to achieve rough focus, I have to use the slow and cumbersome EAF hand controller. (And, for visual, I have to use the hand controller exclusively to achieve focus.) My hope is to replace the EAF with a Sesto Senso 2, and with that device, to achieve pretty good focus manually before turning control of the focus over to NINA's excellent autofocus routine. So the questions are: 1. If I manually focus the scope, will Sesto Senso 2 know my rough focus position, and will NINA start the autofocus routine from that point, as it does with an EAF when I achieve rough focus using the hand controller? 2. Is it necessary to recalibrate the Sesto Senso 2 every night if I'm using ASCOM and NINA? 3. For visual, I assume I can focus manually OR wirelessly using a smartphone. But using the smartphone, can I achieve fine focus? I assume the answers to these questions are, respectively, 1-yes; 2-no and 3-yes. But as we all know, making such assumptions in this hobby can be costly--in the case of a Sesto Senso 2, about USD 300. One more question: some folks on Cloudy Nights have complained about the Sesto Senso 2 slipping, while others say that if you set the "Hold" parameter properly, there is no issue. I'm won't be loading it with a lot of weight--just an IMX571-based camera and no filter wheel--on the focuser. Any thoughts about that? Incidentally, there don't seem to be a whole lot of people where I live (USA) with a Sesto Senso 2, and I cannot find ANY information relating to using a Sesto Senso 2 with NINA and SS ASCOM driver. But I have noticed some discussion of the issue here in Stargazers Lounge, so here I am! Thanks for any guidance you can give.