AstroMuni

Try inserting teflon strips into the gap(s) to reduce the rocking. Thats what I had to do on my Celestron Astromaster which needed 2 strips to reduce the slop.

I have the ASI533mc Pro and I havent found the need for darks (yet) as there is no amp glow. Ref cooling, the noise due to dark curent is shown in their manual. In winter we are anyway talking about temperatures below 15deg so hardly any dark current. Cooling is a nice to have (not a need to have) feature when your budget is stretched, IMO. So either opt for a second hand cooled version (like I did) or wait until Christmas 🙂

Thats sad. Any idea what is the ST port used for on the old model?

Before you purchase an ASIair, check if the mount works with your laptop using the cable.

Is there a particular reason you are looking at the ASI imaging software? There are plenty of free software that are better at imaging - Firecapture, NINA, Ekos, Sharpcap to name a few

Thats sad about FC. I did have a go at running Nou's script and managed to install Kstars on 64 bit RPi OS. I also tried out AstroPi3 and that didnt work well. Several dependencies and repositories are incorrect 😞 AstroPi3 has scripts for installing INDI web and PHD2 so it would be good to get an integrated script that did all.

So do I download this script to RPi and run this script from there? I think Firecapture is written in Java so should work in 64bit OS as well

Have you considered buying binoculars? https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/best-binoculars-for-astronomy/ If your son is fascinated by telescopes then why not get a self build kit of some sort to help him learn about them?

If I leave it like that I will forget about it altogether, so best fixed when I remember. Also not sure if I need this to gauge backlash. I recall seeing in the manual something to do with watching the knobs. Its also interesting to see that you have fitted the EAF using 4 corner screws instead of just 2 supplied with the EAF. Different ways to skin a cat 🙂

Will do that once I fix the fine knob. I will need appropriate screw driver for those screws. Out of interest which ones did you remove - just the 4 in the corners? And what exactly is the function of the countersunk screw (the video uses that hole for attaching the EAF)

The bit that puzzles me is how did the fine knob get dislodged? I unscrewed the coarse one and realised that unscrewing the fine knob wouldnt do the trick as that side is different to the other side (i.e it has some kind of extra screw). I cant seem to pull out the fine focuser knob at all. I tried a few allen screws that I have and none seem to fit 😞 Grrr.... One to take to The Repair Shop (read local astro club) as I am no DIY expert.

I was trying to attach an EAF to the 130pds by watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b19IQXB8Hz4 and noticed that he had swapped the knobs. So I unscrewed the coarse focus knob on the same side as the fine one in the hope that I could swap sides. I didnt manage to unscrew the fine knob so in the end just tightened it but now I have a strange issue. When I rotate the coarse knob the fine knob rotates but when I rotate the fine knob this has no effect on the spindle even after >10 turns. How do I fix? 😞 Help please.

I would recommend you get it coarsely aligned in the day using a distant object such as a TV antenna. The cross bars on the antenna really help. And then at night you can do a better alignment with an object that doesnt move too much (pole star is a good one).

My understanding is the latest versions of Kstars/Ekos (after 3.6.0 I think) arent supported on 32bit architecture. Hence until astroberry compiles and adds it to their repository I cant get it. I have and continue to use the older version and have no complaints about it. Its just that I cant use the newer features in Ekos.

Binning helps when platesolving and a lot of software already do that before sending the image to ASTAP. Check your settings, it maybe called downsample image. Also check if you have the correct offline files downloaded for the platesolver. Try using astrometry.net instead of ASTAP and see if it platesolves. If the issue is only with ASTAP then the author @han59 is here in the forum. Good luck. EDIT: Read this post https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/726834-speed-vs-resolution-vs-accuracy-in-plate-solving-what-the-the-tradeoffs/

And that why I felt that Wifi connection is NOT critical as you dont need a constant connection to ASIAir. VS a situation where ASIAir client (thick client scenario) on Ipad is controlling the ASIAir rather than handing off to backend.

I guess you and I are saying same thing then...that Wifi connection is not critical UNLESS you have some sort of ASIAir client running on your laptop/ipad and iyou have backend processes running on the ASIAir

Slightly off topic but related....I use the RPi which is effectively an ASIAir minus software. I remote into it and the imaging software (Ekos & INDI server) runs on the RPi, so even if my Wifi connection breaks it doesnt impact the imaging, guiding etc. I am guessing thats how it would work on the ASIAir too. So the wifi connectivity is not paramount. Am I missing something here?

Couldnt see much activity there too. May have to resort to using the AstroPi3 or some such equivalent if I dont see traction on the Astroberry front

I am not as technical hence waiting for Radek. Hope he is keeping well as I havent seen any recent posts from him 😞

What camera do you have and what are the exposure, gain & binning settings?

Try and achieve focus manually (or take a look at the position after EAF has achieved focus) so you know approx how far the focus tube extends into OTA (if at all). Another point...your spacers are just helping you position the camera as far in or out of the focuser tube. i.e. serving the function of a nosepiece. In your image you have effectively pushed all the spacers into the focuser tube so camera is almost touching the focuser. (If you were using a CC then the CC would have been attached at the end of the spacers thus giving the 55mm space between sensor & CC).

I get that there is no spider but if the focus tube sticks into the light path it would create some sort of diffraction is my guess?

Just watch out to check if the focuser tube peeks into the OTA. As far as possible you dont want that to add to the diffraction spikes.

I use Siril and I love the features that have been introduced recently. You can use it for stacking + initial post processing. You will need PS/ Gimp to do the final touch ups (mainly when you need to use layers). So highly recommend it.