UKRoman

That’s good to know, thanks for the information. The camera is due on Monday and I’m looking forward to its first outing 👍

I'll give it a go. Many thanks for the tip 👍

I tried DSO imaging at the end of last year with the uncooled 585MC. I seem to recall it was cold, -3 degrees os so, and thinking about it the issue might have been ice rather than dew. The camera was attached behind a filter and flattener, on a refractor. I was using a 1.25 inch UV / IR Cut filter. Living in the North West not far from the Welsh hills it's quite damp. Dew is always a concern but usually kept at bay with heaters.

Just discovered that the ASI585MC Pro doesn't have a built-in dew heater. Doh, I should have read the specs properly. I already have the uncooled 585MC which I've tried for DSO imaging on a couple of occasions without success due to the sensor window dewing up. I may have to review plans before I unbox the new camera 🤔

So no IR Cut filter?

I've placed an order. I think it'll provide a useful image scale when used in conjunction with my refractor for capturing smaller objects. Excited 😀

Just a tip with the tube rings. I have the 130GTX and the rings look very similar, wonderfully well machined and quite heavy. A mistake I made when I first got the scope was to just let the brushed metal clamping knobs dangle freely whilst adjusting the OTA in the cradle. The problem is that on the 130GTX the knobs are so heavy they swing like a pendulum and, in my excitement to get it set up, it didn’t take long before they had put little dints on the outside of each ring where they’d touched just beneath the hinge. Only cosmetic, but still heartbreaking for a new scope. I’ve since covered the marks with small black sticker dots which are barely noticeable and also provide a little bit of protection should I make the same mistake again. Just something to watch for in case you have heavy knobs as well 😃

Nice one. Expensive though it is, I’m sure it’ll be worth every penny and end up being a lifetime scope. Enjoy 👍

Yes, that's it. Most cigarette style connectors tend be rated at 10A or more anyway from what I can determine, as they are designed to work with auto electrics. The 5.5mm refers to the diameter of the outside of the plug. The 2.1mm refers to the diameter of the central pin.

It doesn't come with a power supply or cable. I use a single cable between the Celestron Powertank Lithium Pro and the control box. The cable I use is like this: https://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Lighter-Extension-Supply-Adapter/dp/B08F2D8TSS/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1GE1EG63S5Q4W&keywords=cigarette+lighter+to+5521+adapter&qid=1669975999&sprefix=cigarret+lighetr+to+5521+adapter%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-9 But you can use other connector types to connect to the battery end depending on your battery, as long as the control box end is a 5521 connector (5.5mm x 2.1mm) 👍

I’ve been using a Celestron Powertank Pro with mine, which works great. Fingers crossed for you 👍👍

I hope the drives work out for you. 👍 I can confirm the kit works great with the SynScan Pro App, SkySafari Pro and the ASI Pro. I haven’t managed to get it working with Stellarium yet, but that’s probably my fault and I need to give it more attention to sort it out. Keep us posted on your progress when it turns up 👍

I think sample variation must definitely play a big factor here. If I leave mine running in one of the attic rooms upstairs I can actually hear it quite clearly from downstairs, that’s two floors away 😱 In any case I’ve found a solution to my issues with the noise whilst doing visual work. I remembered I had some noise cancelling headphones sat in a cupboard that I haven’t used since my last airline flight (which was before Covid). It turns out the noise cancelling feature completely filters out the high pitched whining sound 👍 And as a bonus, they also keep my ears warm on cold nights 🔭😃👍

Yes, it could be that the noise from the one I have is specific to the Vixen SP version and other versions or samples may be much quieter. For me it's pretty unbearable for visual astronomy, but is fine for Astrophotography as I'm not sat next to it most of the time 👍

I posted a video with sound in this thread a few posts back. When idling it sounds like a tea kettle boiling on a stove, accompanied with an underlying rumbling sound. When tracking, that sound is kind of overlaid with the sound of a washing machine as it rotates during the main wash cycle. I've no idea why it can't be eliminated. Though I think it could probably be reduced by encasing each drive in some kind of enclosure, rather than just being shrink-wrapped. It does work very well though. It's just loud and potentially annoying to some people (like me 😂).

Yeah I noticed that too. It’s the main reason I went for the Pro. I’m not sure if the actual difference between the two versions is in the motors or the control box. It’s very odd though; I’ve searched around and there seems to be mixed opinions on various forums about how intrusive the noise from these drives is. For me it’s unbearable after about 5 minutes. I’m wondering if that’s down to my ears and/or sample variation in the motors themselves, meaning that some people get much quieter drives. I can say that my girlfriend isn’t as affected by it as much as me, but she suffers from quite bad tinnitus anyway and says that it’s a similar kind of sound and she’s just used to it. Interesting…..

I think I’d be very happy if these stepper motors were only noisy during slewing. But the noise is actually worse when they’re idle. 🤔 Was the Vixen mount you added the EQ5 kit to a GP or an SP? I couldn’t find any guidance on how to add it to an SP mount.

I can’t comment on the Celestron ones I’m afraid. But I have a similar dilemma with adding a Goto capability to my old Vixen SP mount; there’s nothing else on the market. The more I play with the EqStar Pro, the more it reveals how good it is, apart from the awful noise. I’ve just tried it with Sky Safari Pro and it works a treat. 😃 I’ll have to remember not to take it to Star Parties or I’ll be thrown out for disturbing the peace 😂

I've just exchanged emails with Alexander and he acknowledged that stepper motors are generally noisy. He suggested that I try reducing the motor current in the settings panel to 50-60% as that may reduce the noise a bit. I've tried that and it does indeed reduce the noise level slightly, but I think the neighbourhood cats will still be heading for the hills after short while. I did try setting the motor current down at 25% and although that reduced the noise quite significantly, the motors started to slip when I had a 2 inch diagonal and a 22mm Nagler eyepiece installed in the focuser. I've put it back up to 50% and the motors seem to handle the load without issue. So I think it's still going to be a case of using this mount for astrophotography going forward.

Not sure this’ll be useful, but here is a video with sound, for reference. Even if the volume isn’t reproduced it might give an idea of the type of noise. Worth saying again, this isn’t a fault, it’s just the nature of stepper motors. IMG_8430.MOV

Ah ok, thanks. At least I now know it’s not just my drives. Unfortunately, I had intended to use this mainly for visual as well, but like you I don’t think I can cope with the noise; it sounds like a washing machine. This was a project to get my 31 year old Vixen SP mount back into service with my old Vixen 4 inch refractor, employing the latest goto capabilities. It’s a pity as the kit itself seems great and from what I‘ve seen ticks every other box. I’ll keep the kit anyway as I could use it for photography, as a backup in the event that my main rig is out of service. Plus I’m happy to support businesses in Ukraine. Cheers 👍

It seems pretty loud to me. I understand all stepper motors are noisy, so I don’t think this is a specific problem with the EQStar kit. I haven’t reached out to Alexander yet as I only received it today. More experimentation required first 👍

I've just today received an EQStar Pro for my old Vixen Super Polar is mount, directly from Astro Gadget. It's taken about 3 weeks to get here from Kharkiv in Ukraine. Quite frankly I'm amazed it's even got here at all given the troubles in Ukraine at the moment. Hats off to Alexander from Astro Gadget for carrying on in the face of all the challenges. Obviously I haven't tried it outside yet, but I'm looking forward to the first clear night to give it a go. The kit is well made and easy to install, taking me about half an hour. There were no printed installation instructions with it, but if you know your way round a mount then it's pretty straight forward and intuitive. So far I've only connected to the EQStar Pro using the Synscan App to ensure the motors are working. Tracking motion seems to work fine and it's pretty fast when it comes to slewing. The only thing that's a concern (and hence the reason I've just been searching for posts on this topic) is the very loud variable whining noise from the stepper motors. I knew that all stepper motors were noisy even when idling, but hadn't quite expected this. For astro-photography it won't be an issue as I'll be inside anyway, letting the mount do its thing (and hoping it won't wake up the neighbours). But I'm not sure I could stand next to it for any length of time doing visual work. If anyone can comment on how noisy their EQStar Pro stepper motors are, I'd love to hear your experiences. Cheers

Ah right. That’s helpful, thank you. I didn’t realise it was a standard. 😃👍

Thanks for your reply, Steve. Yes that’s an option and might be the best way to go. I think I’ll start by sending some hole measurements to Altair to see if they can check compatibility with the standard EQ8 plates and go from there 👍