Simon Pepper

Hi Nik,

yep got heq 5 pro so should be good there. Any ideas what kind d of back focus I need?  Will be the same as I have with my redcat? I have guiding as well so should be good Thanks for this though sounds like its worth a shot 👌

Hi all

i have been imaging with my redcat for a year now and had some ok success with it I love my rig and what it can do, but now we are in galaxy season some more focal punch is needed for these targets. It suddenly occurred to me I have my first scope the 127 sitting gathering dust from years ago when I first started out visual on planets and moon. Is it possible to use my zwo 294 on this scope and if so how? Where would I attach the camera I assume right on the end without any diagonals? Also is it worth even trying or am I going to be wasting my time due to issues I may encounter and longer focal lengths with shorter F ratios? Interested to know if anyone else has tried this. 
thanks 

I have upgraded as well and have the same issue! No bolts included!?!? Your image above is useful, but wondering how I am going to connect my redcat and asi air pro no idea what bolts I need. Did you ever find a solution?

thanks  

Hi SGL 

I upgraded to the WO losmandy dovetail, but was disappointed to see no bolts included. This has left me a little confused as to what bolts I actually need? There are many different sizes on the plate, but no instructions or anything so I have no idea what width or length I need. Anyone with similar or same plate can help please let me know 

thanks 

Double cluster! What was that shot with? All are incredible though!

Thanks all this is great info and hopefully should mean one additional night not wasted trying to troubleshoot. These clear nights are precious 

Thanks that looks perfect will reference that when it arrives. 

Hi all,

I am making the transition from DSLR to dedicated camera (turn up next week) and wanted some insight on back focus. I opted for the 294 and as per FLO it shows a back focus of 6.5mm. I assume this just means from the back of my scope which is a redcat to the front of the camera should be 6.5mm is it that simple or is it 6.5mm from the glass? I have a filter in the redcat will this affect back focus? Also will the 294 have all the necessary spacers as looking in the FLO page I can only see a spacer and adapters all of which are over 6.5mm so confused how they will help it used for?

if my back focus is wrong what are the signs? Elongated stars in the corners?

thanks

2 minutes ago, Mr Thingy said:

😂 Sounds like my approach too. Nothing fancy but I also like images with minimal processing, though I do want to learn how to reduce bloat.

I only have my image for Ha so far but hopefully will process the R,G&B data this evening. This is about 1 hour of data in Ha.

 

This looks pretty awesome to me! What scope and camera do you use? Thanks

Hi Thingy,

I noticed the same issue yesterday on the same target, but think this is pretty normal especially on starts like Alnitak! I dont use Gimp, so cant comment. I use PS which has a plug in where you can reduce bright blue halos.

Thanks 

+1 for the 5m cable that’s a great shout! 

Hi all

I too am looking at the WO 81 and having the same issue. No reviews? I want to stick with WO as I have the Redcat and that has been a dream to use. Did the OP settle with this scope or did the above opinions put you off? The GT looks good as well and is an option, but the shorter focal length is putting me off a little... Any recommendations for other scopes around the 550mm?

Thanks 

53 minutes ago, Adam J said:

if anything the amp glow in the 294 is worse...its the 533 that has none at all.

This is annoying though as i am note sure I want a square sensor... do you have the 533 does the square sensor cause any issues?

thanks 

Welcome looks like you have a good set up here! Happy imaging and clear skies! 

I have checked cloudy nights and Astrobin and actually I hear of people complaining about random gradients that are not taken out when using calibration frames links below. This appears to be when using narrowband filters such as lextreme which is annoying as I think the 294 suits me better, however these threads are making me think again as I have been using the lextreme a lot recently... 

https://www.astrobin.com/forum/c/astrophotography/other/flat-frames-l-extreme-asi294mc/

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/661685-word-of-warning-asi294mc-pro-and-opt-triad-and-nb/page-2

22 minutes ago, Rustang said:

Dont worry, alot of people are going through that same dilemma, including me! 😄 Mono - more time, faff and money for probably better images but better how!? Is it a personal choice on whats "better" !? details gained, correct colour's etc etc? Mono will require alot more dedication to gain the data needed for that style of imaging, OSC much more straight forward to still get some cracking images so how much time you are you willing to dedicate to your images, do you wont a project taking time over a few nights with a "better" result at the end or a still a really decent image in just one night!? This means personal circumstances and choices also play a big part in the whole Mono or OSC decision. Whether its street photography, photographing animals etc, or astrophotography its all a form of 'art' to a point so first and for most get what you wont out of it it terms of what you wont to achieve then choose wisely on what can improve it.

OSC it is then I reckon! Next question as OP has stated which one lol. I’m leaning towards the 294 because of FOV and lower amp glow compared to 183. Also not convinced in the square FOV from 533. Not sure like OP I can justify going up to the 071 or 2600 plus FOV with these are much greater which is not what I want...

I have the same problem which camera to buy mono or OSC and I am eyeing up ZWO range as well! I like Rustang’s comment here about spending more and not necessarily getting more I think that’s a true point and wondering now if I need to spend more for a dedicated camera or not! My DSLR has got noise issues but I can get most of these out in post and I am still happy with the images. Having said that I think if it were me I would buy a new scope and a camera instead of the 2600 only. I still have the issue of mono or OSC though...

Hi all,

This content is really helpful and I have been following, however I also have a question around flatteners / reducers. I currently have the RedCat which I have been using for Nebula and wide field imaging, but I want to go a little deeper perhaps things like M33 and M101, Hercules etc and checking astronomy tools FOV I think I want something around the 500mm focal length (which is still forgiving for a beginner) I will pair this with either my DSLR or buy a ZWO 294 MC Pro. I am keen to stay with William Optics as the build quality and image quality is great, so I am leaning towards William Optics GT-81 IV (478mm) or William Optics Zenithstar 81 APO (559mm) there is quite a difference in price here and I assume this is down to the F ratio being far superior on the GT. My question is do these two scopes need / require a flatter to obtain a flat field across the image? I don't really want to be adding a reducer as that will increase the FOV, price and bring down the focal length which I want to avoid as I already have a wide field Redcat it seems silly spending loads of pennies if I am only going from 250mm to maybe 350 / 400m once a flattener is introduced on the above. Any recommendations on this or other scopes would be appreciated. Checking the OP specs I believe they are using William Optics Zenithstar 73 II APO 2019 which is another scope to for me to consider.

Thanks 

Hi Guys

I tried again last night and the goto worked just about... The Asiair pro still does not goto then plate solve though as it did prior to the software upgrade. I am not sure why they dropped this function as that's what made it great! Unless I am still doing something wrong but at least it managed to get the target in view which I was then able to centre manually. ill keep trawling the release notes and forums to see if others have the same issue, but at least I managed to get some data from last night!

Thanks all.

21 minutes ago, alacant said:

Sorry, I'm thinking INDI. Park in asiair is called 'goto home position'.

Cheers

Thanks I tried this yesterday after PA and it slewed it 45 degrees past the vertical or home so dont think the issue was that... It must be software related I will try again tomorrow to see if its randomly fixed itself. If not i will restore the old software and just not update it when it asks.

Thanks 

Hi Alacant 

im not sure how to do that... loosen the clutches I follow but how do you park the mount bearing in mind I don’t have the hand controller? I assume the home position is both axis right down the middle?

Thanks

Oh my gosh I think I can see the issue but not sure.... my dec axis is round the wrongly way. Last night my bolts to tighten the scope in place were on the left side when standing behind the scope pointing at Polaris, but checking when I bought it and the above video they should be on the right! Not sure if this has caused this but it’s quite possible!

11 minutes ago, Thorney said:

Yes that sounds right. I used this video to set up when I first got the mount and been doing that since. 
 

 

 
Your setup sounds fine so it much be with a software error of some sort?  The only other things I can think of is if you have it set to Southern Hemisphere by mistake or if your hand controller is connected it could be interfering with the app?  
 

As I say I’m new to all of this so I’m not the best person to give advice. Maybe if it’s cloudy tonight could you do a test run and see if the mount goes to your target area roughly (if you know where it would be) so the next clear night you hopefully have it sorted. 

I think this is a good shout. It must be update related whether it be the old app on phone but new firmware on asi or something along those lines.

I have the same I use the eqmod lynx cable but all settings looked good. I used my phone lat and long and synced that to the app so all was correct. My balance seemed ok, but may have been off a little either way pointing the scope at the floor is well off lol not just a degree so don’t think it was that. Just to confirm the home position  I take it this is the RA being aligned to the base and the DEC being right down the middle aligned with polar scope retinal? I did the manually by eye and loosening both clutches.

I have another clear night tomorrow so will try again but if it doesn’t work not sure what else to try

thanks 

Thanks Thorney me too which I am questioning if I did something wrong... what steps did you take after update? Did you polar align and then pick a target and it worked? Or did you do some other steps first? Perhaps set RA or DEC values or home position? I believe my issue could be something to do with the home position and the mount didn’t know it was in that position I am not sure how to set it exactly in the app? I checked out the Facebook group as well lots of people seeing issues with guiding but not so much random slewing like mine. I put the Pleidies in and the scope slewed and pointed to the ground!?!

thanks