AstroNebulee

Regarding the rdf can't get low enough can you shim under the end nearest the back of the scope with some card like Heather has suggested, or you could get a 6x30 or 9x50 right angle correct image type, then the image will be as you see it with your eyes, I had a rdf and quickly swapped for one of these but a skywatcher version. As long as this will fit the shoe for the fs on your scope. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/astro-essentials-9x50-right-angled-erecting-finderscope.html on the collapseable stool I have one of these and brilliant https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08BNJKLTR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_EB4TM4J91NGX55PFP1N8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Enjoy the scope it sounds like you have been bitten by the astro bug 😊, clear skies Edit, looking at the scope close up now i see it may not fit a dovetail bracket type fs as I've suggested, there maybe an adapter or you could remove the whole fs and bracket and replace with a new fs shoe to accept the above finderscope or fit a rigel fs https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/rigel-quikfinder-compact-reflex-sight.html The dovetail shoe is here if it can replace where your bracket is now. But try a little it ifshim underneath the fs towards the back of your scope should do the job well.

Yes the mount and tripod level are completely out and the mount seems to be the faulty one a common sw fault with these, I guess it's all sorted by levelling the tripod or a small spirit level on the mount,

Im not glad someone else has the same experience as mine, if you know what I mean that these bubble levels are wrong. I had a practise of leveling the mount just by placing a spirit level on the underside of the mount on both axis as best possible,got it level then looked at the mount bubble and was way off so I think it's best not to read to much into these bubble levels. I use mine mostly for imaging in az at the moment until I fit a wedge and polar scope but this has caused many an issue whilst imaging.

Quite correct I think, it would be better for the az gti considering a dslr hanging on the back of the 127 takes it to the limit with the long focal length adding to some shaky views at times.

Thank you for your kind words, I'm not sure it's a talent, nowhere near the likes of others with the same kit I have, it's just something I enjoy doing and know what I can expect to get out of it for a few hours that I can set up. I don't want to be faffing around with guiding, platesolving, laptops and lots of leads at the moment, polar aligning will be enough of a job for now and laptop for Jupiter and Saturn. Though astrophotography not much good at the moment the astro darkness is virtually non existant so will probably go with planetary on 127 and milky way on SA until August when astro darkness returns. My advice is like you say go with your circumstances at the present and then see where your astro journey takes you.

This is how is was with me, though I wasn't at the point of giving up, more so like you say finding that correct balance and knowing your expectations of what you can do and how far you can push the equipment, I went big quick but soon found my correct setup. My Skymax 127 is on the absolute limit for my az gti and am thinking of a 102 possibly and sell my 127. I will soon have my star adventurer 2i from @FLOwithin a couple of weeks hopefully so that'll probably be me then, besides an odd lens for my dslr. Then my AzGti can go eq mode as an added setup.

I totally agree @Stu1smartcookieI own a Skymax 127 and 72ed ds pro on az gti mount. As I live in a first floor flat portability is paramount to me, everything needs to be taken down in one trip as I image from a communal area so can't leave my equipment unattended at anytime. I can get my 72ed out on the mount and tripod in minutes and set up in around 10-15mins in az mode. I used to have a sw 150p eq3-2 when I thought aperture was king for me, as only used to view and image through a bedroom window pane and never once got the scope outside, so this was sold to find my 72ed. Now I can use my scopes as intended outside and have got my scope out for a few hours imaging around 22 times since beginning of March, so it's proven to me smaller is better for my use.

Thank you Michael, I shall do this next time and have had a practice indoors so far. I bought a small 100mm spear & jackson spirit level so will do the job handsomely and not take ip any room in my rucksack.

I have a 21cm skywatcher dovetail fitted on my evostar 72ed ds pro and when I have my field flattener and dslr on the end I have about an inch of dovetail left and balances fine for me, so it's much better than the short one which isn't a lot of good but can still balance upto a point but so so close to the edge of the dovetail and a bit iffy in my opinion.

This arrived care of Ali express after not to long a wait considering. Ordered on 4th May and cheaper, it's solid and well made. This will hopefully help my polar alignment with my az gti mount when the star adventurer wedge and counterweight bar arrives in a few weeks along with my star adventurer 2i 😊

Whats inside I wonder, its all exciting when you see the brown cardboard boxes arriving on the what the postie delivered, some items are starting to dispatch 😁

Hi Lee Yes it's all about experimenting and what works for you and your set up. I also have only just started my astrophotography journey properly, I hope it all gets sorted for you. Clear skies

Stop it John 😉 I've booked a day off and everything 🌞🌞🌞🌞

Have you tried stacking the subs with the darks just to see if there's any improvement, as you say the background noise should smooth out with more light frames taken. I know with my sw 72ed AzGti Canon 600D I don't take any darks atall now, just flats and bias as I find the darks just add more noise, maybe its just my set up but quite a few others not take darks. Here's a stack of a few of mine only 50 mins-1hr total subs. Not award winners by any means atall.

Hi Stevie Thank you, currently I'm using it in az mode but will in the future try eq when my star adventurer arrives using the wedge and counterweight bar. It's always been on my mind to ask why the two bubbles never match, I will try next time just levelling the tripod and then spirit level on the scope, it's probably just my ocd and wanting things level and straight

Hi, I wonder if other users of the az gti have noticed discrepancies in the bubble level on the star adventurer tripod (the one issued with az gti and tripod combos). I love my az gti and the gitos are pretty stable but when it comes to levelling the set up I try to get the mount bubble level within the circle but then the tripod level is off. I'm wondering with is the best bubble level to follow as when the mount rotates the bubble level on the mount can change quite drastically. My workflow of setting up the mount consists of setting the tripod with mount snd extension pillar already on then trying my best to get the mount bubble within the circle, then point the scope to true north and use a spirit level on the scope between the tube rings as I always do a level North alignment. So is it best to just get the bubble level on the tripod as this wont move once set and then use my spirit level as normal on my scope. I really do think the level on the mount is off and I've tried it without the extension pillar and still the same. I did see a thread on CN that touched on this slightly as said to just level the tripod and use a spirit level on the underside of the mount to check, which I will try but wanted to gauge az gti owners views on here.

An update on this thread my first light after the regrease is here, I shan't lost again here but if interested follow this thread. https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/322909-azgti-stiff/?do=findComment&comment=4085906

Quick update... After testing the mount for tracking last night on M81&82 I found that tightening the ra/azimuth clutch finger tight caused star trailing and having it just bite the clutch gave no star trailing. So I'll open the mount again and adjust the spring tension on the azimuth motor so the spring activates against the worm and not fixed like before, I'll also undo the grubs on the locking ring ever so slightly then I'll be able to nip up the azimuth clutch a bit more, as I think this is where 95% of the binding comes from. But so far so good I think.

That's a great set up you have there,

Nice image and great for 60x21sec subs, what set up were you using

Thank you Anthony, I'm pleased it got to you in the end, not the usual service I'd expect from royal mail and complained to them about a 1 or 2 day service taking this long. Enjoy the new ep and hope she brings you joy, pleasure to sell to a lovely fellow member 👍

I cant find the size anywhere, but if you measure the hole size that the bolt fits in it should give you some idea of the size in mm so 8mm is M8 and so on. Maybe a M8 or M10 but not sure.

Thank you, it was about 11.40pm last night, it had just risen above and to the right of a neighbours house, so wanted to get a few subs of it to test it out as I've never seen it before. I will go back to revisit it soon to image it properly. If it wasn't so cold last night I would of stay out late to image M27 also which is on my list next.

M57 The ring nebula and M100 from North Cornwall 6-5-21. Blooming freezing last night wish I could of stayed out longer. Ring nebula is 44x20sec subs 1600iso no darks, 20 flat and bias, M100 is 73x26sec subs 1600iso, no darks, 20 flat and bias. Sw 72ed AzGti Canon 600D, processed in Dss and Ps. I took many more subs of M100 but mount was playing up, so today I've regreased and fitted plastic washer to az axis no so much smoother and free so should sort that issue from last night. My first ever look at M57 so quite happy with that, amazed how bright it is.

Hi. I've done the regrease and plastic washer, I've posted my reply there so I won't type it here again but here's a link to the relevant thread I followed the instructions from. I think the regrease alone may of been sufficient bit added the plastic washer for good measure, the grub screws may be the cause of binding.