LaurenceT

Thanks for that, it makes sense that Asifitsview is stretching the image.

Thanks for the offer but I can't upload an image no matter what I do so I'm abandoning this project for the sake of my sanity. I'll try again next clear night with just an LP filter and unity gain.

Slightly left field approach, some of your choice of scope depends to a degree on the performance of your AZ GTi. I have an Asiair FMA180 and my AZ GTi coped wonderfully with that. 2 minutes unguided was no problem and I even experimented with 3 minutes successfully. However the mount didn't behave so well with my ZS61 II. Unguided I had poor stars at 30 seconds and guiding was better but still not acceptable. These little mounts are brilliant but immensely variable in engineering quality and as I have the engineering capabilities of a gnat I decided not to open up mount and fiddle with it and changed to a different small mount so fingers crossed. Other people are able to put quite heavy scopes on their mounts so you could be lucky with yours. It would be nice if you could test the AZ GTi on a heavier scope first but I understand that may be difficult.

I had a session the other night imaging the Pleiades and have appeared to make a big error in reducing my 533MC Pro to zero gain. When I stack the resultant images in ASIdeepstack I get an image that I can possibly work with but when I open it in gimp or similar for stretching I get a different image that cannot be stretched. I realise that I'm most likely not be able to do anything with my image but I'd be grateful if anyone can offer an expalnation.

Having sold my EQ5 Goto a few days ago I retired my Az GTi from EQ mode last night with a few hours on the Pleiades, it's going back to AZ mode because today I welcomed the replacement. After much painful research I decided on this mount to fulfill my modest needs using my small imaging refractors. I decided to buy new because of the QC problems associated with the earlier versions and this morning it passed it's first test, I shook it and nothing rattled! It's marginally lighter than my Az GTi and WO wedge but considerably lighter than my EQ5 which is important to me now. A big thankyou to FLO, 22 hours from placing the order to it arriving at my doorstep. It's also a great day for other reasons. After being stuck on the drive for 6 weeks due to MOT failure my elderly but lovely Mercedes is going in to be repaired, a victim of the worldwide Mercedes subframe corrosion fiasco, Mercedes Germany are forking out over £2,500 to replace the subframe. I didn't have to argue the case, they agreed immediately, good for them. It's also our youngest daughters birthday 🥰.

I've joined the club today, placed my order with FLO and it's been completed 🤩. I've never really liked using my Az GTi in EQ mode, wasn't too bad on shortish subs but guiding was hit and miss so I'm going to revert to AZ only and continue to use it for lunar and planetary and EAA with Stellarmate. The point and track feature is brilliant. I've also sold my EQ5 and decided to reign in ambitions for a bigger scope than my WO ZS61, my other imaging scope is even smaller! I had thought about trying for a used SWSA GTi but it seems that the earlier versions were more problematic and after watching some YT videos decided I might regret buying used. At least I can return it if buying new. It will now be cloudy for weeks........

I use my Evoguide 50ED for lunar with an asi224mc. The focal length is almost the same as the Redcat 51 and the whole moon fits very nicely particularly when adjusting the ROI in Sharpcap.

Could be, I did think about doing that some time ago. I'll check out the cables on FLO for doing that. Thanks.

I have this cable but for the life of me I don't know what it's for or why I bought it!

I use a similar small mount, one sold by Altair Astro https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-mini-az-mount-409-p.asp I bought it used on here last year and it's been absolutely perfect in operation with my Startravel 102 and Orion ED80, so much so that I haven't used my AZ5 since and I'm going to sell it.

Thanks for that, it didn't get past stage 1. The board seems very similar but not identical to the board in this post: SkyWatcher EQ5 motor controller - Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice - Stargazers Lounge Here are my images, is it fixable or should I buy a new one? I can't find 16F886 written anywhere.

Right, please understand that my knowledge of electronics ended with A level physics in 1965😄 but here goes. I plugged the eqdir cable into the controller handset port and opened the Skywatcher motor controller firmware loader but it cannot find the mount. The handset lights up so I assume that current is flowing through the motor controller. I think the controller is of the "old" type but I'm not sure. I have ASCOM installed on the PC. What do I need to do now to confirm the type of controller I have? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for that. I found wavelets in Registax too aggressive but I was equally aggressive without realising it in my usual photo imaging software. This time I used Lightroom very carefully and then converted to mono with Nik Silver Efex.

I'm having some difficulty in deciding on the sharpness etc. of my final moon after processing and I may be overcooking the final image, opinions appreciated.

Thank you so much for a very comprehensive reply, I will endeavor to locate that elusive cable tomorrow and if it can't be located then I'll buy a new one. Your offer to repair if subsequent tests indicate a possibility is much appreciated.

That sounds beyond my capabilities with electrical things but thanks for the suggestion. That did cross my mind, I would need an EQDIR usb cable for that, I know I've bought one but where it's hiding is a different matter!

I'm suddenly getting this message from my EQ5 goto when I connect the handset also when connecting the Asiair to the mount it is not seen by the Asiair. I've tried multiple power sources, it was working last week as if that makes a difference😢. I suspect it may be a fried motor control box and I need to buy one of these: Skywatcher Replacement Motor Control Box For EQ5 Pro - Rother Valley Optics Ltd any other ideas gratefully received.

Thanks Adam, I have used Graxpert stand alone application but it removes almost all of the nebulosity! This is what I finished up with:

While last night was a good night for me on two occasions there were weird anomalies happening, which for some unknown reason went away in the subsequent videos. Evoguide 50ED, ASI224mc, Az GTi, Sharpcap. Be grateful for any ideas.

Thanks for the kind comments, very encouraging. I can frame the moon nicely with my little Evoguide 50ED and the 224mc, all very light with the Az. GTi and the little mini pc I picked up on here a few days ago.

I can't sit outside in sub zero temperatures at my age so I've put together a little rig that I can set up in minutes and "only" involves 2 computers and an Ipad. Apart from focussing at the telescope I can now sit in the warm and make videos. Couldn't resist the crescent moon tonight, luckily I started early as a bit of cloud came in.

Very clear here in North Surrey but as previously described it's a bit parky at -2. I decided to give first light to a remote lunar imaging rig I set up today which meant I stayed warm.

That's a great image to sign off with........I look forward to the next one 🤩

In EQ mode there are no sides to the mount, this only applies when the mount is in alt az mode. Your cameras and lenses will be mounted on top of the mount so you will have to balance in both declination and right ascension but it is quite easy.

Well that's too much for the Az GTi in my opinion but I know some people get away with loading that much. What equatorial wedge are you using?