bosun21

I have just bought an asi air plus today with a ASI585 MC and I also bought a new tablet to use with them. I also read that the tablet should be a minimum of 4GB RAM. So I bought one due to this. I could have gotten a cheaper one but for that recommendation. Why say it if it’s meaningless?

Nice first light Mike. The go to is a straightforward synscan which is relatively easy to master. If you run into any problems just holler. I can see the ring nebula with direct vision in my 4” frac pretty clearly. It just needs the magnification.

I know this, I am only pulling your leg!, how many years did you get out of your go to dobsonian before it packed up?

The driving force is to utilize what you have already got! That’s what you said to me.

What he says 👆

I am looking at buying an EQ platform from David Lukehurst. I was initially looking at the Asterion ones from FLO, but world events intervened.

Nice sketch, and you’ve got me itching to observe Mars again. The last time out was poor with high cloud and poor seeing.

This is identical to the set up that I have used with my Maxbright II binoviewer. I find the quick changer to be a godsend.

I was also thinking of getting an EQ platform for my 8” dobsonian and taking say 2 second exposures and live stacking them also.

I am thinking about dipping my toes into EEVA and need a few pointers please. I have my Starfield 102 on a EQ5 pro mount. Which camera would be sufficient to get me going? and do I need to upgrade my mount to a HEQ5? I simply want to live stack short exposures onto my laptop with say Sharpcap. Finally would an ASI air plus (mini) be a good way forward. Thanks for reading. Ian

I’m asking about the Alt/Az go to for myself as I also have a 127 go to as well as my EQ

So I’ve been wasting my time painstakingly reaching a perfect level? I live and learn. What about an alt/az go to?

Kryptonite???

But you are not on the same rotational axis if you are not level

If you have an EQ5 mount which tracks only in RA then say for instance you are tracking a planet on the ecliptic . If you are not level then the RA can’t compensate for a path of travel that is moving askew to the ecliptic. Basic geometry.

The Rowan belt mod is primarily for the HEQ5 and larger mounts. I have seen that there are indeed belt mods that can be fitted to the EQ5, however I don’t recall who makes them.

I know what you mean but I tried a 12v fan blower and depending on how bad the dew actually is it soon builds back up and you will be repeating the process all night. I also found that I thought I was loosing clarity when perhaps i wasn’t. For myself a band wrapped neatly around my eyepiece removed all this. In the end if you go with a blower consider getting a heated one as it will increase the time gap between using it.

The black dovetail is wedge shaped and is held securely in place with the side screw on the saddle.

Yes, and I can see that you indeed do have the two. One was hidden in your photos. But do remember to remove the white bracket on your dovetail.

I don’t agree with you on this. Especially at high magnification.

I just use a dew band on my finder and eyepieces.

BST Starguiders from First Light Optics are a good upgrade from the supplied eyepieces that are bundled with scopes. They are the best bang for buck eyepieces i know of

You also have to ensure that your tripod and mount are level otherwise it will drift for sure.

Not that missing screw. It’s the silver screw that is on the mount just above where it meets the tripod. You have one of them but the opposite side is missing. Yes remove that white bracket and connect to the mount by the black bracket.

I reckon that the matter of collimation would present a hurdle, but then again maybe not 🤔