AZ-GTI

[Ags]

Set local latitude to 90 North and keep it in alt az mode?

[Stu1smartcookie]

14 minutes ago, Space Oddities said:

Well, to be fair, Sky-Watcher states on its software downloads page, that this mount wasn't designed for astrophotography. The EQ mode is more some kind of a hack, that happens to work well for some people.

I mostly use the AZ GTi for planetary photography with my small Mak, where you don't have to care about field rotation. And for quick observing as well. It's such a great mount for a lightweight setup, and observing the sky with friends   It fits in a backpack and doesn't require a heavy tripod with smaller scopes. I think that's where the true value of that mount is.

This being said, I'm pretty sure Sky Watcher could make a better version of the AZ GTi, some kind of Star Adventurer with Go-To but with a similar form factor. That'd be a great alternative to bigger mounts!

I agree … sky watcher actually do not endorse the firmware upgrade themselves , which is a little strange as they offer it on their site .. but as you rightly say , the mount isn't really designed for astrophotography . The trouble with me is that I don't really know what I want from this hobby lol … its costing me a lot of money to find the right combination of scope and mount. I really do like the az-gti. Though a steel tripod is certainly the way to go with it as it wobbles like a jelly on the aluminium one .

[Space Oddities]

I think originally this firmware update was to allow people to mount the telescope on the right side. Which is a handy feature: when connecting, you should be able to tell the mount which side you are using, depending on your setup.

But they also added as a beta this EQ mode, so I think that wasn't really planned  

I haven't got the original tripod, but a 100€ carbon fiber one which is quite stable. It has a hook that can help stabilize it, if needed I hang a counterweight to lower the center of gravity. Works well!

Anyway, my own tests on the AZ GTi were not conclusive, so I'll keep it for planetary and observing only. For deep sky, I'll keep my SkyGuider Pro. It doesn't have Go-To, but since I'm not imaging small targets anyway, that's enough for now!

[Stu1smartcookie]

45 minutes ago, Space Oddities said:

I think originally this firmware update was to allow people to mount the telescope on the right side. Which is a handy feature: when connecting, you should be able to tell the mount which side you are using, depending on your setup.

But they also added as a beta this EQ mode, so I think that wasn't really planned  

I haven't got the original tripod, but a 100€ carbon fiber one which is quite stable. It has a hook that can help stabilize it, if needed I hang a counterweight to lower the center of gravity. Works well!

Anyway, my own tests on the AZ GTi were not conclusive, so I'll keep it for planetary and observing only. For deep sky, I'll keep my SkyGuider Pro. It doesn't have Go-To, but since I'm not imaging small targets anyway, that's enough for now!

Good call on the counterweight .

[macupnorth]

I might just stick to alt az mode for a while,I'm quite new to all this but deeply fascinated by space,I don't get many clear nights in Manchester so gotta make the most of it.

Just one more thing,just to see if I'm doing things right. 

I set my home to 90 -90 and start from there with my latitude at 90 minuse my actual latitude,2 star alignment followed by polar alignment and I'm good to go in eq mode?

[Space Oddities]

5 minutes ago, macupnorth said:

I might just stick to alt az mode for a while,I'm quite new to all this but deeply fascinated by space,I don't get many clear nights in Manchester so gotta make the most of it.

Just one more thing,just to see if I'm doing things right. 

I set my home to 90 -90 and start from there with my latitude at 90 minuse my actual latitude,2 star alignment followed by polar alignment and I'm good to go in eq mode?

For imaging, yes. But you need to reset and redo a 2-3 stars alignment after the polar alignment, otherwise the adjustments you made for polar alignment will mess up the Go-To. At least that's how I do and it works well enough  

[macupnorth]

23 minutes ago, Space Oddities said:

For imaging, yes. But you need to reset and redo a 2-3 stars alignment after the polar alignment, otherwise the adjustments you made for polar alignment will mess up the Go-To. At least that's how I do and it works well enough  

I'm guessing if I manually slew the first star alignment with encoders on then the second star should be right in my fov,I sure hope so,I love the portability of this mount and I'm going to Lithuania next month in a place where there is no light pollution at all and I'd love to get this mount accurate 

 

[Space Oddities]

Well, this is experimental, so the best way is to try and see for yourself  I've had more success in Alt Az than EQ mode, and I'm still trying to figure out a few things, but it looks promising. Sorry, I can't help you more!

[macupnorth]

On 23/07/2019 at 22:01, Space Oddities said:

Well, this is experimental, so the best way is to try and see for yourself  I've had more success in Alt Az than EQ mode, and I'm still trying to figure out a few things, but it looks promising. Sorry, I can't help you more!

Well today the moon was out high SW in the sky so I thought I'd get the gti out,set up,level pointing north,chose moon as my one star alignment and it slewed in the total wrong direction,not too sure what to do with this mount anymore,it can't even find the moon ;(

[Ags]

It always slews in completely the wrong direction when you are setting up goto.. After it has finished it's misguided slew, just loosen the clutches, point it at the moon and click the finish alignment option. Go-to operations after that are fine.

Incidentally the Moon is the hardest object for a go-to system to find - it's precise absolute position varies from hour to hour. For the same reason the Moon is a bad choice as an alignment star. 

For the Moon and planets I just point the scope at the target and click point-and-track, I don't set up goto.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Ags

[macupnorth]

7 minutes ago, Ags said:

It always slews in the wrong direction when you are setting up goto.. After it has finished it's misguided slew, just loosen the clutches, point it at the moon and click the finish alignment option. Go-to operations after that are fine.

Incidentally the Moon is the hardest object for a go-to system to find - it's precise absolute position varies from hour to hour. For the same reason the Moon is a bad choice as an alignment star. 

For the Moon and planets I just point the scope at the target and click point-and-track, I don't set up goto.

Thanks for the reply I'll give that a shot next time

[Stu1smartcookie]

Since those carefree days and nights of last year i have owned an EQ3 and a Star Adventurer.. The EQ3 has since been sold and i hanker after my AZ-Gti .. yep i know its very similar to the Star tracker but , with the goto feature it certainly helped in my light polluted back garden . I have upgraded my tripod to a steel one from Skywatcher ... its a game changer ! These small portable mounts are absolutely brilliant . I will purchase another AZ-Gti but i have to sell off a few bits and pieces first . One question ... can i use  an auto guide scope with the AZ-Gti .. i only ask because they really do make a difference to length of exposure when  using a camera on my star tracker . The AZ-Gti doesnt have an st4 port as i remember . Sorry if that is a ridiculous question ! 

[Space Oddities]

Yes it supports autoguiding. I'm not using the ST4 port to do that, but I assume it's like the Star Adventurer and you can link your guide camera to the mount directly   

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

Hi Sorry , ive only just seen your reply ... thanks a bunch . 

[knobby]

On 04/05/2020 at 15:30, Stu1smartcookie said:

Since those carefree days and nights of last year i have owned an EQ3 and a Star Adventurer.. The EQ3 has since been sold and i hanker after my AZ-Gti .. yep i know its very similar to the Star tracker but , with the goto feature it certainly helped in my light polluted back garden . I have upgraded my tripod to a steel one from Skywatcher ... its a game changer ! These small portable mounts are absolutely brilliant . I will purchase another AZ-Gti but i have to sell off a few bits and pieces first . One question ... can i use  an auto guide scope with the AZ-Gti .. i only ask because they really do make a difference to length of exposure when  using a camera on my star tracker . The AZ-Gti doesnt have an st4 port as i remember . Sorry if that is a ridiculous question ! 

No guide port but I guide using the Synscan pc app. Works on WiFi or cable to mount. Same as ascom pulse guiding (sort of)