AZ GTi

[wormix]

So yesterday I had one of those days where I just couldn’t bear the thought of staying up late to watch the skies, then when the evening came it was beautifully clear and Mars was shining nicely. 
 

However the thought of dragging my HEQ5 out and getting it all set up was too much so I just sat inside and felt guilty instead. 
 

It did however get me thinking about my set up and have decided that an az gti may just be what I need for some truly grab and go stuff, and also good for travel. 
 

I intend to buy new (aware of the availability Sd lead time) so I have the support as am also aware of the QC issues these suffer from.
 

Can somebody please detail what I need to be keeping an eye out for in particular?

 

cheers 

[johninderby]

Had zero problems with mine bought recently. QC seems better now.

A lot of problems come from overloading the mount. The lighter the OTA the better it works. I use one with a Bresser 100 mak.

I don’t like the stock dovetail saddle though. You can buy an AMD one from FLO.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-replacement-saddles/adm-dual-dovetail-adaptor-for-az-gti.html

I thought that was too expensive though and made my own mounting puck and used a small saddle I had.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by johninderby

[grjsk]

I've also bought one recently, and it was up and running without any issues within 5 min. 

[johninderby]

I do wonder about using it in EQ mode. It was never designed for use as an EQ mount and although it can be adapted not sure how well it handles it from a reliability viewpoint. 🤔.

Edited September 21, 2020 by johninderby

[wormix]

That’s good to know, thanks. 
 

Have placed an order with FLO, just the 60day wait  😱

[grjsk]

20 minutes ago, wormix said:

That’s good to know, thanks. 
 

Have placed an order with FLO, just the 60day wait  😱

The 60 days is worst case scenario I think. I ordered it from FLO when it was in stock, but the day before it said 40-60 days. They probably receive shipments all the time. You might get lucky; one might arrive tomorrow!

[Bobby1970]

My first one had to go back. The second one seems much better. I have used it with my 127 Mak and 72mm Refractor. 

Currently using it in EQ mode coupled with my AsiAir Pro and so far I'm very happy. I'm not sure just how good my guiding is as the graph does seem to swing a bit. However with 3 Min exposures it doesn't seem too bad. Although I did have to bin a few subs. 

Very portable and easy to set up. Apart from needing a lighter "power bank". Lol

Edited September 21, 2020 by Bobby1970

[wormix]

3 hours ago, Bobby1970 said:

My first one had to go back. The second one seems much better. I have used it with my 127 Mak and 72mm Refractor. 

Currently using it in EQ mode coupled with my AsiAir Pro and so far I'm very happy. I'm not sure just how good my guiding is as the graph does seem to swing a bit. However with 3 Min exposures it doesn't seem too bad. Although I did have to bin a few subs. 

Very portable and easy to set up. Apart from needing a lighter "power bank". Lol

I have almost the same scopes - ETX125 and a WO Megrez 72 that is almost identical to the above. 
 

Won’t be using in EQ mode for a while / at all - will keep the HEQ for AP, although would be useful for Mars tonight.....

[wormix]

3 hours ago, grjsk said:

The 60 days is worst case scenario I think. I ordered it from FLO when it was in stock, but the day before it said 40-60 days. They probably receive shipments all the time. You might get lucky; one might arrive tomorrow!

You are a sage - the timescale on FLO website has dropped down to 25days. 

[wormix]

It’s finally arrived, plus it came with the added bonus of a clearish night so I got to test it’s go-to / tracking performance. All seems ok at the moment. 
 

Really impressed with the accuracy off the bat using north-level alignment.  Going to use this for some planetary shooting and dabble in some EEVA I think, as well as travel. 

[UKRoman]

I have several mounts and scopes, but for visual use my Skywatcher EVO Star 80ED sat on the AZ-GTi is without doubt the one that gets the most use. It’s so easy to set up and can be up and running in minutes. I have recently tried it in EQ mode using a Redcat and the ASIAIR Pro, but that wasn’t particularly successful. I struggled to get it polar aligned and even when I did the guiding was terrible. That said the recent firmware update to the ASIAIR has apparently introduced a few guiding issues in certain circumstances, so I’ll have another go when they’re sorted. But for visual use with a small refractor in AZ mode,  I love it.

[Space Oddities]

On 05/11/2020 at 22:12, UKRoman said:

I have several mounts and scopes, but for visual use my Skywatcher EVO Star 80ED sat on the AZ-GTi is without doubt the one that gets the most use. It’s so easy to set up and can be up and running in minutes. I have recently tried it in EQ mode using a Redcat and the ASIAIR Pro, but that wasn’t particularly successful. I struggled to get it polar aligned and even when I did the guiding was terrible. That said the recent firmware update to the ASIAIR has apparently introduced a few guiding issues in certain circumstances, so I’ll have another go when they’re sorted. But for visual use with a small refractor in AZ mode,  I love it.

Hi Roman,

Regarding guiding, I find that deactivating the DEC guiding in the ASIAIR/PHD2 really helps. Guiding the RA axis only is really enough, at least for my setup, and works really well (I did 5+ minutes exposures without any trailing). The DEC guiding graphs for the AZ-GTi were always going crazy for some reason... I'm not sure the new firmware solves that problem, and to be honest I'm a bit afraid to update the mount and end up having more issues. The workaround I'm using works just fine for me!

Hope that helps!

[UKRoman]

On 21/11/2020 at 10:25, Space Oddities said:

Hi Roman,

Regarding guiding, I find that deactivating the DEC guiding in the ASIAIR/PHD2 really helps. Guiding the RA axis only is really enough, at least for my setup, and works really well (I did 5+ minutes exposures without any trailing). The DEC guiding graphs for the AZ-GTi were always going crazy for some reason... I'm not sure the new firmware solves that problem, and to be honest I'm a bit afraid to update the mount and end up having more issues. The workaround I'm using works just fine for me!

Hope that helps!

Hi,

Apologies, I’ve only just seen your post. That’s a good tip, many thanks. I’ll give it a go 👍 Have you tried dithering without the Dec guiding activated?

[Space Oddities]

Yes, it works well!

[UKRoman]

Nice one, thanks for your help. I'll give it a go next clear night 👍

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Good to hear the quality control of these mounts seems to have improved. I sent two back and the third started tapping with just a 90mm Maksutov.

I was thinking of returning that one when next session the tapping miraculously stopped and the mount has been fine since!

The modded Star Discovery 150i ota works great. That and the AZGTI saw a lot of use leading up to Mars opposition. Most nights the tracking was spot on, resulting in a relaxed observing experience.

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[robhatherton]

I’ve had no problem with mine: works perfectly with rechargeable aa batteries. The only issue is when using Sky Safari to control it’s the scope is consistently placed to the left of the target. 

[UKRoman]

On 08/12/2020 at 20:33, robhatherton said:

I’ve had no problem with mine: works perfectly with rechargeable aa batteries. The only issue is when using Sky Safari to control it’s the scope is consistently placed to the left of the target. 

Interesting.  My gotos are pretty much bang on. Could it be a backlash issue maybe? I have noticed that the RA axis seems to be slightly spring loaded so that when the RA clutch is tight the backlash is minimised by spring loading towards the west. 

[robhatherton]

Is the ra axis the same as the azimuth? Mine is set up in the original alt AZ. 

[nakiazaki]

On 08/12/2020 at 21:33, robhatherton said:

I’ve had no problem with mine: works perfectly with rechargeable aa batteries. The only issue is when using Sky Safari to control it’s the scope is consistently placed to the left of the target. 

Haha, this is a bug in SkySafari, I have already reported it to the developers. No fix yet... [UX Issues]* Telescope Direction Not Accurate After Alignment Using SkyScan_Link – Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Edited February 11, 2021 by nakiazaki