Skywatcher AZ GTI mount owners thread

[Elp]

On 09/02/2022 at 13:07, TerraC said:

I wonder if a CLS filter may be of some use.

A CLS filter will be of use but as you can see from my following image where I tested my CLS CCD, you have to expose for much longer to get anything better than I did. Even a 10s shot with just a DSLR+lens gives a brighter result with the same exposure of 10s. Been meaning to do a proper LRGB session on m42 but still in the process of finishing another target.

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, TerraC said:

I'll still be in here regularly.  No doubt i'll have lots of questions when I start guiding and get the GTI linked to the pi  

The main thing I had a problem with initially for the pi.  I understand you link the GTI to the astroberry hotspot so that it can still be used at remote locations.  However I was following a tutorial which showed you had to link the astroberry to your home wifi and get it all updated.  This then meant you had to link the GTI to your home wifi too which for me taking the setup out and about wouldnt work. It'd mean a configuration change again depending if I was at home or out on location.  

I think I probaby need to setup astroberry.  Link it to my wifi and install the updates etc.  Then go back, disconnect from my wifi and use the astroberry server again. Link AZ-GTI to astroberry and I should be able to take the whole lot anywhere away with me. 

I need to find a way of mounting the pi onto the tripod too - in my case a little more difficult because the spare unit I have is a Pi400.     

Ray

 

 

 

@LaurenceTmay be of help to you as I think he has a pi 👍 I use an asiair pro, so can't help on that account sorry 

Edited February 11, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[StevieDvd]

7 hours ago, TerraC said:

Think I may have got it a little better with this one?    Well that's odd, i cant really see it on my screen but when I upload the pic here the obvious light pollution then apears.. 

Where does one start a sort of blog on SGL? I dont seem to be seeing a members gear area.  Or do I just create a new topic in say Discussions>Mounts or Discussions>Telescopes?   Worried i'm cluttering this AZGTI thread with only a tenuous reference to it now  

You can create a blog on SGL

See Create blog page

and

https://stargazerslounge.com/blogs/entry/1205-from-sgl-how-to-use-the-blogs/

Steve

 

 

[RayWUK]

22 hours ago, TerraC said:

I'll still be in here regularly.  No doubt i'll have lots of questions when I start guiding and get the GTI linked to the pi  

The main thing I had a problem with initially for the pi.  I understand you link the GTI to the astroberry hotspot so that it can still be used at remote locations.  However I was following a tutorial which showed you had to link the astroberry to your home wifi and get it all updated.  This then meant you had to link the GTI to your home wifi too which for me taking the setup out and about wouldnt work. It'd mean a configuration change again depending if I was at home or out on location.  

I think I probaby need to setup astroberry.  Link it to my wifi and install the updates etc.  Then go back, disconnect from my wifi and use the astroberry server again. Link AZ-GTI to astroberry and I should be able to take the whole lot anywhere away with me. 

I need to find a way of mounting the pi onto the tripod too - in my case a little more difficult because the spare unit I have is a Pi400.     

Ray

 

 

 

As i understand it you turn on station mode on the AZ-GTI to get it to connect to your home wifi and if you leave the AZ-GTI Access Point Mode enabled as well you'll still be able to connect to it directly when away from home.

RayW

[RayWUK]

Has anyone had any success connecting their AZ-GTI to SkySafari ? If so what settings in SkySafari did you use.

I Have SkySafari Pro6.

Edited February 12, 2022 by RayWUK

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, RayWUK said:

Has anyone had any success connecting their AZ-GTI to SkySafari ? If so what settings in SkySafari did you use.

I Have SkySafari Pro6.

I use Skysafari Pro6 with the AZ GTI and asiair plus.

I use the LX200 classic setting in the scope menu. 

I only use this to track the mount as i read somewhere that you cannot use the program to select go to.

 

[happy-kat]

sky safari you might need to change the port if it is not connecting try 11882

Edited February 12, 2022 by happy-kat

[david_taurus83]

I've got another one of these (had one a while back) for some portable imaging but also to use for the occasional bit of observing. The mount has the EQ firmware on there so need to mount my Heritage 150 on the right hand side.

 

 

Uh oh! That wont do! I thought i was going to have to get the drill out and poke some holes in the tube but thankfully the 3 screws are spaced correctly so was able to rotate the truss assembly 120° to get the eyepiece up. 

[AstroNebulee]

15 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

I've got another one of these (had one a while back) for some portable imaging but also to use for the occasional bit of observing. The mount has the EQ firmware on there so need to mount my Heritage 150 on the right hand side.

 

 

Uh oh! That wont do! I thought i was going to have to get the drill out and poke some holes in the tube but thankfully the 3 screws are spaced correctly so was able to rotate the truss assembly 120° to get the eyepiece up. 

It looks amazing David, been waiting to see someone mount the heritage 150 on an az gti. Are you going to add a counterweight to it? Would love to hear when you have first light with it 😁

[RayWUK]

5 hours ago, JohnC said:

I use Skysafari Pro6 with the AZ GTI and asiair plus.

I use the LX200 classic setting in the scope menu. 

I only use this to track the mount as i read somewhere that you cannot use the program to select go to.

 

 

4 hours ago, happy-kat said:

sky safari you might need to change the port if it is not connecting try 11882

Ok, ive tried both of those suggestions but still can't connect to the mount from SkySafari. Can you go into a bit more detail, I'm using the AZ-GTI with a EQmod cable to an ASIAIR pro. I can control the mount from the ASIAIR app and the SW SynScan pro App. 

[LaurenceT]

8 hours ago, RayWUK said:

Has anyone had any success connecting their AZ-GTI to SkySafari ? If so what settings in SkySafari did you use.

I Have SkySafari Pro6.

I had success in selecting "Skywatcher SynscanLink"  as the Scope Type and Equatorial GoTo (German) as the  Mount  Type. Looking at the app I can't determine the port I selected.

[DusknightbyFatma]

Hello 

I would really like thank the owner of this thread @AstroNebulee. This page will help the owners of AZ GTI get in touch with any issues of our little mounts and Astrophotography tools. 
 

I would like to know what softwares can be compatible while using QHY along with AZ GTI. 
I used stellarmate but seems inaccurate and I suffered a lot with it lately.
So I’ve thinking to use NINA but this means I will no longer use my ipad. I have also heard that I might have trouble setting it up, although it’s an easy software to use. Any suggestions on other softwares or Apps? 
 

here is my gear for Astrophotography 

[david_taurus83]

19 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

It looks amazing David, been waiting to see someone mount the heritage 150 on an az gti. Are you going to add a counterweight to it? Would love to hear when you have first light with it 😁

Thanks! It copes OK without the counterweight but when the tube is over 2 tripod legs it's close to the limit. It won't tip over but I will prob add a weight to dangle from the tripod to lower the centre of gravity as a precaution. Speaking of weights, I'm not buying another one so I'm going to make one out of an old Bisto tube, some plastic sleeve and some home brew concrete! For imaging I will only have a Redcat 51 and Canon 6D with mini guidescope so not too much.

[RayWUK]

18 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

I had success in selecting "Skywatcher SynscanLink"  as the Scope Type and Equatorial GoTo (German) as the  Mount  Type. Looking at the app I can't determine the port I selected.

Thanks Laurance, that's seems to have sorted out my connection problem. Just need a clear night now to see how it performs.

[AstroNebulee]

8 hours ago, DusknightbyFatma said:

Hello 

I would really like thank the owner of this thread @AstroNebulee. This page will help the owners of AZ GTI get in touch with any issues of our little mounts and Astrophotography tools. 
 

I would like to know what softwares can be compatible while using QHY along with AZ GTI. 
I used stellarmate but seems inaccurate and I suffered a lot with it lately.
So I’ve thinking to use NINA but this means I will no longer use my ipad. I have also heard that I might have trouble setting it up, although it’s an easy software to use. Any suggestions on other softwares or Apps? 
 

here is my gear for Astrophotography 

Thank you, wgat a lovely set up and view you have there, where is it? 

I use an asiair pro so can't answer your query but hopefully some other owners in here can help you with your issue. I would say nina is a good route to go though never used itbbut does look quite simple. Several owners here use a raspberry pi that may help you think on other alternatives. I'm sure someone can help you. 

[AstroNebulee]

4 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

Thanks! It copes OK without the counterweight but when the tube is over 2 tripod legs it's close to the limit. It won't tip over but I will prob add a weight to dangle from the tripod to lower the centre of gravity as a precaution. Speaking of weights, I'm not buying another one so I'm going to make one out of an old Bisto tube, some plastic sleeve and some home brew concrete! For imaging I will only have a Redcat 51 and Canon 6D with mini guidescope so not too much.

Ahhh Bisto. Sounds brilliant David, can't wait to see it in action and your images 👍

[Elp]

10 hours ago, DusknightbyFatma said:

Any suggestions on other softwares or Apps? 

If you've still got the raspberry pi you can flash another spare memory card with astroberry as it's free and won't cost anything (other than the card) to try.

It's pre loaded with all the software you need and you can use a mobile/tablet/laptop and connect via web browser over WiFi (it's a bit fiddly to use on mobile as it doesn't have a dedicated larger button user interface/app like the asiair).

I did however have issues trying to manually slew the mount in phd2 as it didn't respond to manual commands (it may work for you), within ekos it worked fine which is where most of your time will be spent though at that point in time I didn't have autoguiding working (probably due to the azgti firmware I was running at the time).

Maybe worth a try at least.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

On 12/02/2022 at 12:03, RayWUK said:

Has anyone had any success connecting their AZ-GTI to SkySafari ? If so what settings in SkySafari did you use.

I Have SkySafari Pro6.

I've not used my AZGTI for many months, however I did use Sky Safari Pro 6 for Android to goto and track. Maybe I'm lucky but I had no issues with the software using the readily available instructions... If you're experiencing difficulty the videos below may help.

 

 

[LaurenceT]

I'm unclear why a phone and a tablet are needed for this, on my Ipad Pro I connect the Ipad to the Az Gti hotspot, open Synscan Pro and  connect the Ipad to the mount. I then open SkySafari, click "connect " and then I can control the mount.

What I'm not clear about is whether the mount is actually pointing exactly at the new location it has slewed to or where the SkySafari app thinks it should be. I'm also confused with the park/home/hibernate settings of the mount when it's being controlled by SkySafari.

[RayWUK]

I've been playing with the AZ-GTI-ASIAIR-SkySafari setup and after a lot of head scratching and surfing I think i've cracked it.

The problem (or maybe not) i was having using the SynScanLink within SkySafari (as Suggested by LaurenceT)is that it uses the SynScan app to connect to the AZ-GTI and the AISAIR also connecting to the AZ-GIT. So there seems to be some conflict when switching between controlling the mount via the ASIAIR and SkySafari. It sort of works but gets confused occasionally.

So the setup I have now connects SkySafari to the ASIAIR and the ASIAIR controls the mount. Theres no need for the SW SynScan app.

To do this the ASIAIR needs to be connected to the AZ-GTI with a EQMOD cable. In the ASIAIR app under the mount settings select 'EQMOD SkySafari' (instead of EQMOD). If you use Station Mode in the ASIAIR you will also need the IP number from WiFI Settings - Station Mode - Info

In SkySafari - Telescope - Preset - Add Preset. Mount Type - Equatorial Goto. Scope Type - Meade LX200 Classic. Next - IP 10.0.0.1 (If Using Station Mode the IP from ASIAIR above). Port Number 9624. Next - Save Preset

SkySafari should now connect by tapping 'Scope'.

It's all pretty seamless, SkySafari will follow any GOTO selected on the ASIAIR and vice versa. A nice feature of SkySafari is the FOV box you can setup in Observe - My Equipment and Scope Display.

 

Hope this helps anyone else going down this route.

[LaurenceT]

A very well constructed approach @RayWUK, I don't use the Asiair system, I use Stellarmate instead but I've kept that out of the equation thus far because it may add an extra layer of Stellarmate flakiness. I'll have a play around with it using your approach.......what could possibly wrong?🤣

Edited February 14, 2022 by LaurenceT

[AstroNebulee]

1 hour ago, RayWUK said:

I've been playing with the AZ-GTI-ASIAIR-SkySafari setup and after a lot of head scratching and surfing I think i've cracked it.

The problem (or maybe not) i was having using the SynScanLink within SkySafari (as Suggested by LaurenceT)is that it uses the SynScan app to connect to the AZ-GTI and the AISAIR also connecting to the AZ-GIT. So there seems to be some conflict when switching between controlling the mount via the ASIAIR and SkySafari. It sort of works but gets confused occasionally.

So the setup I have now connects SkySafari to the ASIAIR and the ASIAIR controls the mount. Theres no need for the SW SynScan app.

To do this the ASIAIR needs to be connected to the AZ-GTI with a EQMOD cable. In the ASIAIR app under the mount settings select 'EQMOD SkySafari' (instead of EQMOD). If you use Station Mode in the ASIAIR you will also need the IP number from WiFI Settings - Station Mode - Info

In SkySafari - Telescope - Preset - Add Preset. Mount Type - Equatorial Goto. Scope Type - Meade LX200 Classic. Next - IP 10.0.0.1 (If Using Station Mode the IP from ASIAIR above). Port Number 9624. Next - Save Preset

SkySafari should now connect by tapping 'Scope'.

It's all pretty seamless, SkySafari will follow any GOTO selected on the ASIAIR and vice versa. A nice feature of SkySafari is the FOV box you can setup in Observe - My Equipment and Scope Display.

 

Hope this helps anyone else going down this route.

Thank you Ray. So pleased you cracked it now. This will definitely help a lot of others uding the same set up and software I've always pondered it myself, so maybe in the future I'll try to have a crack at it. Good luck 👍

[david_taurus83]

Brief gap in the clouds tonight so first light for my new little GTi. I'm using the handset from my AZEQ6 and after a simple 2 star alignment its got M42 more or less centre of eyepiece. Not bothered with a counterweight and it's absolutely fine. It's been so long since I've used a Synscan handset though, need to learn it all again.

[LaurenceT]

@david_taurus83

what scope is that?

[david_taurus83]

7 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

@david_taurus83

what scope is that?

Heritage 150P