Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2019 12:48:29 GMT
Purchased a Skywatcher Star Adventurer wedge for the AZ-GTI to convert the system to an EQ mount. I tried it out with the SW 72ED and the ASI air tonight and was disappointed. Despite tightening all the bolts, there was still a significant amount of flex in the system. The AZ-GTI was designed as an alt/az and is quite stable. The EQ conversion is unstable and clunky. The motivation for the conversion was to enable longer exposures with the ASI air . My lightweight grab and go system is the AZ-GTI with the ASIair without the need for a laptop. The problem with the ASIair is there is no live stacking and therefore the images are all single exposures and this limits me to about 30secs. I hoped the wedge would enable me to get longer exposures. I doubt that I will persist with this setup. cheers Paul
|
|
|
Post by Dragon Man on Sept 27, 2019 13:33:14 GMT
That's a pity Paul
|
|
|
Post by davy on Sept 27, 2019 15:50:27 GMT
Hi Paul. I have the az-gti and the star adventurer,, I use the tripod from the az-gti for both,, I have had the ed80 on both and ,, wasn't too keen on it with all the weight. What I have done is bought a heavy duty video tripod and give it a go,, I will tilt the video head to simulate a wedge and see how it handles my kit.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2019 1:33:39 GMT
Davy, that sounds like a better option.The connection between the wedge and az-gti keeps coming loose and the system rocks back and forth in the wind.The whole rig looks top heavy and cumbersome. The az-gti as an alt/az system works really well with the 72ed so I will revert back to the original. It is lightweight and stable. I just cant get single exposure times as long as I would like.
The ASIair apparently works fine in EQ mode. It has a plate solve in that mode. I tried it last night but didnt get anywhere because of the instability of the mount.
I am quite happy with the ASIair and Ipad combination for simplicity of setup. Out in the field it saves setting up a laptop. I do wish ZWO would add a live stack feature to its software as that would save me from trying to set up a lightweight EQ mount and be satisfied with alt/az. cheers Paul
|
|
|
Post by davy on Sept 28, 2019 7:23:25 GMT
This is the one I bought. Try it when I get a minute,, waiting on news about my daughter took her to hospital last night to get induced to have my grandson,, no news yet,, Looking after my grandson for a few days
|
|
|
Post by Dragon Man on Sept 28, 2019 13:44:44 GMT
waiting on news about my daughter took her to hospital last night to get induced to have my grandson,, no news yet,, Looking after my grandson for a few days Good luck Davy. Hope all goes safe and well and you get another bonnie bouncy baby grandson today
|
|
|
Post by howie1 on Sept 29, 2019 3:48:30 GMT
AP guru in the club bought a second hand EQ3 mount off Gumtree for $50. I didn't notice how he was mounting the GTi on top, but the EQ3 tripod and mount head were definitely setup ala a normal eq mount with its polar scope pointing at the pole. The GTi was mounted on top of that somehow. He also found all camera tripods and / or the official GTi eq tripod and eq mount were very wobbly, and so went this 2nd hand EQ3 route.
ASI has promised stacking in some future release.
Davy .... congrats to all your family!
|
|
|
Post by davy on Sept 29, 2019 6:04:45 GMT
AP guru in the club bought a second hand EQ3 mount off Gumtree for $50. I didn't notice how he was mounting the GTi on top, but the EQ3 tripod and mount head were definitely setup ala a normal eq mount with its polar scope pointing at the pole. The GTi was mounted on top of that somehow. He also found all camera tripods and / or the official GTi eq tripod and eq mount were very wobbly, and so went this 2nd hand EQ3 route. ASI has promised stacking in some future release. Davy .... congrats to all your family! Cheers mate
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2019 8:52:05 GMT
The AZ-GTI and a lightweight scope in alt/az is pretty stable. Put a wedge or a tilt on it and the whole kit becomes wobbly and unstable. For VA ,alt/az should be all that is needed with this combination,so I will stop messing with it.
I would like to see how your AP guru has configured the EQ3 Howie,but it is all starting to sound a bit complex. cheers Paul
|
|
|
Post by howie1 on Oct 2, 2019 23:55:35 GMT
Chatted online (he's since sold the AZ GTi to fund other stuff), but it's pretty easy ... 1. The AZ GTi software has the menu item to switch into EQ mode. If yours doesn't then update with the new one. 2. Buy second hand MANUAL (not goto) EQ2 or EQ3 tripod and mount ... toss the OTA if it came with one (or sell it by itself if it is half decent.) 3. Buy a dovetail, or grab one of your old unused ones or maybe one which came with the OTA when you bought the manual EQ2 EQ3) 4. Find out the threadsize of the hole which the AZ GTi normally is screwed onto a ALT AZ or camera tripod. Thinks it was 1/4"? 5. Get machine shop to drill and tap that size threaded hole into the END of the dovetail. 6. Get threaded rod (or bolt with the head cut off) which is the right size and screw it into the hole with some epoxy on the thread. This threaded rod/bolt without head will stick out of the dovetail pointing at the Celestial Pole. The AZ GTi hole will screw onto it as per picture I created and posted below. NOTE!!!!!!!!! Make the thread sticking out of the end of the dovetail long enough to put a nut onto the thread. This nut will be screwed tight up against the bottom of the AZ GTi to Lock it tight to prevent the AZ GTi from possibly rotating around on the thread.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2019 4:41:10 GMT
Thanks Howie I have the EQ mode download but I have decided I will keep the AZ GTi in alt /az. It is interesting he has sold the AZGTi. I am happy that it does what it was designed for...alt/az. But, I felt I still need a lightweight EQ mount for grab and go ,so, I have a SW EQ35 which is considerably lighter than the HEQ5 and can handle a payload of 7kg. That means I can take the C6 or the Esprit 80 out to the Dark sky site . Time will tell how that works out. This system is a bit heavier than I originally intended for grab and go but EQ mounts dont come lightweight. It also means I can use the ASIair for longer single exposures.
cheers Paul
|
|