Hey everyone - Cody here! I strive to provide quality astronomy, science education, astrophotography, instructional videos, telescope/equipment reviews, and the occasional firearm safety/instructional video - a nice "blend", so to speak. Thank you for visiting, and clear skies!
Пікірлер
I've been waiting for somebody to make an amazing video on how to do this thank you. My question to you is what if I have my next star evolution on a wedge attached to the tripod what would be the settings?
Would you be willing to share the kind of tripod you are using and any adapters necessary for it. Also the type of guide scope and guide camera? Thanks
You're brilliant do you have a much older uncle in his 50"s😁
Dear, thanks for the video... i dont find the first instruction, swicth pos... is the same home position? how can i get....???? thanks
NOTE: ZWO has sent me an email explaining that the saddle power output is 12V, 5A, not 3A as stated in the video. They said that the "3A" is the input that is required, but the output is 5A, so it should be able to power your typical setup without issue.
Thats pretty cool !
You can use that mount with other telescope ? Like Skywalker or something ? Thanks
When are you going to publish some photos?
I achieve 0.08' total when guiding using my AM5 that is just over a year old, the scope is an eight inch SCT with the ASI174mm for guiding with a WO 50 mm Uniguide scope.
i can see the moon better with this cheap scope i have way clearer then the moon in this vid that was all fuzzy
I`ve just received my AM5N today and what`s most amazing to me is the dramatically reduced periodic error. Per definition, they came down from +/- 20 to +/-10 and mine is - regarding to the report - below 5" with an average total of 7,5" - Thanks for your wonderful and conclusive review. Can`t wait for the next CS!
Great review! How noisy is this mount compared to an Eq6r-pro? Thanks.
What tripod is that?
It’s a Celestron Advanced VX tripod.
Hi Cody. I've just done reviews of my AM5 & askar 103 if you're interested. Over 45 hours got 0.68 RMS. Latest AM5 models had +-10 arcs periodic errors like the N version.
Interesting. I'm getting the same RMS with an AM5 (not N) that I purchased a few months ago. Periodic error is also below 10. Guides the same with a light load or up to 28 lbs. I too was shocked to see the RMS run consistently in the .2-.4 range. I wonder if the very recent AM5's have the same internal specs of the AM5N but with the older case? No matter because I'm extremely pleased with the mount. My back is also much happier after dealing with an ancient Orion Atlas EQ-G for 15 years ;)
With harmonic drive mounts, are you supposed to keep your load to half the weight limit, like with GEM mounts?
How does it compare with CGX?
There isn’t really any comparison. My AM5 is a far better mount than my CGX, and is far lighter too. The only thing I still use my CGX for is planetary work, which it works very well for.
I have a C8 with OAG, ASI174mm mini and ASI071MC Pro. When you tested with of Edge HD 8” were you able to dither successfully? Thanks.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
What was the wind speed when the guiding graph was shown? How does the mount perform when the wind speed is b/w 15 and 20 kmph? 20kmph is the max I usually take photos using my eq6-r
Very well demonstrated 👏👍 Excellent video!
Thanks for another authentic & helpful review! My only disappointment is that the power from the saddle is limited to 12V and 3A. What would it have taken for ZWO to offer 5A from the saddle output? Otherwise, the improvements seem good.
I just got an email from ZWO that the max output of the saddle is 5A. They state the "3A" is the input but the output is 5A for the saddle.
is that a Celestron tripod modified to hold an AM5N? How did you do it?
Yes, it’s very stable with the AM5. I have a video here: How to Mount the ZWO AM5 to a Celestron AVX Tripod kzread.info/dash/bejne/nIKq25OFl5STYdY.html
The ZWO PE200 pier has an adapter for the AVX mount.
It does indeed, which will be my next purchase for the AM5N.
I've actually talked to a lot of ZWO tech support people about the parking issue. The current "park" position is nonsensical. Don't get me wrong, the AM5 was my first real mount and will always hold a special place for me. However, for an automated ROR with limited height, there's a serious issue with possible collisions due to the difficulty with parking. The workaround is to set a specific Alt/Az but it's still janky and some days just refuses to move to that spot. ZWO really needs to allow multiple park positions include one that is user defined. I ended up getting a Mach2GTO. Not a fair comparison and a totally different class of mount but Astro-Physics attention to detail is amazing. The Mach2 has 6 parking pre-sets 2 of which do exactly what I need and it also allows for a user defined park position. This seems like it should be a software solution but ZWO just doesn't seem to get it.
Yeah that doesn’t make much sense for the only home position to have the telescope pointing up towards a roof. I didn’t think about it, but then again, I don’t have a ROR! I haven’t noticed any other options for parking at a user defined setting though, so I don’t think there has been any changes made there from ZWO.
I’ll keep pushing them on the forum. I guess most of their users just don’t use this mount in an ROR so it’s not a high priority problem for them to solve.
What software are you using? In nina I just set Alt 0 / AZ 270 command and it parks my reflector horizontally with no issues at the end of each sequence.
@@AshA-ww8hc I'm using Voyager. I find that it's not the software. It's the ZWO driver/mount losing it's position. If you go into the Advanced settings tab of the AM5 mount app, you can click on "clear align data" and everything works again. However, you have to do this periodically as it will eventually become unresponsive to slewing again.
But can it park. I benched my AM5 due to inability to park properly in a way that allows my ROR to close.
Hi Cody, now what testing with your SN10? I bet not as good? What about a 1200mm Refractor?
I have only used the SN10 visually so far because I’m afraid to run it into the mount as I don’t have a pier extension. I’d imagine it would have higher guiding numbers, but still good. That would be fun to image with it. It has a huge secondary mirror, so I l’m sure it would work well with APS-C.
@@AstroBlender I have the sn10 and would love for you to test the AM5n auto guiding please. Also test with a 1000mm scope with the AM5n please. TY
I’ll probably give it a shot soon. I have a couple other videos to finish up. I think that would be a fun one to do though.
@@AstroBlender To bad you don't also have a AM5, so we can be 100% sure the AM5n is better, certainly the marketing is! Thank you
The AM5N is way better than my original AM5, that I can say for sure.
Nice.
Not quite ready to get a strain wave mount, but they keep looking better.
I like your username. :D I’ve never tried giving myself Garand Thumb, but it would be interesting to try. That said, they’re quite amazing. For those of us without permanent observatories I get out way more often due to how light they are.
Do you think this mount will be good enough for a C9.25 EdgeHD with an OAG, camera, etc?
My original AM5 worked well (see my original video if interested), but for me the AM5 had to be mounted on a sturdy tripod for the C9.25 Edge to be effective.
I've only had one session with my Edge HD 9.25 on this mount and it went really smooth. 0.5-0.8 arc second guiding with the Antlia OAG and ASI220MM mini guide cam. Main camera is ASI2600MC
Do you have any phd2 logs of your guiding? Just wanted to mention here, the reduced PE is not a design improvement. It's just a reduced period on the motors which as a result reduces the reported PE. Just a bit of advertising trickery from ZWO.
Sorry, I don’t, but I’ll try to remember the next time I have it out. In the meantime, check out @Cuivthelazygeek - I believe he has guide logs and his personality is much more fun than mine! I hadn’t heard that regarding the PE. Do you have a link to that info?
Do you think it's a Firmware tweek?
@@AstroBlender check out the ZWO Forum. That has been discussed in depth there by a number of users. The most notorious is a guy called "chen". He is a retired engineer and he talks quite a bit about the hidden magic of that "improved" PE. It has also been discussed on the cloudy nights forum.
I heard back from ZWO on this. Here is what they had to say, “Regarding the PE, we've made significant improvements by using a triple-tooth harmonic drive instead of the previous double-tooth design. This change not only reduces the PE but also enhances the system's rigidity, which ultimately prolongs the motor's lifespan rather than shortening it.” It looks like ZWO will be releasing an article soon that shows the changes.
@@AstroBlender Would be great we could upgrade the drive?
Cool
I love that
There is a note about compatibility with this focuser. How do I determine if my 8SE was manufactured prior to or after 2006?
Seriously fantastic video Cody. Thank you again for posting this. I think I’ve watched it 5 times now taking notes. Question for you. I’m in Canada, using a cooled camera when it’s -20C outside, is there any gains by having the camera cool any further? What about -30? (It happens up here 😄). Cheers and thanks again.
I’m glad you found it helpful! The lower the temperature the lower the dark current. -20C is probably cool enough for our purposes, especially since at -30C you would need a whole set of darks for that temperature too.
Will this camera work with a standard 90s 8in meade sct?
Great video, very informative. I upgraded from the 533mc. I am using it with a 90mm Triplet + 0.8 reducer combined with Altair Astro 4nm Dual Band filters HA OIII and SII OIII on EQ6-R in a town with bortle 6 skies and guiding 0.3 to 0.5. After getting the back focus sorted, I'm running 5-10 mins subs. Great FOV and superb detail.
In my case, form my home I can´t see Polar star, is this needed for ASIAIRPLUS to do polar align? Best regards!
Și unde plm sunt imaginile?!😂
Nice Job Cody. I was at the WVAA conference at BlackWater Falls State Park and watched your presentation on Asteroid Rotation. Nice work. Looking forward to more videos on the Origin.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Don't forget to enable location on your phone or tablet as well, otherwise there is a whole new set of issues arises.
Last time I tried this on my laptop or phone all of the plate-solving went out the window when the screen lock came on the phone or laptop, didn't know it was happening and had the camera attached, chose an object to lock onto but the mount went crazy and nearly damaged the dslr on the end of the scope because it started pointing way too high and in the wrong direction. Nexstar Evolution 9.25"
This video helped me so much thank you
What Helical Focuser did you use for the Guide camera for the OAG? My OAG has just the basic Camera holder, but i can't quite achieve back focus with the basic OAG for the Guide Camera.
Nice review! Always glad to see a new posting from you. Cheers!
will it support celestron nexstar 6SE SCT?
Nice to meet you, I also have the same MC DUO, but is it possible to track stars with an M42-mount Nikon standard lens? Even if the guide sensor is half hidden, there is no problem if you can track it safely. By the way, the lens is samyang 135mm ED UMC. I would appreciate it if you could teach me. From Japan. I'm writing with the translation function of the iPad. It's easier to understand the reply in English.
It was a mistake of Nikon 44mm. I can hardly understand the English of the video, but I can understand the English of the comments. In English, please.
As far as I can see from the video, it seems that the guide can go even with the 42mm mount. I'll give it a try.😃
I can concur with this report. My AM3 has been fantastic right from the start. I'm seeing guiding numbers like yours. Five minute subs results in perfect round stars. I tried 10 minute subs and they were also spot on. I use mine with a 80mm refractor with the PE200 pier.
Does the position of the filter in the light train make a difference? For example, I see you have the 10mm spacer between the camera and filter drawer. What if you have your filter drawer directly next to the camera body, placing the filter closer to the normal back focus point?
It doesn’t make a difference in the back-focus, but it is good to get your filter as close to the sensor as possible. This can help with vignetting or even allow you to use a smaller filter as long as it covers the whole sensor.
@@AstroBlender Its an ASI533MC Pro, so rather small sensor, but a 2" filter (no vignetting). I placed my filter drawer against the camera body mainly for convenience and to free up the spacer to use in different configurations with different back focuses.
Thank you so much for this. So many videos are too technical with numerous attachments that not everyone uses. I have the C11 Edge HD. Can I assume I would set up the ASI 294 MC pro camera with the same 55mm back focus (using the Celestron T Adapter for the C11)??? Thanks!!!
Yep, that’s correct. Celestron t-adapter, and then 55mm of back-focus. I have videos on the C9.25, C11 and C14 EdgeHD both basic and advanced as well.
Can somebody explain why guiding is necessary? Why do some people need a guide camera?
All but the most expensive mounts have a fair bit of error when tracking objects in the sky. This gets much worse if you don't have great polar alignment, have a lot of wind, etc. and is greatly exaggerated by longer exposures. This causes stars to end up being elongated, blurry, or otherwise misshapen. Guiding software locks on to a star and uses its relative movement to figure out what correction commands to send to the mount.
@Psychlist1972 ok, it is for very long exposure times... I never go above 10sec exposures and live stack instead...
I stopped guiding a year ago, it hasn’t negatively impacted my EQ6r pro performance at all 🤷🏻♂️
@@woody5109 If you are using a scope with a wide field of view, and/or use periodic error correction, you can often get away with it.