Triffid and Lagoon dance

[Nikolas]

If they were closer they could be dance partners!
Still have guiding issues with the asiair, no idea what the problem is but will be working on it, this is the result of one minute subs unguided, I do have some weird drift where some subs are oval and some are round, I had to dispose of 30% of the oval ones, it is definitely tracking errors, pec maybe? I really need to service the neq6.

48 minutes total all one minute subs after the bad ones were rejected.

altair astro 0.6 reducer

183mcpro

orion ed80

Optolong L pro filter

DSS and Photoshop

[casstony]

It's already pretty good but the images will be spectacular once you get that guiding sorted Nik - nice detail.

The ASIair looks interesting but it needs to be easy to use - hope you get it sorted soon.

[Nikolas]

Thanks Tony. I currently have the mount apart and have almost finished the rowan belt mod, the RA worm gear was over tight so it was causing a little binding which I reckon is what caused the issues, Everything has been cleaned and regreased now.
The asiair is a great little bit of kit, very easy to use and in essence eliminates a lot of gear. It is not for everypne as the interface is designed more for those who just want to take photos and not go nuts with some high end gear. Best thing I was all connected and sat in the garage watching the footy while keeping an eye on the app.

[Anth10]

Nik, you’re a brave man as are many others that have taken their mount apart, good luck I hope it’s a success / I’ve heard the belt mod makes a huge difference.
Anth

[Nikolas]

Thanks Anth, I'm at the last stage, putting back the motors but that's for tomorrow

[muletopia]

A nice result given your tracking problems
Chris

[Ant0nio]

Nice work Nik, love that wide field too. All the best with your mount mod, it should make a world of difference.
Cheers,
Tony

[Nikolas]

Thanks Tony, Mount mod completed, now to wait for a cloudless night.... But it is much quieter and seems smoother. We shall see..

[xelasnave]

You can be proud of your result...keep an eye on your cables as they can drag on something which you may not notice and find inconsistencies in star shape...Also check everything is tight as sometimes you overlook something which silently bites you...even consider the ground ..Once I was having problems which turned out to be grass settling under the tripod legs.
Good luck.
Alex

[Nikolas]

Thanks Alex
Cable management is my next issue.

I'm not worried about vibrations etc I mount it on a backyard pier and image from the garage, the asiar is a wonderful little thing.
After I took it apart I found the worm drive in RA was too tight and was binding slightly, Also the amount of crud from the crap grease skywatcher used was unbelievable.
Now it is all cleaned, regreased, belt modded and put back together. If only the weather would play nice...

[xelasnave]

You sound as though you are already an expert and as you probably realise there is always something to improve...I have not run my ASIAIR as yet... as for some reason I can't work out my star alignment has the scope still way off and with the rain running back and forth an a whole heap of unused excuses ...It still needs fixing...but I have it capturing etc.

I look forward to your next image.
Alex

[Nikolas]

I had a play with it fully loaded, lucky i did as the RA worm gear was binding, I had to back it off with the 2 grub screws after loosening the housing, talk about fiddly, anyway now it seems to be ok, we will see next clear night,........... in about 3 months i reckon, I hate melbourne winters....