Astrodon filters with ZWO

[OneCosmos]

Is anyone using Astrodon LRGB Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance 49.7mm unmounted Filters with a ZWO filter wheel?

The ZWO site says of their filters they will accept:

2″ Thread-In Filters or
50.4mm ±0.5mm Unmounted Filters can be used.

By my calculation that means they couldn’t be used but I find it hard to believe.

Cheers

[OneCosmos]

I found someone on Cloudy Nights who said:

“ Actually I'm using 49.7mm Astrodon narrowband filters in my ZWO 7x50mm wheel. But because of the smaller size it can be a pain to center the filters in the filter disk, so I 3D printed filter centering masks to help. Works perfectly.”

I have asked ZWO If they can help with a solution.

[Ryderscope]

Chris,

I have recently installed a set of Astronomik 50mm round filters in my 2" ZWO EFW so had to research the options for mounting non ZWO filters.

I see from the specs on the Astrodon site that the filters are 3mm thick which is the same as the Astronomik filters. This means that the filters will sit proud of the carousel so this needs to be accommodated as well as the diameter. The filter masks available from ZWO for the 2" EFW are designed for their screw in filters and when screwed in place will sit flat on the carousel. I would not recommend using them for the Astrodon filters as it is not ideal.

The 3D filter masks referred to in the CN post that you quoted are those from Joel at Buckeystargzer. I purchased a set for my 2" EFW and they work a treat. I highly recommend them as the way to go. You will need to take care in positioning the filters due to the slightly smaller diameter, but once the masks are screwed in place they will fit securely. These masks are about 3mm high and will accommodate the height of the filter. The tiny screws that come with the ZWO filter masks work fine in these 3D printed masks.

Here is a link to the product page for the filter masks. (https://buckeyestargazer.net/Store/FilterMasks.php) I see that he lists support for the Astrodon filters. They are only $10 USD plus postage. The only negative is that postage from the US can take quite a while at the moment.

Hope this helps.

[OneCosmos]

Thank you very much. I have orders a set for the 49.7mm Astrodons. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble.

[Ryderscope]

No problems Chris. Just giving back some of my time as my research of the CN forums saved me a lot of drama as well.

Clear skies,
Rodney