UPDATE: the ZWO Seestar or the Dwarflab Dwarf II are good alternatives to this build and cheaper too: tinyurl.com/3n62hpzx or bit.ly/3SyChXu. UPDATE: While I got great feedback from users who completed the project, others have noted that they had trouble with the software part (I assume referring to Stellarmate) that didn't work for them. Obviously this is a big problem. I haven't used Stellarmate for a while (got into an astro-slump, e.g. abandoning the hobby for a while) so I don't know what the latest status is. However, please be aware of this if you are thinking of doing this project. The process is very interesting, and pretty much all of the purchases can be reused for normal astrophotography, but you have been warned. UPDATE: if you already have a DSLR or mirrorless, you could use that instead! New video describing this here: ruclips.net/video/RnaxryPSfzc/видео.html ! Some samples taken from a light polluted area (Bortle 7) by a self-processed "noob" to the hobby! ibb.co/Wg6FbMZ ibb.co/7XgYxs7 ibb.co/8sx1ps8 UPDATE: the latest image of Stellarmate is already up to date with good wifi connectivity and so the upgrade dance is no longer necessary! And it can now fully be done from the app (device tab). Who's going to try to build this?? I love the concept of smartphone astronomy with telescopes like the eVscope or the Stellina - but while I admire the technical implementation of those telescopes, I'm not a big fan of their lack of modularity. Want a better sensor? Buy a new eVscope, there's version 2 out! Want a light pollution filter? Too bad, you can't! Also for the geeks, I used Stellarmate rather than ASIAIR because the ASIAIR doesn't have good support for Alt-Az AZ-GTi. Otherwise I would have gone the ASIAIR route.
I have raspberry, and scope(600m f5.9) and tripode :) and i wonder if AZ-GTI is good for me ? because i want start taking photos of night sky. I Love this setup and i dont know if i could adapt this setup to astrophotography?
I'm just about to sell some music gear to do this and hope to use it with an astro club I'm starting at my school... Thank you for the info! Great idea
Cuiv I did this build this past week using the Skywatcher GTI, Astro Tech 60 ED and ASI183. I had many issues with the mount not working in the app intermittently. I spent multiple frustrating evenings trying to make my set up work following your procedure. I contacted Jasem at StellarMate about these connectivity issues. Jasem who also has the GTI mount for testing purposes told me putting the mount in station mode was the wrong way. Jasem's testing showed that the mounts hotspot should be used and the stellarmate and tablet connected to it. I tried his procedure and everything works perfectly and is reliable. Thanks Paul
Hi - how do you connect in hot-spot mode please? Do you do this in Stellarmate app or Synscan? I'm having multiple connectivity problems, as well as the camera refusing to capture images in the SM app... Very frustrating
@@kinunshele Jez the first thing you need to do is connect to the az GTI mount with SyncScan and take it out of station mode. Second connect to the Raspberry Pi using the stellarmate hot spot, go into the device settings, set the wifi connection to SyncScan' s wifi and reboot. Make sure your. phone is connected to the SyncScan network and then connect to stellarmate. I deleted my device profile and made a new one, start the new profile and you should be good.
I have been watching videos all week trying to decide what to get. I learned more in an hour from you than anyone else. Thank you. I'm going to try and build something like this.
Would be great to see an update on this. One suggestion: Starizona has a field flattener for the evoguide 50 that gives 55mm backfocus, instead of the native 17.5mm, making it even more versatile.
I’d love to see an update on it aswell. I can see many places where it can be enhanced on and I’m wondering the cool ideas people would come up for it.
It's so good to see these types of videos again. This is what made me love your channel and content. It reminds of older videos (ie setting up network to download pictures from acquisition computer to processing computer). You're awesome. I love it and love your enthusiasm. Thank you so much
Thank you Salomon! I won't hide that this video took hours and hours and hours of work :) There's no more "let's build stuff" videos coming up as well, once I get to shoot them :) As always your long-lasting support and viewership of the channel is extremely appreciated!
I watched this video 3 times. On the 3rd time I actually followed each step to set up my own rig. I really took my time. At the end everything worked perfectly. I am so pleased with my simple smart scope system. Skywatcher AZ GTi mount, SVBony 80mm ED scope, ZWO ASI585MC camera, and the same Raspberry Pi used in the video.
Thank you for this wonderful Video. I teach astronomy at a college. I’m going to try and build this It will be a great way to get my students involved!
That is awesome to hear Alwyn! While making this video I had in mind exactly this kind of teaching scenario, whether in a school or college setting, or as a parent/child activity. I hope your students enjoy the build and the challenge! Also, I will soon be releasing a similar tutorial, but based on DSLR/Mirrorless camera and lens, which should make it easier to try for people who own such a camera in the first place :)
One of our greatest minds once said “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” I think you've more than qualified that statement here, well done
So nice to see you posted OPT as one of the suppliers, Ive been friends with the owners for over 30 years. Your Info Is the best ever and really enjoy your inventiveness.
I just finished the build. I used pretty much the same things you did since as luck would have it I already had most of it. Having watched a few other videos on similar builds I really want you to know what a great job you do of explaining things. You have an amazing attention to detail that is extremely helpful. I know you spend a lot of time rewatching and making minor corrections to your videos which must be very time consuming. One thing you mentioned was using a Bathinov mask to do a fine focus. Any chance at some point you could include a section in one of your videos about using this technique. Thanks again for all you do. P.S. The new version of this using a camera is great and simplifies the setup process.
As a newbie to astrophotography I have watched many many RUclips videos to learn how to build a simple rig. All I got was confused. LOL. In one single video you explained everything in such an easily understood and thorough manner. I will definitely build a rig similar to this. This video inspired me to become a Bortle 0 Patreon. Thank you VERY much, Cuiv. You're awesome.
Welcome to the hobby and thank you for your support!! YOU are awesome ;) Note that these days the Seestar S50 or Dwarf III have this rig beat at a lower price, but without the educational value ;)
I love how excited you get when the rig slews to a target, plate solves, and self-aligns. That's how I felt the first time I plate-solved successfully, and the first time I got auto-guider working. Such cool stuff we have available right now in amateur astronomy.
Thanks have progressed so much! I remember back when Plate-Solving was not yet a thing... At the very beginning I spent hours getting Astrotortilla to not work at all :D
@@CuivTheLazyGeek First time I got PHD working on autoguiding I was giddy, had to drag the wife outside & show her. She didn't care, but made the appropriate polite sounds.
Awesome tutorial, love your enthusiasm. Something to do with my grandkids when they get a little older. Thanks for taking the time to put such a high quality demonstration together.
the evoguide 50 is great. With the two element flattener (17.5 mm backfocus perfect for many cameras) is becomes a 4 element scope with two FPL53 elements and wide field. Its such a good little scope for imaging as well as guiding.
Yep! I've always thought about getting a flattener for it (at the initial release, I think Starizona was the only one making a flattener, now SW does too), it's such a neat little scope!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Hi, Cuiv, I have both the stock flattener and the starizona flattener v2. Both works perfect for my ASI2600MC pro. Good thing for the later is, the v2 has 55mm back focus and I can even use OAG and filter drawer (I do not have filter wheel) with the 2600 camera setup. Although a bit of under sampling, I like this setup, wide field that I can capture heart and soul in one frame. Stars are sharp edge to edge. I tested even with my Nikon D810 full frame camera, and it works decent to the edge!
Impressive Cuiv. This can be an excellent project for many local astronomy clubs who want to invest in something like this for public sky observation events.
This is so perfect. Everything you need to know and save some $.Wish I saw this 6 months ago before buying so much expensive gear and a lot of it unnecessary. You should get an award 🥇 for contribution to astrophotography
Great video and channel. Is it possible to have a smooth transition between images during live stacking with stellarmate? I mean, I noticed a milli-second dark image between each live stack, and I'm looking for a smooth transition that jumps from one image to the other (to have a better feeling of 'live video'). I know it's not possible with Asiair; they have confirmed me that the loading icon that appears between exposures can't be removed. Ps.: I'm thinking about exposures like 1/4 sec, which I don't know if they might freeze stellarmate.
Thanks Cuiv! I am new to astronomy and astrophotography. I used these instructions combined with some of your other videos and created a similar project. I used the AZ-Gti with tripod, the EvoGuide 50DX, the ZWO ASI485MC, the Sky-Watcher Field Flattener, Mele Quieter 2 mini PC, Synscan, and Nina. My viewing location is relatively dark and in my backyard, so I can remote desktop to the mini PC and control everything from in the house. There is quite a learning curve for the software, but I'm gradually getting there. I've had some successful nebula pictures so far. I really appreciate your efforts to help us learn this subject - thanks for sharing!
Hello Joe I have (almost) the same setup, Azgti EvoGuide with FF and 485MC, all run by Asiair. But so many clouds since I assembled this all… Could you share some of your pictures ?
Well, Phillippe, I'd like to share but cannot figure out how to insert a photo here. Anyway, I hope you have a clear sky soon. Orion Nebula seems to be an easy target with my setup and location lately.
Thanks very much..brilliant video. Very tempted to try this! Just one correction: the Stellina and the Vespera have autofocus, unlike the EVScope. Even though I have a Stellina, I am interested in a more wider field of imaging so perhaps might take this route which you have so kindly explained. One question: is it possible to focus using the video function? So you can get instant feedback? Assuming you have enough bright stars in the FOV?
I don´t know what to say! This was.... TOTALLY .... WOW! The best I've seen in a loooong time. This hobbie has given me kind of headache for a year, but now I suddenly see the light in the tunnel. Thank you thanbk you SO much for this video! Love it!
Awesome Build and tutorial Cuiv! could you put a wedge under the AZ GTi and polar align it? turn it into an equatorial mount. Would the go-to function still be workable or would that screw up that feature?
Wow 2 year old… I was looking for this in that time and abandoned… Extremely well done video… 1 months ago I was in Tokyo and did not think of trying to find you lol. The software is really good
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Color in the dumbbell from this tiny little scope. From Tokyo. This is 100% fantastic. I guess the near zenith tracking is harder for that little mount. I wondered how the stacking handles field rotation, at longer subexposure times that would appear in each frame, but as long as focal length isn’t too long the stacking must be including rotation between subs and of course translation. This is a game changer. And for a fraction of the price of the EEvscope or Stellina. Also great for teaching. Could be a cool build for a junior high school all the way to adults. Some parts you might get even cheaper as it is flexible. And folks learn many principles of Astrophotography You’ve done a great thing here assembling this kit! I see Nico of Nebula Photos and a Charles of a Chuck’s AstroPhotography are enthusiastic too! You and all of these folks and Galactic Hunter, Dylan O’Donnell, and Trevor Jones have been inspiration to all!!!
Thanks Geoffrey! Yes, I think it can be a super cool project for kids with their parents, etc. Gives a taste for the hobby and a sense of accomplishment that the eVscope or Stellina cannot provide :)
Cuiv, I simply love your enthusiasm and creativity with projects like this. Brilliant video that I have only just come across, but definitely something I am going to do with my ED50. Thanks for your inspiring hard work in putting these things together. J
Cuiv, you may not see my comment but, you are the very best astronomy geek of all geeks!!! This video topic is exceptional and so very well done. Thank you. Please continue your work and sharing it with us other astro geeks.
Hi Cuiv, I have loved watching this build and in fact am in the process of building my own smart telescope based off of this design using the Az-GTI mount. I have seen other videos you have created with this mount, using it in equatorial mode. I am wondering if it is possible to do this with this smart telescope setup? Would there be a difference in accuracy? I am also wondering would a ZWO ASI183MC Pro be too powerful for this kind of setup, as I already have one? Thanks in advance. Fergal
Thanks Cuiv, you brought me to Green Swamp Server and I have never looked back. I like what you did here too. I have the AZ-Gti and the ZWO 178 already, just need the scope and RP4. A nice new project to look forward too. Cheers.
@Cuiv, I kid you not this is one of the most inspiring videos I have ever seen on YT - THIS is what RUclips is really about! I had been thinking of buying an electronic telescope but balked at the price (and the fact they cannot view planets at all well), but now I know what I’m going to do! Thank you so much!
Careful Cuiv, I'm sure this will rattle the cage on a cloudynight forum (or two) XD. I agree with you though, technology is streamlined enough that it is not very difficult for someone with limited knowledge to assemble a starter kit at cheaper price.
Honestly I've given Stellarmate a lot of tries hoping it would work out but it never does. I've got it set up but there's always some sort of issue detecting hardware or random things like the usb hub backpowering my Pi, which forces me to unplug the usb and plug it back in just for the Pi to start up on its power supply. With the issues of the ASI Air you pointed out in a different video that doesn't really appeal to me either. Ultimately nothing compares to just using a laptop in the field or at home. It's unfortunate but the RPi and the ASIAir are not at the point where they are turnkey automated imaging solutions that I could consider rather than just using a laptop or mini PC.
The ED50 is a great little scope as a guide scope and as a stand alone. I would suggest the dedicated field flattener for it. I really love this set up you created Cuiv.
@Richie Bricker Official Fan Site did you mean $275? If you add the flattener, it can be an affordable primary scope. Not a redcat, but not too far off, and cheaper.
@@CuivTheLazyGeek I did not know that. I only seen one for over 400. $275 sounds like something i can afford. Does this one not work with dslrs at all or do ya just got to buy a mount?
Bravo, Cuiv! This is an astrophotography video equivalent to a baseball grand-slam homerun. So much so that you inspired me to purchase an AZ-GTi from a local vendor (Cloud Break Optics). And I already have a Raspberry Pi looking for a new project. Thanks for all the time and effort that you devoted to this video.
Thank you so much for that feedback! It was indeed a large amount of time and effort put into this project and video, and I'm glad to see it resonates :D
Awesome project idea. Especially when I already have all the stuff, even the exact same tripod. Do you think they'd be any mileage in using the ED50 flattener?
Huge thanks to Cuiv for posting this. I’d purchased various bits of kit in the hope of being able to do some EAA in the past, but all but gave up as I just wasn’t having any luck at all. Very likely user error, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. So I was very fortunate to already have a Pi (looks like the exact kit Cuiv is using), an AZ-Gti, a guide scope and a camera (SV305 in my case). I just needed to purchase StellarMate. I checked with the developer that the SV305 would work with it and they confirmed. I spent last weekend getting it all set up. Last night, a small break in the clouds. Set the scope roughly North and level and told it to go the Andromeda. Straight there and it began tracking, keeping it steady in the frame. That’s a good start. Some adjustments to focus and I began Live stacking. I only managed a couple of minutes of 20 second exposures, but WOW! This is the best result I’ve ever had on an type of EAA system I’ve tried. Thanks so much for this. I love your enthusiasm and I also experienced that first hand with my first few minutes of use. Can’t wait for some better skies 😄
This is amazing, would have been great to see some fully stacked photos to see what this is capable, and also some upgrade paths for better mount and scope. Would love something so easy i can throw in the car and be up and running so quickly and easy.
@@CuivTheLazyGeek please do a follow up, I’m super curious to see how an end result would look on other common space objects, maybe moon, Andromeda, etc🥺😊
I would also love to see a video on how to upgrade this setup :-) I really love it! I was reluctant in going into buying Astro hardware because of the complexity / price / weight. On my side, I know RPI and such very well (did a camera control app on a RPI Zero W), so the fact that we could plug together little pieces like that to achieve quite good results is impressive for me! Thanks a lot!
I just finished building something similar only a bit more pricey. I am using the EvoGuide 50DX, Starizona FFV2, ZWO120mini and SVBony 30mm guide scope. It's mounted on a ZEQ25 and controlled by Stellarmate on a RPI4. I'm also going to use my new ASI533MC on it. Haven't had a chance to try it all out yet but tomorrow night is looking pretty good!
I was considering getting the evscope or the stellina scope but saw your video and wanted to try and build a better cheaper version. I checked the links below and a lot of the equipment is sold out. Do you have an updated equipment list that i can use in order to build my own? thank you
Wow Cuiv! This is so cool! I absolutely need to do it, specially when I’m right now completing my portable AZ-GTi based astrophotography rig. I guess operaring this little mount on the equatorial mode will improve things, letting for longer exposures to be stacked, right? I need to have a look at Stellar Mate and understand how could I run it with the stickPC I’m currently using for capture on this portable rig. It is possible or do I need a separate raspberry unit? Actually, isn’t there any Windows based software that makes this live stacking? A plug-in for NINA??
Absolutely, equatorial mode will give much better results - and also you can then use the ASIAIR, which has better live stacking capabilities. I think for Stellarmate you need a Raspberry Pi - but for Windows there's always Sharpcap Pro, and Darkarchon's free live stack plugin for PixInsight!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek fantastic video thank you! I was interested by Stellina but did not purchase it due to it's crazy price. What EQ mount would you recommend in combination with ASIAIR?
@@michaelocarroll339 oh I can't recommend anything in particular, there are so many good mounts out there (and it also depends on the payload). With just this small scope as the Payload, a SmartEQ Pro from iOptron or an EQM35 from Skywatcher would likely work quite well!
another question, currently I have a Celestron Nextstar go to telescope. Do you think I could use it instead of Skywatcher AZ-GTI with tripod? Sorry for the maybe silly question...
For the scope, I would have gone for an SV48P or SV503 70mm. You will get more field of view with the one you chose, but with a slightly larger sensor like the 482 or 585 you'll get that extra field of view. The 178 has terrible amp glow (it's what I use). But this is a really cool build.
I'd even take a 102 mm TS, why not? But I don't know what sensor it would have. Any ideas? - The matter is that I live within the most dark area known in the West Europe, and there is a temptation to try out smth being not a trivia.
Dear Guiv! Thanks a lot for this video!! I was looking for something like this for astronomy outreach! I would „reuse“ my normal gear for this. The RASA8 must be a beast for this purpose. Is there a reason why you chose StellarMate over ASIair? All the best!
Yes - I used Stellarmate because the ASIAIR doesn't have an easy way to control the AZ-GTi in Alt-Az mode - I tried really hard to make it work with the ASIAIR in Alt-Az, but couldn't, it simply would work correctly (e.g. drivers can point to the right target, but don't know how to track). For an EQ setup, I'd prefer the ASIAIR!
You retain my number one in promoting astronomical activities and astrophotography with a wide range of equipment. Once again you share your detailed how to set everything up for newcomers, not just showing off a final image with little detail on how you got there. An A1 video presentation from the light polluted skies of Tokyo. Stay safe my Astro whiz, Greetings from the Southern Cross Observatory-Tasmania 42 South. 👍😁🔭
Excellent video, so easy to follow. I have built a rig based on this using a star discovery mount and evolux 62ed with asi 224mc, works perfectly. thanks.
Hey Cuiv, thanks for the incredibly detailed guide, it has given me food for thought. I wonder if it would be possible/advised to add an Optolong Dual-Band L-eXtreme Filter into the mix to possibly get even better results? Also, would it be possible to fix the field rotation in post-processing? I would like to thank you for all of the videos you post, I have learned a lot by watching your channel :D
The latest stellarmate does some rotation while stacking - so if each frame is free of obvious rotation, so will the stack (but your telescope axis and mount axis need to be well aligned). As for filters, I'd probably go for a CLS-CCD or wider band filter before trying the L-eXtreme, but it certainly is worth a try!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Is there any restriction on what type of telescope I can use? I currently have a Celestron EQ130 Reflector and am hoping I can use that rather than buy another..
@@kevin5073 Mmmh that mount is tiny and needs small scopes, so it may be difficult to use that huge telescope... You could always try that first though! I am working on a version of this tutorial with DSLR+lens instead, so if you have that maybe that could help?
Very cool project, Cuiv! This is the first time that I see Stellar Mate in action. Some years ago I tried to do something very similar to this, but using an HDMI display with the Raspberry Pi. I love open source, and Indi has done a tremendous job making Linux and the Pi appealing to many vendors. But, Ekos is not user friendly, too cluttered. I can see a similar project being done using the ASIAIR. But anyway, well done!
Brilliant. I;m fairly new to all this. I enjoy you videos immensely. Have you ever done a video that discusses the basic terms: binning, exposure, gain and so on. You explain things so well that this would be a great help.... thank you.....
Darn ... I am tempted to build one ;) I got a small frac 80/400 I might put to good use ... Or my Samyang 135 .... Just got my asi 290 equivalent from svbony. Was actually considering a small mini pc to also incorporate in my image acquisition running Windows pro to use remote desktop client ... That will give me the freedom to use APT or Nina ☺️ Just wish me luck with my finances ... Don't know if you inspire me or I use you as an excuse to spend more
Now that is interesting - I've received quite a few emails telling me they completed the project and it worked well for them, and I did use this for a while and had a lot of fun (before my astro slump). There are some bugs, and I sometimes had to restart the RPi but overall it worked. I already have a disclaimer in the videos description, but I'll add one as a pinned comment.
i thought this since I saw the introduction of the Stellina et al. I use a similar set up for EAA and have for a decade, first with Mallincams, then DSLR, and now a dedicated astrocam. For a small portable unit I used a Orion 4.5' F4 imaging Starblast OTA and now a 72 mm ED refractor with a ZWO 224MC camera. The mount is an EQ3 Synscan. I get good image scale for galaxies with the small chipped camera and the small chip eliminates the need for the field flattener/focal reducer so I can get a bit more image scale at the scope's native 420 mm fl. NGC 891 looked great, so good it fooled my friend into thinking it was take with a much larger scope.
Hi Cuiv! I was really inspired by your video. So, I had a long wish list for Christmas, and compiled the setup on the New Years weekend. I had a couple of issues with the pointing of the telescope. At first it did not find the any of the targets. In KStars it seemed as if the home position was not correct, and I did not find a way to fix it. So I bought a cheap GPS dongle for the Raspery Pi. Voila! Yesterday night it was kind of clear skies and I was able to take a picture of the Andromeda Galaxy! What an experience! So, many thanks again!
@@itsfahys Hi Stephen. I actually don’t know how to post pictures inside of the comment section. But you should not have astrophotography in mind if you are working with this set up. The set up is more for educational purposes. And in this case it served well and it was a lot of fun to use!
A great, very clear explanation of how to put a good system together! I'm left with one question however. Why use a telescope with only 50mm of aperture? I have, for example, a $200 90mm ED/apo f/4 refractor, that isn't that much larger than your 50mm scope, but that captures 3,24 times more light, which would allow it to go about 1.5 magnitudes deeper into the sky than the 50mm can go, as well as reach the 50mm mag. limit in only 31% as much time as the 50mm would take. I certainly don't believe that it would be too heavy to work on the mounting you have chosen either. I do know that Unistellar decided not to market a 6" or 8" version of their Equinox series because they found that turbulence and bad seeing became more noticable. It is hard to see how such a problem would crop up at 90mm however, since they are already using a 100mm aperture scope successfully on their products.
Cuiv, thank you so much for putting this video together. I ordered and put together the pieces that you recommended and got everything up and running earlier today. Can hardly wait to try it out on some clear skies in out light polluted location. I'll be taking this setup along with one of the ready to go commercial offerings so that people at our astronomy club outreach sessions can see what can be done at different price points. The main difference I see in the two approaches is the much more complicated APP to run the setup in your video compared to the far more intuitive, but limited, user interface in the turn key commercial solutions. It will be fun to set up both side by side and help the people interested in imaging assisted astronomy decide the trade off between cost and complexity.
I think overall the turnkey solutions will win every time in terms of pure ease of use - but maybe they're kind of boring? The lack of upgradability also really irks me... They're like smartphones, to be thrown away when a new exciting processor or sensor comes along...
@@CuivTheLazyGeek the user experience with an evscope is pretty amazing. You setup and roughly level the tripod, put the scope into the cup and tighten the screws. Push the power button and start up the app. 5 or so minutes later you touch the target you wish to acquire. Then you watch the app and see the stars zip by to the approximate location and you watch a couple of iterations of the object getting centered. While all this is going on up to 10 observers can follow along on their smart phones and capture and text or email what they are seeing. Another touch of an icon and the scope goes into advanced image mode and captures and stacks a you watch the image improve in real time. That’s the $3k value added over the build your own device. I totally agree on the limitations of non modularity. Not being able to easily add a filter or change the sensing camera or change the optics is definitely frustrating. If the StellarMate user experience for the build it yourself approach gets improved then there could be huge adoption to buy and integrate at a way cheaper price point. Until then a lot of folks with the tech skills will still follow your excellent lead and build up an imaging scope but will still face a steep learning curve trying to navigate through the complexities of StellarMate’s usability.
Thanks very much. I had tried stellarmate with the same camera but with an eq mount and slightly larger scope. I just got lost in the many pieces of software on different platforms. Your video is excellent and i'm looking forward to trying again following step by step.
Well, I ordered the mount, 50ED guide scope, the ASI485MC camera, and the Raspberry PI 4 with 8gb. Looking forward to this build. Me and the grand kids are going to love this!
On the same night you did this in Tokyo, I was out in Yokohama using my new ASIAIR for the first time with an AZ-GTi mount and small refractor. Like you, I was truly amazed at the capabilities of these dedicated portable computer devices and software to find, plate solve, and center objects in the vast sky! Tutorials like this and inexpensive hardware and software (like you highlighted here) make viewing the heavens more affordable and entertaining. Great job and keep the videos coming! Clear skies!
WOW!!! This is truly amazing. In years past I put together a camera setup for Astrophotography but lost interest because of the huge amount of efforts and money required to get good images. This video is really piquing my interest once again.
Thank you! Astrophotography is truly an expensive hobby, but one of the cheapest ways to start would be with this setup, or even better, turning the AZ-GTi into a equatorial mount (I have other videos about that)
Thank you so much for this video! I was looking for a setup that was portable, just worked and was within my skillset. I have used a skywatcher 72ED on an Explore Scientific iExos 100. I connected the mount to the Raspberry PI using a serial connection (USB for this mount), and it worked with no issues! I have the Pi connect to my home Wifi, so that I can operate it from my phone without losing internet on the phone. Thanks again for the idea!
Hello @CuivTheLazyGeek, very interesting video and congratulation for your enthousiasm. After 2 years are you going to update your recommendation for the setup especially to "compete" with smart telescopes like the Vespera or the Evscope? Nicolas
As a Stellarmate user for more than three uears, it’s great to watch this video - finally some well deserved attention, Jasem must be thrilled 😊 As a Pentax shooter, I fear this will remove focus from your K-1 and the astrotracer capabilities - but I guess you can’t have it all! 😊 Great video!
I'm going to make this 100%, i absolutely love astronomy!. Thanks for making the effort to show the world that it can be easy to do the things you love!
I was checking out a DIY backyard SDR 1420 MHz radio telescope and found this optical telescope video. 😎 no time to sleep with so many neat projects. 🥰 thank you.
Wow!! Thank you for your work - I relied heavily on everyone at the hospital after my accident, and I can see how thankless of a job working at a hospital is.... Glad you enjoyed the video!
Awesome presentation Cuiv! If you were going to go one step higher with the scope and camera for a little better resolution would a 71mm APO w/ ASI533MC be worth the upgrade?
You are the best. Thank you for this video. It helps a lot. I am using an EQ6-Pro mount usb connected to RPi. The only difference is to change the baud rate to 115200. The baud rate can be found in Ekos mode, on the 5th tab top left that looks like a cup. Then in eqmod mount and connection tab. I hope this helps.
Great video. Maybe this is too much to ask. I have my Nikon D800 mounted on an old telescope, which is about 30 years old. I can take detailed pictures of the moon and bright stars. Can I use it with such a system? If not, what are the issues?
Thanks for the video I subscribed and liked!! I am in the middle of choice weather go with Raspberry pi or mini pc. However could I ask if u can plate solve and guide with only one main camera?(I will be using dslr) Cause your video shows that you are getting objects right and centre without guide camera or decent polar alignment.
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
UPDATE: the ZWO Seestar or the Dwarflab Dwarf II are good alternatives to this build and cheaper too: tinyurl.com/3n62hpzx or bit.ly/3SyChXu.
UPDATE: While I got great feedback from users who completed the project, others have noted that they had trouble with the software part (I assume referring to Stellarmate) that didn't work for them. Obviously this is a big problem. I haven't used Stellarmate for a while (got into an astro-slump, e.g. abandoning the hobby for a while) so I don't know what the latest status is. However, please be aware of this if you are thinking of doing this project. The process is very interesting, and pretty much all of the purchases can be reused for normal astrophotography, but you have been warned.
UPDATE: if you already have a DSLR or mirrorless, you could use that instead! New video describing this here: ruclips.net/video/RnaxryPSfzc/видео.html !
Some samples taken from a light polluted area (Bortle 7) by a self-processed "noob" to the hobby!
ibb.co/Wg6FbMZ
ibb.co/7XgYxs7
ibb.co/8sx1ps8
UPDATE: the latest image of Stellarmate is already up to date with good wifi connectivity and so the upgrade dance is no longer necessary! And it can now fully be done from the app (device tab).
Who's going to try to build this??
I love the concept of smartphone astronomy with telescopes like the eVscope or the Stellina - but while I admire the technical implementation of those telescopes, I'm not a big fan of their lack of modularity. Want a better sensor? Buy a new eVscope, there's version 2 out! Want a light pollution filter? Too bad, you can't!
Also for the geeks, I used Stellarmate rather than ASIAIR because the ASIAIR doesn't have good support for Alt-Az AZ-GTi. Otherwise I would have gone the ASIAIR route.
definitely going to try this but maybe get a better mount not sure which.
I'm probably not going to build this entire rig, but I'm definitely going to give Stellarmate a go!
I have raspberry, and scope(600m f5.9) and tripode :) and i wonder if AZ-GTI is good for me ? because i want start taking photos of night sky. I Love this setup and i dont know if i could adapt this setup to astrophotography?
Why not an astroberry setup? Similar to Stellamate (also uses Ekos).
Have you tried it on EQ mode?
Such a cool build! Thanks for putting this all together Cuiv! I'm sure it's going to inspire many to make their own Smart Telescope 😃
Thanks so much Nico! I really hope so! :D
@@CuivTheLazyGeek putting this in a Box and selling it could be profitable 🤭
This is remarkable. I’m putting together an astrophotography rig, but I’m sorely tempted to build this little guy too now.
I'm just about to sell some music gear to do this and hope to use it with an astro club I'm starting at my school... Thank you for the info! Great idea
Baught one.. 😁
Best of all the RUclips astro channels.
Thanks Wayne!!
Cuiv
I did this build this past week using the Skywatcher GTI, Astro Tech 60 ED and ASI183. I had many issues with the mount not working in the app intermittently. I spent multiple frustrating evenings trying to make my set up work following your procedure. I contacted Jasem at StellarMate about these connectivity issues. Jasem who also has the GTI mount for testing purposes told me putting the mount in station mode was the wrong way. Jasem's testing showed that the mounts hotspot should be used and the stellarmate and tablet connected to it. I tried his procedure and everything works perfectly and is reliable.
Thanks
Paul
Hi - how do you connect in hot-spot mode please? Do you do this in Stellarmate app or Synscan? I'm having multiple connectivity problems, as well as the camera refusing to capture images in the SM app... Very frustrating
@@kinunshele
Jez the first thing you need to do is connect to the az GTI mount with SyncScan and take it out of station mode. Second connect to the Raspberry Pi using the stellarmate hot spot, go into the device settings, set the wifi connection to SyncScan'
s wifi and reboot. Make sure your. phone is connected to the SyncScan network and then connect to stellarmate. I deleted my device profile and made a new one, start the new profile and you should be good.
I have been watching videos all week trying to decide what to get. I learned more in an hour from you than anyone else. Thank you. I'm going to try and build something like this.
One of the best tutorial for astrophotography DIY I have seen in a while.. Keep up the great job with same enthusiasm..!!!
Thanks Jayant! Glad this was of help!
Would be great to see an update on this.
One suggestion: Starizona has a field flattener for the evoguide 50 that gives 55mm backfocus, instead of the native 17.5mm, making it even more versatile.
I’d love to see an update on it aswell. I can see many places where it can be enhanced on and I’m wondering the cool ideas people would come up for it.
It's so good to see these types of videos again. This is what made me love your channel and content. It reminds of older videos (ie setting up network to download pictures from acquisition computer to processing computer). You're awesome. I love it and love your enthusiasm. Thank you so much
Thank you Salomon! I won't hide that this video took hours and hours and hours of work :) There's no more "let's build stuff" videos coming up as well, once I get to shoot them :) As always your long-lasting support and viewership of the channel is extremely appreciated!
I watched this video 3 times. On the 3rd time I actually followed each step to set up my own rig. I really took my time. At the end everything worked perfectly. I am so pleased with my simple smart scope system. Skywatcher AZ GTi mount, SVBony 80mm ED scope, ZWO ASI585MC camera, and the same Raspberry Pi used in the video.
That's amazing!! Well done and thanks for providing this feedback!
Thank you for this wonderful Video. I teach astronomy at a college. I’m going to try and build this It will be a great way to get my students involved!
That is awesome to hear Alwyn! While making this video I had in mind exactly this kind of teaching scenario, whether in a school or college setting, or as a parent/child activity. I hope your students enjoy the build and the challenge! Also, I will soon be releasing a similar tutorial, but based on DSLR/Mirrorless camera and lens, which should make it easier to try for people who own such a camera in the first place :)
One of our greatest minds once said “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
I think you've more than qualified that statement here, well done
So nice to see you posted OPT as one of the suppliers, Ive been friends with the owners for over 30 years. Your Info Is the best ever and really enjoy your inventiveness.
Just inspirational. Wish I’d found this a year ago. Thanks Cuive you’ve just rekindled my passion for astronomy and tinkering!
I just finished the build. I used pretty much the same things you did since as luck would have it I already had most of it. Having watched a few other videos on similar builds I really want you to know what a great job you do of explaining things. You have an amazing attention to detail that is extremely helpful. I know you spend a lot of time rewatching and making minor corrections to your videos which must be very time consuming. One thing you mentioned was using a Bathinov mask to do a fine focus. Any chance at some point you could include a section in one of your videos about using this technique. Thanks again for all you do. P.S. The new version of this using a camera is great and simplifies the setup process.
Thank you so much for that feedback, and for your support Marvin! I'll cover the bahtinov mask at some point, thank you! :D
As a newbie to astrophotography I have watched many many RUclips videos to learn how to build a simple rig. All I got was confused. LOL. In one single video you explained everything in such an easily understood and thorough manner. I will definitely build a rig similar to this. This video inspired me to become a Bortle 0 Patreon. Thank you VERY much, Cuiv. You're awesome.
Welcome to the hobby and thank you for your support!! YOU are awesome ;) Note that these days the Seestar S50 or Dwarf III have this rig beat at a lower price, but without the educational value ;)
Simplicity always has a bit of genius to it. You’ve succeeded in making this so simple even I can understand it. Bravo!
Wow, thank you so much for that feedback Don, it means a lot!
I love how excited you get when the rig slews to a target, plate solves, and self-aligns. That's how I felt the first time I plate-solved successfully, and the first time I got auto-guider working. Such cool stuff we have available right now in amateur astronomy.
Thanks have progressed so much! I remember back when Plate-Solving was not yet a thing... At the very beginning I spent hours getting Astrotortilla to not work at all :D
@@CuivTheLazyGeek First time I got PHD working on autoguiding I was giddy, had to drag the wife outside & show her. She didn't care, but made the appropriate polite sounds.
Awesome tutorial Cuiv. Your enthusiasm is as bright as the light accumulated sky results. Thanks so much for sharing 💪👍🍻
Thanks so much!!
Awesome tutorial, love your enthusiasm. Something to do with my grandkids when they get a little older. Thanks for taking the time to put such a high quality demonstration together.
Thanks so much for this feedback Paul! I hope that when the grandkids are old enough this can be a fun project :)
Very impressive, Cuiv!
Hey Chuck! Thank you!!
Big fan chuck
the evoguide 50 is great. With the two element flattener (17.5 mm backfocus perfect for many cameras) is becomes a 4 element scope with two FPL53 elements and wide field. Its such a good little scope for imaging as well as guiding.
Yep! I've always thought about getting a flattener for it (at the initial release, I think Starizona was the only one making a flattener, now SW does too), it's such a neat little scope!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Hi, Cuiv, I have both the stock flattener and the starizona flattener v2. Both works perfect for my ASI2600MC pro. Good thing for the later is, the v2 has 55mm back focus and I can even use OAG and filter drawer (I do not have filter wheel) with the 2600 camera setup. Although a bit of under sampling, I like this setup, wide field that I can capture heart and soul in one frame. Stars are sharp edge to edge. I tested even with my Nikon D810 full frame camera, and it works decent to the edge!
Impressive Cuiv. This can be an excellent project for many local astronomy clubs who want to invest in something like this for public sky observation events.
Thanks AM! Exactly my thoughts!
This is so perfect. Everything you need to know and save some $.Wish I saw this 6 months ago before buying so much expensive gear and a lot of it unnecessary. You should get an award 🥇 for contribution to astrophotography
Great video and channel.
Is it possible to have a smooth transition between images during live stacking with stellarmate?
I mean, I noticed a milli-second dark image between each live stack, and I'm looking for a smooth transition that jumps from one image to the other (to have a better feeling of 'live video').
I know it's not possible with Asiair; they have confirmed me that the loading icon that appears between exposures can't be removed.
Ps.: I'm thinking about exposures like 1/4 sec, which I don't know if they might freeze stellarmate.
Thanks Cuiv! I am new to astronomy and astrophotography. I used these instructions combined with some of your other videos and created a similar project. I used the AZ-Gti with tripod, the EvoGuide 50DX, the ZWO ASI485MC, the Sky-Watcher Field Flattener, Mele Quieter 2 mini PC, Synscan, and Nina. My viewing location is relatively dark and in my backyard, so I can remote desktop to the mini PC and control everything from in the house. There is quite a learning curve for the software, but I'm gradually getting there. I've had some successful nebula pictures so far. I really appreciate your efforts to help us learn this subject - thanks for sharing!
Awesome to hear and well done!
Hello Joe
I have (almost) the same setup, Azgti EvoGuide with FF and 485MC, all run by Asiair. But so many clouds since I assembled this all…
Could you share some of your pictures ?
Well, Phillippe, I'd like to share but cannot figure out how to insert a photo here. Anyway, I hope you have a clear sky soon. Orion Nebula seems to be an easy target with my setup and location lately.
@@joethurber8617 You can look for me on Messenger maybe ?
Thanks very much..brilliant video. Very tempted to try this! Just one correction: the Stellina and the Vespera have autofocus, unlike the EVScope. Even though I have a Stellina, I am interested in a more wider field of imaging so perhaps might take this route which you have so kindly explained.
One question: is it possible to focus using the video function? So you can get instant feedback? Assuming you have enough bright stars in the FOV?
I don´t know what to say! This was.... TOTALLY .... WOW!
The best I've seen in a loooong time. This hobbie has given me kind of headache for a year, but now I suddenly see the light in the tunnel. Thank you thanbk you SO much for this video! Love it!
Thanks so much for that feedback Sam! I am so glad this is helping!
Awesome Build and tutorial Cuiv!
could you put a wedge under the AZ GTi and polar align it? turn it into an equatorial mount. Would the go-to function still be workable or would that screw up that feature?
Wow 2 year old… I was looking for this in that time and abandoned…
Extremely well done video…
1 months ago I was in Tokyo and did not think of trying to find you lol.
The software is really good
Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Color in the dumbbell from this tiny little scope. From Tokyo. This is 100% fantastic. I guess the near zenith tracking is harder for that little mount. I wondered how the stacking handles field rotation, at longer subexposure times that would appear in each frame, but as long as focal length isn’t too long the stacking must be including rotation between subs and of course translation. This is a game changer. And for a fraction of the price of the EEvscope or Stellina. Also great for teaching. Could be a cool build for a junior high school all the way to adults. Some parts you might get even cheaper as it is flexible. And folks learn many principles of Astrophotography You’ve done a great thing here assembling this kit! I see Nico of Nebula Photos and a Charles of a Chuck’s AstroPhotography are enthusiastic too! You and all of these folks and Galactic Hunter, Dylan O’Donnell, and Trevor Jones have been inspiration to all!!!
Thanks Geoffrey! Yes, I think it can be a super cool project for kids with their parents, etc. Gives a taste for the hobby and a sense of accomplishment that the eVscope or Stellina cannot provide :)
This is so cool, as a beginner with IT experience. You make it look straightforward.
Thanks! These days I recommend looking at the Dwarf 2, since it's turnkey. Not as good optics, but solid overall. bit.ly/3SyChXu
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Dwarf 2 looks a bit too consumer-type for me. After more video watch from you. ASIAIR and NINA are for me, with the former first.
Cuiv, I simply love your enthusiasm and creativity with projects like this. Brilliant video that I have only just come across, but definitely something I am going to do with my ED50. Thanks for your inspiring hard work in putting these things together. J
Cuiv, you may not see my comment but, you are the very best astronomy geek of all geeks!!! This video topic is exceptional and so very well done. Thank you. Please continue your work and sharing it with us other astro geeks.
Hi Cuiv, I have loved watching this build and in fact am in the process of building my own smart telescope based off of this design using the Az-GTI mount. I have seen other videos you have created with this mount, using it in equatorial mode. I am wondering if it is possible to do this with this smart telescope setup? Would there be a difference in accuracy? I am also wondering would a ZWO ASI183MC Pro be too powerful for this kind of setup, as I already have one? Thanks in advance. Fergal
I followed your instruction to the letter...my setup works very well except for a somewhat buggy app. Good job!
Awesome to hear!! Well done!
Thanks Cuiv, you brought me to Green Swamp Server and I have never looked back. I like what you did here too. I have the AZ-Gti and the ZWO 178 already, just need the scope and RP4. A nice new project to look forward too. Cheers.
It's going to be a fun project for sure!
@Cuiv, I kid you not this is one of the most inspiring videos I have ever seen on YT - THIS is what RUclips is really about! I had been thinking of buying an electronic telescope but balked at the price (and the fact they cannot view planets at all well), but now I know what I’m going to do! Thank you so much!
This is simply brilliant Cuiv!! A superb idea and build, awesome job mate! :-)
Thanks man!!
You can get USB cables with on/off switches online. Great video Cuiv ! I'm slowly learning.
Careful Cuiv, I'm sure this will rattle the cage on a cloudynight forum (or two) XD. I agree with you though, technology is streamlined enough that it is not very difficult for someone with limited knowledge to assemble a starter kit at cheaper price.
Hahaha, I'd love to see some cage rattling :D Give me some links if that happens!
Honestly I've given Stellarmate a lot of tries hoping it would work out but it never does. I've got it set up but there's always some sort of issue detecting hardware or random things like the usb hub backpowering my Pi, which forces me to unplug the usb and plug it back in just for the Pi to start up on its power supply. With the issues of the ASI Air you pointed out in a different video that doesn't really appeal to me either. Ultimately nothing compares to just using a laptop in the field or at home. It's unfortunate but the RPi and the ASIAir are not at the point where they are turnkey automated imaging solutions that I could consider rather than just using a laptop or mini PC.
Thanks, this video was awesome.
It inspired me to buy a Z61, AA+, and a SW AZ GTI. I love this setup, so smooth and easy.
Enjoy it
The ED50 is a great little scope as a guide scope and as a stand alone. I would suggest the dedicated field flattener for it. I really love this set up you created Cuiv.
Yep, I've always been eyeing the flattener for it (originally Starizona - I think - made one before SW released their version of the flattener :) )
@Richie Bricker Official Fan Site I brought a used one.
@Richie Bricker Official Fan Site did you mean $275? If you add the flattener, it can be an affordable primary scope. Not a redcat, but not too far off, and cheaper.
@@CuivTheLazyGeek I did not know that. I only seen one for over 400. $275 sounds like something i can afford. Does this one not work with dslrs at all or do ya just got to buy a mount?
Starizona has the EVO FF Field Flattener which I ordered for $110 USD
Bravo, Cuiv! This is an astrophotography video equivalent to a baseball grand-slam homerun. So much so that you inspired me to purchase an AZ-GTi from a local vendor (Cloud Break Optics). And I already have a Raspberry Pi looking for a new project. Thanks for all the time and effort that you devoted to this video.
Thank you so much for that feedback! It was indeed a large amount of time and effort put into this project and video, and I'm glad to see it resonates :D
Awesome project idea. Especially when I already have all the stuff, even the exact same tripod. Do you think they'd be any mileage in using the ED50 flattener?
For assisted astronomy, I don't think the flattener would make a big difference - I'm really not seeing this as an astrophotography tool!
Huge thanks to Cuiv for posting this. I’d purchased various bits of kit in the hope of being able to do some EAA in the past, but all but gave up as I just wasn’t having any luck at all. Very likely user error, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
So I was very fortunate to already have a Pi (looks like the exact kit Cuiv is using), an AZ-Gti, a guide scope and a camera (SV305 in my case). I just needed to purchase StellarMate. I checked with the developer that the SV305 would work with it and they confirmed. I spent last weekend getting it all set up. Last night, a small break in the clouds. Set the scope roughly North and level and told it to go the Andromeda. Straight there and it began tracking, keeping it steady in the frame. That’s a good start. Some adjustments to focus and I began Live stacking. I only managed a couple of minutes of 20 second exposures, but WOW! This is the best result I’ve ever had on an type of EAA system I’ve tried. Thanks so much for this. I love your enthusiasm and I also experienced that first hand with my first few minutes of use. Can’t wait for some better skies 😄
Mark, that is so awesome to hear! I'm so happy this is working well for you!! I know that feeling, I hope you can get clear skies soon!!
This is amazing, would have been great to see some fully stacked photos to see what this is capable, and also some upgrade paths for better mount and scope. Would love something so easy i can throw in the car and be up and running so quickly and easy.
Thanks NH! Yep, maybe I can do follow-up videos on this :)
@@CuivTheLazyGeek please do a follow up, I’m super curious to see how an end result would look on other common space objects, maybe moon, Andromeda, etc🥺😊
I would also love to see a video on how to upgrade this setup :-) I really love it!
I was reluctant in going into buying Astro hardware because of the complexity / price / weight. On my side, I know RPI and such very well (did a camera control app on a RPI Zero W), so the fact that we could plug together little pieces like that to achieve quite good results is impressive for me! Thanks a lot!
This may have been said before but the EQ mod cable WILL connect StellarMate directly to the AZ GTI mount and works perfectly in alt ax mode!
I just finished building something similar only a bit more pricey. I am using the EvoGuide 50DX, Starizona FFV2, ZWO120mini and SVBony 30mm guide scope. It's mounted on a ZEQ25 and controlled by Stellarmate on a RPI4. I'm also going to use my new ASI533MC on it. Haven't had a chance to try it all out yet but tomorrow night is looking pretty good!
We think alike! :) That's a great setup you have!
I was considering getting the evscope or the stellina scope but saw your video and wanted to try and build a better cheaper version. I checked the links below and a lot of the equipment is sold out. Do you have an updated equipment list that i can use in order to build my own?
thank you
Wow Cuiv! This is so cool! I absolutely need to do it, specially when I’m right now completing my portable AZ-GTi based astrophotography rig. I guess operaring this little mount on the equatorial mode will improve things, letting for longer exposures to be stacked, right? I need to have a look at Stellar Mate and understand how could I run it with the stickPC I’m currently using for capture on this portable rig. It is possible or do I need a separate raspberry unit? Actually, isn’t there any Windows based software that makes this live stacking? A plug-in for NINA??
Absolutely, equatorial mode will give much better results - and also you can then use the ASIAIR, which has better live stacking capabilities. I think for Stellarmate you need a Raspberry Pi - but for Windows there's always Sharpcap Pro, and Darkarchon's free live stack plugin for PixInsight!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek fantastic video thank you! I was interested by Stellina but did not purchase it due to it's crazy price. What EQ mount would you recommend in combination with ASIAIR?
@@michaelocarroll339 oh I can't recommend anything in particular, there are so many good mounts out there (and it also depends on the payload). With just this small scope as the Payload, a SmartEQ Pro from iOptron or an EQM35 from Skywatcher would likely work quite well!
another question, currently I have a Celestron Nextstar go to telescope. Do you think I could use it instead of Skywatcher AZ-GTI with tripod? Sorry for the maybe silly question...
@@michaelocarroll339 in theory it should work! There is a driver for it in Stellarmate, but I haven't personally tested
Wow.. having recently aquired a S50, I plan to do this build sometime ! Thanks for this wonderful video.
For the scope, I would have gone for an SV48P or SV503 70mm. You will get more field of view with the one you chose, but with a slightly larger sensor like the 482 or 585 you'll get that extra field of view. The 178 has terrible amp glow (it's what I use). But this is a really cool build.
I'd even take a 102 mm TS, why not? But I don't know what sensor it would have. Any ideas? - The matter is that I live within the most dark area known in the West Europe, and there is a temptation to try out smth being not a trivia.
One of the most useful, clear and complete tutorial ever. Thank you very much Cuiv! 👍
Dear Guiv! Thanks a lot for this video!! I was looking for something like this for astronomy outreach! I would „reuse“ my normal gear for this. The RASA8 must be a beast for this purpose. Is there a reason why you chose StellarMate over ASIair? All the best!
Yes - I used Stellarmate because the ASIAIR doesn't have an easy way to control the AZ-GTi in Alt-Az mode - I tried really hard to make it work with the ASIAIR in Alt-Az, but couldn't, it simply would work correctly (e.g. drivers can point to the right target, but don't know how to track). For an EQ setup, I'd prefer the ASIAIR!
You retain my number one in promoting astronomical activities and astrophotography with a wide range of equipment. Once again you share your detailed how to set everything up for newcomers, not just showing off a final image with little detail on how you got there. An A1 video presentation from the light polluted skies of Tokyo. Stay safe my Astro whiz, Greetings from the Southern Cross Observatory-Tasmania 42 South. 👍😁🔭
Thanks so much Shevill! I really wanted to describe the whole process, so others could do it :)
Amazing, can we get more videos of what you can capture?
Good idea!
Excellent video, so easy to follow. I have built a rig based on this using a star discovery mount and evolux 62ed with asi 224mc, works perfectly. thanks.
Hey Cuiv, thanks for the incredibly detailed guide, it has given me food for thought. I wonder if it would be possible/advised to add an Optolong Dual-Band L-eXtreme Filter into the mix to possibly get even better results? Also, would it be possible to fix the field rotation in post-processing?
I would like to thank you for all of the videos you post, I have learned a lot by watching your channel :D
The latest stellarmate does some rotation while stacking - so if each frame is free of obvious rotation, so will the stack (but your telescope axis and mount axis need to be well aligned). As for filters, I'd probably go for a CLS-CCD or wider band filter before trying the L-eXtreme, but it certainly is worth a try!
Brilliant. Have found manual alignment difficult at times and with young children always wanting to ‘help’ this is a much better option.
Hahaha yes indeed, I know that feeling!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Is there any restriction on what type of telescope I can use? I currently have a Celestron EQ130 Reflector and am hoping I can use that rather than buy another..
@@kevin5073 Mmmh that mount is tiny and needs small scopes, so it may be difficult to use that huge telescope... You could always try that first though! I am working on a version of this tutorial with DSLR+lens instead, so if you have that maybe that could help?
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks for the advice. Will look for something smaller.
Very cool project, Cuiv! This is the first time that I see Stellar Mate in action. Some years ago I tried to do something very similar to this, but using an HDMI display with the Raspberry Pi. I love open source, and Indi has done a tremendous job making Linux and the Pi appealing to many vendors. But, Ekos is not user friendly, too cluttered. I can see a similar project being done using the ASIAIR. But anyway, well done!
Thanks Victor! I tried with the ASIAIR as well, but it just wouldn't handle the AZ-GTi in AltAz well... Otherwise I would have gone that route...
Brilliant. I;m fairly new to all this. I enjoy you videos immensely. Have you ever done a video that discusses the basic terms: binning, exposure, gain and so on. You explain things so well that this would be a great help.... thank you.....
Darn ... I am tempted to build one ;)
I got a small frac 80/400 I might put to good use ... Or my Samyang 135 .... Just got my asi 290 equivalent from svbony.
Was actually considering a small mini pc to also incorporate in my image acquisition running Windows pro to use remote desktop client ... That will give me the freedom to use APT or Nina ☺️
Just wish me luck with my finances ... Don't know if you inspire me or I use you as an excuse to spend more
I'm happy to be of service! Whether I'm inspiring you or am just a excuse to spend more, mwahahahaha! :D
Ditto in spades! Raring to go!
Glad to hear the developer is planning on adding rotation to the alignment!
Yep! Looking forward to that!
Cuiv, since the software has never worked, and people have spent countless hours on this project I really suggest you pull these two videos down.
Now that is interesting - I've received quite a few emails telling me they completed the project and it worked well for them, and I did use this for a while and had a lot of fun (before my astro slump). There are some bugs, and I sometimes had to restart the RPi but overall it worked. I already have a disclaimer in the videos description, but I'll add one as a pinned comment.
i thought this since I saw the introduction of the Stellina et al. I use a similar set up for EAA and have for a decade, first with Mallincams, then DSLR, and now a dedicated astrocam. For a small portable unit I used a Orion 4.5' F4 imaging Starblast OTA and now a 72 mm ED refractor with a ZWO 224MC camera. The mount is an EQ3 Synscan. I get good image scale for galaxies with the small chipped camera and the small chip eliminates the need for the field flattener/focal reducer so I can get a bit more image scale at the scope's native 420 mm fl. NGC 891 looked great, so good it fooled my friend into thinking it was take with a much larger scope.
Yep, that setup you have works great - it's amazing what we can do these days :)
Hi Cuiv! I was really inspired by your video. So, I had a long wish list for Christmas, and compiled the setup on the New Years weekend. I had a couple of issues with the pointing of the telescope. At first it did not find the any of the targets. In KStars it seemed as if the home position was not correct, and I did not find a way to fix it. So I bought a cheap GPS dongle for the Raspery Pi. Voila! Yesterday night it was kind of clear skies and I was able to take a picture of the Andromeda Galaxy! What an experience! So, many thanks again!
Could you share your image using this setup , Thanks
@@itsfahys Hi Stephen. I actually don’t know how to post pictures inside of the comment section. But you should not have astrophotography in mind if you are working with this set up. The set up is more for educational purposes. And in this case it served well and it was a lot of fun to use!
A great, very clear explanation of how to put a good system together! I'm left with one question however. Why use a telescope with only 50mm of aperture? I have, for example, a $200 90mm ED/apo f/4 refractor, that isn't that much larger than your 50mm scope, but that captures 3,24 times more light, which would allow it to go about 1.5 magnitudes deeper into the sky than the 50mm can go, as well as reach the 50mm mag. limit in only 31% as much time as the 50mm would take. I certainly don't believe that it would be too heavy to work on the mounting you have chosen either. I do know that Unistellar decided not to market a 6" or 8" version of their Equinox series because they found that turbulence and bad seeing became more noticable. It is hard to see how such a problem would crop up at 90mm however, since they are already using a 100mm aperture scope successfully on their products.
Hi. I like to try use whatever I already have. Astrophotography can be very expensive. Thanks for breaking it up so simple. Cheers
My pleasure, glad it's useful!
really looking forward to watching this later Cuiv, so glad you're giving some recognition of a great Open Source astrophotography project!
Thanks! Both Astroberry, Kstars, EKOS, and Stellarmate are amazing!
Cuiv, thank you so much for putting this video together. I ordered and put together the pieces that you recommended and got everything up and running earlier today. Can hardly wait to try it out on some clear skies in out light polluted location. I'll be taking this setup along with one of the ready to go commercial offerings so that people at our astronomy club outreach sessions can see what can be done at different price points. The main difference I see in the two approaches is the much more complicated APP to run the setup in your video compared to the far more intuitive, but limited, user interface in the turn key commercial solutions. It will be fun to set up both side by side and help the people interested in imaging assisted astronomy decide the trade off between cost and complexity.
I think overall the turnkey solutions will win every time in terms of pure ease of use - but maybe they're kind of boring? The lack of upgradability also really irks me... They're like smartphones, to be thrown away when a new exciting processor or sensor comes along...
@@CuivTheLazyGeek the user experience with an evscope is pretty amazing. You setup and roughly level the tripod, put the scope into the cup and tighten the screws. Push the power button and start up the app. 5 or so minutes later you touch the target you wish to acquire. Then you watch the app and see the stars zip by to the approximate location and you watch a couple of iterations of the object getting centered. While all this is going on up to 10 observers can follow along on their smart phones and capture and text or email what they are seeing. Another touch of an icon and the scope goes into advanced image mode and captures and stacks a you watch the image improve in real time. That’s the $3k value added over the build your own device.
I totally agree on the limitations of non modularity. Not being able to easily add a filter or change the sensing camera or change the optics is definitely frustrating. If the StellarMate user experience for the build it yourself approach gets improved then there could be huge adoption to buy and integrate at a way cheaper price point.
Until then a lot of folks with the tech skills will still follow your excellent lead and build up an imaging scope but will still face a steep learning curve trying to navigate through the complexities of StellarMate’s usability.
Thank you Cuiv this is awesome! I have been researching like crazy for my first rig.
Thank you, Cuiv, for posting this video ... what a great project!
Thank you!
Wow, I already have a portable rig and I want to build one of these. It's soo cute. It's like a puppy.
Right! Cuteness wins over everything :D
What a great video! I love your enthusiasm and your teaching skills! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks very much. I had tried stellarmate with the same camera but with an eq mount and slightly larger scope. I just got lost in the many pieces of software on different platforms. Your video is excellent and i'm looking forward to trying again following step by step.
Thank you so much... this is a nice gift... to those who love to watch the sky during the dark nights...
Thank you so much again!
Glad it's helping!
Thanks! Ordered my Canakit Raspberry Pi last week and got it mostly set up today. Appreciate your video. It helped a lot!
Awesome! Well done, and I hope it works well under the stars!
There you go! And Bob’s your uncle! And in Tokyo which is Bortle infinity!!! Very cool build.
Bortle Infinity :D I like that! I should make a t-shit with that! :p
Well, I ordered the mount, 50ED guide scope, the ASI485MC camera, and the Raspberry PI 4 with 8gb. Looking forward to this build. Me and the grand kids are going to love this!
That is awesome! Enjoy the project with your grandchildren!
Hello, and thanks for this. You made mention of a "focusing video" in order to get a better focus? Is there any movement on this? Thanks.
On the same night you did this in Tokyo, I was out in Yokohama using my new ASIAIR for the first time with an AZ-GTi mount and small refractor. Like you, I was truly amazed at the capabilities of these dedicated portable computer devices and software to find, plate solve, and center objects in the vast sky! Tutorials like this and inexpensive hardware and software (like you highlighted here) make viewing the heavens more affordable and entertaining. Great job and keep the videos coming! Clear skies!
Thanks Paul!! The ASIAIR + EQ mount is an even better setup (but requires more setup...)
Great video! Even the simple details are covered. Pre-focusing! That applies to all non-AF rigs.
WOW!!! This is truly amazing. In years past I put together a camera setup for Astrophotography but lost interest because of the huge amount of efforts and money required to get good images. This video is really piquing my interest once again.
Thank you! Astrophotography is truly an expensive hobby, but one of the cheapest ways to start would be with this setup, or even better, turning the AZ-GTi into a equatorial mount (I have other videos about that)
Brilliant Video.. thank you for sharing !
Thank you so much for this video! I was looking for a setup that was portable, just worked and was within my skillset. I have used a skywatcher 72ED on an Explore Scientific iExos 100. I connected the mount to the Raspberry PI using a serial connection (USB for this mount), and it worked with no issues! I have the Pi connect to my home Wifi, so that I can operate it from my phone without losing internet on the phone.
Thanks again for the idea!
Excellent to hear, and well done!!
Hello @CuivTheLazyGeek, very interesting video and congratulation for your enthousiasm. After 2 years are you going to update your recommendation for the setup especially to "compete" with smart telescopes like the Vespera or the Evscope?
Nicolas
Pure genius! Thanks for the links. The prepackaged proprietary ones have nothing over this, except price!
Thank you!
I will definitely rebuild it. Thanks for the video which was really well done and explained.
Great, great, great ! Thank you so much. I'm going to build it with my son. You are so inspiring...
Thank you so much, Cuiv. I have done the same setup and it works perfectly! 🙏
As a Stellarmate user for more than three uears, it’s great to watch this video - finally some well deserved attention, Jasem must be thrilled 😊
As a Pentax shooter, I fear this will remove focus from your K-1 and the astrotracer capabilities - but I guess you can’t have it all! 😊
Great video!
Don't worry the K-1 is still there - plus the live stacking does work with the K-1 :p tons of things to play around with!
It actually does @@CuivTheLazyGeek, but I guess the K1 and the Askar lens might be a bit too heavy for the SW AZ-GTI mount?
@@DrawsACircle It is supposed to carry up to 5kg.
I'm going to make this 100%, i absolutely love astronomy!. Thanks for making the effort to show the world that it can be easy to do the things you love!
Awesome, good luck and enjoy!
the most beautiful subject !!
I was checking out a DIY backyard SDR 1420 MHz radio telescope and found this optical telescope video. 😎 no time to sleep with so many neat projects. 🥰 thank you.
Very cool! Greets from Germany nightshift in hospital 🏥 🙃 should get some sleep but had to watch the whole video to the end! Great idea!
Wow!! Thank you for your work - I relied heavily on everyone at the hospital after my accident, and I can see how thankless of a job working at a hospital is.... Glad you enjoyed the video!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thank you for your kind words! Keep on your great work, I really enjoy all of your videos!
Awesome presentation Cuiv! If you were going to go one step higher with the scope and camera for a little better resolution would a 71mm APO w/ ASI533MC be worth the upgrade?
You are the best. Thank you for this video. It helps a lot.
I am using an EQ6-Pro mount usb connected to RPi. The only difference is to change the baud rate to 115200. The baud rate can be found in Ekos mode, on the 5th tab top left that looks like a cup. Then in eqmod mount and connection tab.
I hope this helps.
This is great. I've been using INDI and EKOS in my observatory for the last 4 or 5 years. Its fantastic to see it evolve into something like this
The Stellarmate dev really has done a great job with the app!
Great video. Maybe this is too much to ask. I have my Nikon D800 mounted on an old telescope, which is about 30 years old. I can take detailed pictures of the moon and bright stars. Can I use it with such a system? If not, what are the issues?
Thanks for the video I subscribed and liked!! I am in the middle of choice weather go with Raspberry pi or mini pc. However could I ask if u can plate solve and guide with only one main camera?(I will be using dslr) Cause your video shows that you are getting objects right and centre without guide camera or decent polar alignment.