Awesome video! Just got the AM5N, with the pier extension and the TC40. Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. This was filled with answers to all my questions. I am keeping it handy to help with getting acclimated from AVX mount to the AM5N. The whole rig is so much more manageable and lighter. Thanks again, and keep up the great work. Clear skies!
Thanks for the video. Get my mount today and im pretty excited. Fought with my cgem dx for way too many years and needed an upgrade. So many videos on this mount but nobody actually unboxing and setting it up.
For balancing, I place the entire OTA, accessories, and dovetail on a flat surface, and I use a round pencil under the dovetail to find the center of balance point. I then place the OTA keeping the center point above the center of the declination axis.
Great video tutorial Peter! The way I focus the guide camera using the ASIAIR is as follows: 1. select guide camera as main camera, 2. select a bright star and let ASIAIR go to and center it via plate solving. 3. use the Bahtinov mask and the Focus - Tab (not the Preview - Tab!) to shoot continuously e.g. 0.2 to 0.5 sec images (this short exposure time works well wth stars like Arktur, Vega, Deneb,...). With these bright stars you see bright spikes from your bahtinov mask and you can seemingly adjust focus with immediate feedback as you shoot several images per second. 4. switch back to real main camera, go to again to the same bright star (in case you use an external guide scope where you have an offset in FOV between guide and main camera) and do the focus procedure with Focus-Tab + Bahtinov mask again for the main camera (in case of the Duo-Camera of course you first have to focus the main camera and second focus the guide camera). This procedure works very well for me and is done in a few minutes. Thanks a lot for your great videos!
Good way to balance a scope is offthe mount and on a pencil/pen till you reach the balance point. this balance point will be then placed in the middle of the saddle when you place it on the mount. you can even mark that balance point on the dovetail
Fantastic video Peter. This has answered so many questions I had as a complete beginner. My ideas are clear now, I just hope the skys are when I get the equipment. I guess this is all relevant to the AM3 as well?
My Ecoflow River 2 Max powers the AM5N fine. The two DC ports are only 3A, so I may end up using both ports to power everything. We will see. My only troubles were I did not see the power switch at first and then I learned from you that you plug the hand controller in AFTER you power up the mount. Thank you.
The output power on the saddle is 3A which looks like a stupid thing to do? If you use it to power ASIAIR, cooled camera and dew heaters for the telescope and guide scope, it would go well over 3A right?
Set the telescope/camera combo on something that will roll easily. Roll it forward and backward carefully till it balances. Don't let go, of course. That will give you the rough center of gravity.
Thanks Peter. Excellent video as usual. If you are planning on using the AM5n with the Asiair Plus do you still need to install Skyatlas on your AM5n? Thank you.
You mention azimuth adjustment of only 6 degrees, and loosening the lock to rotate the entire mount further. OTA is at 60 degrees CCW, making it off balance. Start PA at 60 degrees CW and second plate solve position will be balanced, making loosening lock safer and less difficult.
Nice video, thank you. The mount does not come with the "attachment" thing that's used to lock the mount on to the tripod? That's not just surprising but seriously disappointing!
What do you consider to be a great average star size? I have the ZWO auto focuser on my setup so I've stopped using the Bhatinov mask. Maybe I should throw it back on after autofocus and check it out. :) Love my AM5 even though it's the original one. PA down to 14" the other night. Super easy to make adjustments and so much lighter than my EQ6R Pro.
As someone not using all ZWO components and therefore ASAIR, is it possible to install an old-school polar finder to this mount and do it the visual way instead?
if you kick off imaging on the Asiair and walk away, what happens? you mentioned reconnecting on your ipad, does that mean the asiair just continues on without you being connected to it?
Yes. It is just so easy to use. I often have more than one "rig" capturing the sky, each with it's AsiAir Plus and just switch between them (or use the iPad for one and a iPhone/Samsung for the other).
Yes, all the capture functionality is running locally on the ASIAIR. You can also easily switch from device to device (limited to 2 active connections at a time). I use my iPhone for initial setup outside. Inside I monitor the session images on a big screen iPad or MacBook. I have my ASIAIR mounted on my scope. If tracking rotates the antenna position occasionally so that I loose connection on the home LAN, I just go outside with my iPhone. Jump on the local network, pause the capture, reorient the antenna, and restart the capture.
I wouldn’t care too much about the bubble level. Polar alignment matters more than level for an equatorial mount right? And the number of people using the AM5 in alt az is a small minority.
I'm not sure if it's different with these mounts but I would think it's important to make sure you're level if you want consistency night to night. I was watching an Adam Block tutorial where one night he was level and the other it was slightly off, with great polar alignment both nights. Well his diffraction spikes wouldn't line up so it was a whole thing to process and added a lot of additional work in processing. I think personally I will continue to use a level or just buy some cheap bubble levels to put on to play it safe for now.
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This is excellent and clear step by step guidance. Thanks Peter.
Made the whole setup so much easier, appreciated it!
I got mine Am5N yesterday, thanks for the video. Cheers from Italy
Thanks! This is going to make that first night far easier. Very thorough with no wasted time; much appreciated.
Awesome video! Just got the AM5N, with the pier extension and the TC40. Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. This was filled with answers to all my questions. I am keeping it handy to help with getting acclimated from AVX mount to the AM5N. The whole rig is so much more manageable and lighter. Thanks again, and keep up the great work. Clear skies!
Thanks for the video. Get my mount today and im pretty excited. Fought with my cgem dx for way too many years and needed an upgrade. So many videos on this mount but nobody actually unboxing and setting it up.
For balancing, I place the entire OTA, accessories, and dovetail on a flat surface, and I use a round pencil under the dovetail to find the center of balance point. I then place the OTA keeping the center point above the center of the declination axis.
Great video, Peter... very thorough. I have the original AM5 and an ASI533MC camera, so I'll make some adjustments. Thanks, Michael
Great video tutorial Peter!
The way I focus the guide camera using the ASIAIR is as follows: 1. select guide camera as main camera, 2. select a bright star and let ASIAIR go to and center it via plate solving. 3. use the Bahtinov mask and the Focus - Tab (not the Preview - Tab!) to shoot continuously e.g. 0.2 to 0.5 sec images (this short exposure time works well wth stars like Arktur, Vega, Deneb,...). With these bright stars you see bright spikes from your bahtinov mask and you can seemingly adjust focus with immediate feedback as you shoot several images per second. 4. switch back to real main camera, go to again to the same bright star (in case you use an external guide scope where you have an offset in FOV between guide and main camera) and do the focus procedure with Focus-Tab + Bahtinov mask again for the main camera (in case of the Duo-Camera of course you first have to focus the main camera and second focus the guide camera).
This procedure works very well for me and is done in a few minutes.
Thanks a lot for your great videos!
the bluetooth works well, going in settings on the application, Asi mount setting, connect via bluetooth then click on the button on the mount
Thanks Peter for another informative video , expecting my Am5 next week
Good way to balance a scope is offthe mount and on a pencil/pen till you reach the balance point. this balance point will be then placed in the middle of the saddle when you place it on the mount. you can even mark that balance point on the dovetail
Fantastic video Peter. This has answered so many questions I had as a complete beginner. My ideas are clear now, I just hope the skys are when I get the equipment. I guess this is all relevant to the AM3 as well?
Bravo Peter! Another clear and concise tutorial. I take notes which help me replicate the process on my first light experience. Thank you
Mine's on order - Great timing - Thanks a bunch
My Ecoflow River 2 Max powers the AM5N fine. The two DC ports are only 3A, so I may end up using both ports to power everything. We will see. My only troubles were I did not see the power switch at first and then I learned from you that you plug the hand controller in AFTER you power up the mount. Thank you.
The output power on the saddle is 3A which looks like a stupid thing to do? If you use it to power ASIAIR, cooled camera and dew heaters for the telescope and guide scope, it would go well over 3A right?
Nice video. I like to connect the AM5 to the ASIAIR wirelessly, but you'll need to leave the hand controller connected.
I do this too, out my ASIAir in station mode, and use home wifi n/w to control the AM5 via wifi ... saves a USB connection on the ASIAir...
Great!!!
Set the telescope/camera combo on something that will roll easily. Roll it forward and backward carefully till it balances. Don't let go, of course. That will give you the rough center of gravity.
great video.
Thanks Peter. Excellent video as usual. If you are planning on using the AM5n with the Asiair Plus do you still need to install Skyatlas on your AM5n? Thank you.
Wouldn’t you want to connect the camera to a USB 3 port NOT a USB 2 port on the ASIAIR? Another great video, Peter.
Thanks for clarifying "sky atlas" is called "Star gazing".
You mention azimuth adjustment of only 6 degrees, and loosening the lock to rotate the entire mount further. OTA is at 60 degrees CCW, making it off balance. Start PA at 60 degrees CW and second plate solve position will be balanced, making loosening lock safer and less difficult.
am i missing something doesnt ZWO suggest the camera have its own power source and not to power it through ASI AIR?
I am also unable to pair the ASIAir and mount using Bluetooth. Peter did you ever figure out the problem during your test with BT?
the bluetooth works well, going in settings on the application, Asi mount setting, connect via bluetooth then click on the button on the mount
@@insalatacosmica In AsiAir I only have USB and WiFi as connection options. Are you connecting via BT using the AsiAir?
Nice video, thank you.
The mount does not come with the "attachment" thing that's used to lock the mount on to the tripod? That's not just surprising but seriously disappointing!
What do you consider to be a great average star size? I have the ZWO auto focuser on my setup so I've stopped using the Bhatinov mask. Maybe I should throw it back on after autofocus and check it out. :) Love my AM5 even though it's the original one. PA down to 14" the other night. Super easy to make adjustments and so much lighter than my EQ6R Pro.
What’s the weight limit? Can I put an edgehd 14” on there?
As someone not using all ZWO components and therefore ASAIR, is it possible to install an old-school polar finder to this mount and do it the visual way instead?
To balance a strainwave mount is something new
If you have an asi air camera that has the minipc built in why would you pair that with an independent asiair
Which ASI Air you were connected to - one with Camera or the other one?
what is considered a "long" telescope regarding the Pier Extension?
I have a ZWO FF130 APO on my AM5 ... it *can* (with camera filter drawer and proper backfocus spacer attached) encounter the tripod leg ... (PE200)
I read where the AM5N BT will not work with Android.
if you kick off imaging on the Asiair and walk away, what happens? you mentioned reconnecting on your ipad, does that mean the asiair just continues on without you being connected to it?
Yes. It is just so easy to use. I often have more than one "rig" capturing the sky, each with it's AsiAir Plus and just switch between them (or use the iPad for one and a iPhone/Samsung for the other).
Yes, all the capture functionality is running locally on the ASIAIR. You can also easily switch from device to device (limited to 2 active connections at a time). I use my iPhone for initial setup outside. Inside I monitor the session images on a big screen iPad or MacBook. I have my ASIAIR mounted on my scope. If tracking rotates the antenna position occasionally so that I loose connection on the home LAN, I just go outside with my iPhone. Jump on the local network, pause the capture, reorient the antenna, and restart the capture.
@@rcpettengill how do you monitor from a mac?
@@John_Hudson_922 M1 Macs run the ASIAIR iPod app fine
@@rcpettengill nice i didnt even think of that!
Hand controller is needed to update FW
I wouldn’t care too much about the bubble level. Polar alignment matters more than level for an equatorial mount right? And the number of people using the AM5 in alt az is a small minority.
I'm not sure if it's different with these mounts but I would think it's important to make sure you're level if you want consistency night to night. I was watching an Adam Block tutorial where one night he was level and the other it was slightly off, with great polar alignment both nights. Well his diffraction spikes wouldn't line up so it was a whole thing to process and added a lot of additional work in processing. I think personally I will continue to use a level or just buy some cheap bubble levels to put on to play it safe for now.