Telescopes, mounts, and cameras used as astrophotography equipment
(entries are sorted by the date last changed or published)
This page goes through the assembly steps for this mounting kit. You will need the telescope itself, EAF with its mounting screws, ASIAIR and the parts of the kit. All versions of ASIAIR starting with Pro can be used with the kit. This page uses the Pro version as an...
Some time ago I started to consider to get a new telescope to cover the focal lengths of around 420mm which would be basically in the middle of 550mm and 350mm of the Sky Watcher Esprit 100ED without and with the Starizona APEX-ED L reducer. While looking around, I...
 This page goes through the assembly steps for this mounting kit . We want to get compact and tidy gear setup. You will need three hex allein keys, ZWO ASIAIR (Mini is used here), a EAF with its mounting screws. On the first step we shift the handle bar on the top on...
This the the fist OTA with which I designed the series of the mounting kits placed on the focuser body and sitting in the holes of the guide scope clamps. Mounting of this kit takes 15-20 minutes in the first time. You will need 2.5mm and 3mm hex screw drivers. The...
I once got the Askar FMA180 Pro to cover the 180mm focal length. I was very impressed by its quality and decided to keep it and to create an mounting kit for ZWO ASIAIR and an adaptation for ZWO EAF. This kit is available in the shop. This page describes how to...
This page goes through the assembly steps for this mounting kit. We want to get compact and tidy gear setup. You will need three hex allein keys, ZWO ASIAIR (Mini is used here), a EAF with its mounting screws. As first, we remove the clamp and the extra screws from...
 It is not always possible to find a belt on the market in the exact length as needed. Some of Photastro products are supplied with open belts. For these cases I designed special locks. (the above picture shows five locks in one blister) The locks are designed to fit...
The kit allows flexible mounting of the ZWO ASIAIR (Pro / Plus / Mini), a belt drive with ZWO EAF and a raster plate for mounting of a guide scope or other accesories. The assembly of the kit takes around 15-20 min. The picture below shows the final state. This page...
When I started with the idea to combine the battery with the counterweight, I thought, it will be a one-shot project. Well, it gradually became more a learning and a research project. Now, there are four different models made, whereas I do not count the first one...
RC8 for the range from 1625mm at f/8 to 1050mm at f/5.2 It happened to me to meet two guys who were photographing on the same place as I once did. They both were using RC8 (8" Ritchey-Chrétien, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritchey–Chrétien_telescope) telescopes....
I once was astrophotographing with two other guys who used monochrome cameras. The cameras had active cooling and were attached to motor-driven filter wheels. At this time I already heard of such cameras but still did not consider them as an upgrade, since the...
Testing Routers as WiFi Extenders with ZWO AISAIR Pro Some while ago there were a few cloudy nights in my place again, and I took some time to tinker again. Like some other users, I also suffered from a weak WiFi performance of ASIAIR Pro and over time collected a few...
Cameras and Lenses  Currently, I use the following gear most of the time: Canon EOS 100D camera, astro-modified, and sold, replaced by: Canon EOS 800D camera, astro-modified, as a main camera ZWO ASI294MM Pro, ZWO 8x EFW, Baader LRGB and CMOS-optimised HSO filters,...
A direct connection via an EQDIRECT cable from a computer to the mount Why The EQMOD project implements a ASCOM compatible driver for the Sky-Watcher and Orion (same hardware and software) mounts which can communicate directly with the mount. It also provides various...