ASIAIR "Flip Turned Off" - Forums

Topic starter

Aug 15, 2023

My ASAIR is reporting (at the bottom of the screen - see below): "Flip Turned Off"

I have searched and looked through several tutorials and I cannot find a reference to this. To the best of my knowledge there is no Meridian "switch" in the ASIAIR, only settings for stopping tracking and auto flipping, which I have both set to the default of 5 minutes.

Does anyone know what is causing this and how to turn it on? I want Meridian flips!

Thanks!
Neil

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Paul Lloyd

Aug 15, 2023

Neil,

Check that the Meridian flip switch is turned ON in Autorun Shooting schedule screen (3rd line in LH pane). If it is, then you have a weird one! and I would raise a bug report with ZWO if I were you.

BTW: That guiding RMS is quite something! How do you manage it?

Paul.

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NeilM

Topic starter

Aug 15, 2023

Paul Lloyd:
Neil,

Check that the Meridian flip switch is turned ON in Autorun Shooting schedule screen (3rd line in LH pane). If it is, then you have a weird one! and I would raise a bug report with ZWO if I were you.

BTW: That guiding RMS is quite something! How do you manage it?

Paul.

Doh! That was it! Thanks, Paul! I had not seen the Meridian switch in the AutoRun settings. Your reply came just in time because I am due to flip in 10 minutes. I paused, set the switch, and restarted.

With regards to my guiding... I wish I could tell you that I did something really clever. But the reality is that I think I just got lucky with my mount and rig. I have a stock HEQ5 Pro mount with no tuning or modifications whatsoever. I have a pretty heavy load consisting of a StellarVue 102 Triplet, a (heavy) FeatherTouch focuser, Nikon Full Frame camera, ASIAIR, EAF, and 50mm guide scope with a ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera. All on a heavy Losmandy plate. The total weight of my rig is about 21 pounds which I think is borderline too much for astrophotography with the HEQ5 Pro.

The only trick I did steal from these forums is to set my balance very slightly "tail heavy" so that the gears are constantly engaged. My understanding is that this reduces backlash.

And actually I often get guiding in the 25" range such as right now:

Many thanks again for your timely response!

Regards
Neil

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Paul Lloyd

Aug 15, 2023 · Edited: Aug 15, 2023

My pleasure, Neil, but don't you feel a twit when someone points out the obvious to you? Don't worry, we've all been there and are likely to repeat the experience - more than once!

Thanks for explaining your guiding set-up and I'm somewhat green with envy with your guiding accuracy, even if it is "accidental". I seem to remember reading somewhere that slightly off the balance point is beneficial, but I haven't tried it yet. What I have seen is that the error reduces the closer the 'scope gets to the zenith/Meridian. I regularly run an OTA rig weighing in at 15+ kg (~35 lb in your tongue!) on my stock-standard EQ6-R Pro. This starts out at 1-1.5 arcsec RMS error at about 20-30 deg altitude, reducing to 0.5-0.6 arcsec near the zenith. My results are reasonable to good, and I'm happy enough with them to have them appear on this site. I have never been able to achieve much below 0.4-0.6 arcsec, though, with lighter loads. I shall try your off-balance method to see if that does any better.

Kind regards, and clear skies (not like mine for the next week!),
Paul.

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NeilM

Topic starter

Aug 16, 2023

I frequently feel like a twit, especially with astrophotography! But thankfully this is a very kind community with members like you who don't hesitate to answer the dumbest of questions! I swear I must have looked at that screen in the ASIAIR 50 times and I never saw that button!

Sounds like you have a heavy rig! I remember reading that you only want it slightly off balance, so as not to strain the motor in the mount too much. I start with mine balanced and then move the counterweight a little at a time until it only barely begins to fall. At least this is what seems to work for me.

Oh and by the way I am originally South African so I am very comfortable with kg! I do get to travel to the beautiful Bortle 1 skies of Southern Africa several times a year as part of my safari business, but sadly I'm not able to take a tracking mount or telescope with me. The weight limit on the small charter planes that we use is 11kg per person. My wildlife camera gear already weighs 6kg and therefore I take very few clothes with me which I wash frequently! I am able to get some fabulous shots of the Milky Way and also image some of the bigger deep sky objects (with my wildlife lenses and short exposures in a tripod.)

It sounds like you live in a beautiful part of Australia with wonderful skies when the weather is good. I call Northern California home and we usually have 250+ days of clear skies every year so I can't complain!

Regards
Neil

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Paul Lloyd

Aug 16, 2023 · Edited: Aug 16, 2023

Yes, Neil. It's a humbling game! Still, where's the fun in doing something simple, and not occasionally feeling like a twit!

Bortle 1 skies!!!! I think a lot who read this posting are going to sign up for your safaris, weight limits be damned. I won't hold being from South Africa against you - I have met a few of your compatriots and they have all been gentlefolk (in both senses of the word) and definitely worth knowing.

My part of Australia, being the east coast, is influenced by a warm sea current flowing down from the Coral Sea (between Papua N.G., The Solomons and North Queensland) which means we get a lot of cloud, so we are probably more like an inverse of you: 110- clear nights. My Bortle 3-4 is achieved in a small estate development ~3km from our village of Laurieton. I have street lights to contend with (converted to LED while my back was turned), but away from them in my backyard it's reasonably dark and the M.W. stands out pretty well. My shots near the zenith on a moonless night are usually reasonably black in their backgrounds (even for 10min exposures!). With so many clear nights, Neil, you must be suffering from shooters fatigue!

Finally, thanks for the tips on setting up the off-balance positions. I'll give it a try the next clear night - Saturday, perhaps, if the weather gods are kind.

Kind regards,
Paul.

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Nikolay Bochev

May 6, 2024

Neil,

Check that the Meridian flip switch is turned ON in Autorun Shooting schedule screen (3rd line in LH pane). If it is, then you have a weird one! and I would raise a bug report with ZWO if I were you.

BTW: That guiding RMS is quite something! How do you manage it?

Paul.

Nikolay Bochev

May 6, 2024

Very helpful friend 😃

Paul Lloyd

May 6, 2024

Anything to help another a.p.-er, Nikolay. Clear skies and happy shooting!

Paul.