2-star alignment

arunka

Really looking forward to the two star alignment feature to help with Visual. In fact this is the ONLY reason holding me back from purchasing the AM5. I am ready to pull the trigger the moment you guys roll out this feature. I use my telescope for EAA and Visual, Right now the AM5 can only support EAA but not Visual.

Do you know when we can expect this feature to be available?

arunka

Can I please get a response on when the 2 Star Alignment feature will be implemented in AM5?

rN4MfW

Bump. This is a must-have feature...any updates?

Almach

rN4MfW
I sold my AM5 today. I grew tired of waiting for a true multi-star alignment. Plus, I prefer a real hand controller.

ASIMount@ZWO

Hi arunka and rN4MfW,
AM5 can do multi-star alignment in the newest test firmware.
You can download FW V1.2.4 from the sticky post.

rN4MfW

ASIMount@ZWO
Great! I'll check it out and report back if there are any issues. Thanks for the update!

Almach
Are you saying the aforementioned test firmware was not adequate?

rN4MfW

ASIMount@ZWO

Before I test it out, can you please confirm how to actually perform a multi-star alignment?

Do I just GoTo a target, center it in the eyepiece, and SYNC in the app, then repeat?

arunka

ASIMount@ZWO

Thank you! This is very exciting. Could you point me to the instructions/manual for doing this?

I would like to be able to do EAA and Visual during the same session. Wondering whether this will be possible without having to change the mount mode back and forth between Alt-Az and EQ.

jeremiah2229

rN4MfW

In alt-az point mount north, go to home. Goto desired target and center in eyepiece as you stated. Tap the target again then sync then repeat. Problem is it does not work. ZWO has stated on here that the pointing model is incorrect so makes one wonder why they pointed you to the beta to try. It can get within 3-4 degrees, sometimes a little better, but then as you progress going to targets it falls on its face. Hopefully they will fix this for visual folks.

ASIMount@ZWO

arunka
Hi arunka and rN4MfW,
We updated this feature in the firmware V1.2.4.
You can now do multi-star alignment (maximum 100)via repeating one-star align.

arunka

ASIMount@ZWO

Thank you again!

So, can a do a polar align, multiple one-star-aligns and then use the mount to go-to any object in the night sky while in EQ mode?

Is what you mentioned only applicable for Alt-Az mode?

ASIMount@ZWO

arunka
AM5 can do both.

miopic

ASIMount@ZWO AM5 can do both.

Thank you for your reply, but it is unclear to me. Do you have to do separate alignments for AZ and for EQ ?
Say, you did multiple-star alignment in AZ mode, then you switch in the AM5 mount app to EQ mode, and you have to do the multiple-star alignment again ?

Is the version "AM5 v1.2.4 beta" still in the beta stage which you announced on 17 February 2023 ? Some posters on this forum write about the bugs in the beta version which gives them incorrect alignment.

rN4MfW

Hello, just wanted to provide an update. I can confirm that multi-star alignment is working in Alt/Az mode. It's not perfect but it gets the object within my field of view consistently. Using an edgehd 8" with 7x reducer and ES 24/68* eyepiece (1.15* aFOV).

spot37a

Hi. I bought AM5 for use in alt-az mode. Is there a good set of directions available for using the mount in alt-az mode? The AM5 user manual does a very poor job. For example, nowhere does it say that you have to rotate the entire mount and tripod 90 degrees when switching between equatorial and alt-az modes. Correct me if wrong, but for alt-az mode, if you put AM5 in home position, the mounted telescope should point due north at the horizon. Right? (I am in northern hemisphere)
Polar alignment with the ASIair as far as I can see is for EQ mode only and useless for a polar alignment for alt-az mode, since in EQ mode the mount is rotated 90 degrees from where it should be for alt-az.
How is a polar alignment done for alt-az mode?
I would like to use the mount in alt-az mode to track the sun during the upcoming eclipse. What alignment steps do I need to take before performing goto to the sun (and switching to solar tracking rate)? Do I need to do polar alignment the night before so I can use Polaris to perform polar alignment?
Or to do a good tracking job for the eclipse do I need to use the mount in equatorial mode?

ASIMount@ZWO

spot37a Hi,if you track the sun during the upcoming eclipse,you should use the mount in EQ mode.
Polar alignment with the ASIair only can be used in EQ mode.

spot37a

Hello - I tried tracking the sun with AM5 in alt-az mode and it worked fairly well. With mount in home position, I pointed scope as close to north as I could and leveled the mount.
I then used the ASI mount app to goto the sun, and set the tracking rate to solar. I used hand control to center the sun. It tracked and stayed close to center over a 2 hour period.

I have also been working on using ASIair to do visual observing gotos on AM5 in alt-az mode by using a guidescope to do plate-solving gotos. It works very well. If you are interested in that, check my posts on Cloudy Nights:
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/869706-zwo-am5-for-visual-and-eaa/#entry13287548
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/869706-zwo-am5-for-visual-and-eaa/#entry13290052