EQ6R - Pro / ASIAir Pro | Full Workflow (Updated)
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- In this tutorial I'll show you how to control every function of your SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro with the help of the ZWO ASIAir Pro.
If you have a dedicated astro camera, filters, and auto-guider this workflow will allow you to control everything from your smartphone / tablet! No hand-controller required!
00:00 - Intro
00:25 - Connecting the Cables
05:36 - Balance RA and Dec
07:41 - ASIAir Pro Initial Setup
15:16 - SkySafari Plus
18:14 - Full Workflow
27:10 - Setup Auto-Guider
32:07 - Outro
This tutorial is like you are talking to a kid and I need that because I’m new to this being like a kid
Thank you for great help .
Thanks for the walkthrough! A few more tips: check the auto refresh when polar aligning, and then wait after each change to see the result load. Check out the AAP's focusing functions, and the a tools option to see the FWHM of the stars to verify focus. Turn on main camera cooling right at the start so you don't have to get reminded to turn it on and then wait. In the main camera advanced settings, turn on all the filename options. And get the matching EAF and temperature probe when using the filter wheel. Power dew strips from the AAP. Mount the AAP on the scope or on the scope mount so they rotate together and reduce the opportunity for cable snags.
I watched this a few times over the last few weeks because I have a nearly identical set up. I had connection problems but I learned that the mount has to be at the home position for Sky Safari to connect. If you use the ASIAir Pro for goto and then go back to Sky Safari... Sky Safari won't work and will keep telling you to check settings. Once you put the mount back to home it can re-connect. Thanks for the vids! I watch then use what I learned then come back to watch as to find answers to the new issues or questions. It's a process but thanks to you.... we don't all have to figure it all out for ourselves.
@tradde11 Once aligned well... DON'T manually do ANYTHING except focus if you need to.
Damn did I need this video.
Was kind of overwhelmed with all the new tech and the manuals are next to worthless. This is exactly what I needed.
Subbed.
I’m even more sold on the ASIAir Pro now. Looks like a great little device.
I ordered an ASI Air today and received my EQ6R a few weeks ago. I bought my first dedicated astrocam last night also. This video is just what I needed. Thanks!
Watched this yet again, I’ll have all my gear in a couple of days and this has been invaluable, thank you Peter 👍🏻
I followed your instructions and got everything running. This is just awesome! I am so glad I went this route. Thanks!
Pete, this is golden! Love your practical information here. Very helpful!
Thanks man! Been looking for resources like this and yours just happens to be one of the clearest!
Just ordered one of these. This video is a gift! Thank you!
Another great video Peter! All the best on your Astro journey and thank you!
Peter, thanks so much for taking the time and effort to make these videos. They are immensely helpful!
Thank you again Peter. Some observations though, after you successfuly polar aligned you manually moved the telescope back to the 'home position'. you can also use the 'Goto Home Position' on the mount control menu which is underneath the 'tracking' button. I understand also that tracking is turned off during the polar alignment process but switches back on after a 'goto' move. I have however found that on ocassion it does not always switch on, so always worth checking. Another thing that I have also heard is that whilst using skysafari at the same time, only click on the sync button and not sync and goto button after a plate solve.
Peter,
Thanks for the very timely update. I have the EQ6 so I will be going out with it- and your tutorial soon.
Excellent info. Thanks!
Always a pleasure to watch your videos. I finally have my complete setup. That SkySafari worked perfect with ASIAir PRO. Total pleasure to select target in SkySafari, and then go back to ASI.
:) Thanks a lot for that content ! I was wonderning this for some weeks ! :)
Have a nice sky
This is incredibly helpful. Thank you very much!
This is exactly the kind of info I’ve been looking for , thank you!
Great workflow and easy-to-follow instructions. Thank you for your time and efforts to help speed up my setup.
Great vid! I tucked this away on a playlist so that I can come back when I am working on these things. Thanks!
Thanks for this awesome tutorial, Peter. One neat thing I just discovered with the ASIAir pro, after you shoot your image (the rosette nebula, for example), click on tools (below the guide icon), click annotate and ASIAir will tell you what DSOs are in the photo (assuming the DSO is in the database). It does it for the bright stars as well. Quite useful if you are using a non-go to mount.
Great walk-thru! Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge like this. I'm just starting out and have the EQ6-R Pro as well, and am looking forward to getting delivery of my imaging scope and ASIAir too. This step-by-step is so valuable for me because I don't learn well with written instructions. Much appreciated!
Neskutočne super video... Fakt parádam Už iba mať prachy na všetko to, čo prezentuješ :) Ale dík moc. Super návod.
Thank you for this, Peter. i’ve been unpleasantly surprised by the lack of AAP workflow how-to videos. Well done and very informative.
I’d also love to see a detailed walkthrough on using the EAF with AAP + Redcat51 with a bit of elaboration on the focusing routine, etc.
7:56 one reason this happens is due to a default setting on android. If a WiFi connection does not have Internet access the phone will disconnect after a period of time and reconnect to your home WiFi. When you get a notification saying "this network has no Internet" click on it and you should see an option somewhere which will allow you to stay connected to the ASI even if there's no Internet. This way you only have to connect to the ASI Air once unless you drop out of range of the ASI and back in range with your home WiFi.
Great video, man!
Great video. Very detailed which is exactly what I need.
Thanks for this. Just got an EQ6-R myself, I didn’t know the hand controller can be bypassed completely. That is so great, I feel the same way about it. Will reference your procedure to get set up. Thanks.
Thanks to this video. I purchased the ASIAIR. It is a complete game changer. PA is a walk in the park. Also does centering itself during goto. Auto run workflow is awesome and I now can do all of that from inside my house!!
Very very helpful. Thanks for the update.
Thank you Peter! You have a very pleasant voice! Along with your informative vid, makes all the difference for me! Can't wait to implement this workflow into my new EQ6 mount!
Excellent job!
ZWO needs to put out this video and do one like it. That’s the only problem with the SI is there’s not good enough documentation. I’ve gone through five or six of these videos on the ASI AIR, but yours are the most well thought out easy to follow and understand.
Thanks for the great work!
Thanks for the video! Appreciate the Mass Effect music at the end :)
Thank you for the great detail in this tutorial. My ASI2600MC arrives this week and I've owned the ASIAIR PRO for a year now but I've been too overwhelmed and intimidated by the technical aspect and I've never successfully set up for autoguiding. I'm jumping back into my ASIAIR PRO with confidence after this video. This is a great start!
Thanks, a useful overview. I’ve had one of these mounts on order for what seems like forever.
You might check with OPT. I just bought one on 3/12, Friday, it shipped today, should be on site by 3/18.
Great stuff 👍🏻
Thanks Peter. Outstanding video. I'm brand new to astrophotography and I have just got my scope ready to go and this video has been extremely helpful. Much appreciated. Keep them coming, I'll take all the help I can get.
Thanks for this Peter, I now have the Asiair pro and SkySafari plus set and can control my HEQ5 with both. All need now is for all these clouds to go away !!😊👍🏼
Hi Peter ! You mentioned that the EQ6RPro has that not very precise alt- turn lever to adjust the altitude. You can take that lever off (1 screw) and use a simple rachet with a 12mm socket on it instead. That's what I do. If your ratcheting wrench is nice as sturdy (or typical 3/8 socket wrench) , you can nicely, slowly turn that Alt- adjustment bolt.
Amazing video!
Have just ordered the ASI air pro for my redcat and 183 mc pro, I will definitely be using this video to get it set up! Thanks.
Love it Peter. Excellent tutorial. I MUST get my hands on that set up brain, aka ASI AIR PLUS.
You can use a usb EQdir cable into the hand controller port, if you don’t have a native usb type B port in the mount.
I think also the SW EQ range of mounts controlled via EQMOD all start to track after you’ve slewed to a target. No need to turn it on manually.
The bit where you pressed align on Polaris in SkySafari was something that caused you the issue. You should have only done that if Polaris was in the centre on your image, which it clearly wasn’t based on the last image you took before going to sky safari.
Pressing align in sky safari, you were basically telling your mount, your pointing directly at Polaris and it’s in the middle of your scope.
Thanks for a great video. I just ordered a new Omegon RC 254/2000 with the EQ6-R Pro. I've been using the ASIair Pro with a Skyguider Pro tracker for almost a year and love it. I really look forward to setting up the new mount and trying some video astronomy (ZWO ASI533MC Pro on order).
Well done - thank you!
I've just gotten my self an eq6 as well this past December for Christmas and all I can say is that it is sooo much better than those smaller trackers. I don't have the asi air yet so I have been using the hand controller and I don't mind it to be honest. I just got an auto guider and can't seem to have my cpu detect it with all the various softwares out there... seems like I should save my self the headaches and just get myself the asi air. Thanks for sharing 👍.
Your workflow is very helpful. I used a Skywatcher AZEQ5, which is also EQMOD. So almost all steps in your workflow applies. Thanks for the video.
Thank you Peter!
Very useful for me with multiple cables.
Love the Mass Effect music you used.
Peter, As an ASIAir and EQ6-R user, I'd like to point out a few things which you have not yet understood as was apparent in your video.
Tracking - it does switch on itself when it needs to, not during polar alignment. If you select an object and command to GOTO that object, tracking will be on after it has centered on that object.
Using Sky Safari - My experience is you need to use ASIAir goto on a number of objects to train/calibrate the the mount before relying on Sky Safari to position the mount accurately. Much as you would do with Synscan 3-star alignment This is because Sky Safari cannot make use of the plate solve function to correct its initial positioning on the mount. Ideally you need to have run a goto to an object near where you want Sky Safari to take you.
I use Sky Safari to adjust the position of the mount aim to get the composition I want using the buttons on its control screen.
Finally, people who buy a new EQ6-R mount will struggle at the moment to connect using the USB cable as you have shown in your video because since your mount was manufactured Skywatcher have updated the chip set on their control board and the current ASIAIR drivers are not working with it. New owners will have to use an EQMOD cable.
Regards, Alistair
Can you expand on the chipset update? I’m having a heck of a time getting my ASIAIR connected, what cord do I need to buy to get it finally working? Any chance I could get you to provide a link to the right cord?
@@alexcastle2563 Alex you will probably need to buy an "EQMOD" cable. On my cable it is labeled 'Lynx Astro USB EQ Direct. I purchased one from First Light Optics eventhough my USB connection works as a backup. One end of the cable is standard USB2 and goes to the AAP, the other plugs into the hand controller port on the mount. The issue has be discussed several times on the ASIAIR Facebook group. Here is one link example. m.facebook.com/groups/1892753927536546/permalink/2369617373183530/
Suggest you join that group to get knowledgeable help on AAP.
all they need to do is download a special operating system from ZWO,and load it onto the sd card and update the asiair app at the same time. you will need win32image loader as well to load it onto the sd card.If anyone needs any help let me know
Awesome 🖖🏼
Thanks Peter. Awesome video. I'm new to the same mount and am yet to polar align even with an iPolar. Hope it's as easy for me! Cheers!
Thanks! This was just as detailed as needed, concise, complete, and efficient teaching session with a perfect cadence in the instruction! Also with nice video production as well. I learned some good things to apply. What camera produced this raw photo?
Hello Peter thank you for another great video
The reason you may have had an issue with the goto not being accurate after your polar alignment in the ASIair is due to you manually moved the mount back to the home position instead of letting asiair do that. When you did that sky safari didn't know about that thus it still thought the mount was at 60 degree RA of the polar alignment. you may want to instead do that step via the telescope menu in the asiair "go to home" that way sky safari will stay in sync with asiair and the mount
Great update. Thanks for sharing! I still like using the HC for contingencies. The physical buttons just make it easier to get where I need to go at times. That and getting a general spot for Polaris in my quick/dirty alignment through the polar scope before I PA with the ASIAir Pro. I've found that cuts down on flash to bang in my PA in the AISAir Pro given my setup. The AISAir Pro always resets to 247mm for my RedCat as well. Nice that isn't just me. Love this whole setup and mine has all worked well out of the various boxes. I see the SpaceCat (vice RedCat) is back... ;-) Best. SS
Weirdly, I get 248 mm on mine. I wonder what the difference is? My best guess is that it's calculating FL from the plate solving, and adjusting it to that.
Great great video thank you a lot !
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Wow.. Thank you .. 😊
Nice review. I have the same mount. I usually before PA process, initialize the starting position by clicking Sync Mount button. So then after PA process GOTO function works perfectly and you dont need to manually turn on the tracking, the AAP will take care of that.
Hi there - a quickie - where is the option called Sync Mount. Is it the same as 'sync to mount' under Phone info tab?
You won't need to turn on tracking. It is by default off because the ASIAIR assumes your mount is in home position. As soon as you do a GOTO to an object it will set the tracking to on and the speed to the correct value depending on the type of object you chose.
outstanding
Great info it would be cool to see you go to a bigger scope now that you have a better mount too!
Found the answer. If your EQ6-R mount (a later model) does not have the Superspeed 3.0 cable needed to connect, a USB to ethernet connected to the hand controller port will work. Amazon has them and their description specifically says it for this mount.
Thanks for the updated and full workflow. Coming from an altaz Evo mount this is great actual tutorial and step errors I might encounter. My rig is similar except that I have a SW wifi dongle, SCT 8 and HS. Now those are connected tested indoors and running. I just need to get my mount out and start practicing on this. Q so the mount is just pointed at Polaris near the reticle and that’s all there is and proceed with AAP PA?
An inexpensive way to mount the ASI AIR (whatever version you have) is to get some velcro tape from your local dollar store. On the opposite side of the mount from the power switch is a perfect flat place to put a few strips (I used 4 strips) of velcro it hold the ASI in place tightly. This works like a charm for my. My AAP lives velcro-ed to the side of my mount.
Just a lesson learned, the Asiair only works with the Celestron AVX Mount with the original handset, NOT the starsense handset! Once I switched to the Nextstar handset and it works flawlessly! Thanks!
Good lord what would I do without you man? Thanks so much!
good video. when i manually adjusted mount after polar alignment it didnt work properly after that. but after i did polar alignment again then used goto home postion it worked ok.
Great work flow AVX here with a Starwave 80ed, you need to do one quick thing on the AVX run a quick alignment with the scope roughly on Polaris (home position) then you are done( Mini usb on the handset bottom to the APP). 3 clicks and you are free of the handset. Love your work makes my life ,and many others, easier 👍.
Can you still use SkySafari plus without the Celestron Wifi dongle? I have the AVX as well
Hey Pete! just want to say ( again) your intro to astrophotography series was a best buy for me. Saved me hours and hours. I had a question about Version 2 of ASI Air. I have the ASI AIR plus. With Version 2 I can now search for objects in their database and "goto" them. Do I still need Skysafari for that? It constantly loses connection to the mount and I can pretty fed up with it. Many thanks Mike
Great video which shows you the power of ASIAir Pro. Makes the astrophotography workflow process certainly easier.
How do you compare this with APT (astrophotography tool)? I find APT can be left running by itself (even does automatic meridian flips).
Gerr.
I have the same setup and it took me a while to figure out why I couldn't get my mount to work, turns out, if I don't do a plate solve I get crazy results from where the goto wants to point
Thank you so much for this , are you going to do an update for the new updates ?
G’day Peter
Great tutorial & final images.
Just a note regarding workflow, I have the AAP also & when I hit goto a object ( let’s say NGC2244) once scope is at location the AAP plate solves & centers scope. I do not manually plate solve the unit does it by itself.
I’m just curious if this could of caused the issues you had previous nights?
Cheers
Thk you you did put me on the wright direction my biggest problem was not focusing my dslr thk you
Thank you for your tutorial. Compared to skysafari, how about the synscan pro app, which also provide targets list with goto function.
Peter, great tutorial. Just took a quick look at this. It appears you were able to get everything to work but ultimately you did everything strictly through ASIAir (you attempted to make use of Safari 6 Plus but it wasn't working correctly). Is that correct? If so, will you be doing a future video showing this all working through Safari 6 Plus?
Hi Peter,
Thanks for this excellent tutorial! I have got all the gear and now if have connected it for the first time following your instructions.
Question: how do you connect the EAF? All USB ports are occupied: usb stick, EQ6 mount, guide camera and imaging camera.
Thanks in advance for your reply!
Eugène, The Netherlands
Great video.
Are you able to use the GoTo feature without a guide camera?
Peter -Just a heads up on taking flats with the ASIAIR--It has an auto feature the calibrates flats exposure time for you !!
Hi Peter, great and very helpfull video, thank you very much. Currently planning to add a filterwheel to my Redcat51. Which Wheeler are you using? Thanks, Math
Yesterday I posted a similar video where I show how I go about things with the ASIAIR Pro a Celestron C8 and an iOptron CEM40. Not nearly as good of a production quality as Peter, but hey 😅 I did try.
Excellent tutorial. I do have a problem I hope you have an answer for. My EQ-6R Pro mount (purchased in 2018) does not have the USB port, it only has the autoguider port and the handset port. How do I connect to my ASIAIR Plus to allow it to run the mount? Can I use a cable that has the USB 2.0 connector on one end and the same connector the handset uses on the other?
I’m still confused about the auto guiding. You said, “all you need is a usb connection from the auto-guilder to the asiair and you can do your guiding so that’s a nice change.” Then you show a red X going through the Ethernet connection and nothing else plugged into the mount. So what’s telling the mount to move?
UPDATE: I watched the entire video and it makes sense now. Like you said, it’s a little backwards. Thanks for the video.
In case anyone was a bit confused like me, the answer is - you can connect the asiair to the eq6r-pro via a USBA2.0 to the USBB2.0. The newer ASIAir Plus comes with a 3.0 by 3.0 cable but the connection on the mount (at least the one I have is a 2.0 port)
lol...your wifi is called Skynet...nice..
Nice video. If you use Pixinsight, I’d love to see a simple workflow from Autorun images in ASIAIR, to downloading the .fit files to Pixinsight from the thumb drive, to exactly what you need to do for a simple Pixinsight processed image!
Hi Peter Fantastic video, I have just purchased a ASIAIR plus package (guide camera and guide scope) how would I best connect this to my new Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi? Got a little confused sorry around the ports you crossed out on the video, do I just use my guide camera direct to ASIAIR via usb, if so what mount would I select on the ASIAIR app? Any help from the community would be great?
When using SkySafari for go to, I was surprised that the asiair did not automatically place the object name in the asiar's autorun name field. So I had to manually update the name so that the file system would save the images properly labeled.
Is that if you are using an asiair pro, you don’t need the cable to the go-to mount for auto guiding?? You only need an usb cable connected the asiair pro to the guide cam for guiding?
FWIW, I have the same mount. I attached my USB cable as you did and selected EQMOD as the mount and nothing. I had to switch to Skywatcher AZ-GTI/SynScan WiFi (neither of witch I have) to make it work. Otherwise GREAT video
Hey Peter, Thank you for all you do. I have a question regarding the slightly smaller version of the EQ6R the Sky-Watcher HEQ5. Do you know if that mount also supports this workflow with ZWO ASIAIR Pro?
Hey Peter, I have a question regarding the skyguider pro. I just got it and the clutch disc is jammed and I don’t know what to do. should I try to fix it myself? Or send it back.
17:-9 do your Sky Safari slew buttons (or the tilt to slew thing) actually move the mount?
@19:46 when doing the polar alignment, do you need to have a dedicated astro-camera or does this work if you are still using a DSLR camera and a guide-camera?
My EQr-R must be an early model. It does not have that connection. What is the alternate connection? My mount never connectedl.But, thanks for the video. I appreciate your effort to enlighten the unwashed.
Any issues with the ADM Saddle? I’ve seen some people having issues with it fitting with William Optics Vixen dovetail plates.
Is there a way to setup focusing (or auto focusing) for each individual filter? I would hate to have to manually check focus with each filter change. ANSWER: the ASI Air Pro is smart enough to know the EAF is attached and it actually auto-focuses on each filter wheel change 👏
Mr. Peter, you have great videos and thank you for your insight and time. But this message concerns Nikon AIS 200mm/f1.4 lens. I plan to use this lease for astrophotography. Will I need to get a lens clamp for this lens? If so, what do you recommend? Thank you and have a nice day.