Waldemar

As far as I can see, the interest in the Wiki is below zero... Only very few members contrtibute, so why keep it alive? Euthanasia would be a human act I think. Regards, Waldemar

I tried a couple of things with Prism, Martin but at the moment I am going to do a housemove, so it will have to wait for further exploration. It is not cheap, though... Hi Luis, I am not guiding with the DDM85, I just image with short fl's so no need. But even with longer fl's I would try to go unguided. I am not sure yet if everything will work under Prism...

You did it again, Antonio...Wooow! Congratulations!

Hi All, Is anybody using PRISM? If so, what do you think of it? I downloaded a trial version and it looks very intuitive and complete. Did not use it yet, just exploring for the moment. Any comment is very much appreciated.

That is the very best thing to happen. I am glad for you!

An upgrade is available for the DDM60Pro, that replaces the encoders with better ones and also replaces the electronic boards and connections. You can contact ASA about that. Maybe the upgrade is still available, though the DDM60 is out of production. I had that done for mine in 2012 and never had any problems since. Being very happy with the 60, I bought a DDM85A this year. Could not be happier... As far as I know copying the ini files to the ASA/Autoslew file under ProgramFiles , should do the job.

I think you are wrong about that. I am using USB3 where I can and that sometimes means, I have a USB2 connection on one side of the cable and a USB3 on the other end. I never had any issues with USB3 cables, but plenty with USB2... even with high quality ones. What I understand is that first of all the quality of the used materials is better, the wiring is thicker and made of OFC copper. (Oxide Free Copper) That means in practice that the speed of the signals can go as fast as they can. No bumps in the form of oxidized spots on their way. Anyway, of course it is just my 2c, but I do notice the positive difference.

the best USB cables are the USB3 ones. They are made for higher transfer rates, hence made of better materials then the USB2 ones. Always shop for professional cables, ebay material is worse than bad.

I traded my DDM60Pro in for a DDM85 Standard. Over time I bought some accessories that I cannot use on the DDM85, so I would like to sell them. Items are: 4 x counterweight GG130/2,6 2,6 kg. 1 x counterweightbar 60DC9-400 4,4 kg 450 mm long 1 x mountingplate 60/240 240 mm 1 x mountingplate 60/300 300 mm All are in like new condition. I want 60% of the new price ex shipping-cost.

A little help with balancing the mount to a finer degree than moving the telescope in it's dovetail clamp, is to use a Baader rider clamp and stick some self adhesive car wheel balancing leads to it. In that way, depending on the amount of weight you stick on it, by sliding the clamp up or down a dovetail plate you can achieve a very nice precise balance. An other issue, vibrations, is often caused by the way the the mount is attached to the pier. If the pier has a so called 'rat-cage', the threaded ends between the pier plate and the telescope mounting plate may introduce or boost vibrations, because of the resonance frequency of that construction. The longer the threaded ends are the lower that frequency will be and higher the chance of this phenomenon. The shorter the threaded ends, the higher the resonance frequency will be and the less effect it will have on the PID settings. Thought I should mention this.

I do not think ASA provides pictures of that, Fabrice...

You always hit beautiful targets and making such amazing images of them! I admire your work! Waldemar

Hi Ian, As far as I can see this is about a newer GPS device with UBlox 6, The original ASA GPS stick uses UBlox 5. Apparently a few tricks are needed to get it working. Waldemar

Roy, here is another file you may like: ASA-Product-Folder_E.pdf

Hi Roy, The OK controller is an electro/mechanical focusing device which is controlled by the AutoSlew software through electronics in the mount. It is an option to have the electronics build in the mount. It only works with ASA focusers, though. The tip/rilt system for azimutal adjustment is done by tipping the mount over to the east or west side, which has the same effect as rotating it over the horizontal plane. Like I said it is a bit counter-intuitive, but it works well. The adjustment range is about 5° I believe. A mount does not necessarily have to be leveled to get polar alignment. Because of the different approach the software takes this into account. It has a feature where you have to choose between tip/tilt or azimutal. Attached you will find a pdf file with explanation from ASA, as well as an instruction file for AutoSlew software. The ASA mounts are all made with absolute Renishaw encoders since 2016, so a 'homefind' routine is not needed anymore I hope this will clear things up a bit. BR, Waldemar PAOptions.pdf AutoslewManual Special.pdf

Hahaha I understood Roy meant what is a good controller for the mount... blond moment

Hi Roy, welcome to the ASA enthusiasts forum! Here: http://asa-users.org/index.php?title=Main_Page you can find more information. The PA of the DDM85 Basic, as well as the former DDM65 is done by a tip/tilt system. the N/S tip/tilt screws are for latitude and the E/W tip/tilt screws are for azimuth adjustment. To me it is a bit counter intuitive, but it works just as well as the 'normal' adjustment system. The DDM85 standard types have the regular adjustment system. The difference in the two DDM85 standard types is the torque of the direct drive motors. One needs 12 volts, the other, heavier one needs 24 Volts. Therefore the latter has a higher load capacity, but also a thicker CW bar and heavier cw's. No such thing as a handbox with ASA mounts. Control is done by a laptop or pc. The ASA mounts are made for AP, so you need a computer anyway. Personally I use a dedicated laptop, for astro use only. If you need more information then you can find in the wicky, feel free to send me a pm with questions. I got quite a lot of info on my comp :-) Best regards, Waldemar

Thank you Luis, I loved the DDM65Pro, so I think the 85 will become the love of my life Hi Mark, the extra motor power was one of the reasons to buy it and of course the absolute encoders. I doubt if my skies will be better than yours... I live in the Netherlands, more appropriate: the Wetlands but I will enjoy it nevertheless! Best regards, Waldemar

Hi Colin, my new DDM85 will arrive one of these days, so I waited for that instead of testing it on my iOptron iEQ45Pro. A lot of people are kind of telling that it does not work, but maybe that is about settings and none tested it on an ASA mount... I will try to take very short subs like 0,2 secs with my LodeStarX so I got very fast responses and like that I hope to be able to chase the seeing. As soon as I know more I will report here. BR Waldemar

Hi All, One of these days my new DDM85 Standard 12V will arrive I ordered it 3 months ago and traded in my DDM65Pro at that time, so I've been without my dear friend for quite a while... Really looking forward to installing it and running this beast with absolute encoders. It's still not astronomical dark here @ 52° N of course, but at least I got plenty of time to get it running as I want it to. I know I will have a great time with it and hope you all are doing great as well! Best regards, Waldemar

If so this is the third or fourth update with the same number...??? Isn't that a bit weird?

Thanks Colin, I ordered a 2e hand unit from ebay at ENSOptics and can return it within 30 days, so I hope I will get a chance to test it under our very average/poor seeing. I kind of hope you are wrong about it and it will help with atmospheric turbulence. If not, I will send it back, or sell it to somebody with an SCT and no ASA mount :-) Thanks anyway for your reaction!

Hi All, Is anybody using an AO unit to compensate for atmospheric disturbances? To me that seems to be the only way to get even better results with our great mounts... I would love to hear about your experiences. Clear Skies, Waldemar

Wow Luis... and that youtube video... Just absolutely incredible what you guys accomplished together!! Chapeau and congratulations. I am kind of jealous now...

Don't you have a possibility to make an automatic back up every week or so? I make auto bu's everyday... already had some very bad experiences in the past when not backing up in time...