2 replies to this topic

[GlennC8]

GREETINGS!
3 YEARS ago I acquired a used Avalon M-Zero in perfect condition and equipped myself with a new C8 OTA etc etc. All good...
But I have not done *one thing* with it...I have 2 hurdles I need to overcome to get back into my beloved hobby (I lost last year..)

 

The gentlemen I bought it from came over and we set it up (during the day, looking at the sun); we controlled it with my iPhone using one of the astronomy apps.
All good...but I want to be able to input right ascension (R.A.) and declination (dec) coordinates.
I really, really, REALLY want to do this...and it must be possible, ain't it?
(I keep saying: if I wanted a 'goto mount', I would've just bought a NexStar 4 :-))

 

I started out in 1971 (I'm a dinosaur) in my high-school observatory using a donated hand-built (Sputnik US astronaut craze in the late 1960s/1960s) 30cm Newtonian...equipped with setting circles... Our tremendous earth-science teacher who was in charge of the observatory taught us celestial mechanics = we set the R.A. on a couple of bright stars, then hunted DSOs by inputing the dec & RA coordinates (from an Epoch 1950.0 Skalnate-Pleso Antonin Becvar sky atlas 😎💪) When I got a used 1990s C8 Ultimata back in 2010, I continued Wil Tirion's gorgeous Cambridge Sky Atlas.
I was busy trying to improve/speed up polar alignment, but my back was protesting the weight of the mount.

A friend mentioned the Avalon, I found one for sale (literally just down the street), and here I am.

 

But I haven't ever used the thing because I have 2 problems to solve:

 

1. rapid & accurate polar alignment of the Avalon. I have been thinking about the QHY Polemaster or the ioptron ipolar (the Avalon has a polar axis

adapter for one of them, I think the Polemaster but I forget. Minor detail...)

BUT, the gentlemen who sold me the mount has also talked about an older 'Raspberry'...and that there was a new one

('ZWO ASIAIR'...?) which can be used for both polar alignment and auto-guiding (I know what auto-guiding is but one step at a time...).

 

2. as above: I REALLY want to be able to input R.A. & dec coordinates into the mount (and NOT use a PHONE to control it...grrrrr....) 

 

(BTW I have a MacBook Pro (which has Intel processors = easy running of Windows emulator) to control any of this stuff with...)

 

So: I guess some combination of these toys will make polar alignment easy & pretty close to perfect...and allow me to go to autoguiding later...
but can anyone help me understand how to make it possible to input RA & dec into the Avalon?

 

PLEASE forgive me for all of these stupid questions...........

Many thanks in advance!

[Blue_Orca]

My copy of the M-Zero is rather old, circa 2016, thus for something as simple as Polemaster attachment, it may be quite different from yours.  i.e., which adapter, presence of screw holes on side of the mount for current adapter kit to install, etc.

 

The Polemaster adapter for my M-Zero sits on top of the "half folk" mount, opposite where the counterweight is attached.  When I mount my scope on M-Zero, view from the Polemaster is blocked so I never used that adapter.  Instead, I attach the Polemaster on my scope with an adapter by ADM    

 

There are multiple ways to do polar alignment.  Some would do it through their imaging camera, with PC running software such as SharpCap Pro (paid) or NINA (free), or a small computing device such as ZWO ASAIR (think of it as a small embeded all-in-one computer for astrophotography) when the imaging camera is also made by ZWO. 

 

I do my polar alignment with a Polemaster, driven by a EAGLE PC made by Primalucelab.  With the Polemaster attached, you just run its software, rotate your M-Zero around the RA axis as instructed, and adjust the mount's alignment with the Alt/Az knobs.

 

With regard to entering RA / Dec co-ordinates, I do that in CdC, a free software that I use to drive my mount around.  You can search for objects in the sky in CdC direct, or look up the co-ordinates in Telescopius telescope simulator and type it in CdC, then right click to slew your telescope to the co-ordinates you entered, assuming your M-Zero is connected in CdC via the ASCOM driver from Avalon. 

 

You would have to register and log in at the Avalon support website to download its ASCOM driver if memory serves me right. And of course, make sure you have ASCOM itself installed.

 

I run CdC in Windows but the software supports Mac OS x86-64.

 

Your first slew by CdC may not be exact.  For me, I use SharpCap (non-Pro, free) to take a picture through my imaging camera, then ASTAP (free) to plate solve and correct where in the sky the mount should be pointing to.

 

Hope the above helps.

Edited by Blue_Orca, 28 April 2025 - 06:39 PM.

[Blue_Orca]

More thoughts...  

 

You did not mention if your use case is visual vs. astrophotography, i.e. Viewing through eyepieces vs. imaging with a camera.  If visual, you would not have an imagining camera attached to your C8, to plate solve and correct on slewing errors during go-to.

 

Given your scope has a really long focal length of 2032mm, you may want to consider adding a second scope, perhaps a small guide scope with 200mm or longer focal length.  Keep in mind the total weight does not exceed your M-Zero paylod capacity - 8kg/17.6lb single scope with counterweight, 13kg/28.6lb dual scope setup.  Note C8 itself weights 13lb already.

 

Put a small un-cooled astro camera on the guide scope.  Align it with the C8 so the two scopes are in parallel and point to the same area in the sky.  This way, SharpCap and ASTAP can plate solve through the smaller scope and deliver better go-to experiences when you view through the C8 with eyepieces.