A very informative and hands-on video as always! I am a beginner in astrophotography and I also waited the release of the CAA. I was wondering... is there any chance that it would work as a camera derotator? I saw the ascom settings and I can imagine that it doesnt at the moment of filming, but also I noticed that the last step in the positioning is a quite precise and slow motion so maybe it's not such a hard task in the future... do you have any knowledge about this? thank you for your time.
I have had a wanderer rotator for 2 years. I didn't have the patience to wait for ZWO. The wanderer mini has the advantage of being only 10mm thick. One thing I always do is run the rotator backwards. I prefer to have the smaller rotator going around than the massive EFW. Less chance of wires tangling or pier collision that way.
@@hael8680 I have a Wanderer Rotator too! Also bought it because I was fed up waiting for the CAA!!! It’s very good. Interesting idea to run it backwards.
Thanks for the video! The CAA looks really good. I hope the price will be lower then the PPL or Pegasus ones. Maybe on the level of the Deep Sky Dad Rotator. Do you know how much the CAA can handle? A fullframe cam with wheel and OAG is quiet heavy. It appears through the M54 thread that full-frame can be used.
I don’t have a spec yet, but it’s torque that matters, not weight. I expect it will be fine with the kit you describe. It was fine with EFW7 2” filter wheel and ASI2600MM pro, but I didn’t have an OAG fitted.
Excellent tutorial & feedback Martin! Much appreciated! A QUESTION: I totally understand how you set things up, including 'eyeballing' mechanical 0, 90 and 180 degrees. But how do you set it up to use the only angles that matter - specifically those in the sky, 'on' the Celestial Sphere? I would assume that parallel to the Celestial Equator or parallel to any line of Declination will represent 0 to 180 degrees, and parallel to any line of RA where that line intersects the Celestial Equator would represent 90 & 270 degrees. Is there. a routine in the software that tells the camera & rotator to take an image, plate solve it, and use the angle of rotation from the plate solving to set the actual mechanical positions of 0, 90, and 180 degrees?
Thanks for the review Martin! From what I heard so far, you cannot mount the rotator in reverse direction. Meaning that the filterwheel does not move. Just the camera. I would be worried if thef would be moving inwards to the pier / tripod and then hit it around the meridian.
@@stephanlinhart8305 No worries there as you can set the movement range. Think of the filter wheel being straight up at position zero, and set the range to +/-90°. Actually it will be 0-180 with 90° as straight up, but the effect is the same. So the filter wheel will not hit your pier, especially if you do your meridian flip at the appropriate time.
@@ASTROindi Good question. I did design and build a counterbalance plate to address this issue, but after experimentation I found it was not necessary and it guided just fine. Might depend on what mount you are using though. I was on an AM3.
Also I would expect after you thread the ZWO CAA to the filter wheel and it not where you want it you can power the CAA and use the EAF hand controller to move the CAA where you want it and then 0 it out as due to balance may want the CAA to the side or top? Best video on the CAA I a have seen! Also what I would do is draw a Silver Sharpie line on the filter wheel so I knew it's set at 90 degrees to the CAA?
The thinking for the HBX port is using the EAF hand controller! VERY NICE feature.
Good video. Thanks for taking the time to make it Martin.
@@jimwaters304 Thank you Jim.
It will be interesting to see how it works with the ASI Air combined with a hub for USB connectivity as I've no spare ports left.
A very informative and hands-on video as always! I am a beginner in astrophotography and I also waited the release of the CAA. I was wondering... is there any chance that it would work as a camera derotator? I saw the ascom settings and I can imagine that it doesnt at the moment of filming, but also I noticed that the last step in the positioning is a quite precise and slow motion so maybe it's not such a hard task in the future... do you have any knowledge about this? thank you for your time.
Thank you. I believe it can be used as a derotator for Alt/Az mounts to eliminate the effect of field rotation.
I have had a wanderer rotator for 2 years. I didn't have the patience to wait for ZWO. The wanderer mini has the advantage of being only 10mm thick. One thing I always do is run the rotator backwards. I prefer to have the smaller rotator going around than the massive EFW. Less chance of wires tangling or pier collision that way.
@@hael8680 I have a Wanderer Rotator too! Also bought it because I was fed up waiting for the CAA!!! It’s very good. Interesting idea to run it backwards.
Is it possible to gradually counter field rotation of an alt az mount? I suppose this setup could cause guiding difficulties, though.
Absolutely, yes, but you might need a separate guidescope (rather than a duo camera or OAG) that does not rotate with the camera.
Thanks for the video!
The CAA looks really good. I hope the price will be lower then the PPL or Pegasus ones.
Maybe on the level of the Deep Sky Dad Rotator.
Do you know how much the CAA can handle?
A fullframe cam with wheel and OAG is quiet heavy. It appears through the M54 thread that full-frame can be used.
I don’t have a spec yet, but it’s torque that matters, not weight. I expect it will be fine with the kit you describe. It was fine with EFW7 2” filter wheel and ASI2600MM pro, but I didn’t have an OAG fitted.
Excellent tutorial & feedback Martin! Much appreciated!
A QUESTION: I totally understand how you set things up, including 'eyeballing' mechanical 0, 90 and 180 degrees. But how do you set it up to use the only angles that matter - specifically those in the sky, 'on' the Celestial Sphere? I would assume that parallel to the Celestial Equator or parallel to any line of Declination will represent 0 to 180 degrees, and parallel to any line of RA where that line intersects the Celestial Equator would represent 90 & 270 degrees. Is there. a routine in the software that tells the camera & rotator to take an image, plate solve it, and use the angle of rotation from the plate solving to set the actual mechanical positions of 0, 90, and 180 degrees?
Thanks for the review Martin! From what I heard so far, you cannot mount the rotator in reverse direction. Meaning that the filterwheel does not move. Just the camera. I would be worried if thef would be moving inwards to the pier / tripod and then hit it around the meridian.
@@stephanlinhart8305 No worries there as you can set the movement range. Think of the filter wheel being straight up at position zero, and set the range to +/-90°. Actually it will be 0-180 with 90° as straight up, but the effect is the same. So the filter wheel will not hit your pier, especially if you do your meridian flip at the appropriate time.
Does it have built in prevention for multiple turns (for instance 350degree rotation to zero degree would take long path)
@@physmc1 Yes. You can set limits so it cannot twist up your cables! Very important feature.
Thanks, Interesting video. Is there any affect on Guiding performance due to the induced imbalance caused by the rotation of filter wheel ?
@@ASTROindi Good question. I did design and build a counterbalance plate to address this issue, but after experimentation I found it was not necessary and it guided just fine. Might depend on what mount you are using though. I was on an AM3.
@ awesome I use ioptron CEM40
@@ASTROindi Suggest you try it. You can always add some counterbalance later if it really is an issue.
@@martinsastrophotography sure thanks for your suggestion. Clear skies
Also I would expect after you thread the ZWO CAA to the filter wheel and it not where you want it you can power the CAA and use the EAF hand controller to move the CAA where you want it and then 0 it out as due to balance may want the CAA to the side or top? Best video on the CAA I a have seen! Also what I would do is draw a Silver Sharpie line on the filter wheel so I knew it's set at 90 degrees to the CAA?
@@whatmattersmost6725 Thank you for those comments. Useful stuff.
Thanks for the video! Anyone knows the final price for this gadget?
@@jordicardusport3643 Not yet I’m afraid. It seems they are releasing a little information each day to build up the excitement!
@@martinsastrophotography "they are releasing a little information each day to build up the excitement!"
Is the filter wheel on the right way?
@@nikaxstrophotography Yes it is.
@@martinsastrophotography yes I just went out and checked on mine I got confused lol thanks
Another nice thing from ZWO, just pity that 54mm is the maximum though
A British astronomer sounds as believable as a sober Russian 😂
Looks like a disaster waitting to happen if this hits the mount during a session.
very cool, good video. Thanks.