Astrophotography with Glenn Clouder - ZWO EAF Installation to a Newtonian Scope
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- #Astrobloke #Glenn Clouder #astrophotography #astronomy
Astrophotography with Glenn Clouder - ZWO EAF Installation to a Newtonian scope
Installation of a ZWO electronic automatic focuser onto my Skywatcher 130 PDS. Newtonian reflector scope 130mm or 6".
Laser collimator.
Also using Bob's Knobs which were purchased from First Light Optics. Link below
www.firstlight...
How to install a ZWO EAF onto a Newtonian Scope. Sky Watcher 130pds
I also have a video on attaching an EAF to a William Optics Zenithstar 61 and how to connect to NINA and work out the backlash
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Very helpful thanks. I couldn't find the grub screw on the coarse side because it had rotated out of line with the access hole. Turning the whole focuser around allowed me to identify that.
Hi Steve, thank and glad the video was helpful. Clear skies
Thanl you for this video. I like the idea of turning the wheels and mounting the EAF on the other side!
Thank you. It helped with balancing a little and looks better for me
@@Astrobloke Hello again ;-) tonight i wanted to give the new setup a first light but i failed because the whole system slips through and the camera cannot move at all. Is there something i could have done wrong flipping the focusser the other way round? I can’t get it tight. The camera is 1.3 kg. Is this too much?
@@astromatz no it just needs adjusting. Its a balance between the 4 mounting bolts and then the 3 centre bolts that action on the focus bar. Also check the flat surface on the focus tube the bar actions on. This can become shiny and cause slipping. Rough it up with a file or emery cloth. Then it will provide a surface for the bar to fit
You are a blessing for us 130 pds owners. Thank you for this video
Thank you so much I really appreciate that. I love my 130pds, great scope.
I just pulled the trigger on the 130pds. Being in Canada, they dont offer it here, so I had to purchase from First Light Optics in the UK. £199 with £57 delivery to Canada. Im pretty stoked about getting it for my first telescope. Adding stuff to it will be fun too. A learning curve. Thanks for sharing how to install the EAF. I will definitely be buying one for my 130pds. Clear skies!
Congratulations. Its an excellent scope capable of some superb imaging. Nice to tweak and tinker with too. Wish you lots of luck and clear skies
Thank you... again. :)
You are welcome
Every time I do a search for something I want to research you have a video on it. Thanks again for such a great and detailed explanation. I am looking at the ZWO EAF now.
lol, I am like a trojan virus on your PC.
@@Astrobloke LOL, yes true.
I made this short video for you just now.
ua-cam.com/video/ggTUYnnx7js/v-deo.html
I know this is a bit old now, but thank you for this! I got a 130p-ds not too long ago and I am slowly adding more automation to my system so that I can go to bed at night and not have to keep an eye on the thing all night. I have been looking at autofocusers recently, but I wasn't actually sure how they were attached and this answered every question I had! Love the channel man.
Hi and thank you for commenting. Really glad the video was helpful. Automation does make the hobby a lot easier and wish you luck. clear skies
Thank you so much you always explain very detailed and because of your videos i avoid mistakes and a lot of work. Thanks again!!!
You are very welcome. Thank you for taking the time to make such a nice comment
Glenn nice job, BUT you always want to tighten the allen (grub) screw on to the EAF flat spot (called a D shaft) and not the round part of the EAF shaft. That flat spot is designed that never to slip if the allen (grub) screw does dome a bit loose. Also in the EAF clear package are set (grub) screws with lock tight to prevent them coming loose as it sucks when it get really cold and the metal shrinks.
Thanks Chris. I always do make sure one of the grub screws is on the flat side of the spindle. I have heard others say theirs has come loose but I have yet to have this happen and I have 3 fitted to different scopes. I must be lucky
Explained so well. Think I will buy one now. Was worried it would be complicated to fit but after watching this I feel confident of getting this added.
Glad it helped. If you have any questions please ask
Cheers for this video, i have reinstalled my focuser and EAF this way and it makes a huge difference in the balance, dunno why I didnt think of it myself 😄..... you have a new subscriber...
Great to hear! it helps with balance and looks right too.
Many thanks for this great video. You made my day, as I first struggled a bit. But now eveythink works fine.
That's brilliant. let me know if you have any issues. Thank you for taking the time to comment, clear skies
@@Astrobloke I would like to share my experience with you all. I had stupidly loosened the grub screws that are in line with the spindle. I had to learn that this should never be done. As a result, there was no longer enough pressure on the spindle and the focuser stopped moving. After I discovered this and adjusted it again, everything was OK. Now the spindle - now driven by the EAF - grips again and I can use the EAF via N.I.N.A.. Thanks again for the descriptive video on this topic.
Brilliant video, I have a Helios 8” telescope and recently purchased the ZWO EAF… I found when I received it that none of the couplers fit the focus shaft on my scope so I’ve ordered the Skywatcher Crayford focuser which I hope is easy enough to install on my scope and will fit the EAF as in your video :)
Thank you for your comment and good luck with the fitting. Once on they work really well. Clear skies
Very useful video! I just finished mine with your help. Thanks!
That's great Tamas, I am happy that helped
I found with mine that I had to leave the central grub screw to adjust the tension. Without it the focuser tube wasn't tight enough. Haven't tested it yet but hopefully it will be a smooth operation with the ASIair.
The focusers are not the best but if you spend a little time just tweaking the tension you can get good reliable results
Really helpful video, Glenn! Thanks! Sorry for the unrelated question, but noticed a dew shield (at the end of the video) on your 130PDS...can I ask which model it is? Appreciate your time and keep up the excellent vids! Cheers! :)
You are welcome. Its actually a homemade one using foam card and vinyl wrap. Maybe I should do a video on it🤔
@@Astrobloke You should, it looks great! Thanks for the reply and best wishes from north of the border! :)
I’ve only ever used the cheaper Orion af. that one comes with two different brackets either for Newtonian or refractors. On this Orion one you would replace the whole bottom bracket of the focuser with the supplied Orion ones so my question is with the zwo eaf do you have to replace the whole bottom bracket of the focuser with the supplied zwo one or like in your vid is it meant to simply screw on top of the existing bottom plate of the original focuser? If it’s meant for the zwo bracket to be added on the existing bottom plate of the focuser are longer screws provided to compensate for the added height with the zwo bracket? I’m wanting to purchase one for myself but thought I’d get more info first. I see it’s pretty simple and straight forward with how you did it in your vid which I appreciate so much, your vids have always helped me with my own setup.
hi there and happy new year. I have not seen or used the orion focuser but the ZWO EAF just bolts on as shown and uses the bolts that comes supplied with the focuser in the box. its an excellent piece of kit and has work flawlessly since fitting to my 130pds and a few other scopes that I own, very versatile.
Excellent video, do you need to have focus first before installing, or is the tube all the way in ? Sorry fir the daft question
Thank you and no such thing as a daft question in this hobby. If you know the focus position you could mark the tube or put a bit of tape but all you do is via any program is move the focuser in steps until in focus. On e close autofocus curves will get it sharpe like what you find in NINA or APT
Thank you for getting back to me so quick , I have a 200pds and using the asiair plus
Thanks for the informative video. Looks much easier than I thought. Is there some sort of clutch you can release if you want to manually focus for visual observing?
Hi Myrmidon and thank you for watching and commenting. That would be a great feature but unfortunately not. There are just the 2 grub screws at either end of the collar so loosening them would allow manual movement but a clutch or switch would be much better
Excellent content!! thanks! Question, can you still do manual focus with the electronic focusers now?
Thank you for watching and commenting. With the ZWO this is not possible without undoing some screws. There are focusers that come with a clutch system to allow you the ability to manual focus with it in place but they seem more expensive. Here is a link to one such model www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005036360217.html
There are possibly other makes but I have only ever owned the ZWO EAF and a Pegasus focus cube and neither of them had a clutch to allow this. Hope that helps
Thank you very nice video 🥰 One question though: Are the screws included?
Screws are included with the focuser yes
@@Astrobloke perfect thanks 😊
very good video. I have always used refractors and recently purchased the 150pds, focus slip is very annoying!. Do you put anything in the programme run to refocus? every 30 mins for example?
Thank you. I always put default HFR change for a refocus and may include temp change if I know the forecast is for a large swing. Normally not needed where I live in the SE of the UK
Hey is this something you should probably have or is it something we should get after we have all the other fancy gear
Depends what type of imaging you do. I use a mono camera so have lots of filter changes which requires lots of reFocussing. With osc you can get good focus with a bahtinov mask.
I'm about to upgrade my focuser to a skywatcher focuser, and going to be adding the motor, with the way the auto focuser works do you think it would be best to buy the single speed focuser rather than the dual,?
The EAF attaches to the fast speed side only so yes you could save some money and just buy the single speed.
Brilliant cheers buddy 😊
Very informative video. I love my ZWO EAF, it's an integral part of automating the astrophotography process. Do you find any backlash issues with yours? I have just a little, but not bad enough to bother with it.
Its a great upgrade and essential with mono imaging.imo. It works great and I do have NINA set with 40 focus steps and 120 backlash overshoot.
When I rotate the focuser, I lose all friction in the focus tube
Its not a great focuser to be fair. If it works the way it comes when bought I would stay that way, its not essential to flip it. I did find that it needed some adjusting after changing it.
Is there enough of the shaft (on the telescope) available to safely attach the flex coupler? I have the Evostar 72ED with probably the same focuser and there isn't much of the shaft available. How has the performance been since the install? Cheers!
I found it was a very good fit with plenty of shaft to attach to. The performance has been excellent and only wish I had done this upgrade sooner
@@Astrobloke Thanks for the info. Now to hunt one down somewhere in the wilds of Canada :)
@@djphild i think that is a problem we are all having. I ordered another a while back and still nothing
@@Astrobloke Turns out ZWO have discontinued this model of the EAF. The new one is similar but only has the USB and temperature connections on the back. So no need for a separate power supply, it runs on 5V from the USB. One less cable. Release is in early April.
@@djphild Yes I was aware of that. I have since this done another video fitting one to a zenithstar 61 and mention that ZWO have changed the design. Will be a good improvement losing a cable
When I turn the focuser round like you state, I lose friction with the focuser tube.
It may need a small amount of re adjusting. Its not essential that it is turned around, I just preferred it like that and felt it would help with balancing.
How would I re-adjust it
@@mickwhitaker4086 the 3 screws that adjust the pressure of the friction bar on the flat surface of the focuser tube. Also check that tube (flat surface bar actions on) as that can get shiny and slippery. A fine file or sharpening stone can help take the shine off and help with the friction needed.
Now I’ve lost friction on both sides, god knows how to correct it.
@@mickwhitaker4086 I will try and help you. I have had this myself and its just a balancing of the tension with the screws.The 3 centre screws are the main pressure of the bar and also how square it presses on the flat surface. the 4 screws that hold the plate on also add pressure. it is easy to have too much pressure and that will also cause slip. so slacken off a bit until you can easily slide the focus tube in and out by hand. Then slowly apply pressure using the centre screw until it starts to action on the focus tube. Just small adjustments and you will find where it starts to work. its easy to go passed this point and then it starts slipping again.
Would this fit a 150pds?
I cannot see why not. They most probably use the same focuser as not that different in size
Yes, it does ;-)
.
thank you