Product Tutorial | Unboxing and Setting up the ZWO AM5 Strain Wave Drive Mount
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- The live show from June 4th, 2022, at 8PM EST (0000UTC), live from New York with the ZWO AM5 Strain Wave Drive mount.
- Unboxing and setting up of an AM5 mount
- Connecting the AM5 to ASIAIR App & ASIMOUNT App
- Explaining the custom PE Test Report
- Introducing and displaying all the functions of AM5 mount
10 Things to Know About the PE Test Report: bit.ly/3NmOzPk
AM5 FAQ’s: bit.ly/3xhAhde
ZWO AM5 mount: bit.ly/3NVBufW
I just got this mount. What an incredible piece of engineering.
I'm sold. I was looking at the iOptron HEM27, but two things made me change my mind: first, i can use my AsiAir directly with the mount, without having to use the hand controller, the HEM27 doesn't allow that, at least for now, and second, the AM5 has locking levers for altitude and azimuth, where on iOptron they make you use the little allen key. Sure, you can tighten the screws enough not to be too loose, and no to tight so you can still make adjustments to your alt or az, but i like the levers better, it's just a nice quality of life feature.
Great job. Interesting how some folks don’t want to be tied to ZWO despite the fact that ZWO has done an outstanding job promoting Astrophotography with quality products. Nothing wrong with making the hobby a bit easier with all the components communicating and working together. The post processing “art” is the subjective workshop. Nice job TJ; well done
I'm knees deep in ZWO's ecosystem with their cameras, EFW, EAF, ASIAIR, etc. But one thing i'm absolutely buttblasted about, is that they don't allow ASCOM control of a motorized camera rotator. Automated matching of camera orientation across multiple aquisition sessions via a plate solving routine would be a godsend for any serious astrophotographer.
It would be one thing if they had one in their line-up, but they don't, then it would be understandable that they prefer users to use their solution over that of the competition.
But not only do they have no plans to develop their own motorized rotator solution, but they have no plans of implementing generic ASCOM support for others either.
That's my only pet peeve about their business model, if they don't offer something they should allow users to use competitor solutions instead.
Such a great video, very informative. I Just received my AM5 and still learned a few things even after all the research I did. Thank you to the gentleman that took the time to answer all these questions.
+1 for a ZWO flat panel!
Just found this video. This looks like a great mount. I think i will get one soon. Thanks for the great overview!
I just received this mount a few days ago and this is a great video. I am still learning the setup process with Asiair Plus.
This was awesome TJ. Thanks for sharing.. I am sold.
Great video and review of the AM5, Tim! Thanks so much. I'm still waiting for mine which, hopefully, should be delivered in Nov. We're neighbors -- almost. I'm in Williston, VT just across Lake Champlain. Thanks so much again for the great information.
Thanks a lot. Good job. I got the mount and drive.
Thank you. Very comprehensive presentation. My AM5 is on order so hoping to be using it soon. I hadn’t realised you could connect to the ASIAir via station mode saving a cable so that’s a bonus. I’ll also be using Nina as one camera I use isn’t ZWO. I hope the ascom driver is well supported. I’ve ordered the PE200 pier extension for more height in my observatory and to get the adapter for Skywatcher tripods in case I want to go mobile.
Look forward to a better look at the use with ASIAir when you get a clear night or indeed you may already have put one up? I’ll check. Thanks again. Clear skies.
Thanks for the démo!
my ma5 arrived today , i can't wait for clear skies
how long did you have to wait to get it after ordering?
@@RLProctor12 I order Frist day of preorder , I get (berlin,Germany) 3week ago
Enjoyed this..perhaps in future unboxing videos you could wipe all traces of the mount from a tablet or phone to show all the setup acquisition and mount to aa+ 1st time connections. Never got WiFi to work so had to use USB in Serial connect to attach to mount. Even then the two wouldn't do a GoTo together. Independently, yes used the ASIMount and did a GoTo but not the AA+ to the mount. Weirdness but whole lots of bad weather since IAN.
Awesome! Thanks for this TJ. I ordered a ZWO AM5 end of December, can't wait to get out under the stars with it! I'm down in Stratham, New Hampshire, and will be up in your area in 2024 for the solar eclipse. Thanks for the tip on potential weather differences between the New York and Burlington sides.
Excellent Chris! It’s going to come up quick. Time to prepare for the eclipse and I hope you get your AM5 soon!
Excellent presentation, the questions I had about App connectivity were answered and the view of the ASI AIR screens makes me think twice about further investment in my present gear : Linux Laptop+KSTARs/EKOS, Celestron CGX. Although my gear works well it will give me a giant hernia and the new ZWO gear makes my gear look like an old rusty Farm Tractor.
Thanks! The AM5 has been a back saver for sure. It makes my setup lightweight and extremely portable.
Thanks, Jim, you know your stuff and delivered it well. I received my AM5 yesterday. It is an excellent piece of equipment and I had it set up in no time. The mount turns smoothly and is almost silent. My only problem is that I cannot find out hoe to use it as a GOTO mount without the use of a ASIair. Can you or any of your many followers please advise me.
Very nice presentation. Answered a lot of questions and it was nice to see the actual unit setup. By the way, how did you know I toppled by EQ6 mount using a wheely bar?
Hi Marvin, Thanks for the feedback. I’m sorry to hear about your wheely bar toppling over.
Hola Tim….I just see this excellent video because I am searching for a non heavy mount…
I am 73…
So recently I read about this AM5 mount, and I am doing some research….my question is if I can use this mount with my 130mm Newtonian scope…I will appreciate your advise….I live in La Paz Baja California Sur, Mexico… Gracias …
I have my unused AM5 with PE160 for sale... they have no way to mount the device to a pier. I contacted ZWO corporate and they have no plans to offer the plates needed to mount to a pier (unless I buy the tripod just to get the silver mounting plate) not impressed!
Hi Tim, awesome video! I just got my AM5 and using it for the first time was -5F outside "Wisconsin" after awhile it wouldn't slew it would move a small amount then beep .. I could get it to go home if I kept pressing go home it would move a small amount then beep ... I brought it inside and powered it up and it was fine. Does it have a temp sensor and some protection for the cold. this seemed like a software thing? once in the house for a new mins it was fine.
Just viewed your excellent presentation on the zwo am5. Zwo should hie you.
Hi. Is there any advantage of using the USB3 thumbdrive in the USB3 port over using a microSDXC card in the TF card slot?
Hey. Great video. Question. There are 2 apps, the mount app and the ASI air app do they work together or do you have to go back and fourth in order to go to targets.
I ordered mine in March 2022 to replace my EQ6Rpro. I ordered it to drive my Esprit 120ed. I had concerns about the am5 not working with my 9.25 because the ZWO website says it will not guide accurately enough past 900mm for Astro photography. But You are saying your getting great images with your 9.25. I can’t wait to find out.
That number is meaningless without knowing the image scale.
You can image at 100000mm and have round stars as long as you bin that enough, so that your image scale becomes greater than your guiding error.
Apparently this mount can achieve consistent 0.5-0.8" error when guiding appropriately, so it would be more appropriate to say it can handle 1arcsec/pix image scale, instead of giving out meaningless focal length values that mean absolutely nothing without knowing the Pixel size of the sensor and binning.
And then, there's your local seeing. There's no telling if you could even get more angular resolution out of sub-arcsec image scale, if your skies are substandard due to things outside your control.
wonder if you have found out AM5 can work with C9.25 properly? :)
@@OscarShu last I talked to him he has been running the 9.25 with no problems.
I would like to use the ZWO AM5 with a Celestron 9.25-inch SCT. Is the CF40 carbon fiber tripod adequate for deep sky astrophotography with this scope, or should one use a heavy duty tripod like the Celestron AVX? Unfortunately, the AVX tripod cannot be bought alone, so what should I do to use the AM5 with my 9.25-inch EdgeHD SCT OTA?
Looks like a great bit of kit but I was interested in its ALT/AZ capability can it track in that mode as well ? What is the weight limit in that mode ? I had a AZEQ6GT but it was way too heavy for portable. So looking for a similar EQ/AZ type mount. That aside can the ASIAIR work with non-ASI cameras like QHY ?
Enjoyed your video
Cliff in windy Sydney Australia
asi does not support qhy etc..they have limited support for non-zwo cameras, nikon and cannon dslrs work, but for the most part it is a zwo eco-system with zero support for competitor brands....and this has nothing to do with the AM5 mount, but rather the asiair brain box
Yes it tracks in alt/az mode as well. The weight limits are still the same and do not change. 13kg without the counterweight and 20kg with the counterweight.
The ASIair supports ZWO cameras and numerous Canon and Nikon DSLR models.
@@zwoastro Thank you sure looks a great portable mount.
Hanzhen harmonic drive gear , strain wave reducer, robot joint , over 30 years experience
Hello I am curious about planetary imaging with the AM5. If polar alignmnet using ASIAiR and planetary camera is very difucult due to poor plate solving, How can the AM5 be aligned (slew) to track planets, when plate solving is very poor on any target using a planetary sensor camera? Thanks,
Hi would you recommend this mount for a beginner? Would start with small scope 72mm- 80mm and a dslr nikon d7000 crop censor. However not knowing factors involving imaging at higher focal lengths would this mount handle the stated 900mm and be capable of taking good images? Also how important is it to take longer exposures? Will this mount take long exposures at the 900mm focal length of required?
Can I keep my beers in the weight bag 🙂- seriously though, looks a great mount.
That’s a good solution but what about as the night goes on and the cooler gets light. 😁
The laser for alignment would be so amazing to have
Unfortunately international rules and laws make this difficult to implement.
@@zwoastro what country doesn't like it?
@@scidav87 Most of them.
Why does the catalog say that M33 is the Triangulum "Nebula" when it's a galaxy?
Thanks for pointing this out.
How to take flats with a white t-shirt light on the top method? should we change to alt-azimuth mode?
Hi, I bought an AM5 and on one the axes I found a strange noise, like a popping noise with each step the assembly rotates. This is normal?
So where would I attach the pole master or ipolar? Can the saddle be flipped around to have the tighting knobs on the left side?
Hey Tim! How do I get a ZWO hoodie like yours?
one of the big selling points of the more expensive harmonic drive systems is not needing to achieve great balance...those systems throw around unbalanced loads and still maintain accuracy. how important is balance in relation to tracking with the AM5?
The balance isn’t as important with the strain wave drive mounts. That is a great benefit of the AM5.
If the part of the mount surface facing north is flat then mounting a compass or QHY Polemaster should be easy.
asiair negates the need for polemaster
Yes if you aren’t using the ASIair for PA, then Polemaster could be adapted.
Wondering if you would comment how this mount compares to the iOptron CEM26? Thanks
What are the steps for alignment when using for visual? There is an align button on the ASI mount app, but how best to use it when we don't have a guider or imaging camera? Do we need accurate polar alignment or do we just need to do rough polar alignment and just do 2 or 3 star alignment? (There are no instructions for this align button on the manual.)
Do a rough polar alignment, as north as u can with a compass, and use a finder scope or guide scope to get close to Polaris then once ur in asiair plus app it will take pictures and plate solve from there and guide u to adjust the az and lat.
HI, I have both a Celestron AVX tripod and a skywatcher tripod, will the am5 fit either or both with no problem?
Please clarify the 900mm focal length maximum mentioned on the website. Is this with or without guiding?
With guiding we have seen successful results with higher focal lengths. TJ is using a 9.25” SCT at 1645mm focal length at 300 second exposures with nice round stars and great detail.
@@zwoastro That number is meaningless without knowing the image scale.
You can image at 100000mm and have round stars as long as you bin that enough, so that your image scale becomes greater than your guiding error.
Apparently this mount can achieve 0.5-0.8" error when guiding, so it would be more appropriate to say it can handle 1arcsec/pix image scale, instead of giving out meaningless focal length values that mean absolutely nothing without knowing the Pixel size of the sensor and binning.
@@TheKain202 all numbers are meaningless then. he answered your question directly...go kick rocks.
@@marcus576 No, you NEED to have ALL the numbers to get a comprehensive answer. Just some of them are worthless at worst, misleading at best, because they don't give you the actual, full picture.
For example, trying to image at 900mm with a camera with 2,4 micron pixels would push this mount way past its limits. Imagine buying a 2k$ sct, because you've seen promising words, only to learn that it ain't gonna happen unless you bin your subs to half their native size.
This isn't just some fluff, that's some really important stuff for a prospective user to be able to match his gear together for optimal experience.
Your behavior is scandalous, a company doesn't need you to white knight for them.
Perhaps you need to kick rocks around, because astrophotography might be a tad too complex for you.
@@TheKain202 and you are expecting a manufacturer to provide all the data concerning every possible configuration? that is far beyond reasonable. i know the importance of the numbers but that is up to the individual who assembles their own rig to determine. to think a manufacturer is obligated to provide this to you is the definition of entitled.
Is that correct, the side notes say the Next AM5 BAtch is going to have the ASI AIR integrated into the mount ? Is the Air Optional or mandatory? I prefer to continue to use a Linux laptop with KSTARS and EKOS to control my present mount
dont worry, you are not getting an asiair bundled with it, nor integrated.
No, the ASIair is not going to be installed in the AM5. It will be a separate unit. You can continue to use your Linux laptop with the AM5.
For using skyatlas must be a Polar alignment first?
will you keep making camera in same size as 294? if we got smaller pixels and no amp glow on 294 sensor i think you have the best all rounder camera on the market
I think maybe you are seeking for ASI533MM/MC Pro? It features 1inch square sensor with no amp glow.
@@zwoastro the only problem with 533 are the smaller field of wiew. that what ment with same size.
@@grandmasteryoda9893 ZWO ain't the one making sensors. They repurpose commercially available CMOS units for AP use. Micro 4/3rd's is kind of a dying breed and about to go extinct nowadays, as far as sensors are concerned - so I wouldn't be surprised if the 294 series were the last one in that format.
@@TheKain202 that sad becuse of field of wiew are very good for many scopes. and keep cost down
@@grandmasteryoda9893 I feel you.
I myself made a jump to mono with 294mm-p, and after wrangling its quirky nature into submission - quite happy with it.
Amp glow is immaterial, calibrates out perfectly with a master dark, i suppose it's a pain you can't just scale a single master, but making a library over two days is not THAT much of a pain.
Flats were much more annoying to deal with and it took me a good two weeks to figure out what worka and what doesn't.
Thankfully i just made a library that i'm successfully reusing for a better part of the year, since i dust-proofed the EFW(dust and stray light loves to come in through the TINY gaps around motor and the USB port - i electric taped that good and haven't had a single dust particle yet), and rotate the entire image train directly at the focuser, and not just the camera.
I need the subtitles please!
If you go to the gear then click : translate automatically, then there is a selection of languages that can be translated. Yours will be there for sure :) Good luck
Internally how is HOME determined and does the HOME position ever need recalibration?
Home position is determined by an internal sensor and can be recalibrated.
Typical at star parties someone else will have a AM5/ASI Air combination, is it possible to make my AM5/ASI Air Wifi name unique so there is no interference with the other star party AM5 user ?
Yes, you can change the WiFi name and passcode to be unique to avoid a conflict.
Can it handle my c11 edge with the added weight of oag, dew shield and dew heater ring and a zwo 2600mc?
no
What is the weight of your setup?
TJ, did you power AM5 from AISAIR?
he answers this in the video. do you expect him to parse through all these comments and answer your question when you did not even bother watching the video?
@@marcus576 why you care, I watched completely, when I asked he has no explained. You do not need to answer anything here m
I power the AM5 with a 12 volt 10 amp power supply. Then I power the ASIair, cooled camera and the dew heaters off the 5 amp output on the side of the AM5.
@@zwoastro in my country, there are sources equal to that of ZWO that has Output 12 V- 10Amp- 120w
Will this be the right one?
Would prefer a conventional hand controller with Goto functions instead of using Wifi and my phone or computer
it has a hand controller, not conventional though, so look elsewhere. Celestron makes some nice mounts for noobs
@@marcus576 this 😂😂😂😂
I would love to buy a telescope.and study the stars. But I'm afraid I'm too stupid to set the bloody thing up correctly. Bugger :(
The ASIair and the AM5 make studying the stars very simple. I am sure you can do it.