15.09.2025 Gales and rain.

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  Monday 15th Two days of severe gales and rain! I shall use the time to learn how to use the Apps and get familiarized with the system and get it up and running.

 ZWO Sky Atlas has been driving me mad! I couldn't get past the permissions screens. The reason was quite simple. I had the phone's font set to maximum size. Old age visual decline. The "Agree" button was pushed off the screen. Now fixed and I can now use the App. Now I just need to find the mount. There is no mount symbol on the screen or in the indexes.

 I have now connected my phone to the AM5N mount with Bluetooth. The phone couldn't pair with the mount but the Sky Atlas App had no problem. I had to find the Bluetooth button on the mounting. It was just above the blue LED. The Goto button in the App vanished soon after moving the mount with the arrows. Why? More research! It seems the button disappears if an selected object is too bright? Nuts! 

 I did manage to get a white light image from the Lunt 60MT using the ZWO ASI174. Using "Snapshot" in SharpCap. Through a double glazed window. The trees on the right are at 460 meters. They were thrashing about wildly in the wind. The field in the foreground was also in constant movement. Black and white image from the 174MM mono camera. Resized and sent by email between the two computers. PC and mini-PC.

  I wasted hours in the afternoon trying to connect a brand new Logitech "Wireless" keyboard. Tried with both computers via Bluetooth. The only option  since wireless is not possible. It isn't recognized and will not connect. Nor will the bundled "Wireless" mouse. I wasted more hours going though the windows and Logitech support garbage repeatedly! 

 Though I did manage to get mount control working in Sharpcap. So I am making steady progress. It is far too windy to risk taking it all outside to point it at the sun. There have been some ferocious showers and gusts today! 

 I keep reading forum posts and watching YT videos about the load capacity of the AM5N mounting. It is quite shocking how some user load their mountings to the very limit. The AM5N has a capacity of 44lbs or 20kg.With counterweight. 

 My 6" [150mm] f/10 iStar solar refractor weighs "only" 27lbs or 12kg. This is with its tube rings and the hefty D-ERF front filter in its cell. It is quite long at 120cm from nose to the outer face of the racked in focuser. 

 I'd want a fairly long Losmandy dovetail bar. To aid longitudinal balance and to more safely carry the considerable weight. Hopefully more safely in the ZWO's saddle clamps. 

 The image shows the 6" in my 10' [3m] observatory. Mounted on my massive home-built equatorial mounting. It seems impossible that this large instrument could sit on a four inch [10cm] cube! The considerable length would probably hit the tripod legs if it was pointed vertically. However, the sun and moon are never so high. The danger is during a meridian flip. I'd have to ensure it never flipped!

 

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