My William Optics ZenithStar Z61 II One Year Later

[@davidjennings2733]

Hey Bill, I know that I'm a little late to the party but great build based on the information you had at the time. Too bad you don't live closer, you could come out to the Bortle 4 here in Texas, full backyard with little to no trees to get in the way. Would enjoy shooting with ya and drink some good ol Ice Tea. Cheers and clear skies my friend.

[@AstroVagabond]

Have van will travel! Thank for the positive comments. Clear shies!

[@montygore]

I can relate. I bought everything at once. After 1 1/2 years I learned. Hard way to go. Thanks for the video

[@AstroVagabond]

You are welcome Monty and thank you for taking a moment to comment. Much appreciated. 👍

[@astrodad656]

Great to see your rig and accessories. I am in between with Bottle 6 and am tree bound east and west. I have a better southern view and it allows me a fair amount of availability for example winter nebulas. And I have yet to jump in on the eaf. I am semi-automated with my Wi-Fi that reaches my scope imaging from my driveway just using a laptop. Some crazy stuff we do! Thanks for the vlog.

[@AstroVagabond]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing with me and others you setup. Much appreciated! I love an EAF. 😀 Pegasus Astro and others are out there as well but the ZWO price point fit my budget. If you want to check them out on OPT there is a link to OPT in the video description. Clear skies!

[@wallbke]

You are on the go again Bill!😀 Myself, I have summarised my first season with some 10 successful projects. I first got the ASI 533 MC cam but later in the winter I bought a 2600 MC. I only regret the first. Now I bought a GEM45 (head only) and started to project a pier in my bortl 4 backyard and a small retractable shed 1x1 m to cover it. I also ordered a new scope 450 mm FL. I will get that in may hopefully. Nice that you are back!

[@AstroVagabond]

Wow fantastic update Kurt. Thanks!

[@aw7425]

Super recap, thanks and clear skies

[@AstroVagabond]

Glad you enjoyed it! Clear skies .. 👍

[@deepskytrekkin9600]

Very similar to my Z61 portable rig setup. I have mine on my old AVX mount. Same guider setup. I have been busy with my permanent rig (EdgeHD8, ATIK414EX, Orion G3/OAG, CGX, on a pier) in bortle 4. Built a modest roll-away observatory for it a few years back. Just about have it ready to image. Working out some last details. Clear skies and new moons

[@AstroVagabond]

Very cool! And let me know where you will be posting images from your new rig. I'd love to see them. 👍

[@deepskytrekkin9600]

@@AstroVagabond Will do. Here's my observatory build: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYqVooV4iJ6moM0

[@AstroLensJourney]

Wonderful video! Keep it up!

[@AstroVagabond]

Thank you! Will do!

[@brianwattenbarger6903]

Bill I see you have a Telegizmos 365 cover. There's lots of those to choose from can you tell me exactly which one you have? I'd love to get one for my Z61/HEQ5 Pro......yours looks like it fits really well......

[@AstroVagabond]

Hi Brian I purchased the TeleGizmos 365 Series Cover for 4" - 5" Equatorial Refractor Telescopes from OPT. I went with a larger cover than required because I see myself moving up to a 4" refractor at some point to image galaxies and smaller nebulae. Hope this helps. He is my link which will take you to OPT's website where you can check out current pricing and additional information: bit.ly/3BkSJBf 👍 (~ Bill)

[@sorrycharlie1736]

Hey mate, I'm thinking of going with the 294MC Pro. I currently have a Zenithstar 61 with the flat61 and a DSLR. Would you recommend that combo? Are there any issues with back focus? Would love a video showing the spacers you had to use. Cheers-Lucas

[@AstroVagabond]

Great question. I've been happy with how my ASI294MM performs with my Z61 mod II. You are probably aware you'll need to take flatdarks in lieu of bias frames which seem to be the standard practice amongst the community of 294 owners. Getting the right back focus was easy to dial in following the ZWO documentation. No promises but let me think about knocking out a backfocus video in the next few days. I'm recovering from COVID so I'm a bit slowed down right now but trending well towards recovery and negative status. I recently purchased the ASI533MC Pro which is an interesting sensor, it's square. It is newer sensor technology, you can use bias frames so you don't need flatdarks, and ZWO says you don't even need to use Darks. I still use Darks however. While I think you would be fine with the 294 you may want to explore the 533 a bit before you pull the trigger.

[@woody5109]

Although your his age, you are not Willy Nelson, consider a haircut 😂

[@AstroVagabond]

Love it!