ZWO AM5 and ASI2600MC- Pro First Light

In this video, we finally get the AM5 and the ASI2600MC-Pro out to play on a few different objects. One popular one, and another that is closer to home. After imaging, I go over my first impressions with using this setup.
Super helpful clamps for portable observatories: amzn.to/3m4YjVT
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While all Astronomy stores are great, I HIGHLY recommend Agena Astro. Check them out here: agenaastro.com/?rfsn=7382645....
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Gear mentioned in this video:
ZWO 2600 MC-Pro: bit.ly/3ByOofD (Agena Astro)
ZWO AM5: bit.ly/3WaH7vY (Agena Astro)
Check out my images at astroescape.com
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QOTD: If you live somewhere you have to block out nearby lights, what method do YOU use to block those lights? Tarps? Premade observatory tents? Full on permanent observatory? Let me know down below!
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My Astro Gear:
Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro: amzn.to/3yJSfVU (Amazon)
Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro: bit.ly/3oam0NL (Agena Astro)
William Optics Zenithstar 61: bit.ly/3IiEv9E (Agena Astro)
Flattener for Zenithstar 61: bit.ly/3OojrCF (Agena Astro)
ZWO ASI294MC Pro: bit.ly/3o3Fd3R (Agena Astro)
ZWO ASI Air Plus Kit: bit.ly/3Ilevua (Agena Astro)
AC to DC 12V Power Adapter: amzn.to/3CNEx4h
Recording Gear for the Curious:
Wireless Lav Mic:
Camera: amzn.to/3BQjJKn
Microphone: amzn.to/3E17I7R
Tripod: amzn.to/3Ci0haW
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this, and pay for replacement screws I've dropped in the dark. Thank you for the support!

[@flyalaz]

Something everyone seems to miss is that the locking screws for az are adjustable. Simply lift straight up on the black plastic caps (you will notice they are spring loaded) and simply rotate them to a position that will help keep them out of the way and help prevent them from snagging the cables. Same applies on the pier extensions.

[@AstroEscape]

Good catch! Thank you!

[@woody5109]

It’s comforting to see everyone runs into issues in the dark, great video, thanks for sharing. I feel guilty living under a bortle 4 sky, sipping a scotch next to the gas fire pit as my rig goes to work, cheers.

[@AstroEscape]

Happens all the time. I've watched plenty have nights go bad at my club while my rig is chugging away, and vice versa.

[@blakebrothers]

Great video - really enjoyed it! Re your neighbors, my first thought would be invite them over for an evening - maybe even let them help decide what to photograph and get together again to show them the results. During the ensuing conversations in planning your session, the light polution topic can come up and they may figure out the right thing to do without you having to ask - especially once they see that tarp - haha. Just a thought.

[@AstroEscape]

I've talked to the one I mentioned that leaves the light on, and showed him pics. I do give him a slight pass because he is elderly but is still active outside the house, and comes home after dark. he knows that I image and will shut it off if I catch him home. For the others behind me, They all know too, but they've never seen the pics. So, I'll work your suggestion into some kind of get-together :)

[@blakebrothers]

@@AstroEscape Ah - I see. Well, it's not always easy -the Universe seems to test us in many ways - haha. I admire you for having the conversation!

[@Grahamwarrellow1]

Thanks Daylon! Rather than move the whole tripod when you are so far out of initial polar alignment, you can just unlock the clamp on the AM5 base to tripod and just rotate. Has worked fine for me. The other thing that I’ve done more recently is to use an app called PS Align Pro (costs a few $) on my iPhone (take it out of the case) which has a way of adjusting the az/alt to get you pretty close to alignment. I use this before it gets dark to get the rig close and then finish off with the ASIAIR.

[@AstroEscape]

Nice. Yeah, with the move the mount thing, I'm not used to the way ZWO set up the AM5 to mount, so the rotatable base was new to me when I first set it up :)

[@jims9982]

@@AstroEscape I just learned something new. That I can unlock and rotate the base of my AM5. I've been picking up and moving the whole tripod myself. Thanks, guys!

[@davidjennings2733]

Yup, that's what I do as well, it works wonders and saves on the ascension limited space.

[@jtepsr]

Years ago when I just did visual astronomy, I bought structure made of pvc and canvas which sets up very quickly and I had weights on bottom for stability

[@AstroEscape]

Excellent setup! I've seen a bunch of those.

[@GrahamtheWood1]

Well done, excellent images! I'm so impressed with your enthusiasm and tenacity with neighbours lights, streetlights, tarpaulins and peeing dogs (!) in order to produce images like you manage to do. I also have an ASI2600 MC Pro which is superb and inquisitive cat who is not! Best wishes from France. Dark skies!!

[@AstroEscape]

Thanks. Yeah, the dog isn't a problem so much anymore.... he knows. But the neighbors are a different story.

[@Jonasastrophotos]

To block a streetlamp i have made a DIY Shield that i have attached to my fence. Its not pretty but it gets the job done

[@AstroEscape]

As long as it works!

[@richardharrison494]

Hi Nice video, I grew up in Pittsburgh. I was in the mid70s using a small meade refractor i got for Xmas to view Orion nebula, now I'm doing Astroimaging like you in the Detroit Suburbs

[@AstroEscape]

Dealing with the light pollution sucks, but it's amazing what you can pull out from the haze :)

[@TheGoKidd]

Clever idea for a portable observatory!!

[@AstroEscape]

It does the job for sure. That canopy was an older one and the roof of it was ripping but the frame was still fine. It's pretty easy to remove the roof struts too :) Thanks for watching!

[@TheGoKidd]

@@AstroEscape I shall watch for a Soccer Mom yard sale. ;-)

[@amp2amp800]

Nice! That's a great grab and go with the zenithstar. Last time out (ten days ago) I was also doing AM5 first light and chose the exact same targets with my 533MC-Pro/L-eNhance and my EON 130. The big apo really needs a heavier tripod though, so I've adapted my skywatcher EQ6 legs ready to take the AM5 out for another test run on the next clear night.

[@AstroEscape]

That's a good idea. I agree that those tripod legs wouldn't be able to handle a heavy load, nice idea with the EQ6 legs!

[@amp2amp800]

​@@AstroEscape It turned out to be rock steady during focus and PA. 😊Then a big snow cloud came over, but I managed to pack up in record time (15mins) too.

[@davidjennings2733]

EDIT: Ok. I see that you are not in an alleyway, you are in a portion of your backyard. I feel bad for you having to deal with setting up this temporary structure every time you want to image. Kudo's to you for going through this in order to enjoy the hobby. Thanks for sharing..

[@AstroEscape]

Yeah, it's not always fun setting it up. Cars driving by can be a major pain at night with the headlights. This helps a ton!

[@ronmac1832]

A few more images like this and I'm going to be convinced the ASI2600 is the camera for me!

[@AstroEscape]

I hope you made your decision!

[@bobjor3]

Hello, I thought I'd point out that when rotating your camera, you can leave your settings as they were for polar alignment Take your preview shot, then go back into the sky atlas, and it'll show your new rotation and framing. I think there may be an even simpler way now, right inside the atlas using the rotation button, but I haven't used it yet. Good video, enjoy that shiny new mount!

[@AstroEscape]

There is a framing mode, but it was a bit bugged that night.

[@ericshingler8915]

Nice to see some PA shooters! I'm in Johnstown Bortle 5. Not too shabby. I can get to a Bortle 3 within about an hour drive though.

[@AstroEscape]

Nice man! There's quite a few of us that live in PA! Do you ever head up to Cherry Springs?

[@2badger2]

I have the same issue with polar alignment. What I did was place 3 garden round flat blocks on the the ground the next day after getting the polar align as good as possible. I made sure that the tripod leg was in the center of the block first block that I burying the thickness of the block. I repeated that for the other legs. Now when I go out, for the pass year, I just make sure the tripod legs are in the center of the blocks and the polar alignment is really close.

[@AstroEscape]

I love that method to make it easy to store your gear and get it going fast each night!

[@jtepsr]

I didn’t see you set mount to go to home position after auto run. Did you set recalibrate after meridian flip.

[@robertw1871]

I moved away from neighbors…. Any lights that bother me I turn off… After 25 years in the big city it’s the best thing I’ve done…

[@AstroEscape]

I used to live in a small town but after some time in the military, only lived in or near large cities since. No IT jobs where I lived, so I stayed. Now that remote work is possible, getting out of the city will happen :) thanks for watching Robert!

[@malanstecker]

What guide settings would you recommend for a 240 mm focal length guides scope with 3-micron pixel guide camera for the AM5 mount? Calibration Step, Dec Duration, RA Duration and % Aggression for RA and Dec at 1 second guide exposures?

[@AstroEscape]

My first question for you is what monster is that guide scope on?!?! I've never changed it since I only have a 30mm guide scope at the moment. Default values have always worked for me. If anything, start at 50% and adjust as needed as sky conditions change.

[@captaincook6666]

Hi mate. I've been thinking about AM 5 for a while. The plate solving looks good on ASAIR- does it always work? PS I always move my tripod for anything more than a deg out when PA. It's much quicker. Another tip use toilet roll middle as guide scope dew shield. I've used same one for 2 years works a treat!

[@AstroEscape]

Interesting dew shield idea. Not a crappy idea if I do say so myself (sorry for the bad joke lol). Yeah the plate solve on the AIR works great. I've never had any major issues with it. Pardon me while I go find some wood to knock on haha.

[@Oamaruastro]

I was playing with my ASIAIR yesterday (in anticipation of my AM5 arriving, possibly next week) and I was wondering why the focus screen has what looks like a way to zoom in, but tapping it didn't seem to do anything. Is there a trick to getting it to zoom?

[@AstroEscape]

Apologies for the delay, James. No trick, just tap on it. It should bring up another screen that shows a graph to help you get the best focus.

[@tompage8674]

Instead of all that tarp stuff, is there a way to make a shield for the lens?

[@AstroEscape]

There's one already on it. The problem is (at least where I am) there's lights both down and up the hill from me. The tarp is the best bet to block them in one go. The built-in dew shield for the telescope can only block so much =/

[@mikehardy8247]

I have to hide in the shadow of my garage between the alley sodium vapor street light, and the neighbors incandescent porch light across alley. 2 neighbors S of me are a little dimmer. Bortle 8-9. Milwaukee! Been reading a lot about dual narrow band filters. If you cowered this forgive me, what do you use?

[@AstroEscape]

I use the Optolong l-eNhance when I'm at home. For the comet I used UV-IR cut to try to get as much color as possible. Getting at least the enhance or similar can help for sure!

[@CDigata]

Nice.. you do whatt ya gota do .. do the canopies improve things much?

[@AstroEscape]

Yes, they do. Depending on where the scope is pointed, the nearby streetlights cause artifacts in the image. Blocking the lights stops that. It's annoying but it is what it is! Do you have to block off any lights?

[@CDigata]

@@AstroEscape I have a streetlight near me but i do remember getting some fan shaped objects from some bright stars when pointing towards an IR security camera

[@hael8680]

Are you saying you can still move Dec and Azimuth with the locks fully engaged?

[@AstroEscape]

Yes, but the movement is very minimal. Since doing the first light video, I've shot a few more times with the mount and leaving it unlocked until you are completely done polar aligning is fine.

[@tubedude54]

I wish street lights were my problem. I have trees which limit my seeing of the southern sky such that I have only about 1 hours time to see anything and just after it is rising. That means to see the Orion area I had to do it in December. But Decembers skies were cloudy so I missed out again this season. I'd cut the trees but I don't think my neighbor would like me going on his property and doing that! lol Going to a remote site is not feasible as I don't have a vehicle capable of transporting my 'stuff' anymore. (edit) Forgot to ask how the period error of the drive is. I just read an article yesterday that said PE on these drives is anywhere from 2 to 10x greater than on worm drives. Did you run PHD2 to guide and check what kind of PE it reported? I was really interested in getting one of these mounts but after reading that I may wait to see if they can get it lower.

[@AstroEscape]

Ah man that's a bummer about the trees. I haven't yet plugged it into PHD2 to see, but I just may do that.

[@MazzifLOL]

Do you find that the curtains make a markedly noticeable difference?

[@AstroEscape]

Depending on where it's all pointed, yes. I've had to delete frames that the lights cause artifacts in bad enough to not be usable.

[@andesastro]

Is the seagull nebula visible from your sky? Could be a good alternative target to Orion

[@AstroEscape]

It is from the observatory in my adding landscape to Stellarium video. And I'm going there tonight to get the Seagull 😆

[@andesastro]

@@AstroEscape nice! I’ve seen a couple of videos with the rotation assistant in the sky atlas that I think it could be helpful

[@4sapphireb]

And I complain about Bortle 2😊

[@fleischpflanzerlmitsenf]

Between neighbors, street lights and bortle 9 i shoot only near the zenith. I treat it like training, for the day i will take my stuff to a dark zone.

[@AstroEscape]

Trust me, you will enjoy it. Get your gear running, then kick back in a chair and just stare at the sky.... and try to count how many satellites you see lol

[@CoffeeRunHobby]

See if the city hall agrees to change your street light to cutoff or even better full cutoff head

[@AstroEscape]

Storytime! There was another light to the left of the camera, so another one between the one close you could see, and the one behind the camera. That house between the two I showed is a new build. In 2019 they were tearing down the old house that was there and it fell over knocking out the power lines and breaking the middle pole enough to require replacing. I was home when the city crew was surveying to get the new pole in place. I asked them not to put the light back up. They didn't. Remnants of the old pole is still hanging there and has since become a bird's nest. As for replacement, they will be within a few years anyways. I'm part of the local IDA chapter and in 2021 they adopted a Dark Sky Ordinance. They will be replacing all of the lights city wide to fully shielded fixture LED's. A bit of a battle to get them to go to 2200k in color, but we're still working on that. The buildings the city owns will replace fixtures over time with shielded fixtures as well.

[@CoffeeRunHobby]

Good to know that Dark Sky Ordinance exists there as well. We should popularize it everywhere we have a chance ;)

[@charlespacer7421]

I don't have that problem because I would never ever live in a city.

[@AstroEscape]

The local IDA chapter that I am a part of helped the city adopt a Dark Sky Ordinance. Tough part is getting them to hurry up and transition, then find a way to get commercial and private buildings to fall under the code. Only thing we can think of so far is on new construction or sale, require fixtures to be night sky friendly.

[@refetastro]

Beautiful video Question How did you power asi2600mc pro And how did you power dew heaters . Thanks

[@AstroEscape]

I powered the camera with the ASI AIR, and the dew heaters with a USB wall plug.