I've watched the other videos in the series and I was thinking of finally getting it yesterday, so now with your video I will definitely buy it! Thank you and clear skies
I have one myself since thanksgiving time... but i dont have dark skies where i live..... would have to make a trip up north to get that..... i tried using it...... but did not work how i hoped..... this is more detailed on the instructions so I will give it a try again
Im in bortle 6 just go for it. Its good practice to get everything up running if nothing else. I have to dodge clouds like a ninja, but we do what we can with what we have :)
@@jesuschrist2284 i am in bortle 9 sadly ...... there is 1 place i can go to that has bortle 7...... if i go to my sister home she has a bortle 4-5..... but thats 3 hrs from where i live
Thank you for sharing this. Just bought my own GTI, waiting to come to me. Could you please share a video how you mounted all the equipment on the GTI ? I am newbie. thank you again
I just stumbled across your channel. I really like your style. Good sense of humor and you have a very relate-able approach. Thanks! FYI - just bought the AZ GTi and getting ready for my first night out ... I am very early in my astrophotography hobby. Love the video
Don't do it. IEXOS is cheaper and belt driven. I regret getting the GTI, and pushed me to spend money on a EQ6R pro much sooner. I'm struggling to sell my GTI and might just keep it for solar or run two rigs some nights.
I just found your videos, and have enjoyed them! I have the star advnturer gti and its great! But i had a question on payload and hopefully you can answer…when it states “payload” in the owners manual, do they consider the “payload” to mean camera/scope etc, what is on topside of the mount head? Or does payload mean all wt combined including the bar and counter wt?? Thank you for your videos!
Great question. I called skywatcher on this when I started astro, and the payload is on the Mount side. Camera scope etc. The counterweight and the bar are not a factor there.
@@astronotna awesome! Thank you!! I have a 120st achro scope that is 8 1/2 lbs, and adding a dslr w/accessories it puts it at 11lbs…i use the evoguide 50ed w/ my dslr as my major rig (no guiding). great for wide shots of the night sky. Thanks again!!
I set it at 67 in this video. Man I don't get to that site to often but when I do it's always a great time. I met a nice family there that night and I talked to the kids about astrophotography. It was pretty neat to see the wonder in their faces.
Your channel is immensely helpful to people just starting in the hobby like myself. Very informative and helpful in avoiding frustrating mistakes that can put people off the hobby in the beginning. Also, why the red light on your hat? 🤔. Sorry I'm very new 😅
Thanks I definitely try to be helpful. I remember what it was like just starting out! Red light at night preserves your night vision. Thanks for watching this one!
Really enjoying your videos - such a clear and great help! I have a svbony 30mm guide scope and a ZWO ASI120MM MINI to guide - Skywatcher GTI and ASIAir mini. I cannot manage to get my guiding working fine, it seems to always fail the calibration, specifically the DEC calibration fails because "star has not moved far enough". I tried to rise up the calibration step but could not succeed yet...I was wondering what values did you use?
Its pretty much stock for me besides my agression settings. Somethings to check make sure RA / dec are tightened down or in lock position. make sure your guide rate is .5X, Dec setting is at auto. Calibrate where you intend to shoot. Also replace the USB cable just in case. You would surprised how many things get fixed by replacing a cable.
Can I set that mount up on my patio and go in the house and let it start taking pictures and then go out in a couple hours and have some Nebula to look at?
Thabks for the video! Its very helpful. I got the GTi about a week ago, but I cant seem to get the GOTO function to work correctly. I believe my polar alignment is accurate because i can take 75 second exposures with nice, sharp stars. My problem is that the go-to function never actually gets my camera pointed at the deep sky object. After I polar align, I try to do a 1 star alignment (usually I select Jupiter), but my GTi will be quite a bit off. It took me 45 minutes to find Andromeda the other night, and I ultimately found it just by star hopping and using Stellarium. I'm sure i am doing something wrong. If you have any suggestions I'd be very grateful. Thanks
Thanks for watching this one! Well remember the pointing accuracy diminishes as your focal length increases. Not sure what focal length or camera sensor you are shooting with. Just make sure your mount is level and You may need to do more than a one star alignment but even with that it's still difficult to center a target at longer focal lengths. Try aligning to stars as well instead of planets. Its common to need to fine tune your framing using the mounts goto function. If you really enjoy astrophotography you might want to look at platesolving. It's way more accurate and you will be able to frame up a target really quickly but it is investment in additional equipment.
Thank you so much for the prompt reply. I am currently just using a digital camera with the Rokinon 135mm lens. My camera is, however, mounted to a ball head. Maybe if the ball head isn't perfectly parallel to the polar scope, it is causing my targets to be completely outside of the camera's viewfinder after I use the goto function? I tried to "eyeball it" and keep my camera lens as parallel as possible, but maybe I should find a way to directly mount my camera to the GTi without having a ball head mount in between. I'll give it a try. Thanks again.. oh, and I'll look into plate solving. I'm familiar with the principle, but it seemed very technical and scared me away the first time I looked into it 😂
Of course! Ah ok that's it then! I have a video coming out next week about mounting standard DSLR /Mirrorless to the GTI sometime next week. It's the most common question I get from beginners and yes that ball mount can put your GOTO off quite a bit. Look into getting a vixen dovetail and a 1/4 -20 thread screw its what the gti was designed for like this one: amzn.to/4j6JvyP It uses the tripod screw in the bottom of you camera. if you need rotation for your camera after this which is why I think you wanted a ball mount in the first place look into getting a lens collar for your 135mm. It will keep it in the proper place on your mount. I am not sure if its made for the 135 but is what you would need. The default angle though once mounted on the staradventurer should frame up targets most targets quite nicely. alternatively you could look into getting a small telescope (The come with camera rotators) and that would solve alot of your issues but again you would be jumping down a rabbit hole for gear. lol
@@astronotnaYou are a lifesaver! I just bought one of these vixen dovetails because I couldn't get my camera to balance, but I didn't even think to directly mount the camera to the dovetail. I was still trying to use the stupid ball head 😂😂 I will adjust my set up this evening after work and see if I can see my targets now. Much appreciated!
hi, nice video! can you share your guiding settings? i have the same mount but i have issue with drivers (i think). Right now my experience with this light setup is very bad. I tried also to test the tracking system, withouth autoguiding but it loses stars after 30s. Can you help me in some way?
I can give you things to check. First you want to make sure you balanced your mount in both RA and DEC I did make a video on this so check it out if you need the reference th-cam.com/video/S5_EMuOYuS0/w-d-xo.html. You also want to make sure you have not exceeded the wieght limit on your mount. Check your polar alignment as well at night that it is indeed accurate and make sure your mount is level. Most guiding problems start here. With guiding take time to intiate the calibration proces. I can share my guiding settings but remember they may not work for you due to set up and where I am in the world. I am also using the ASIAIR. As I said in this video My settings for RA is 45 and DEC is 40 for this mount. Hopefully this helps in someway. Keep at it my friend you will get there.
I have this GTI. When lookong through the scope my polar clock is not vertical when the right assention bar is vertical. Is that a problem? It seems misaligned to me. How do I fix that?
Well you just need to have Polaris in the Same spot on the clock that is shown on the app but if you want to line everything up you can tilt the RA ascension till it is vertical while looking through it. Loosen the bolt though lol
I've watched the other videos in the series and I was thinking of finally getting it yesterday, so now with your video I will definitely buy it! Thank you and clear skies
Glad I could help out in someway!! Congrats on a gti for you soon. Wishing you clear skies!
These are great tutorials! Looking forward to trying it out when my GTI gets here. Great Series!
Great to hear! And congrats on your purchase!! I'm excited for you!
I have one myself since thanksgiving time... but i dont have dark skies where i live..... would have to make a trip up north to get that..... i tried using it...... but did not work how i hoped..... this is more detailed on the instructions so I will give it a try again
Im in bortle 6 just go for it. Its good practice to get everything up running if nothing else. I have to dodge clouds like a ninja, but we do what we can with what we have :)
@@jesuschrist2284 i am in bortle 9 sadly ...... there is 1 place i can go to that has bortle 7...... if i go to my sister home she has a bortle 4-5..... but thats 3 hrs from where i live
For a small mount, I've been using an Explore Scientific IEXOS 100-2. I Got it for 300 bucks new, and guiding is pretty good for a budget setup.
Sweet!
I regret not researching enough and going with a GTI instead of the IEXOS. Belt driven is the way to go.
@@xxGmon3yxx but it is belt driven, isn't it? The worm gears are a bit rough now and then, but it's driven by a belt.
Thank you for sharing this. Just bought my own GTI, waiting to come to me. Could you please share a video how you mounted all the equipment on the GTI ? I am newbie. thank you again
you can always DM me on instagram
I just stumbled across your channel. I really like your style. Good sense of humor and you have a very relate-able approach. Thanks! FYI - just bought the AZ GTi and getting ready for my first night out ... I am very early in my astrophotography hobby. Love the video
Hey thanks appreciate that! Welcome to the hobby and thanks for watching this one!
Currently imaging m51 on this mount now
Very cool good buddy. Looks like you are still making some really awesome pictures!
Thanks buddy
Alt knob on mine has a bit of a dead spot sort of thing, but with nina my 3ppa seems good
Been thinking of getting a Skywatcher GTI mount.
Don't do it. IEXOS is cheaper and belt driven. I regret getting the GTI, and pushed me to spend money on a EQ6R pro much sooner. I'm struggling to sell my GTI and might just keep it for solar or run two rigs some nights.
Another great video ty
I just found your videos, and have enjoyed them!
I have the star advnturer gti and its great! But i had a question on payload and hopefully you can answer…when it states “payload” in the owners manual, do they consider the “payload” to mean camera/scope etc, what is on topside of the mount head? Or does payload mean all wt combined including the bar and counter wt??
Thank you for your videos!
Great question. I called skywatcher on this when I started astro, and the payload is on the Mount side. Camera scope etc. The counterweight and the bar are not a factor there.
@@astronotna awesome! Thank you!! I have a 120st achro scope that is 8 1/2 lbs, and adding a dslr w/accessories it puts it at 11lbs…i use the evoguide 50ed w/ my dslr as my major rig (no guiding). great for wide shots of the night sky. Thanks again!!
Where is the gain of your guide camera? I have ssme guider, on same mount. Love GTI.
Jealous of your dark skies.
I set it at 67 in this video. Man I don't get to that site to often but when I do it's always a great time. I met a nice family there that night and I talked to the kids about astrophotography. It was pretty neat to see the wonder in their faces.
Your channel is immensely helpful to people just starting in the hobby like myself. Very informative and helpful in avoiding frustrating mistakes that can put people off the hobby in the beginning. Also, why the red light on your hat? 🤔. Sorry I'm very new 😅
Thanks I definitely try to be helpful. I remember what it was like just starting out! Red light at night preserves your night vision. Thanks for watching this one!
Thanks for sharing
Really enjoying your videos - such a clear and great help! I have a svbony 30mm guide scope and a ZWO ASI120MM MINI to guide - Skywatcher GTI and ASIAir mini. I cannot manage to get my guiding working fine, it seems to always fail the calibration, specifically the DEC calibration fails because "star has not moved far enough". I tried to rise up the calibration step but could not succeed yet...I was wondering what values did you use?
Its pretty much stock for me besides my agression settings. Somethings to check make sure RA / dec are tightened down or in lock position. make sure your guide rate is .5X, Dec setting is at auto. Calibrate where you intend to shoot. Also replace the USB cable just in case. You would surprised how many things get fixed by replacing a cable.
@@astronotna thanks really appreciate the tips :)
Anytime oh and make sure your mount is turned on, mount cable is plugged into the air and status is also connected via the asi air app.
Can I set that mount up on my patio and go in the house and let it start taking pictures and then go out in a couple hours and have some Nebula to look at?
If you can polar align it and have a view of the sky I don't see why not!
Thabks for the video! Its very helpful. I got the GTi about a week ago, but I cant seem to get the GOTO function to work correctly. I believe my polar alignment is accurate because i can take 75 second exposures with nice, sharp stars. My problem is that the go-to function never actually gets my camera pointed at the deep sky object. After I polar align, I try to do a 1 star alignment (usually I select Jupiter), but my GTi will be quite a bit off. It took me 45 minutes to find Andromeda the other night, and I ultimately found it just by star hopping and using Stellarium. I'm sure i am doing something wrong. If you have any suggestions I'd be very grateful. Thanks
Thanks for watching this one! Well remember the pointing accuracy diminishes as your focal length increases. Not sure what focal length or camera sensor you are shooting with. Just make sure your mount is level and You may need to do more than a one star alignment but even with that it's still difficult to center a target at longer focal lengths. Try aligning to stars as well instead of planets. Its common to need to fine tune your framing using the mounts goto function. If you really enjoy astrophotography you might want to look at platesolving. It's way more accurate and you will be able to frame up a target really quickly but it is investment in additional equipment.
Thank you so much for the prompt reply. I am currently just using a digital camera with the Rokinon 135mm lens. My camera is, however, mounted to a ball head. Maybe if the ball head isn't perfectly parallel to the polar scope, it is causing my targets to be completely outside of the camera's viewfinder after I use the goto function? I tried to "eyeball it" and keep my camera lens as parallel as possible, but maybe I should find a way to directly mount my camera to the GTi without having a ball head mount in between. I'll give it a try. Thanks again.. oh, and I'll look into plate solving. I'm familiar with the principle, but it seemed very technical and scared me away the first time I looked into it 😂
Of course! Ah ok that's it then! I have a video coming out next week about mounting standard DSLR /Mirrorless to the GTI sometime next week. It's the most common question I get from beginners and yes that ball mount can put your GOTO off quite a bit. Look into getting a vixen dovetail and a 1/4 -20 thread screw its what the gti was designed for like this one:
amzn.to/4j6JvyP
It uses the tripod screw in the bottom of you camera. if you need rotation for your camera after this which is why I think you wanted a ball mount in the first place look into getting a lens collar for your 135mm. It will keep it in the proper place on your mount. I am not sure if its made for the 135 but is what you would need. The default angle though once mounted on the staradventurer should frame up targets most targets quite nicely.
alternatively you could look into getting a small telescope (The come with camera rotators) and that would solve alot of your issues but again you would be jumping down a rabbit hole for gear. lol
@@astronotnaYou are a lifesaver! I just bought one of these vixen dovetails because I couldn't get my camera to balance, but I didn't even think to directly mount the camera to the dovetail. I was still trying to use the stupid ball head 😂😂 I will adjust my set up this evening after work and see if I can see my targets now. Much appreciated!
That's awesome!! Hope all goes well. Reach out anytime! You can always dm me on instagram as well!
The Solar Eclipse is coming....do you need to polar-align to track the sun? If so, how do you polar-align during the daylight?
You do for tracking but only needs to be close. Skywatcher did a segment on their webcast just recently
hi, nice video! can you share your guiding settings? i have the same mount but i have issue with drivers (i think). Right now my experience with this light setup is very bad. I tried also to test the tracking system, withouth autoguiding but it loses stars after 30s. Can you help me in some way?
I can give you things to check. First you want to make sure you balanced your mount in both RA and DEC I did make a video on this so check it out if you need the reference th-cam.com/video/S5_EMuOYuS0/w-d-xo.html. You also want to make sure you have not exceeded the wieght limit on your mount. Check your polar alignment as well at night that it is indeed accurate and make sure your mount is level. Most guiding problems start here. With guiding take time to intiate the calibration proces. I can share my guiding settings but remember they may not work for you due to set up and where I am in the world. I am also using the ASIAIR. As I said in this video My settings for RA is 45 and DEC is 40 for this mount. Hopefully this helps in someway. Keep at it my friend you will get there.
I have this GTI. When lookong through the scope my polar clock is not vertical when the right assention bar is vertical. Is that a problem? It seems misaligned to me. How do I fix that?
Well you just need to have Polaris in the Same spot on the clock that is shown on the app but if you want to line everything up you can tilt the RA ascension till it is vertical while looking through it. Loosen the bolt though lol
How long was each exposure?
I used 120 sec subs in this video