Astrophotography with Glenn Clouder - ZWO EAF Installation on a refractor 

No problem Jim. I am glad it helped.

@@Astrobloke now watching Nina videos to test it next clear night

@@AstroPixUK i much prefer NINA. But then that will automate my observatory also. Give me a shout if you get stuck. I have some videos on using it but there is a guy on youtube called Patriot Astro that does a lot of NINA

Thank you Christopher I really appreciate your support. I do have one on how to set up the new advanced sequencer. My next video is going to include some NINA and will be released very soon. Is there anything in particular you would like me to cover? Next one will be connecting and controlling AZGTI mount through NINA and starting an imaging session

Thx Joe. Hope it made sense

You are welcome and thank you for taking the time to comment. Lovely scope, i bet that gives beautiful results. Thats a great auto focus result so all working great, clear skies

Its def worth learning as its runs everything. Incl domes

Thank you. I think its a great bit of kit and works really well. Also compared to other autofocus solutions, the best value

I am very happy it helped. Thank you for watching.....Merci

Thank you. It is the way I set up my focusers and they have always performed really well.

Thank you Charlie. At least you won’t have to worry about filter offsets yet. One of the joys of mono lol

Thank you for the comment its really appreciated.

You are welcome, thank you for your comment

You’re welcome Ryan, thank you for commenting

Excellent. If you ha e any problems let me know. Happy to help

Hi Caleb. Thanks for the comment mate and really glad it helped. Fits on the Z61 nicely

Thank you Trevor. Defo worth doing, especially if you go mono

They work really well together. Should be straightforward to fit and set up but happy to help if you have any questions.

@@Astrobloke I saw one video where the EAF stopped working after awhile. They didn't leave another space between the motor and the flexable spindle and it was rubbing during each auto focus. Have you seen any issues with that? Thanks

@@Astrobloke Don't you still need to do a auto focus even if you use the focus offset for each filter. Over the night the temperature will change causing any filter that you are using to go out of focus.

@@2badger2 I have 3 of these and never had an issue with any of them. After fitting I always check to make sure the motor can spin and operate the focuser smoothly and with no rubbing. They must have done it up so tight the motor was having to fight against too much resistance.

@@2badger2 When you set focus offsets you will set one filter for the autofocus, normally Luminescence. This will be at the start of your session and then the offsets will all work from this initial autofocus point. In NINA you can then set the parameters for any further autofocus checks. So temp change, Time, or the one I use is HFR difference. That for me works best NINA will measure the star HFR after each image and if that shifts more than 5% then it will run a new autofocus. Using the HFR it covers any temp changes or other problems so your rig stays in focus all night. Only thing it can get confused with is high clouds.

Thank you for taking the time to comment and glad you found the video useful. I believe it slightly overshoots and then backs up the known backlash to get the correct focus position. On e set up its very reliable

@@Astrobloke Ah. Okay that makes more sense. Thanks for answering. That was bothering me. Shot in the dark. Do you know of a way to set back focus during the day? If so do you have a video. I really begrudge the time lost from a nights imaging checking back focus. And I’m always left a little unsure whether it’s spot on. I use an WO FLT120 with Flat68iii and have just bought a Flat7a reducer and am not looking forward to setting it up :)

@@AstroCloudGenerator unfortunately backfocus is not a daytime thing. Also I have an adjustable flat61r and its supposed to have 56mm backfocus. It actually needs 57mm to give me flat stars to the corners so I feel its only a guide to start with. Best to take an image and look at the sub. If stars are pointing towards the corners the sensor needs to move away as too close.

@@Astrobloke As I feared. I was just hoping for an easy way out. I’ve always wondered how technicians set up and test scopes on a test bench. I can’t believe they wait for a clear night. No worries thanks all the same CS

@@AstroCloudGenerator You can try an artificial star, a resolution test target or a very distant street light. Two of these would have to be at night but you'll have the advantage of a lot less atmospheric turbulence, if any at all. You should still cool your scope off to reach equilibrium if the test is done outdoors.

Thank you. Wow thats nice if it did as that would mean no backlash. Double check it but if thats the case its all good.

@@Astrobloke I actually checked it three times re-watching that portion of your video while checking it.

@@jratino Thats excellent then. Looks like you got a really good EAF.

Hi Matt. That isn’t necessary for Fitting the EAF as you can adjust the focus position after it is fitted. If using a focus routine in say NINA, SGP or APT you need to be close to focus before starting or the results may not be good.

@@Astrobloke guessing this is pretty much the same drill for the focus cube? Considering getting one or the other at the min.

@@matthilton8959 I would think so but cannot really confirm 100% as not ever used a focus cube.

Hi Andrew. I had the same problem. The backfocus for this flat61r is actually 56mm however I think its a out that and not exact. I think mine is currently sitting at 57.5mm. I got it to 56mm checked the stars and kept adding 1/2 to the adjustment until they were right.

@@Astrobloke Thanks for the advice, will give this a go, as all but given up on it... Thanks again.

Thx mate. The backspacing for that is 56mm. The built in rotator is a nice touch

@@Astrobloke yes it most certainly is, I just dont seem to be able to get the back spacing right! I have 55mm including the 183c 12.5 sensor depth but stars on the edge are bad even with the spacer @ +5. Think ii Ma going to start at +12mm & work backwards

What camera make? I have the 183M which is 17.5 built in which was the same on my original 183c (both altair cams)

@@Astrobloke yes, i have the AA 183cpro (non tec) =12.5mm built in

hi There. I don't believe so. I have 3 of these focusers and have never had to calibrate them. Its just get the step size right for your scope and focuser and work out if any backlash is there and thats it. Good luck and clear skies

Every scope is different as they use different focus mechanisms. The steps required will vary but you need to see a change in the focus between steps. On this scope that was the setting it needed

Yes that is correct

I always just watch for the fine focus knob to move

@@Astrobloke cheers. Just been yapping on twitter to you about it, advised me to change to trends @bungsaatropics

@@matthilton8959 Hi Matt. cool. Yes with my refractor I just use trends. Hyperbolic with my RC8 and Parabolic with my newtonian. I have found that to be the best results. If you get big deviations still try adjusting your focus step =/- 5-10 and see if it improves either way