Hello,
I recently purchased an Explore Scientific 127mm apo refractor with a Moonlite focuser installed.
Would anyone care to share some autofocus settings for a starting point for me to refine to my system.
I seem to be having issues getting any sort of a curve. I assumed this would be much easier than the SCT I have been trying to autofocus. That struggle continues as well.
Thanks for any advice,
Randy
are you starting from very close to focus already ?? That is very important. I use the Bahtinov Mask to get close. Next would be the step size which is different for every size scope.
Hey Randy
There are a few step to consider for this to work properly. In order to help you properly, we need to know about what in your optical train: OTA , reducers, cameras, etc… You critical focus zone will need to be calculated which will enable SGP to use the right step size for proper autofocus.
Hi,
Yes I will start from close focus using a Bahtinov mask. My optical train is scope, 127mm apo refractor (stock 952mm focal length) reduced to 666 mm focal length with 0.7x focal reducer, ZWO electronic filter wheel, then ZWO ASI 1600mm camera.
Thanks,
Randy
Just a hint from anyone with a similar refractor and a moonlite focuser?
I’ll settle for an educated guess at this point to get me started.
Regards,
Randy.
With my moonlite focuser on a F/6 scope I used around 30 steps if I recall correctly.
If you can post some pics of the curves you’re getting I can probably get you within the ballpark pretty quickly.
Thanks,
Jared
With my SV80ST f/6, reduced to f/4.5, I use step size 40 and 9 data points. That’s with a Robofocus motor but it’s the same as a Moonlite. I wonder if your focuser is slipping at all or if there is some kind of backlash. Focusing a refractor should be 10x easier than an SCT.
Will do next clear night. Thanks for a starting point!
Regards,
Randy
