Decided to Try WO Gear

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Ed217 United States of America
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Decided to Try WO Gear

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Post by Ed217 »


I've been looking for a good small refractor for mostly wide field imaging. There are many options there, and many here seem to like the WIlliam Optics scopes. I have two mount configs I use today. One is a large setup using AVX and various scopes. The second is a small setup, that is more portable, using an iOptron SkyGuider Pro.

I decided to get the WO Zenithstar 61II APO doublet model, which should arrive today. I also have a Gran Turismo 71 APO on order, but timeline on that seems months out. Will see how it goes over coming days and months.
Scopes: Celestron Nexstar 8SE, Celestron C6N, WO Z61, WO GT71, iOptron RC6 .
Mounts: Celestron Nexstar, iOptron Sky Guider Pro, iOptron HEM27 w/iPolar
Cameras: Nikon D780, Nikon Zfc ,ZWO ASI224MC, ZWO ASI120MM-S, ZWO ASI294MC Pro, ZWO ASI485MC, ZWO ASI174MM, ASI662MC, ASI294MM, ASI2600MC Pro iPhone 14.
Tools: Raspberry PI4 with Stellarmate OS, Intel NUC Mini PC, Beelink MiniPCs.
Accessories: Celestron focus motor, ZWO EAF focusers, F6.3 field reducer, assorted eyepieces, 11" video monitor, polar scopes, iOptron iPolar
Computers: Dell desktops, MacOS MacMini, ASUS laptop, Intel NUC, Beelink MiniPD, PI, assorted software packages, iPhones, iPads
My AstroBin Images: https://www.astrobin.com/users/EdDixonImages/
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Ed217 United States of America
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Re: Decided to Try WO Gear

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Post by Ed217 »


Unit arrived yesterday. Cloudy skies make doing much yet not practical. I did set it up inside to look at street lights a few hundred feet away. All seems good so far.

It looks slightly smaller than I expected and seems slightly heavier than I thought, but mounted well on my SkyGuider Pro setup. It will probably see most of its action there. I do light the focus knobs as they work very smoothly and are solid.

I do need to work with focus distance and camera attachment things to get the correct settings. This is a different setup than my Celestron 8SE.
Scopes: Celestron Nexstar 8SE, Celestron C6N, WO Z61, WO GT71, iOptron RC6 .
Mounts: Celestron Nexstar, iOptron Sky Guider Pro, iOptron HEM27 w/iPolar
Cameras: Nikon D780, Nikon Zfc ,ZWO ASI224MC, ZWO ASI120MM-S, ZWO ASI294MC Pro, ZWO ASI485MC, ZWO ASI174MM, ASI662MC, ASI294MM, ASI2600MC Pro iPhone 14.
Tools: Raspberry PI4 with Stellarmate OS, Intel NUC Mini PC, Beelink MiniPCs.
Accessories: Celestron focus motor, ZWO EAF focusers, F6.3 field reducer, assorted eyepieces, 11" video monitor, polar scopes, iOptron iPolar
Computers: Dell desktops, MacOS MacMini, ASUS laptop, Intel NUC, Beelink MiniPD, PI, assorted software packages, iPhones, iPads
My AstroBin Images: https://www.astrobin.com/users/EdDixonImages/
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Re: Decided to Try WO Gear

#3

Post by Ed217 »


Received the WO Zenithstar 61II APO unit this week. I have two primary cameras I use with scopes: Nikon D5600 and ASI294MC Pro. I have a Nikon T-Mount with M48 threads. There are M48 extenders includes with the
ASI294MC. I do not yet have a field flattener as they are still out of stock.

For visual, my existing 1 ¼ diag works well just inserted into the 1 ¼ slot on scope. Not sure what the best approach is for camera attachments. Backfocus is a common subject here and stability of attachment also seems relevant.

I can attach the Nikon with T adapter directly into the 1 ¼ slot on scope. I can also use the M48 extenders from the ZWO unit and insert into the 2 inch expansion slot on scope. However the later approach seems less stable and harder to line up correctly.

What are the best options here, given lack of field flattener, to solidly attach either camera? It seems that a screw-in set of adapters would be best for both solid connection and alignment, but exactly what adapters are needed is fuzzy to me.
Scopes: Celestron Nexstar 8SE, Celestron C6N, WO Z61, WO GT71, iOptron RC6 .
Mounts: Celestron Nexstar, iOptron Sky Guider Pro, iOptron HEM27 w/iPolar
Cameras: Nikon D780, Nikon Zfc ,ZWO ASI224MC, ZWO ASI120MM-S, ZWO ASI294MC Pro, ZWO ASI485MC, ZWO ASI174MM, ASI662MC, ASI294MM, ASI2600MC Pro iPhone 14.
Tools: Raspberry PI4 with Stellarmate OS, Intel NUC Mini PC, Beelink MiniPCs.
Accessories: Celestron focus motor, ZWO EAF focusers, F6.3 field reducer, assorted eyepieces, 11" video monitor, polar scopes, iOptron iPolar
Computers: Dell desktops, MacOS MacMini, ASUS laptop, Intel NUC, Beelink MiniPD, PI, assorted software packages, iPhones, iPads
My AstroBin Images: https://www.astrobin.com/users/EdDixonImages/
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