M100 was the first target for testing the ZWO OAG. The result was impressive as the stars are very sharp.

There were a couple of challenges that I faced with focusing, as different filters requires different focus points. I’m not sure if I did the right thing but finding a bright guide star took me a while in adjusting the guide camera. I started with 2 seconds on the exposure but it’s not enough for PHD2 so I have to increase it to 4 seconds and increase the gain up to 98% for the camera.

The values were acceptable and PHD2 was able to track the star without any problem. I started only with 10secs, to 20secs and then 30 seconds. So far the results we’re good. With the setup, I was able to decrease the weight of the payload from a separate 80mm guide scope to an OAG that weight less than 1 lb. With the sudden decrease of the weight, I was able to use my Celestron AVX that is easier to setup.