This project started back in 2022 and many have followed us on our Facebook group when we released the first prototypes back in early 2023. This project has continued to grow and has given rise to the new ASG Electronic Photon Cage with Electronically Assisted Tilt (EAT) capabilities.
We set out with 3 main goals:
Like most, you can usually only pick 2 of those things….
Precision remote tilting and backfocus adjustment is now a reality. Whether you run a astro rig remotely in the Andes or you work as I do from your backyard, the new ASG Electronic Photon Cage will allow you to dial in not only your backfocus but also remove tilt using our supplied software. It can be mounted to any telescope though and comes with a variety of mounting patterns.
Basic dimensions & features:
Control Box
The control box runs separate to keep bulk of the head unit down. The unit runs on a simple barrel jack input for 12v power and most power boxes or mounts will work to keep the unit powered. We recommend a switchable power source so you can turn on/off remotely. A standard USB cable is provided to connect to your computer or powerbox usb hub as well.
Variety of mounting options included:
Assorted Colors
We can customize and provide various accent colors to match your equipment if you like.
Windows Software
A single windows software is used to control your Electronic Photon Cage. You can precisely control each corner as well as backfocus through the software, making micron level adjustments remotely all from inside.
Lightweight Head Unit
To keep the volume and head unit weight down, we utilize a mixture of CNC machined plates where we need and 3D printed plates where weight can be saved. At 23 ounces, the unit is easily capable of hanging off the front of a RASA, Hyperstar application, or a lightweight Newtonian eyepiece.
Camera Compatibility
Not only does the unit work with most ASI or QHY cameras that are 90mm in diameter, we can easily adapter player one and moravian cameras into the unit with special adapters we provide. Central obstruction is also kept to a minimal with a slender design and footprint.
View Pricing and Availability, or email us for more info!
ASG EAT with an Epsilon 160ED
Courtesy of Overcast Observatory, Chris has a prototype mounted on several scopes. In these images, you can see the light weight and size of the EAT mounted on an Epsilon 160ED. The head unit weights only 23 ounces and produces a minimal footprint to work on even small scopes.
ASG EAT with an Astro Physics 130 GTX Gran Turismo
Courtesy of Nils Harnischmacher of Germany for sending us his photos of his amazing setup running an electronic photon cage. Initial results were successful and Nils noted “It is very easy to install and handle. It made backfocus and tilt adjustments simple.”
Vision
Astrophotography has always been a ( Hardware² * Software² ) = Best Astrophotography equation to myself and many. The vision is to have software systems taking initial photo runs of focus curves, measuring tilt, running a baseline tilt, and then adjusting this sort of stuff automatically just like Electronic Focusing has been done for the hobby… we might be a few years away, but that’s the goal. At present, you can use your favorite tilt software such as ASTAP, CCD Inspector, or better the Hocus Focus tooling to find how much tilt you need to correct and input changes into our platform for quick adjustments.
Resolution
Backfocus can be adjusted independently from tilt allowing for increase/decreasing values. Total backfocus adjustment is around 2mm in and out, while tilting can max at around 1mm difference…. though if you setup right, you should never have to tilt that much or else something is drastically wrong… Currently, the EAT is really good for dialing in final values of backfocus/tilt, not for acting as spacers or overcoming large hardware issues.
Weight
The EAT is light enough we feel comfortable hanging off the front of an astrograph’s corrector… Only slightly over the recommended obstruction of a 11″ RASA, precise enough for full frame at F/2, getting to the above is fairly easy to do all while remotely operated.
Control Surfaces
On the computer side of things, we developed a simple interface to connect to and send commands to the computer through serial inputs. It’s able to tilt across 4 major planes. (left, right, top, bottom, tl-br, tr-bl) Adjustments are very close to micron level, so works very well with calculations off Hocus Focus Here we get tilt down to about 1-2 microns pretty consistently.
Compatibility with ASG Products
The entire product line is compatible with our EAT and Photon Cages. Filter sliders and RASA Pro/Standard systems all incorporate our standard mounting systems, allowing the Electronic Photon Cage to bolt directly to any existing products of ours.
For anyone who has used a regular tilt device, whether our ASG Photon Cage on down to the regular stock camera tilt plates… one thing is for sure a given; “Patience”. It takes patience to get the sensitive nature of an optical system tilted correctly to where the aberrations will make you stop pixel peeping, if ever!
The EAT system has provided reasonable resolutions down to a near micron or sub-micron levels with good repeatability. It does change how you can actually operate and fix things when you don’t have to necessarily ‘touch’ your telescope.
Coarse Adjustment – Running Live
What used to take 20 minutes you can now do remotely in about 2 minutes. For initial setup, we put the capturing system into 2 second loops and were able to capture quick exposures while live tilting your camera. The incredible part here is you can see the focus portion of your images move across the screen like watching airplane trails or satellite trails. Even run an aberration layout with 3×3 squares and looping exposures gives a real time movement and analysis allowing you to quickly get into focus and most of your tilt removed in minutes.
Fine Adjustment
Once coarse adjustment is completed, you move toward a more fine grained analysis approach using software such as Hocus Focus, ASTAP, CCD Inspector. This process can still take 20-30 minutes (mostly from running autofocus curves) but all from a remote location… either home or thousands of miles away! no more shimming backfocus into submission, or sitting in the cold twisting screws. Just make a few adjustments in or out and test your results with live images.
Future Goals
We currently have a couple dozen units working throughout the globe and in remote environments thousands of miles away. They have been working very well and we also have home units that have been in operation for over a year now with no issues. Our future goals include possibly connecting to automation systems such as Hocus Focus to see if it’s possible to have it run and automate. While not entirely necessary, a future step in the right direction to make improvements to astro imaging techniques.
View Pricing and Availability, or email us for more info!
Feel free to leave comments or suggestions!
This is a great idea. I have been looking to do this in a remote observatory in Chile for a long time. I don’t know what price this will land at, but there are a few users I am sure would be willing to grab this from you and utilize on their rigs. Well Done!
Very cool!
I would suggest that you contact ASTAP or Hocus Focus developers to make it truly automatic based on the results.
Already have 🙂
Available for sale ? would love to have one ( at least )
Would love to be in on this. Please let me know how. Either by running a demo or by purchasing.
Hi, great .
Estimate price ?
$2500usd right now… we are making a couple each month.
Same here.
I would like to test/buy to install in my remote obs at 3000km from home.
email us at sales@asgastronomy.com