I need to add a 7x50mm EFW to my collection and although I've been happily using the ZWO ones without issue, I'm thinking of another brand. I've only see one review on the Indigo, but it wasn't favorable. QHY has theirs, but is there any advantage/concern if I stick with my ASI2600/6200 cameras with those?
I appreciate any insight you all can lend as usual
CS
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I have the Indigo and it’s been extremely solid. QHY filter wheels are…not my favorite — loud, kinda junky, temperamental. I don’t use any ZWO product if I can avoid it. What’s the bad report on the Indigo that you read?
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I agree with Jeff, I use also the Indigo without any issues. Absolute solid and silent, it does what it should do. I also had a QHY 5Fw in the past, was like Jeff said. With ZWO I have no experience.
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Here’s the review I read. https://astrogeartoday.com/pegasus-astro-indigo-universal-filter-wheel-review/
Maybe that’s the exception?
on the ZWO, the only draw is that it’s about 300g lighter than the others.
I did notice the rotation adjustment on the indigo and that would have saved me some pain a few times with OAG
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Interesting review. I've not experienced the centering problem reported there. Definitely have with QHY, though. I use an ASG Photon Cage with my Indigo, so that uses about 3mm of backfocus, but necessary if using a full frame camera.
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Jeff Ridder:
Interesting review. I've not experienced the centering problem reported there. Definitely have with QHY, though. I use an ASG Photon Cage with my Indigo, so that uses about 3mm of backfocus, but necessary if using a full frame camera.
I ordered the photon cage as well (epsilon is forcing me into new territory with its speed)
It’s entirely possible that issue was a one off. I had another issue with a Pegasus motorized OAG that sounds a bit similar, however support was very responsive and involved. They ending up sending me a replacement part and it was resolved. (Ive 100% never gotten that level is support from ZWO)
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Nick Grundy:
Jeff Ridder:
Interesting review. I've not experienced the centering problem reported there. Definitely have with QHY, though. I use an ASG Photon Cage with my Indigo, so that uses about 3mm of backfocus, but necessary if using a full frame camera.
I ordered the photon cage as well (epsilon is forcing me into new territory with its speed)
It’s entirely possible that issue was a one off. I had another issue with a Pegasus motorized OAG that sounds a bit similar, however support was very responsive and involved. They ending up sending me a replacement part and it was resolved. (Ive 100% never gotten that level is support from ZWO)
My experience with Pegasus customer service has always been great. QHY is even reasonably responsive. ZWO...just assume you have no warranty and no support.
I have a QHY600M with 17.5mm backfocus + Photon Cage + Pegasus Indigo + spacers as my Epsilon imaging train at the moment. Clouds have prevented first light, so no idea about vignetting with that arrangement yet. Will move to the SBFL version if needed. No getting around the 3mm for Photon Cage or Octopi unless you like tilt.
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I went ahead and ordered an Indigo to try out.
Does anyone have tips on how they matched adapters here?
I'm thinking i'll attach the EFW directly to the ASG photon cage
I'm a little confused as to what the m54 ring with 12 counter holes does. I know that it allows slight rotation, but then it's really unclear what else attachs.
Any chance one of you saved some install pics when you put this together?
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When you bolt accessories to the Indigo you use that ring with all the holes to mask the slotted holes. Otherwise they are dust and light leaks.
If you are threading accessories you use the other adapters and these also block those slotted holes (also where they attach).
I have two indigo wheels and they both work flawlessly.
I believe that the centering issue some people had were caused by a slight anodizing issue on the carousel. Simply using a sharpie to color it seems to solve that issue.
Regarding zwo wheels- I don't buy zwo anymore, although the wheels were solid.
Regarding qhy wheels- they are garbage.
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Thanks @Chris White- Overcast Observatory
thats very helpful. I was expecting them to be flush or work as a washer or something. Makes more sense now.
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Nick Grundy:
Thanks @Chris White- Overcast Observatory
thats very helpful. I was expecting them to be flush or work as a washer or something. Makes more sense now.
The disks with all the holes go on the inside of the wheel so you dont even notice they are there. The other adapters do stick out a little and each add 0.3mm to the thickness of the FW when used.
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Jeff Ridder:
I have the Indigo and it’s been extremely solid. QHY filter wheels are…not my favorite — loud, kinda junky, temperamental. I don’t use any ZWO product if I can avoid it. What’s the bad report on the Indigo that you read?
I only have the QHY FW, so I cannot comment on any other. But loud? I can hardly hear mine when changing. And even if, how often do you change in a session? Once? Anyway, I cannot confirm that the QHY is loud or temperamental. Mine works perfect and does what it is built for.
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Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
I believe that the centering issue some people had were caused by a slight anodizing issue on the carousel. Simply using a sharpie to color it seems to solve that issue.
I had this problem and did the sharpie fix, and before I had a chance to test it, there was also a firmware update available for the wheel. Whether or not the issue has been fixed, I am not sure about -- as it mostly happened to me when moving to narrowband filters. I will be testing this out tonight to see if I encounter any issues. For color filters, I have not seen this issue reproduce since the changes.
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Rob Kiefer:
Jeff Ridder:
I have the Indigo and it’s been extremely solid. QHY filter wheels are…not my favorite — loud, kinda junky, temperamental. I don’t use any ZWO product if I can avoid it. What’s the bad report on the Indigo that you read?
I only have the QHY FW, so I cannot comment on any other. But loud? I can hardly hear mine when changing. And even if, how often do you change in a session? Once? Anyway, I cannot confirm that the QHY is loud or temperamental. Mine works perfect and does what it is built for.
As with all things in astrophotography, if you have something working for you reliably, by all means use it. One less thing to worry about. I’m not here to convince you that what’s working for you doesn’t in fact work. Unfortunately, I’ve had three QHY filter wheels, and NONE of them has been reliable. Two didn’t work out of the box — had to open them up and slide up that rubber sleeve over the gear. One of them had that sleeve repeatedly slip down — always a fun time starting an imaging session only to find your filter wheel requires surgery at the outset. One has never been able to switch to USB mode. Another has never been able to operate in 4-pin mode. There’s more, but again — reliability is the name of the game, and the QHY filter wheels for me have been anything but. And nobody is going to convince me that my experience with them hasn’t been short of what I require.
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Jeff Ridder:
Rob Kiefer:
Jeff Ridder:
I have the Indigo and it’s been extremely solid. QHY filter wheels are…not my favorite — loud, kinda junky, temperamental. I don’t use any ZWO product if I can avoid it. What’s the bad report on the Indigo that you read?
I only have the QHY FW, so I cannot comment on any other. But loud? I can hardly hear mine when changing. And even if, how often do you change in a session? Once? Anyway, I cannot confirm that the QHY is loud or temperamental. Mine works perfect and does what it is built for.
As with all things in astrophotography, if you have something working for you reliably, by all means use it. One less thing to worry about. I’m not here to convince you that what’s working for you doesn’t in fact work. Unfortunately, I’ve had three QHY filter wheels, and NONE of them has been reliable. Two didn’t work out of the box — had to open them up and slide up that rubber sleeve over the gear. One of them had that sleeve repeatedly slip down — always a fun time starting an imaging session only to find your filter wheel requires surgery at the outset. One has never been able to switch to USB mode. Another has never been able to operate in 4-pin mode. There’s more, but again — reliability is the name of the game, and the QHY filter wheels for me have been anything but. And nobody is going to convince me that my experience with them hasn’t been short of what I require.
I also had three QHY EFW3 wheels. One was binding because the spring was too tight. I had to fix that myself. Two of them couldnt center, I had to seek 3rd party firmwares so that the user could adjust the position. One had bad mounting holes where the tap was too large or worn out and you could bolt an OAG to it. QHY told me that they had a problem at the factory. 4 monhts later I got a replacement plate.
The materials are very soft and strip easily. Software and hardware were very weak. I never had a problem with a ZWO filter wheel and have owned several as well.
My Pegasus wheels are the best of the three IMO.
To be honest, I wish SX would make a 7 position wheel for 50mm with an integrated OAG. I asked, but was told no.... :-(
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Jeff Ridder:
Rob Kiefer:
Jeff Ridder:
I have the Indigo and it’s been extremely solid. QHY filter wheels are…not my favorite — loud, kinda junky, temperamental. I don’t use any ZWO product if I can avoid it. What’s the bad report on the Indigo that you read?
I only have the QHY FW, so I cannot comment on any other. But loud? I can hardly hear mine when changing. And even if, how often do you change in a session? Once? Anyway, I cannot confirm that the QHY is loud or temperamental. Mine works perfect and does what it is built for.
As with all things in astrophotography, if you have something working for you reliably, by all means use it. One less thing to worry about. I’m not here to convince you that what’s working for you doesn’t in fact work. Unfortunately, I’ve had three QHY filter wheels, and NONE of them has been reliable. Two didn’t work out of the box — had to open them up and slide up that rubber sleeve over the gear. One of them had that sleeve repeatedly slip down — always a fun time starting an imaging session only to find your filter wheel requires surgery at the outset. One has never been able to switch to USB mode. Another has never been able to operate in 4-pin mode. There’s more, but again — reliability is the name of the game, and the QHY filter wheels for me have been anything but. And nobody is going to convince me that my experience with them hasn’t been short of what I require.
Agreed. And I understand your comment with the issues you experienced QHY. This type of equipment just needs to work. Very frustrating if such a relative simple device makes such problems...
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just to update, got the Indigo EFW going last night. worked perfect. Of course, I had other issues since it was first light with the TOA-130, but the filter wheel wasnt one of them!
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| @Nick Grundy Now that you've had the Indigo EFW for a few months, how has your experience been with it?
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Now that you've had the Indigo EFW for a few months, how has your experience been with it?
I love the build (especially the ability to reorient to best align with rectanble sensors and OAG), but I do think there's possibly an issue with some of them. I've heard of several instances where the motor isn't tight enough to the filter wheel and it can slip over the course of any evening. I read about this in Rouz's review and then I got the same issue once. I got in touch with pegasus and they direct me to tight this (per guide). It resolved the problem and has been fine since.
So while I think the pegasus actually has a great design and features, if you have any issues with filter alignment in an EFW (even once or twice) that is troubling.
In contrast, I've run 2-3 EFW's from ZWO for the last year and have never had this issue.
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Thank you so much for the prompt and detailed response!
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Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
My Pegasus wheels are the best of the three IMO
I would like to amend this previous recommendation. Due to issues with centering and repeatability as well as no resolution from Pegasus after over a month I decided to change back to ZWO filter wheel. Of the budget wheels, I thin the ZWO is the best... as much as that hurts to say.  |
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Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
My Pegasus wheels are the best of the three IMO
I would like to amend this previous recommendation. Due to issues with centering and repeatability as well as no resolution from Pegasus after over a month I decided to change back to ZWO filter wheel. Of the budget wheels, I thin the ZWO is the best... as much as that hurts to say.
Are you using a ZWO with your QHY camera? How do you go about connecting it if so?
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Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
Chris White- Overcast Observatory:
My Pegasus wheels are the best of the three IMO
I would like to amend this previous recommendation. Due to issues with centering and repeatability as well as no resolution from Pegasus after over a month I decided to change back to ZWO filter wheel. Of the budget wheels, I thin the ZWO is the best... as much as that hurts to say.
Are you using a ZWO with your QHY camera? How do you go about connecting it if so?
I use a photon cage in between the camera and fw.
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I have a Pegasus FW sitting in my shop but I was so unhappy with it that I replaced it with a FLI FW. My concerns were:
1) It does not come out of the box with an acceptable method for mounting the filters. I had to use 3D printed filter holders.
2) It came out of the box with gaps in the housing that let in dust. Pegasus did send me a part to fix this problem but the way that the FW attaches adapters is Mickey Mouse.
3) Filter positioning was not very repeatable. Maybe that’s fixable but I gave up on it before I looked into solving that problem.
4) The housing is not very mechanically rigid. It will flex, even with only moderately light equipment attached to it. It looks to me like it’s made of very thin architectural grade aluminum, which might be fine for backyard use where you can fiddle with it, but I wouldn’t send it to a remote installation.
5) The mechanical design for the motor drive relies on friction that does not include a spring pre-load. Instead it relies on slight compression of a rubber o-ring on a drive wheel to keep everything running. It works but in my view, that’s a cheap way to make it work but that’s not reliable enough for a remote system.
If someone wants a virtually new Pegasus FW set up for 50mm x 50mm square filters, PM me and I’ll give you a good price on it.
John
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John Hayes:
I have a Pegasus FW sitting in my shop but I was so unhappy with it that I replaced it with a FLI FW. My concerns were:
1) It does not come out of the box with an acceptable method for mounting the filters. I had to use 3D printed filter holders.
2) It came out of the box with gaps in the housing that let in dust. Pegasus did send me a part to fix this problem but the way that the FW attaches adapters is Mickey Mouse.
3) Filter positioning was not very repeatable. Maybe that’s fixable but I gave up on it before I looked into solving that problem.
4) The housing is not very mechanically rigid. It will flex, even with only moderately light equipment attached to it. It looks to me like it’s made of very thin architectural grade aluminum, which might be fine for backyard use where you can fiddle with it, but I wouldn’t send it to a remote installation.
5) The mechanical design for the motor drive relies on friction that does not include a spring pre-load. Instead it relies on slight compression of a rubber o-ring on a drive wheel to keep everything running. It works but in my view, that’s a cheap way to make it work but that’s not reliable enough for a remote system.
If someone wants a virtually new Pegasus FW set up for 50mm x 50mm square filters, PM me and I’ll give you a good price on it.
John
I, as someone who has in the past said good things (in my backyard) about the Pegasus Wheel -- agree with John. The part I will not agree with him on is FLI wheels. They are very rigid in their construction but are pretty poor in use since they have a silly requirement of using very small set screws to secure the camera -- which I have measured are never orthogonal no matter what you do.
The best wheel I have used, is the one from Moravian. It is made for their cameras, and is extremely rigid (like FLI) and is completely sound and solid in terms of its orthogonality. No muss, no fuss, no BS.
My next deployment of a camera and filter wheel combo is to Chile, I am very likely to send a Moravian unit based on my excellent experience with them remotely in New Mexico.
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3.81
2.41
0.90
20.43
2.15
11.02
1.20
2.71
22.76
