rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

I am upping my game with DLSR astrophotography with an iOptron Star Tracker Pro w/ counterweight. This will allow me to take wide-field long exposures without stars recording as streaks.

I would like to know if there are others here using a Star Tracker and could provide some tips and tricks.

PoppieJ Loc: North Georgia

i use the star tracker. Best advice get your tripod level before you start. Also the 2 screws that pan on the star tracker mount only loosen them enough to get it to move, if you loosen them too much the whole star tracker will get tilted and then will not work correctly. Good luck and have fun

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

iOptron makes pretty good mounts and the Star Tracker should serve you well.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

I use a different one, and I'm in southern hemisphere (so aligning is somewhat harder here) but:
1. As said level your tripod, a sturdy one obviously.
2. Pre-aim it to the north, as the azimut correction range of the base is quite limited only for minor adjustments
3. Also make dial in your latitude in the vertical (right ascension?) so you have a rough alignment
4. Mount all your gear, even accessories like remote shutter and lens heater if used. And already roughly aim your camera to the desire composition
5. Balance your set up with the counterweight.
6. Align as precisely as you can

Items #4 & #5 tries to minimize physical interaction after fine alignment was done, to avoid ruining it.

Also, make sure to take test shots to check for trailing, and if you are in a long session double-check once in a while.

ENJOY IT! (I'm a bit jelous :-D )

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Thank you, this is what I am looking for.

And, no need to be jealous, I live in Los Angeles, the light pollution capital of America.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Yeah, I have quite dark skies a couple hours drive, so great advantage on that.
Glad to have helped with at least some tips.

Your tracker is a very good and popular one, you will find tons of YouTube videos on how to set and align it with further details. But it's quite basic, just needs precision.

Good luck with the weather

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

I jump right over trackers, and went to an Equatorial mount, GEM, or German Equatorial Mount.
I wanted something to take me to places I never knew.

Physically, any mount needs to be set up as carefully as you can. I use a https://www.lowes.com/pd/M-D-GEN3-7-75-in-Digital-Line-Surface-Level/1000172537 digital level for mine, so I can get the tripod itself to 0.0 ° of level. On 3 or more plains.
My thinking is to try and reduce my human error as much as possible. I've had many an argument with others about it. But I come from an extensive background where accuracy is paramount to operation.
So I err toward the anal retentive side when setting up.
My polar alignment routine lends to the ridiculous.

But this leads to accurate alignments and tracking. So, a lot of practice will help with your results as the nights wear on.
Polar Aligning is a physical function to get the Alt and Az plains accurate to the location you are at. The amount of accuracy tells in the drift you get in your star field. The amount of drift ends up as trailing stars from exposure to exposure.
The longer the exposures, the more these irritations can be.
So to get sharp round stars, your tracking has to be spot on.

Your camera, regardless of type, is very unforgiving. It accurate records what it see's, especially with longer exposures. And that can be maddening as you progress. So more patience than you have ever known before, will yield better results to work with when processing.
The age old adage in computing comes to mind, "Garbage in = Garbage out".
And believe me, I have many gigabits of Pikturds, learning the above.

Many has been the night when I surrendered to frustration and simply packed it in to come back fresh the next day and try again. Usually with better results. Last night was one of those.
After a few checks and corrective measures, tonight was smooth as silk and I was imaging by 9:30 PM (21:30 Hrs)

I went a bit different direction from a tracker. I used a MOVO drive, a Geared Tripod head, and a stout surveyor's tripod. And a Intervalometer timer for shutter function. The conglomeration worked, but I found myself moving on because of my interest in nebula imaging.

If you might be interested, I can share some GPS coordinates for a great mountaintop up Bouquet Canyon that offers a nice flat FOV, some trees and brush for backdrop, and a huge amount of sky with less light pollution.
34.563032, -118.359297 (Removed due to UHH Policy change.) Martindale Ridge from Bouquet Junction ( Removed due to UHH Policy change. )

Google Map = Removed due to UHH Policy change.

The dark blue route is passable with a 2 wheel drive car or truck. But don't venture off on the other trails, they can turn into 4 wheel drive roads and could get dangerous. When in doubt, walk it out before you drive it.
I have a 2 wheel drive Chevy Avalanche I've been up there in. But it's been several years now. 5, almost 6.
I shot the Super Blood Moon up there. https://youtu.be/A4ZMhxO3iSc

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

1 - use a phone app to determine precisely where to place polaris in polar scope reticule. It varies by time and location.

2 - once polar aligned, lightly tighten the wedge aiming screws against each other to remove a bit of slop from the system.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Thanks for that. Location's I've got, it's time to do it all that is the problem.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Keep the change. You might want to check some time.
I don't generally travel from home to image. Not even the simple 7 or so miles up the canyon.
But when we do travel, I do take equipment along, just in case.