of the free ASI Mount app (or the ASIAIR app if you are using an ASIair device), downloadable from the iOS Marketplace or Google Play store. The ASI Mount app links your smart device to the AM5 through the mount's built-in Wi-Fi and is also used to update the mount's firmware when necessary. The joystick moves the mount in both axes. Pressing the T button on the hand control starts the mount tracking, while pressing it again stops it. Momentarily pressing down on the joystick enables the mount's fastest slew speed of 6° per second. The other button instantly stops the slewing in the event of a cable snag or to prevent a scope from colliding with the tripod. Pressing and holding the same button for 3 seconds sends the mount to its home position. The AM5's hand controller includes an internal Wi-Fi antenna, so the mount only has Wi-Fi capability with the hand controller connected. The real controller for the AM5 is the ASI Mount app, or, as noted earlier, the ASIAIR app for users with the device. Left: The AM5 mount can carry lightweight OTAs without counterweights, but heavier loads like the author's Astro-Tech 8-inch f/8 Ritchey-Chrétien astrograph required a counterweight shaft and an additional counterweight. Without these, the optional TC40 tripod flexed under heavy loads, which throws off polar alignment and reduced the AM5's pointing accuracy. Right: This Celestron C11 loaded with imaging accessories was under the AM5's 20-kilogram weight limit when using a counterweight but exceeded the recommended OTA length for the mount. This photo of the Horsehead Nebula (IC 434) was imaged with a William Optics 71-mm refractor and ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro camera riding atop the AM5. sk yand tele scope .o r g * APRIL 2023 67https://skyandtelescope.org/