MLAstro

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MLAstro A startup specializing in astronomy, astrophotography, and spectroscopy equipment.

The last of the first 50 MLAstro One mounts on the Lucky List are heading out today!And man, why am I not surprised that...
23/10/2026

The last of the first 50 MLAstro One mounts on the Lucky List are heading out today!

And man, why am I not surprised that the biggest storm of 2026 is heading straight toward MLAstro HQ, just as we're wrapping things up? It's late October, for crying out loud! We're supposed to be pretty much done with storm season by now! 😂

As Lady Galadriel would put it:

"The world is changed.
I feel it in the water.
I feel it in the earth.
I smell it in the air."

We have forged a mount that would make even Celebrimbor, the legendary Elven smith who forged the Rings of Power, proud.

But it seems our little act of craftsmanship has attracted the attention of some rather dark powers. 😂

Then again, that's how you know the mounts are good!

Every astronomer knows that new equipment comes with bad weather. If your shiny new mount arrives under perfectly clear skies, that's an immediate red flag. Houston, we have a problem!

I hereby propose a new rating system: the quality of astronomy equipment should be measured by the severity of the weather it summons.

A few clouds? Meh. Average stuff.

A week of rain? Now we're talking!

A Category 5 typhoon? Now THAT's the kind of mount I'd want! 😂

Joking aside, my thoughts are with everyone in the path of the storm. I sincerely hope you and your loved ones stay safe. Take care, everyone!

21/10/2026

MLAstro Zero-Shift 2.0: When you have no competition, you compete with yourself! 😁

If you thought the original MLAstro Zero-Shift on your SAL-33 was awesome, you're in for a BIG surprise with MLAstro Zero-Shift 2.0!

The original MLAstro Zero-Shift was an instant hit. Smooth, precise, and a huge improvement over conventional adjustment systems.

We could have stopped there. Customers loved it, and nobody was pushing us to make it better.

But where's the fun in that? 😁

So we went back to the drawing board and somehow managed to outdo ourselves.

Introducing the MLAstro Zero-Shift 2.0 Alt-Az Base, now available on the MLAstro One!

The engineering challenge sounds simple: silky-smooth adjustments, virtually zero backlash, extreme rigidity, and practically no measurable flexure. All at once.

But here's the catch.

With a heavy setup, say 40 kg of payload, 10 kg of mount head, and 10 kg of counterweights, the altitude adjustment screw can experience axial forces exceeding 500 kgf in certain configurations!

Why? Leverage. The altitude screw acts on a much shorter moment arm, multiplying the force it must withstand.

So imagine trying to move the equivalent of several hundred kilograms with your fingertips, in micron-level precision, while keeping everything absolutely stable.

Now try making that movement silky smooth! 😂

Tighten things too much and the mechanism binds. Introduce too much clearance and you get backlash and flexure. Finding that sweet spot requires extremely tight machining tolerances, careful engineering, and a ridiculous amount of trial and error.

Here's what Zero-Shift 2.0 brings to the table:

🔹 Significantly reduced altitude backlash for more precise, predictable adjustments.

🔹 One-k**b azimuth adjustment. No more fighting between two opposing k***s. One k**b, both directions!

🔹 Silky-smooth Alt-Az movement without sacrificing rigidity. You really have to feel it to appreciate it.

🔹 Native RPA compatibility, designed from the ground up for our Robotic Polar Alignment system.

Zero-Shift 2.0 is available on the MLAstro One right now.

And SAL-33 owners, we haven't forgotten about you!

We're bringing the same Zero-Shift 2.0 design to the SAL-33, and here's the important part:

ALL existing SAL-33 mounts will be able to upgrade to Zero-Shift 2.0 by retrofitting the Alt-Az base. No need to replace your mount!

That's exactly why we believe so strongly in modular design. Improvements shouldn't be reserved for people buying the latest model.

Modular design for the win!!!

One thing I love about engineering at MLAstro is that we don't have to wait for competitors to push us forward. Sometimes our biggest competitor is simply the version we built yesterday.

And beating that guy is getting increasingly difficult! 😂

Here's a short walkthrough of Zero-Shift 2.0 on the MLAstro One. It looks deceptively simple, but getting it this smooth, rigid, and precise took a ridiculous amount of engineering effort.

Less backlash. Smoother adjustments. Better polar alignment.

20/10/2026

Before getting into today's tutorial, I'd like to take this opportunity to share another announcement.

As many of you already know, MLAstro has been a long-time supporter of OnStep/OnStepX, the open-source telescope control system that powers our mounts. We've been contributing financially to its development through a royalty contribution for every mount we sell.

We believe that when a company commercially benefits from an open-source project, it's only fair that some of that benefit finds its way back to the people whose hard work made it possible.

Today, I'm happy to announce that we're extending this commitment to other fantastic open-source projects.

For every MLAstro RPA kit sold, we'll be donating a small amount to support the NINA/TPPA and INDI/Kstars/Ekos development team.

Projects like OnStepX, NINA, and Three Point Polar Alignment (TPPA) INDI/Kstars/Ekos exist thanks to dedicated developers who generously contribute their own time, knowledge, and expertise to build and maintain software that many of us use every single day, completely free of charge.

These developers are the unsung heroes of our astrophotography community. Their work makes our equipment more capable, our hobby more accessible, and our imaging sessions considerably easier.

I hope our contributions, however modest, can provide a helping hand to these developers and show our appreciation for the countless hours they put into making all of this possible.

Open-source software has played an important role in MLAstro's development, and we want to make sure that as MLAstro grows, the open-source community that helped make our products possible benefits from that growth too.

To all the developers and contributors behind these projects, thank you for the incredible work you do!

MLAstro One RPA Setup Tutorial: NINA & ASIAIR Integration

In this video of our MLAstro One tutorial series, we walk you through setting up and configuring the MLAstro Robotic Polar Alignment (RPA) system, including its integration with NINA and ZWO ASIAIR.

Support for INDI, KStars/Ekos, and StellarMate is also available right now. We'll be releasing a separate tutorial dedicated to INDI integration.

The RPA provides motorized altitude and azimuth adjustments, eliminating the need to manually turn the mount's polar alignment adjustment k***s. When paired with compatible polar alignment software, these adjustments can be automated, allowing you to achieve accurate polar alignment with minimal manual intervention.

This video is intended as a practical setup and integration guide for MLAstro One owners who want to get started with the RPA system.

More tutorials covering other MLAstro One features, INDI integration, and advanced operations will follow as part of this series.

Ladies first!!First MLAstro One in the wild!Luca says her C14, C11, and a few other monster scopes are already lining up...
20/10/2026

Ladies first!!
First MLAstro One in the wild!
Luca says her C14, C11, and a few other monster scopes are already lining up to take turns on this poor little One.
The poor thing burst into tears and begged me, "Can I please go home?"
Sorry, little buddy. You ARE home. 😂 😂

First MLAstro One in the wild!Luca says her C14, C11, and a few other monster scopes are already lining up to take turns...
20/10/2026

First MLAstro One in the wild!

Luca says her C14, C11, and a few other monster scopes are already lining up to take turns on this poor little One.

The poor thing burst into tears and begged me, "Can I please go home?"

Sorry, little buddy. You ARE home. 😂 😂

19/10/2026

MLAstro One Setup Tutorial: App Connection, Configuration & Essential Tips
In this next video of our MLAstro One tutorial series, we walk you through connecting to the mount using the MLAstro Hub app, configuring the essential settings, and going over a few important things to remember before your first observing or imaging session.

We'll cover the basic connection process, initial configuration, and some useful tips to help you get familiar with the mount and avoid common setup mistakes.

This is intended as a practical getting-started guide for new MLAstro One owners. More detailed tutorials covering other features and advanced operations will follow in the coming weeks.

16/10/2026

To make the wait for the MLAstro One a little easier, we’re putting together a series of tutorial videos that I’ll be releasing one by one over the next few weeks.
In this first video, we go through the main components included with the mount, the basic assembly process, how to attach the MLAstro One to a tripod or pier, and the essential connections you need before powering it up. We also cover the power input, USB connections, and the main ports on the mount, so you know exactly what connects where before installing your telescope and imaging equipment.

15/10/2026

Here's a quick demo of the MLAstro RPA working with ASIAIR!

The setup is pretty straightforward. Just connect the RPA, ASIAIR, and your phone to the same Wi-Fi network, then let the MLAstro Hub app do its magic.

This is still very much a work in progress, so expect some bugs and rough edges. We'll work through them one by one. What's important here is that the concept is sound, and we've now demonstrated that it works in practice. There's still plenty of room for improvement, and we'll continue refining the experience through future updates.

The RPA feature is already included in the latest release of MLAstro Hub, so customers among the first 50 MLAstro One units who have early access to RPA can give it a try right now!

If you're one of them, I'd love to hear how it works for you. Please share your experience, and don't hesitate to report any bugs or unexpected behavior. Your feedback will help us make it better for everyone.

Onward and upward, guys. One step at a time.

Pop open the b**rs, guys! The very first MLAstro One mounts are shipping out today!Tracking numbers will be sent to the ...
14/10/2026

Pop open the b**rs, guys! The very first MLAstro One mounts are shipping out today!

Tracking numbers will be sent to the respective customers' email addresses later this week.

There's still plenty of work to be done, and we're not stopping until all of the first 50 units are out the door. But that's tomorrow's work. Today, we drink b**r!

Here's to dedication, perseverance, countless sleepless nights, and a team that refuses to quit.

Cheers from the MLAstro crew!

Okay, so here's something I never thought I'd say.How about a 4 kg carbon-fiber tripier that can carry 80 kg of equipmen...
12/10/2026

Okay, so here's something I never thought I'd say.

How about a 4 kg carbon-fiber tripier that can carry 80 kg of equipment, is rock solid, and won't break your back or your bank?

If you know me, you'll know how I feel about carbon tripods. I avoid them like the plague.

Almost every carbon tripod I've come across has the same problem: the tube walls are too thin, they're prone to vibration and resonance, and their torsional stiffness leaves a lot to be desired. There are a few ridiculously expensive ones I haven't had the chance to test, so I'll leave those out.

But I've been thinking. Maybe carbon fiber isn't the problem. Maybe it's just how these tripods are designed.

What if we used properly thick carbon tubes, paid more attention to torsional stiffness, and built something that behaves more like a solid pier than a lightweight camera tripod?

The one in the photos weighs just 3.2 kg. And no, that's not a typo.

Maybe it's time for a proper carbon tripier?

Just floating the idea here. MLAstro is NOT officially developing a commercial tripod or tripier. I'm simply experimenting with something I've been curious about for a while.

The biggest roadblock, of course, is shipping cost. MLAstro has struggled with high shipping costs since day one. Vietnam simply doesn't have the same logistics infrastructure and shipping advantages that make sending stuff out of China so ridiculously cheap.

Maybe we could ship it as a DIY kit instead? Pack the tubes and other components separately, let you assemble the whole thing yourself, and save a good chunk of money by keeping the package dimensions down.

Just spitballing here. Nothing is set in stone, and I'm not even sure if this will ever become a product.

What do you guys think?

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