steppenwolf

Rather embarrassingly, in an earlier life I used to do some IT for a living but I just scrape by these days when it comes to PCs! I'm not that much ahead of you then, Scott ......

... and thus is is proven! I have a PC rebuild in the pipeline so I will get there but currently I am back on the old XP machine which is less than ideal! Thanks, Ron. I see what you did there and I am with you! Yes, I've heard that point of view as well but it hasn't been my experience ......

Additional Note 26 - Updated Computer System It's been a while since I updated this article but my Windows XP system started to give unreliable results in recent months so I have finally bitten the bullet and upgraded my observatory PC and moved up to Windows 7 in the process. The thought of using Windows 10 filled me with horror so I avoided that as I have always found Windows 7 to be very stable and nonintrusive. What I hadn't anticipated was what a total pain it was going to be to transfer everything across and on top of this I had to install Windows more than once as it took serious exception to some modules and even my regular restore points didn't rescue me - it would be fair to say that I have lost nearly two weeks of my life that I will never get back again, hair that I am in no position to lose and most of what was laughably left of my sanity but, maybe, hopefully, it will be worth it when the last of the bugs are finally sorted out! What is not in doubt is that the original reliability problem, especially issues related to the system accepting that my autofocuser really was physically connected seem to have gone away and I feel that for whatever reason, I am getting better autofocus with the new operating system and PC hardware. So biting and clawing, I have dragged the automated observatory into the 2010's and avoided using Windows 10 which is a supreme bonus! It remains to be seen how well the new system operates as currently, a fresh bug seems to jump out at every test session although in a morning of simulations today, it has all worked seamlessly despite the previous night in which it decided that I really didn't have a LodeStar autoguider and I haven't physically touched a thing since then I should have known last night that something was wrong when I noticed a pop-up that stated that a 'new unknown device' had been installed (I'm guessing that this had something to do with the LodeStar! Although I can't mention him publicly lest he be deluged with requests, I'd like to thank a good friend of mine on here for his generosity in donating both time and hardware to further the cause - you know who you are and I am very grateful. 👍 Onwards and upwards 😎

Well done Grant, an excellent upgrade and I for one really appreciate the time you put into doing all this stuff! Running really well for me.

This is a really good explanation of what we are seeing here! ? Does this filter wheel only rotate in one direction or two (i.e. 'shortest route')?

Excellent news!

You don't HAVE to use POTH if you want to pulse guide but there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't use it - I do and it is very stable. For some reason there is a reluctance by some imagers to use POTH and I don't really get it - on several occasions I have advised its use to obviate some issue and it has resolved the issues!

Make sure that Auto Track is not ticked:-

The PID data came from ServConfig and is stored in the mount. My Gain is 1 in the Sitech Mount Parameters tab - this is also the figure shown in my manual.

Tom, purely for reference, what gain figures have you got now? I have the following:- Proportional 15000 Integral 2500 Derivative 4000

Hi Tom that is really good news - I don't understand why Polite Mode is causing you a problem as in essence, it is just 'Ignore Mode' with a limit that kicks in as and when but in my experience of these things, if you get a working system, sometimes it is best to stick with it even if it flies in the face of what should be right!! As an aside, I also use Cartes du Ciel with no issues at all. Let us know how the guiding and sequencing goes - unfortunately, here we have different systems as I use CCD Commander and MaxIm DL rather then SG Pro and PHD but at least with a consistently working mount, you have a great base to start from.

This is an excellent thread - thanks for detailing your procedure and I really p[leased for you that it is working so well. Funnily enough, I have just been experimenting with ASPS myself as I want an independent blind solver but I keep on coming up with the same issue - the software will collect the correct Latitude for my site from 'the telescope' but the wrong Longitude. I dare say that I can enter this manually but it worries me that it cannot extract this basic data on my own installation! Anyone else had this issue?

Power is routed through conduit buried in the concrete base of the observatory. When I originally built the original non-automated Pulsar observatory, I laid in conduit for power, network and security system. However, I have since added a permanent drain dehumidifier, the AAG weather system and an all sky camera and these exit the the observatory low down through the glass fibre walls using 21.5mm waste overflow pipe connectors. No, I hadn't considered that although for a very short period of time, I did play with an Energenie USB controlled switch but after the second unit failed in a different manner to the first one, I decided to design my own which works faultlessly. However, I am sure that there are other solutions! Good luck with your project, I hope it is a great success for you.

This is all good, Tom and a very positive step forwards. The 'Below Horizon Limit' and 'Not Initialised' messages are not a big problem, they will need to be addressed and I can tell you how to do that when the time comes but at least you now have reliable comms from a PC thus showing that the Mesu is working fine in this regard. I agree with William that it is the Eagle that is the most cause of the comms issues.

I use a Project Template for each of my sessions and have a default set to get the ball rolling at the start of a new session. Note it stops after Deconvolution - this is because currently I leave the PI domain and enter the world of PS3!!

I do love a challenge and this and its interconnections represent plenty of challenges for an ol' git like me! ?

I am really not sure if this is in the 'spirit' of this great thread or not but - hey ho - today, the postman brought me a Drummer From Another Mother. More knobs than a mount's hand-controller and telescope combined! ?

My pleasure, David, I hope you enjoy it! ? The slippery slope to the dark side commences, Lee ?

@Alan White MakeNoise Maths - It helps to make strange 'ambient noises' - very useful when it is cloudy outside! ?

....... something a little different ...... a MakeNoise Maths module, we all need one really ?

No problem, Tom, at least you are now on the right track.

Hi Tom, William is quite correct here, you do need an RS232 port on your PC (if it has one, it will be a 9 pin ‘D’ shaped port with a 5 and a 4 row set of pins) however unless your PC is elderly, it won’t have such a port and this is where William's timely advice on a USB to RS232 adaptor comes to the rescue. Definitely do NOT adapt an exiting USB cable or disaster will ensue!!

I may be in a minority of one here but I have yet to be convinced that the star diagrams that you have included and that are often quoted are actually that helpful here and your tests confirm that rather convincingly!! I am sure that you will get some great results with this new telescope and I really enjoyed your write-up.

If this is a known issue as appears to be the case, go with option 1 and get a replacement - you want this interface to be solid and an extra layer of 'softness' is less than ideal!

It may not be the solution in your case but you wouldn't be the first to have done this! ?