michael8554

300ms, or 3000ms = 3secs ? Glad you're sorted. Michael

Yes, but confirm that the pinout to the mount is correct for yours, some are different. Michael

Go into Device Manager/COM ports and select Show Hidden Devices in View. Then click on each unwanted port and Delete. Michael

I don't think PhilipR is aware that there are circumferential screws at both ends of the LX ota that can be used to attach a dovetail. Michael

Meade have issued a fix for most of their mounts but not yet for the LX90 / ETX version of Autostar. But reports are the fix is flaky, so hold off until they have fixed the fix ! Michael

Meade have issued a fix for most of their mounts but not yet for the LX90 / ETX version of Autostar. But reports are the fix is flaky, so hold off until they have fixed the fix ! Michael

Meade have issued a fix for most of their mounts but not yet for the LX90 / ETX version of Autostar. But reports are the fix is flaky, so hold off until they have fixed the fix ! Michael

It used to be that the grease on Chinese mounts was only suitable for Dubbin your leather walking boots........ Michael

Not sure if you're being facetious, but it does help reduce Dec backlash........ Michael

So you managed to find guide stars - I'd suggest persevering with the PHD2 settings (binning will give a better guiding image scale) because with your tightly engineered mount and no flexture, only Seeing should upset your guiding ? Michael

As Newbie said, star shape isn't a problem, according to the PHD2 developers. What did you mean, "none of the stars were usable" ? I find using Star Mass or Min SNR in PHD2 leads to dropped stars, I only use the HFD setting, at 1.5 to reject hot pixels. Also you're aware that you can plan a session with a fov box on a planetarium, so that you can rotate and frame the imagiing camera to include guide stars in the oag area ? Also I notice that you plan to guide every 20 seconds ? My lowly ASI 120MM picks up nebulae at 2 second exposures, a 20 second guidecam exposure should pick up every star in the galaxy ! Even if you are really exposing at say 2 seconds and using the delay setting in PHD2 to delay corrections by 18 seconds, that would mean correcting an 18 seconds old error. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your intentions. Maybe better to expose the usual 1 to 3 seconds, with a suitable Min Move in PHD2 ? Michael

If your F10 SCT is on a Meade mount, then a second press of the GOTO button will start a spiral search. Michael

OAG is the way to go but if you couldn't find guidestars with a 6inch RC then you will need a much more sensitive guidecam for the 14inch. Larger format / fov ? Wouldn't any camera cover a tiny oag mirror? Big pixels and high sensitivity like a LodeStar 2 perhaps ? Michael

The optimum focus point suggested by the 4a to 4d diagrams involves a lot of overhang, which can lead to tilted images, especially if the focuser doesn't have threaded connectors. So to reduce the load on the focuser to the minimum I would insert the camera/FR combination all the way into the focuser, as you suggest. Then sufficient extensions between the ota and focuser to place the camera the same distance from the ota as in 4d. Michael

If your mount has a lot of Dec backlash then the autocal may only take up the backlash and never move the mount before timing out. So if the autocal moves the mount north, try nudging the mount north before starting the autocal. Michael

http://software.celestron.com/updates/CFM/CFM/

Okay, but you said the image showed your result ! Michael

I'd be very surprised if the same grease is suitable for the bearings and for the worm gears. Michael

Guessing that the spot is supposed to have returned to the purple mark, then RA and Dec have moved ? Michael

Not a Windows 10 update issue ? Michael

My ZWO ASI 120MM occasionally has "Split Frames" when I use it in SharpCap to take 30 second exposure sequences (frame is split vertically with left and right halves swapped) Typically starts okay, then after a while I get a series of Split frames, then it corrects. Never had it in PHD2, I'm not using the ASCOM driver. Michael

Let's be clear, neither Meade nor Celestron have found a fix, it's a dedicated team of "amateurs " who are offering it for Meade mounts. Michael

You can fix your scope's GPS problems by downloading and installing our free patch kit for the Autostar's firmware. It requires a PC-to-scope connector cable and (depending upon your PC) perhaps a USB-to-serial adapter. Then visit http://www.stargps.ca/starpatch.htm to pick up the free (for this purpose) StarPatch program. If you can have your PC attached to the scope and, at the same time, connected to the internet, it becomes a case of: (a) hook it up, turn on the scope. (b) fire up StarPatch and tell it what kind of Autostar/scope you have (c) it will offer to fetch the newest patch kit (v21 for v4.2g in the Autostar) and firmware, let it do so. (d) you will be presented with a "tick list" of features in the patch ... scroll to the bottom of that and tick the [Fix GPS Rollover bug] choice. (e) then tell it to proceed with the process ... it has a progress bar, and takes about 15 minutes. (half of it goes very quickly, and half at "Meade speed" (paid-for copies of StarPatch do it all quickly). (f) when it tells you it's done, you may exit StarPatch, turn off the scope and disconnect everything. That's it. The patch adds 1024 weeks to the (wrong) date it gets from the GPS receiver. The receiver will properly work out your position. have fun --dick p.s. "GPS Problem"? No ... it was a known design compromise in the old GPS signal. Some receivers (such as the Sony that Meade used in the early LX200GPS in 2002) handle it properly. There are many work-arounds, and the Autostar's updateable firmware makes it relatively easy to address. Our patch will also handle the problem if the Sony should mess up within the next few years.

You can fix your scope's GPS problems by downloading and installing our free patch kit for the Autostar's firmware. It requires a PC-to-scope connector cable and (depending upon your PC) perhaps a USB-to-serial adapter. Then visit http://www.stargps.ca/starpatch.htm to pick up the free (for this purpose) StarPatch program. If you can have your PC attached to the scope and, at the same time, connected to the internet, it becomes a case of: (a) hook it up, turn on the scope. (b) fire up StarPatch and tell it what kind of Autostar/scope you have (c) it will offer to fetch the newest patch kit (v21 for v4.2g in the Autostar) and firmware, let it do so. (d) you will be presented with a "tick list" of features in the patch ... scroll to the bottom of that and tick the [Fix GPS Rollover bug] choice. (e) then tell it to proceed with the process ... it has a progress bar, and takes about 15 minutes. (half of it goes very quickly, and half at "Meade speed" (paid-for copies of StarPatch do it all quickly). (f) when it tells you it's done, you may exit StarPatch, turn off the scope and disconnect everything. That's it. The patch adds 1024 weeks to the (wrong) date it gets from the GPS receiver. The receiver will properly work out your position. have fun --dick p.s. "GPS Problem"? No ... it was a known design compromise in the old GPS signal. Some receivers (such as the Sony that Meade used in the early LX200GPS in 2002) handle it properly. There are many work-arounds, and the Autostar's updateable firmware makes it relatively easy to address. Our patch will also handle the problem if the Sony should mess up within the next few years.

You can fix your scope's GPS problems by downloading and installing our free patch kit for the Autostar's firmware. It requires a PC-to-scope connector cable and (depending upon your PC) perhaps a USB-to-serial adapter. Then visit http://www.stargps.ca/starpatch.htm to pick up the free (for this purpose) StarPatch program. If you can have your PC attached to the scope and, at the same time, connected to the internet, it becomes a case of: (a) hook it up, turn on the scope. (b) fire up StarPatch and tell it what kind of Autostar/scope you have (c) it will offer to fetch the newest patch kit (v21 for v4.2g in the Autostar) and firmware, let it do so. (d) you will be presented with a "tick list" of features in the patch ... scroll to the bottom of that and tick the [Fix GPS Rollover bug] choice. (e) then tell it to proceed with the process ... it has a progress bar, and takes about 15 minutes. (half of it goes very quickly, and half at "Meade speed" (paid-for copies of StarPatch do it all quickly). (f) when it tells you it's done, you may exit StarPatch, turn off the scope and disconnect everything. That's it. The patch adds 1024 weeks to the (wrong) date it gets from the GPS receiver. The receiver will properly work out your position. have fun --dick p.s. "GPS Problem"? No ... it was a known design compromise in the old GPS signal. Some receivers (such as the Sony that Meade used in the early LX200GPS in 2002) handle it properly. There are many work-arounds, and the Autostar's updateable firmware makes it relatively easy to address. Our patch will also handle the problem if the Sony should mess up within the next few years.