ejdavis

Hi Thanks for your replies,

We changed all the cables to a top brand (Lindy) and reinstalled all the drivers and after adjusting some settings in SGP it seems to be behaving correctly and recognising all the filters.

So, I am not sure which adjustment mad the difference but hopefully the problem is over.

Hello,
I have a remote telescope set up in Spain.  It has an Atik EFW3  7 position filter wheel. I use Seqeunce Generator Pro to control the set up.
I was advised by the owner of the remote site that he uses a Pegasus Astro Ultimate Powerbox v2 which considerably simplified the cabling. So, I decided buy one also.
It was installed a few days ago.
 However we have been having significant problems with the filter wheel. Before the Powerbox was installed, the filter wheel had performed flawlessly for over a year.
The problems are:- 
The filter wheel, on start up, often does not move when commanded to do so in SGP. It sometimes says "Moving" in SGP but then stays at the Luminance filter which is in Position 1 on the filter wheel. If I close both SGP and disconnect the Powerbox and start again, it then sometimes (but not always) starts to accept instructions to move correctly for filters 1 to 5.
However, even when it is moving the filters correctly, filters 6 and 7 are inaccessible. It acts like they are not there at all.
The site owner has checked the cables and they are properly installed.
Can you please offer  any advice on how to proceed? I do like the Powerbox concept and hope I can continue to use it.

Thanks for looking.

Eric

27 minutes ago, RayD said:

Yes I use this combination and use it now in the direct connection method. I've done a few YouTube videos on them, one is here and you should then find the others.

The wheel is 22mm nominal.  I actually measured mine at 21.8.  The back focus of 19.5mm is with the front plate on, and from memory I believe this is 7mm, which gives you 34.5 overall if using the direct connection.  I believe these dimensions make provision for the cover glass.

My advice would be to allow for some sort of shimming (delrin) to allow a little bit of fettling as you can get some tolerances, even in custom adaptors.

Ray, Thanks very much for your advice. I understand the arithmetic now. I'll allow for the shimming as you suggest.

Just checked out the videos very informative. I was going to use a separate guidescope but the combination  with the Atik OAG looks very neat . I would have enough back focus to fit an OAG in my imaging train. I'll definitely consider that option. 

I'll be using a Lodestar also. However, I have not used an OAG before. How easy is it  acquiring guide stars with the Lodestar and  Atik OAG? My set up will be at a remote location. So I won't be able to manually move the OAG to locate a guide star if I go for that option.

Hello,

I have  just ordered an  Atik EFW 3 filter wheel and an Atik 16200 camera.

I want to use my EFW 3 and 16200 with  TEC 140 scope. My scope will have an Astro Physics Quad TCC field flattener with a quoted back focus of 80.8 +/- 1mm. I will need a purpose made adaptor to make the connection between the filter wheel and the field flattener.

My problem is understanding the back focus of the EFW 3/16200 combination. I intend to bolt the EFW 3 direct to the 16200 with the face plate removed. However, I am a bit confused as to the back focus as I have seen different figures quoted by Atik and on forums.

I have seen a figure of 19.5 +/- 0.5mm for the camera back focus. For the filter wheel I have seen both 34.5mm without the camera faceplate and also a figure of 21.8mm. Obviously they cannot both be right.

 Is there somebody out there with the same equipment who can advise me what is the correct backfocus to use?

Another point I would like to clarify is does the 19.5mm figure for the camera allow for the thickness of the window of the camera? (I know any filters or optical windows have to be allowed for in the final calculation.)

The purpose made adaptor will be quite expensive, so I want it to be right first time.

Also, I am keen to start using the new equipment. (I did send an e mail to Atik support a few days ago but have not had a reply which is rather disappointing.)

I would very grateful for any help.

Thanks 

Eric