whipdry

Imaged this in 2020, supposed to be part of a four frame mosaic that never worked out... not processed until now!

Due to misalignment between sessions it's less than the full frame of my Atik One9.0 CCD cameras.

SII 32, Ha 40 & OIII 61 all at 15min. these were stacked in AstroArt5, no calibration frames.

Peter

Focusing a guide camera at night shouldn't be a problem, just keep doubling exposure time until you see something to work with... if that fails try using the moon! 

I'll finish with a word of warning once you have the obs sessions up & running tweaking things can become the obsession!

Peter

I'm pleased to hear the mount can work well for you... guess the size of the scope/sail is the main factor where wind is concerned, with a much more compact sail/scopes etc. my Mk2 works suppressingly well in quite strong gusty winds!

Peter

42 minutes ago, SamAndrew said:

The bar was solid on my Mk2, different structures will have different natural frequencies, it's the combination of the whole system that will decide if the system will oscillate.

Ok thanks, I've never understood the thinking behind supplying a tube rather than a solid counterweight bar, seems counterintuitive... I did ask but never got a answer to that particular question!

Not sure the Mk1 can be compared to the Mk2 as the differences in design are significant, the counterweight support section & the bar are both hollow the first being a box & second a tube, both are solid on the Mk1... would anyone here know if this could be of any significance re: vibration when you suspend weights on hollow  structures compared to something more solid?

Peter

Within SiTech Features tab there is Offset Track Rates where you can adjust both Dec & RA drift in Arc Seconds Per Second over a period of your choose in Minutes... fairly easy to use, lets say in 10 min. you 4 arc sec. drift just add these into boxes provided & hit Calculate, result is -0.0067 hit Save Rates & your done, use Rate to Zero to cancel... these setting aren't saved revert to zero when you restart Sitech.

FYI minus arc sec. can be used.

Peter

If you don't want to manually set the RA Dec for each target you can use the framing wizard, just choose a frame from an existing target & overlay to get the same RA & Dec then name as before... also possible to reset all the frames you've already acquired manually in SGPro if you can be bothered!

Here's my Mount Parms tab,

If you look at the Misc tab you'll see a box centre bottom of page, Load Backup Config File, click here if you  have a backup it should be a .cfg file, called mine Mesu1.cfg.

Have you ever saved the SiTech.cfg file at anytime with a different name?

Looks like you have some corrupted files... if you haven't already tried rebooting your computer give that a go first, if that doesn't help do you have a backup disk? 

Found this indi driver for sitech controller... I use an NUC with ascom drivers & can't help any further.

https://github.com/JeffRossMT/sitech-indi-driver/blob/master/telescope_sitech.h

Impressive, reinforced raft, large structural framing, hardwood cladding, almost built to a timberframe dwelling standard!....bet that wasn't cheap!

Peter

These examples may help, they are single stretched subs of Ha SII & OIII from my past saved images using the same CCD sensor... seem much like yours but in a different order!

It's easy to mix up the Ha & SII filters as they can have a similar appearance once fitted & looking at them down the tube of a scope.

Peter

Ha

SII

OIII

Any chance of having a link to the rubber backed foil & what adhesive you used to fix it in place?

Peter

I guess most Mesu mk1 users find that azimuth adjustments problematic due to movement in the mount base when tightening down the central fixing! 
Finally got round to this modification in September last year... if you have used the Mesu mounting plate you'll know it has 6 fixing hole set 60° apart, I used 3 at 120° for attaching to my pier & the other 3 hold 6200 2RS bearing held tight against the Mesu base, (even if you used all 6 as fixings this mod is still possible although you may need longer bolts where the bearings are fitted) this has made polar alignment adjustments much more precise!

Myself I think this mod fits nicely with industrial look of the later Mk1... if anyone else decides to do this you may want to get the SS version of bearings, although mine are just the steel version & as yet I have no rusting!
Have included pictures, any questions just ask.

Peter

2 hours ago, StuartT said:

On 01/02/2023 at 19:47, Starflyer said:

The calibration works over 25 pixels and afaik that's set and can't be changed.  I aim for about 12 steps, you're getting four or five steps at 1050ms calibration step size, try dropping it to 350ms, that should sort it out.

 

3 hours ago, michael8554 said:

Don't alter the PHD2 Cal Step size.

=======================================

 

So now I have two directly contradictory pieces of advice.

reduce guide step size

dont reduce guide step size

🤔

 

It may seem like a conflict but they are just suggesting you change setting in different places... in Phd2 less ms per move or in EQ Mode adjust (slow down try x0.5) the mounts guide speed... try them both & see which works best for you. 

Peter

Just a suggestion, see link.

Cut the handles off turn upside down make large hole in the bottom place on protected mirror & pour in plaster. 

Guess that's how you'd do it...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YouGarden-Pack-Heavy-Duty-Handles/dp/B009W4XBW4/ref=mp_s_a_1_61?keywords=Large%2BPlastic%2BTubs&qid=1675373727&sr=8-61&th=1&psc=1

Peter

Thanks for the update, I'm guessing Lucas hadn't glued the controller onto the mount as on my version of the Mk2?

Glade to hear you've a backup... 

Peter

On 14/01/2023 at 13:13, AKB said:

Help!  Turned on the mount (Mk 2) last night and the RA started slewing immediately until it suddenly stopped (some encoder limit??)  It does this every time if I manually turn the RA back to its usual park position.  The controller LED 1 blinks and the app shows "blinky" mode.

The servo obviously works, and perhaps the encoder, since it does come to a stop.  Perhaps a Sitech hardware issue?

Any advice / suggestions for further diagnostics welcomed.

Are new Sitechs easy to acquire?  The thought of having to ship something to Europe is dire in this post-Brexit world.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

Hi Tony,

Just wondering if you managed to get your Mesu mount up & running again... perhaps you could give an update? 

Peter 

From what's visible in the pictures posted the gable end walls look fine, can't see any water damage, it's the side walls that have the water/damp issues... is this from condensation running down the inside of the roof or rain leaking in at the eaves? 

Peter

That's a pity, guess it's time to check your cables for damage & do a continuity test if you haven't already? The RJ45 male connectors are easily damaged, all it takes is a small indentation in the plastic that separates the contact strips... I once had runaway on an LX200 fork mount for that reason! 

Just a thought perhaps you could look inside the Sitech case... not sure if a a small creature could short the curcuit board! 

Has Lucas offered any advice? 

Peter 

Thought I'd try to offer a little more help, here's a list of things that I would try & why... 

1/ Maybe your controller config file has corrupted; reload your backup .cfg file into the controller...

Open Sitech & goto Config tab, click on Change Config! button, goto Misc. tab, click on Load Backup Config File

Mine is in; ProgramData/SiTech/SiTechExe/SiTech.cfg   Click on to load backup, go through shutdown & restart & try connecting your mount again... doesn't help try... 

2/ To check if the controller output forthe  motor/encoders swap both the encoder & motor cables, as you already know motor cables is an easy swap... on my mount the encoder cables have a connector that rests inside the wedge, just swap RA & Dec on one side of this... perhaps colour tape (mark) the RA before making this change! 

Following these suggestions should give you a better indication of the where the problem is. 

If you haven't already tried the above please post your findings.  

Fingers crossed for a corrupted config file! 

Peter 

You might get a better response posting on... 

https://groups.io/g/Sitechservo

Peter 

Maybe the runaway is caused by the handset... If you haven't already done so try starting without it attached. If it is the problem check for stuck buttons, I've had this happen! 

Peter