f300v10

Not as bad as I had feared it might be, and easily corrected with flats.

I recently obtained a 130P-DS from FLO as SW doesn't sell these state side. I paired it with the new Starizona Nexus 0.75 reducing coma corrector and shot this first light last night. Camera was a ASI2600MM with 2" filters. Two hours total LRGB:

Knobby, I run a C11 XLT/ 0.64 Starizona Reducer-Corrector / Celestron OAG + ASI 290mm / ASI filter wheel / ASI 1600 mm as my primary imaging system riding on my EQ6-R. Typical guiding is 0.6 to 0.65 arc seconds RMS. Under good seeing I have gone over an hour at 0.39 arc sec RMS, including dithers. The net focal length of my setup is 1840 or so, so slightly less than the C8 Edge, but also much heavier. I think you would be fine. Scott

Dawn, Do you have limits turned on in EQMOD by chance? If they are on and default to stop the mount at the zenith that may explain your issue. If this is the case you can either turn them off (could be dangerous), or set them to allow the mount to go a safe time/distance past the meridian before the limit stops the mount. Sorry, just noticed you had this issue post flip, not before flip right? I would still double check your limits aren't set right at zenith. For the plate-solving, make sure you have the EQMOD sync set to 'Dialog mode', not append. Scott

Just to reiterate, using units of arc-seconds RMS is preferable when quoting guiding accuracy as it is the same for all users and hardware configurations. Pixels on the other hand are hardware configuration dependent, and explain why you would see numerically larger error on a system where the guide system used a higher image scale (arc seconds per pixel).

Are you quoting your guide error RMS in arcseconds, or pixels, as PHD displays both. I always use arcseconds as it is the same unit in all cases, while pixels depend on individual setups. I have also found my guiding accuracy actually improved when using my C11/OAG when compared to my ED80 with guide scope. My typical guiding with the guide-scope (300/60 mm, asi290mm) is around 0.8 arcsec RMS. When using my C11 + reducer /OAG (1850mm focal length) I get 0.6 rms typical, and as low as 0.4 with good seeing.

CTRL-SHIFT-1 all at the same time syncs for me using the 0.19.3 with direct ASCOM. CTRL-3 was the stellarium scope equivalent.

I've had good luck with the C11 on the EQ6-R. I use it with a focal reducer, so the effective focal length is 1850. My typical guiding error is between 0.6 and 0.7 arcsec RMS, which I view as very good for a mount in the price range of the EQ6-R. As far as buying recommendations for a used C11 I'm afraid I don't have any tips for you. I bought mine new and am happy with it.

Also check that the screw tip is not caught behind the black plastic insert inside the counter weight. That happened to me once, and I kept tightening the screw but the weight just kept on slipping. The plastic ring had shifted and the screw tip was pushing on the plastic rather than making contact with the counterweight shaft.

My C11 imaging rig is at the high end of the weight capacity of the EQ6-R, so I use the maximum amount of weight I can at the top of the shaft, and a small weight further down for fine adjustments. My guide error with typical seeing in this configuration is around 0.65 arsec RMS, and 0.4-0.5 under good seeing.

To minimize the load on the mount drive motors and maximize your guiding performance, it is best to use a higher amount of counterweight at the top of the shaft, rather than a lower amount at the bottom. The reason for this is that while he righting moment (the force that balances the scope) goes up linearly with distance from the point of rotation, the polar/rotational moment of inertia goes up by the square of the distance. It is the polar moment that the mount must overcome when making guiding adjustments, so a lower moment reduces the load on the motor, and allows for quicker more accurate guiding adjustments.

Make sure the pulse guide rate is 0.5 or above in your EQMOD settings. It often defaults to 0.1, which is not high enough and will cause issues when PHD2 attempts to calibrate due to lack of star movement.

Not sure if you still need this answer, but I believe the EQ6-R worm has 180 teeth. That value comes from the below page in the EQMOD docs. From what I can tell the EQ6-R and the AZ/EQ-6 GT share the same drive components. http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/prerequisites.html

One other thing I forgot to say, it is best to tune your PHD2 settings on a target fairly close to the celestial equator, something with a DEC between +/-20.

Droogie, I sounds like the mount was not responding enough per PHD2 command as my calibration step is set to 600. Check your ASCOM PulseGuide settings in EQMOD by clicking the icon of the wrench with three red >>> symbols. My RA and DEC rates are x0.50, min pulse width of 20 and a DEC backlash of 0. If you change any of these values you will need to force a PHD2 re-calibration. Another thing to try is running the PHD2 'Guiding Assistant'. It will evaluate your setup and suggest setting changes to improve it. Hope this helps. Scott