carastro

What about this one, but getting your Dob inside might be difficult if it's heavy.

This website is useful for telescope and camera sizes.

http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm

Carole

My first unguided DSO 8.10.2009

24 x 30 secs

In case you don't recognise it Andromeda galaxy

Had a reply from Stellarium (forum) and looked at the EQMod site today.

Looks like Stellarium WILL work with EQMod but you have to have Stellariumscope (which must be another version), and it also looks like you can use the hand set and an RS232 cable to laptop instead of using the EQdir thingy.

Stellarium (Forum mderator) says that Stellarium does not have sync function on it's own.

Carole

Great to hear you are up and running and that has helped me a little as I have saved RogertheDodger's link to the Hitecastro driver should I need it.

Does any-one know if I can use EQMod with stellarium but still using the handset? Using the RS232 to connect.

I don't want to dispense with the handset completely at least at this stage (guess I'm like a baby with it's dummy, still clinging on to it).

I like stellarium, but there are a couple of features in EQMod like a spiral search and sync functions that would be handy.

i.e. if the object is not quite centred, I want to centre it and Stellarium thinks it is in the right place when sometimes it is not.

Or do I just need to sync on the handset and then stellarium will sync as well?

Otherwise can you sync on Stellarium (standing alone) and if so how?

Carole

Again I agree with Spikey. I'm no expert but it is my experience that a com port will only show if it recognises the hardware that is plugged in. Therefore I think the drivers for whatever you are plugging in are not installed.

Carole

my computer and go to manage, device manager

As with Spikey. My com ports are under control panel, system, device Manager/ports (or something very similar), I did not have to touch anything to do with Ascom.

Carole

You're a genius Carole, the comm port is the only thing I hadn't checked, moved to comm4 and we're away.......if you were here I'd buy you a drink!

Gee thanks, it's not often I manage to advise any-one on these sort of issues.

Carole

I have managed to get both my mounts to work with Stellarium with very little bother which is surprising since I am not very technical.

NEQ6 and CG5 GT

I have a Vista laptop.

My only problems were trying to "choose the appropriate plugin from the list" (instructions I found on the Stellarium Users Forum), but there was no list which tripped me up for a while, however as soon as I selected the correct com port it sprang into action.

However I do find occasionally it won't connect for some unexplicable reason, Com ports checked (these often seem to change themselves).

Carole

Hehe, bet that was a fun night

It was a "fun" 3/4 weeks!!!!

I've still got some hair left!!

Good luck

Carole

So it was able to calibrate East West & clear Dec Backlash, but failed to calibrate North due to moisture?

The problems varied, starting with poor guiding, then deteriorated into not being able to calibrate at all, then as it was recovering (drying out) it calibrated RA but would not calibrate North Dec.

Eventually it went back to working OK with no changes made.

Carole

I had this problem recently and it toook me ages to figure out what the problem was.

It was moisture having got into the Guide camera not giving sharp enough stars (through leaving it in the Observatory), won't make that mistake again. Duh!

The joys of trying to fathom out the cause were a real PITA.