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dhmiller

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Posts posted by dhmiller

  1. Thanks, Alan.I probably missed a step along the way . Will check all tonight. I wonder if the target was just too close to the meridian...

    Also, still struggling a bit with camera angle. I watched a video by Chris Woodhouse that said to enable the rotation alignment toggle even to use manual rotation to properly align the target, but I have yet to find a window that allows me to do that, hence the attached, which I have just started to edit (lots of issues).  I'm currently using v. 4.x and wonder if that still matches what I saw/heard in his tutorial, which didn't actually show the manual rotation window but does allude to ti. 

    Anyway, onward and upward and thanks again for your help.

     

    image (1).png

  2. Hello - thought i might give you a bit of an update.  I changed my workflow to eliminate the slewing in CdC entirely. So now I unpark the scope and head over to SGP. Tonight I gave it Andromeda for a target and I drew the square in Frame and Mosaic to create a single sequence starting about two hours prior to Andromeda crossing the meridian. The sequence ran fine and finished, though Andromeda had just crossed when it completed. I wanted to reorient my scope, so I added a new event of 90 x 120 second exposures, opened up the Target window and selected slew and center, thinking the scope would flip around to the other side, but it did not move despite my requesting the slew and center command. So I parked the scope to home and then unparked, created a new sequence via typing Andromeda into the Frame and Mosaic window and again chose Slew and Center, but the scope still did not move. At this point, I was completely off the target, so I opened CdC and chose Slew to Andromeda and the scope did indeed move, but the first few frames I saw after restarting the sequence did not look at all like upside down versions of what I had already captured - for the first two hours, I could see Andromeda clearly in the mid center of the frame, but now I couldn't see it at all. And again, even after requesting that CdC slew to Andromeda, the scope position and the target were not synchronized, so I really don't know what I will be getting until I integrate everything overnight.

    What I need to determine is the best way to continue to capture more data when my target transits. I'm not yet ready to try an automated meridian flip, so I need a reliable"manual" approach that will slew/realign the scope using SGP, which did a great job for the time prior to my stopping it. If you have any thoughts or if the above is not clear, please let me know. And again, thanks for all your help - seems like I am halfway to where I want to be.

     

  3. Alan, you are a gentleman and a scholar - thanks so much for your help. I will try this tonight, now that the sky is clear again. I was also reading on another thread that I may have too many points in my EQMOD sky map - have not cleared that out in a while, so perhaps that is another issue I need to tackle... one thing at a time, though. If you don't mind, I will check in tomorrow or shortly after I complete tonight's session.  And thanks again for your help.

    • Like 1
  4. 1 hour ago, symmetal said:

    "A little bug is that the Framing and Mosaic tool by default expects a rotator to be present even if one hasn't been specified in the equipment list. When you click Create Sequence, on the next panel deselect the Rotate or Validate Camera Angle box as below. Your sequence will then start without the auto-rotator error you've been getting. An unfortunate side effect is this will then not display the camera rotation angle when it's centreing so before running the sequence do a manual plate solve which will display the camera angle."

     

    -->And I assume I need to copy the database to the ASTAP folder and run the exe?  Doesn't appear to be in the dir at present after just installing ASATP...

     

  5. Thanks so much, Alan. Very helpful indeed. The only problem is that when I plate solve, I do not see the target, given that I am looking at only one step/frame (even with auto stretch enabled). So how does one determine the current rotation if the target is not actually visible?  Moving forward with your other suggestions (all your assumptions are correct ;-)). Thanks again. 

  6. 11 hours ago, symmetal said:

    Thanks for the reply. I will check the EQMOD setting - thanks for the tip.  I have tried using SGP to slew and center, but it also does not move the scope when I enable those options - I believe it is supposed to move the scope when the sequence starts, if I'm not mistaken. Also, it always fails when doing the final stage of the plate solving,.. I don't believe it indicates a specific error other than "Fail."  It also will not start the sequence when I use the Frame and Mosaic tool because it seems to expect an auto-rotator.. I have tried mightily to find the Manual Rotate page, such as shown in the manual where you simply turn the camera yourself to satisfy the expected orientation, but I cannot find that anywhere in 4.2.0 (1158), so that is also an issue. All user error, no doubt, but that all leads me back to using CdC for the final alignment with the target.  

     

    In Eqmod (or EQAscom) have you set your sync mode to 'Dialog Mode' and not 'Append On Sync'. Append on Sync can cause a similar behaviour to what you have, though it can be anywhere and not just near the Meridian. 

    I'm curious as to why you don't let SGP do the slewing and centreing, as the Mosaic and Framing Wizard makes it very easy to do. As it uses EQAscom syncs like CdC does, you can see if the slewing behaviour is any different and so narrow it down as to what program's causing the error.

    Alan

     

  7. My workflow is to start a session with CdC, where I load EQMOD, then slew to my target. Then I jump into SGP and set up a sequence, then jump back to CdC to reslew, whereupon I would start PhDt2, then start the sequence. But it seems that CdC won't move at all if my target is too near the meridian - it does slews away from the target initially, but then starts to heard back to the target and stops well short, in the same position it was before I initiated the slew. The attached shows the position of the scope after the slew and the target. Any way to adjust this, if there is a limitation on how close to the meridian CdC will slew?  Or maybe there is another explanation? Thanks for any assistance.

    after slew.jpg

  8. On 29/10/2020 at 15:49, ollypenrice said:

    You'd be hobbling yourself trying to do Hubble Palette false colour with OSC.  The Ha would be captured using a quarter of the pixels, the OIII with half and the SII with a quarter. Given that mono imagers usually find the SII signal very feeble anyway, dividing it by four wouldn't be a good idea.

    An OSC camera is best used as an OSC camera - that is a broadband natural colour camera. You can enhance Ha and OIII signal quite succesfully using filters but, at some point, you have to say, 'Why did I choose an OSC?'

    Olly

    "An OSC camera is best used as an OSC camera - that is a broadband natural colour camera." Obvious, but interesting. In your opinion, what are some of the best broadband targets (OSC being deliver next week...). Thanks.

  9. On 25/08/2020 at 12:08, Waldemar said:

    Maybe just go to a hardware shop and let them tell you what it is and sell you a couple of bolts.
    Sawing a bit off is easier then make them longer...

    Haven't been inside a store since February, but ordered several different lengths of 1/4-20 and picked them up curbside. I had to use a Losmandy mount because there was no screw that fit through the rings on the Stellarvue as well as the plate on the Esprit, but got it done with a 1" 3/4", so Imperial after all.  Thanks for the help.

  10. ;-). Yes, I am familiar with "technical difficulties" since I got my first Apple II in 1981 😉 Smoking hard drives, non-functioning RAIDs, buggy operating systems, and for my super macro studio, lighting and exposure and positioning and stability issues 😉  Headaches are all part of the game. (AP is just a new game ...)

    The big difference these days from 1981  is the great resource of these forums and the vast range of expertise forum members have, plus their willingness to share  (also the same for macro and just about any other hobby) I do expect problems not just initially, but for as long as I pursue such hobbies.  Hopefully I can get the correct measurements form Skywatcher, but I will also just buy a bunch of nuts and bolts and be prepared.

    Thanks for the advice - very true and much appreciated.

    • Like 1
  11. I want to mount a Stellarvue 50mm guide scope to my Skywatcher Esprit 100 ED OTA. I have the Stellarvue but even though the screws that hold the rings onto its plate fit into the screw holes on the side of the ED100, they are the wrong pitch and only screw in about 1/3 of the way,.Does anyone know what the screw pitch of the guide plate on the side of the Esprit is and/or what type of screws I need to get? (I can mount the rings of the SV right onto the Esprit because they are flat on the bottom.) I don't know the diameter of the existing screws holding the rings onto the guider plate, but they are definitely the wrong pitch. Thanks for any help.


  12. Just got my AZ-EQ 6 Pro yesterday and switched it to AZ mode for viewing. The manual says to "jack up the RA axis's elevation until it reaches approximately 88 degrees and the jack screw will disengage entirely  (doesn't mention removing the counterweights before switching modes until the next page - this is my first ever scope, so I know basically nothing) . In any case, made the switch and got the knurled screws into the correct positions but the jackscrew is still completely disengaged and I can't adjust the RA axis elevation, which is now almost exactly (88 degrees) parallel with the ground. How do I regain control of elevation at this point? I retightened the two fork tightening knobs and the RA clutch (tried both in various positions), but the jackscrew is completely non-functioning.  Thanks for any help. 

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