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Synscan 3.28 Beta Polar Re-Alignment Feature

Black Knight

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russ.will

russ.will

Posted
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I finally tried this feature out last night. Alt error - 3 arc seconds, El error - 0, as in zero. Assuming that the last digit on the line is arc seconds, that is. Now, I definitely would not have put money on that outcome!

I look forward to trying it out when the cloud next clears, if only to confirm that my efforts to make the exact tripod position repeatable, haven't been in vain.

Russell

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BlueAstra

BlueAstra

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Sounds like a great feature. Must admit its a long time since I used the handset. I use EQMOD+various planetarium packages with a direct cable to the EQ6 from the laptop, and Alignmaster software to polar align. Works very well.

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dph1nm

dph1nm

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Well, it completely messed up my polar alignment, so it will be a while before I try it again!

First go said 30' off in az (in complete disagreement with the polar scope) and 1' in el (believable - the mount is pier mounted in an observatory and has been drift aligned). Sent it off to Procyon to the do the Polar re-align and the adjustments required were almost entirely in altitude (and large). Unsurprisingly the next 3-star align showed the polar alignment to be worse. Repeated the procedure - exactly the same offset in the same direction showed up on Procyon! So now I had two sets of large altitude corrections in same direction.

Eventually after many retries (gave up on Procyon and moved to Capella) I got something which said less than 1' in both axes. But this was clearly not right, as doing a three star-align was nearly impossible due to the second star being several degrees away from where it should be. Tried 20mins of exposures - star drifted about 0.25deg off in Dec!

Sigh - powered off and restarted from scratch. Low and behold, polar alignment was now 4deg and 2deg off (highly believable)! Gave up, and spent the next two nights re-aligning using the polar scope and then drift aligning.

A couple of things I noticed. Every 3-star alignment has worked with 3.28beta, whereas I had terrible trouble with frequent "alignment failed" on 3.27.

Using different aligment stars gives polar errors which differ by about 10' - so it doesn't seem to be much more accurate than this.

NigelM

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mario11

mario11

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I normally use EQMod exclusively these days, but I thought I give this beta a whirl, just to try out the new Polar Re-Alignment Feature.

The purpose of the Polar Re-Alignment Feature is to allow you to adjust your polar alignment (funnily enough), after you have performed the usual 2 or 3 star alignment.

Basically, after completing your star alignment, you select Polar Re-align from the handset menu, and it walks you through the process. Interestingly, it only requires you to select a single star from a list, centre it using the handset and then centre it again using the AltAz bolts after the mount has slewed a correctional distance away.

Well, I've just started running off a test set of subs after parking and re-attaching EQMod, and I have to say this new feature has impressed me, both with its ease of use and its utility. The whole process was so simple, it was complete in a couple of minutes. It was so straightforward, I ran another 3-star alignment immediately afterwards, and started the Polar Re-align again!

The interesting thing about the second run-through was although each of the 3 alignment stars were in the field of view (they weren't the first time - my shocking PA for you!), they weren't all that close to the centre. But when I came to run the Re-align, it was absolutely spot on. Spot on! Didn't have to adjust the AltAz bolts at all!

So. I was impressed then .... but the proof as always, is in the pudding as they say. So I'm just running some test subs of the area around NGC2359 and intend to cover M81/M82 if the clouds stay away.

This is not an exhaustive test, simply a first "hands-on". I haven't encountered any problems with 3.28, but I haven't exactly stressed it either. The usual cautions about using beta software would apply. Still, at the moment, I think this would make a very useful tool when 3.28 goes live.

Test kit:

SW Quattro

NEQ6

Canon 500D running APT's Live View reticle for centering accuracy.

Hope you find this useful.

Thanks for sharing Andy

Which method is more accurate , polar align using polar scope and polaris Ha clock from handset or this one.

I have a HEQ5 , i whant to use it for imaging with a 180mm lense unguided.

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Dipper

Dipper

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If the new beta fixes dph1nm's described problem then there seem to be no other major problems with the new polar alignment method that anyone mentiond on this forum. Everybody else who tried it gave mostly positive feedback. But great to see Skywatcher responding so quick with a fix.

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Black Knight

Black Knight

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I am very definitely in the Northern Hemisphere, but should it ever stop raining I will try the newest version.

NigelM

So will I. I've only been able to try it out on the one occasion so far. British weather for you, eh? At least we're getting some rain, not just cloud! :)

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Black Knight

Black Knight

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Thanks for sharing Andy

Which method is more accurate , polar align using polar scope and polaris Ha clock from handset or this one.

I have a HEQ5 , i whant to use it for imaging with a 180mm lense unguided.

I would say that as long as Synta sort out any possible wrinkles with the software, this method ought to beat manually aligning using a polar scope and the HA clock. All I can really say is try it, and see what sort of results you get.

In my case I've only had the opportunity to test it the once, I would need to run through the entire process many more times before I think I'd be 100% comfortable with it. Having said that, if it can reliably get me in the ballpark each time, with just a tweak after drift-aligning, I think I'd be happy with that.

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Black Knight

Black Knight

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If you are referring to the process of upgrading and flashing the handset firmware, then yes, the handset does need powering. I used the normal power lead from the power tank. It worked fine. The mount itself does not need powering while you do this.

As for the comm cable, I used the one which came with the mount. I had to fire up an old XP-based computer I haven't used in ages to get it to work though - my other computers don't have serial ports! :)

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Starlight 1

Starlight 1

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Just a couple of questions, sorry about this, from a dummy :rolleyes:. First power, do I require a seperate power source for the handset and second is the comms cable I already use the cable for upgrading? Now don't all laugh at once, I am trying :).

Jim

If you are going to update the handset you have got to plug in a power to the handset and the lead from the computer go to the one next to power ,Be for you turn on power hold 8 and 0 befor turning on power.
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The Sailor

The Sailor

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Thanks Andy, will see what happens :).

Jim

Update: Just took the power lead from the mount socket and used it on the handset, worked a treat. Commenced upgrading but failed twice, turned the comms speed down to LO on the handset and tried again, all okay and working. Found the Polar Re-Alignment under the Alignment heading on the handset, thank you all.

Jim

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  • 3 weeks later...
dph1nm

dph1nm

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So it finally stopped raining and I had another go. Two different choices of 3 alignment stars gave wildly differing offsets in el and az (we are talking ~1 deg different), so I didn't even bother trying to alter the alignment. I reckon this software is not for me.

NigelM

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fatwoul

fatwoul

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OK, I tried it this evening, and I don't know what to think.

I was fairly confident that my polar alignment was pretty good; I carefully finetuned the polarscope reticle when I first got my NEQ6, as suggested by a thread here, and since then I've periodically checked the polarscope, and Polaris is always sitting in its little circle, right where it should be. That leads me to believe that the polarscope is (or was) aligned as well as it could be. Afterall, if it was off, Polaris would drift in and out of the circle during the night, and during the year, right?

So I was very surprised by the amount of adjustment the 3.28 Beta suggested I make when I tried it.

I did a 3-star align afterwards, and it completed successfully, but I then slewed to M13, and did a 30 second exposure. The stars trailed a lot during that 30 seconds, moreso than they would have before I messed with the alt-az bolts. So I think I'll just return the mount back to where it was, and forget about this 3.28 business for now...

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