Problem with QHY5 and PHD

[olander08]

I was out last night trying to get my autoguiding system to work for the first time, but I was unable to get it to work like it should. I'm sure it's just some setting that's off, but I couldn't figure out which whilst out in the field.

I'm using my 9x50mm finder as guidescope, connecting the QHY5 with its finderguider adapter. The QHY5 is connected to my computer and to the autoguiding port of my HEQ5 Pro-mount using the ST4 cable. The only settings that I've configured in PHD is the camera, mount and maybe the exposure setting (had it at one second). I was able to lock onto a star (which I identified with the green square) and when I clicked the PHD-button it does indeed communicate with my mount. The problem is that it doesn't make the mount follow the motion of the sky. The finderscope is, by the way, almost perfectly callibrated to match the view of my 200p, if that should matter.

To make it easier to understand, I'll supply the last two pictures that I managed to capture before the sun ruined the slight darkness that is a night near Stockholm at this time of the year:

Below is a 30 second exposure of Vega with the autoguiding enabled:

Below is a 5 minute exposure of Vega without the autoguiding enabled:

As you can see, the drift is way worse in the 30 second exposure with autoguiding enabled, so it's obvious that the mount receives a signal from the camera, but unfortunately not the correct one.

What do I do?

[rjsc2001]

I don't know much about the HEQ5 Pro-mount, but here my thoughts.

In PHD have you choosen the mount as 'on-camera' ?

Are the pins from the ST4 connection on the mount the same as the QHY5? I think they should be, but it's one thing to check.

When PHD issues corrections, does the light on the QHY5 flashes?

Ricardo

[olander08]

I don't know much about the HEQ5 Pro-mount, but here my thoughts.

In PHD have you choosen the mount as 'on-camera' ?

Are the pins from the ST4 connection on the mount the same as the QHY5? I think they should be, but it's one thing to check.

When PHD issues corrections, does the light on the QHY5 flashes?

Ricardo

The PHD telescope setting is 'on camera', yes.

The ST4 cable was supplied along with the camera from Modern Astronomy (so it shouldn't be an issue), but I checked and the pins do match.

I didn't check if the light flashed on the QHY5, but I could hear irregularities in the HEQ5 guiding that I've never heard before. Since last night was my first attempt at autoguiding, it's clear to me (along with the supplied pictures) that PHD issues corrections to the mount, which responds to them.

[swag72]

You can check that the pulse is getting through to PHD as there's a manual overide so to speak in the menu.

It sounds to me from your first post that you are not calibrating properly. Click on the brain icon and tick 'force calibration'. Then click on a star and click on the PHD button. This will take you through a load of calibration steps and the crosshairs will I think be yellow and the box around the star dashed. When it calibrates the box will turn to solid green.

You also may need to think about your settings, again in the brain icon. Using a finder guider, the calibration steps have to be set pretty high.

I will add my settings (also using a finder guider) if I can work out how to do it with this new software.

http://stargazerslou...90442_10204.jpg

**EDIT ** Sorry can not add an image from my gallery and can not find out how to so the above link will have to do

[olander08]

You can check that the pulse is getting through to PHD as there's a manual overide so to speak in the menu.

It sounds to me from your first post that you are not calibrating properly. Click on the brain icon and tick 'force calibration'. Then click on a star and click on the PHD button. This will take you through a load of calibration steps and the crosshairs will I think be yellow and the box around the star dashed. When it calibrates the box will turn to solid green.

You also may need to think about your settings, again in the brain icon. Using a finder guider, the calibration steps have to be set pretty high.

I will add my settings (also using a finder guider) if I can work out how to do it with this new software.

http://stargazerslou...90442_10204.jpg

**EDIT ** Sorry can not add an image from my gallery and can not find out how to so the above link will have to do

Thanks for the help. Is there any way I can simulate the night sky so that I can try to sort this out now instead of having to wait for the night sky to show itself?

[olander08]

I found an old tutorial on how to use PHD which might have helped me identify what I've been doing wrong. It said that after selecting a star, you should press the Stop button and then the PHD button. I've been selecting a star and then pressing the PHD button, so it's never callibrated (if I haven't missed anything)? Do you guys think that this might be the problem?

[swag72]

If you don't calibrate then it won't be guiding. Can you tell me - Does PHD go through the calibration steps? It shows along the bottom of the screen.

[olander08]

If you don't calibrate then it won't be guiding. Can you tell me - Does PHD go through the calibration steps? It shows along the bottom of the screen.

I don't remember. I will check tonight if I have the chance, otherwize it'll be a while due to a trip that I'll be leaving for tomorrow.

[SlipperySquid]

I'm having random guiding issues with the newest PHD and windows7 at the moment, one night guiding will be fantastic and the next night the graph will be all over the place.It's an obsy mounted scope so nothing has changed with setup etc.

I think I'm going to switch over to Maxim and see if this is better? I have never stopped PHD as you describe I just click on a star, and press PHD it calibrates then starts guiding.

Cheers,

Matt.

[swag72]

I'm having random guiding issues with the newest PHD and windows7 at the moment, one night guiding will be fantastic and the next night the graph will be all over the place.It's an obsy mounted scope so nothing has changed with setup etc.

I think I'm going to switch over to Maxim and see if this is better? I have never stopped PHD as you describe I just click on a star, and press PHD it calibrates then starts guiding.

I use Maxim for guiding now, having moved from PHD sometime last year. I prefer Maxim and while it looks a little daunting to start, it soon becomes second nature. I too end up with some nights where the guiding graph is all over the place and won't settle down, and other nights where it is almost a flat line. In my experience, those all over nights tend to be when there is the faintest amount of high cloud. I am obsy based so nothing changes from night to night, apart from the conditions.

I've learnt in AP to never underestimate the eventual effect of things that appear very small - High wispy cloud being one of them.

[olander08]

So, I wasn't really paying attention the last time I was out. Apparently, the calibration takes around five minutes and so it never finished calibrating before I switched star or started exposing. I simply had to wait for it to calibrate and I'm actually guiding right now! Thanks for the help, now I just have to wait for the dark nights to arrive!

[swag72]

Glad you got it working!!