Jump to content

NLCbanner2024.jpg.2478be509670e60c2d6efd04834b8b47.jpg

AstroEQ for EQ mounts

Oily

By Oily
in DIY Astronomer

Recommended Posts

Donaldkebab

Donaldkebab

Posted
Posted

Clear skies!!! My first real outing with the astroeq. I couldn't get astrotortilla to work so I will have to try again and I didn't want to waste this night being frustrated. Slewed to Orion then synced once aligned. Took a couple of test shots and looked good considering the full moon and wind. Entered M31 and it was bang in the middle. Lovely. Over to Jupiter and again there it was so swapped the camera and did some webcamming. Even with the X3 Barlow it stayed in the middle. Happy days. To sum up.....astroeq works just fine with the CG-4. Next time, astrotortilla and some guiding, a few minutes will do me.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 980
  • Created
  • Last Reply
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Glad that its working for you :D

AstroEQ 7.0 has been released. It can be downloaded here: http://www.astroeq.co.uk/downloads.php (or with sudo apt-get update if you have linux).

Changelog: 7.0. Microstepping Mode Changes
  • AstroEQ now uses 1/4 and 1/32 step mode for improved accuracy.
  • Change only affects DRV8825 Driver Boards.
  • If you have legacy hardware, please see here.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Note that you will have to download the new version of the configuration utility and re-enter you mount details (motor ratio, worm ratio, step angle) in order to get the new firmware working. The values you enter won't change but the utility needs to know them again so that it can recalculate the settings to account for the new microstepping mode.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
astromerlin

astromerlin

Posted
Posted

Glad that its working for you :D

AstroEQ 7.0 has been released. It can be downloaded here: http://www.astroeq.co.uk/downloads.php (or with sudo apt-get update if you have linux).

Changelog: 7.0. Microstepping Mode Changes
  • AstroEQ now uses 1/4 and 1/32 step mode for improved accuracy.
  • Change only affects DRV8825 Driver Boards.
  • If you have legacy hardware, please see here

Hi Tom, Does this mean there can be a speed increase on goto slewing? I think my max speed is about 400x at the moment with my current settings.

motor 1.8

gear   3.91666667:1

worm  180:1

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Its unlikely to affect the top speed too much. What it will do is increase the resolution - in your case down to 0.29arcseconds from 0.57arcseconds. E.g. for the dual-axis motors it is an increase in resolution only, has no effect on the motor speed.

Having looked at the ratios you are using it may actually reduce the top speed (max for you would be 302x) because the interrupt rate becomes so high that it can't step any faster than that. It's essentially a trade-off between speed and accuracy. I can make a minor tweak to one of the limits I applied (to avoid the processor locking up) which would get you to 313X, but it seems to me to be not worth the risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
astromerlin

astromerlin

Posted
Posted

Its unlikely to affect the top speed too much. What it will do is increase the resolution - in your case down to 0.29arcseconds from 0.57arcseconds. E.g. for the dual-axis motors it is an increase in resolution only, has no effect on the motor speed.

Having looked at the ratios you are using it may actually reduce the top speed (max for you would be 302x) because the interrupt rate becomes so high that it can't step any faster than that. It's essentially a trade-off between speed and accuracy. I can make a minor tweak to one of the limits I applied (to avoid the processor locking up) which would get you to 313X, but it seems to me to be not worth the risk.

The increase in resolution would be great for siderial and guiding, for me the reduction in max slewing speed means I wont be updating. Wouldn't using the 1/4 stepping on slew reduce the cpu overhead to gain motor speed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Using 1/4 would certainly make it easier on the CPU, but you would reduce the resolution massively. It works fine for the dual axis as they have such a high gear ratio which makes up for not using microstepping.

Theoretically you could switch to a 1/4 stepping for high speed slews and keep the microstepping enabled for slow speed. This is something which in theory should be very easy to do, but I have been trying to implement it since about version 2 and it is still proving illusive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Having said that, with all the adaptions I made back in version 6.6, it has actually been seemingly easy to implement - Essentially you would have a top speed of 834x the sidereal rate whilst also keeping the higher accuracy.

I'm going to play with this a bit more this evening to make sure it is reliable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

It wasn't as easy as I thought, in further testing I discovered the reason why I kept giving up each time I tried to implement this. Fortunately I have finally figured out something I was missing in what the numbers from EQMOD mean when it 'shifts gears'. The good news is I now have it working, high speed go-to movements are accurate, manual slews seem to work, and most importantly the mount stops when it is supposed to and doesn't randomly keep going during go-to operations which it was for a while in the beta version.

Short of actually testing it on a telescope (need clear skies for that), it seems that this will be a feature in version 7.1 - I'm going to wait until I get some clear skies to test it out before releasing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
Posted

Trying out for first time EQMOD and AstroEQ. All seems to be setup correctly. When I attempt to Slew the motors make noises but hissing noises. Not sure whats wrong. Its unparked. Nothing is moving, I get stepping noises and hissing sounds. Cant work out whats wrong. I know itm us be me, but what? Confused..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

First think to do is to make sure the motor cables are making good contact (the connectors on the Dual axis motors aren't great) - just try wiggling them a bit.

If that doesn't work it means the current limit to the motors is set too low. If you open up the AstroEQ box (two screws on the back), you will see two purple circuit boards. On each of these there is a small cross cut screw head which is a potentiometer. If you turn the pots about 5 degrees clockwise it will increase the current limit slightly. You can do this with AstroEQ plugged in and the motors running and that way you can see if it is having any affect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
Posted

Ive connected up the hand controller that came with the Dual Axis Motors to test the motors are setup correctly and they move fine. Also had it tracking ok the other night.

wondering what to try next. EQMOD says its connected to com port 3 fine. hmmm umm

Link to comment
Share on other sites
beermat

beermat

Posted
Posted

Andy, I had similar problems to you. By adjusting the pots eventually I was eventually able to get the motors working with AstroEQ. I set the pots back to zero and slowly adjusted this until the motors turned.

With the Skywatcher dual axis motors I can get them to slew at a maximum of x64 any higher and they won't turn.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Quatermass

Quatermass

Posted
Posted

Yes have to agree that would seem the more likely cause of your problem but Im sure we can sort it out.

From Toms notes on this issue to me....

There are two screws on the bottom of the box. Unscrew these and the top should come off.

You will see two purple circuit board (can't miss them) next to the motor outputs. On them there is a potentiometer (a metal cross cut screw head). Here is a picture - the potentiometers are in the top left of this picture if you are unsure: http://tinyurl.com/ojguzol

Turn the pot. on each driver board Anti-Clockwise to reduce the current to the motors. You shouldn't need to turn the screw much, though it is a bit of a trial and error approach.

It is usually easiest to do this with everything plugged in and EQMOD running so that you can feel how hot the motors are and go through a process of: adjust the screw, wait 30 seconds or so for the motors to cool down a bit, and repeat. Once the motors are not above 40 degrees C or so, you should be fine. The motors can run happily up to 85 degrees C or more without damage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
Posted

Thanks! great info but it seems it is something else. Ive followed those instructions carefully and you can hear the motor gradually hissing as I increase the pot slowly, however nothing moves. Even from a cold motor. 

I will remember the POTS adjustments for later. I know I put the correct settings for motor in for my EQ5 when I did the initial setup. I will now read up how to re-install everything, as have no idea whats wrong. Really flabbergasted. ;p

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Andy Milner

Andy Milner

Posted
Posted

After reading Tom's Setup page again on astroeq.co.uk I deciced to run the the AstroEQ Update Utility again, as Tom says it can be used anytime to change settings. However When I click the begin button it says access denied to com port 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.