Cartes du Ciel pointing

[Johanvk]

CdC works well controlling my LX200 Meade. Somehow however I cannot find how to input RA and Declination values, and send de telescope there.

Chosing an object from a catalogue, or selecting (-clicking on-) an object on the screen, sends the telescope with goto to the right position.

Centering the screen on a RA and Declination also is OK.

But I cannot find the option for straightforward input of coordinates and sending the telescope there with goto.

Certainly I missed something in the documentation. This must be basic. But what?

[steppenwolf]

Click on 'View' followed by 'Position' and enter the RA and DEC there.

[Johanvk]

Thanks. That's what I tried. The starmap in the screen centers indeed on the requested position (with the red showmark clearly there). But the slew command does not move the telescope there. It remains going to the last object selected (visible by the wiggely circle around it). It behaves like "slew" in the command-bar only goes to known objects, not to current the position. This cannot be true but it is my impression.

[steppenwolf]

Try right clicking on the centre of the position that the C du C cursor goes to on the screen and select 'Telescope' followed by 'Slew to Cursor Position'.

[Johanvk]

Not a solution. I tried: 'Slew to Cursor Position'. This does exactly what it says: the telescope moves to the current cursor position. Not to the mark in the middle of the field.

A way of working is now, as I see it: Click on "position" to put the the mark on a given coordinate pair. Zoom in on the mark for precsion pointing. Point at the middle. Click "Slew to cursor position".

If this is true, than I'm surprised that a planetarium program like CdC does not have a single straightforward command to go to a requested coordinate pair.

[steppenwolf]

A way of working is now, as I see it: Click on "position" to put the the mark on a given coordinate pair. Zoom in on the mark for precsion pointing. Point at the middle. Click "Slew to cursor position".

This is what I was suggesting? However, it is a two-part process but that process does work!

[r3i]

You could suggest a modification to the developer Patrick Chevalley here: http://www.ap-i.net/mantis/main_page.php  New versions of the application are regularly released.

[Johanvk]

Thanks for the comments. Certainly I will approach the developer. One easily forgets that even behind widespread products there is a real person who created it. Somehow I still have the feeling that I did not take the time needed, to carefully go through the documentation. That I have to do in any case.

[r3i]

Thanks for the comments. Certainly I will approach the developer. One easily forgets that even behind widespread products there is a real person who created it. 

Hi Johan,

Definitely worth getting in contact.  Patrick appears to be receptive to new ideas for the application.  I got a request implemented a couple of years ago.

[martin_h]

Are you using CduC along with EQMod? If you are, just right click in the EQMod window and a box will pop up that you can enter RA/DEC coords into, then hit the goto button.

[Johanvk]

Alas, one is Meade LX200/CdC and the other is Losmandy/G11. De handset does accept coordinates, but that's not meant for remoet operation.

[RichM63]

I use CdC with no handset.

In the CdC Telescope/Control Panel window there is a set of boxes for entering either RA/Dec or ALT/AZ coordinates, then Slew. Job done.

As long as CdC and your mount are talking to each other.

[Johanvk]

I tried, but than happens what is mentioned in comment #5. The map is nicely centered on the coordinates, but the telescope slews to the current cursorposition. When the curser hoovers close to the mapcentre, it only looks like telescope moves to the coordinates. But I'll try carefully again. I'll communicate when it is clear what I should have done.

Thanks everybody for your feedback.

[Johanvk]

Yet, some progress. In the lower left corner of de screen the RA/DEC values of the cursor are displayed. Moving the cursor, freezing the mouse at the required position, and right-click-slew, moves the telescope to that position.  The target has to be on the screen so a "position" command beforehand is still needed.