Tak FSQ 85 set up questions

[gnomus]

Thanks again Barry. Well it is looking like we might get a clear night tonight - time to get out there and discover some new way of messing up!

[Barry-Wilson]

[gnomus]

You may grin, but I have had to pack up - despite all of my efforts, my computer simply refuses to see my EFW 2. Seemed like a good night too.

[Barry-Wilson]

Sorry to hear that Steve.

I've had similar (but not exactly the same) in the past when I had too many usb connections to one hub.  My loss of connectivity happened with Eqmod when my guide cam began taking subs and connectivity to my mount vanished.  As the QHY5Lii is powered by the usb, there was insufficient current remaining for the other peripherals on the hub and I had to split up the connections over two powered hubs and two usb ports on my pc.

I don't suppose anything like this could be the root cause for you?  Regularly I read that problems are related to usb cabling and/or hubs (make sure they are quality powered ones too).

[gnomus]

I thought that might be it too Barry, but when I took everything indoors and hooked up just the wheel to the laptop (using a short length of USB cable), the problem persisted. I've been at this most of the night and morning. I think I may have got it sorted. I thought I had installed the latest Ascom 6.1 platform. However, when I tried re-installing this, the install program kept 'hanging'. Eventually, I had the idea of installing the Ascom platform in Windows 7 compatibility mode (I have the Win 10 upgrade from the quite ghastly Win 8). This time Ascom 6.1 installed correctly. I launched SGP and this time the wheel connected.

I hope this is it fixed. I need to get it all working because I have some new filters coming in the next couple of days :-)

I'm annoyed that I missed what looked to be a good night last night though.

[ollypenrice]

I have always found that filterwheels love to lose contact with the PC or Mac! The order in which I power up and USB-connect everything seems to be the dominant factor. I'd suggest noting an order which works for you and sticking to it. And, of course, never change the USB ports used for each device. My computers are labelled up accordingly.

Barry's suggestion that the FW be rotated so as not to collide with the mount is a very good one.  As he says, Atik's excellent camera attachment system means the camera can be rotated independently of the wheel. You may already be doing this but another thing I'd suggest while on this topic is setting the camera orthogonally to RA and Dec either in landscape or portrait as you prefer. It makes coming back to an image another time so much easier. All you do is expose for 5 seconds while slewing slowly on one axis. When the resulting star trails are horizontal or vertical on the chip you're sorted.

It'll all come together, fear not!

Olly

[gnomus]

Thanks for this.  So far this morning it still seems to be working.  Last night was a bit of a low point - I did consider crying for a while.  This was followed by a recurring idea that I have about throwing all the gear into next door's garden for their Dalmation to chew on.  Thankfully, a reasonable dose of Springbank came to the rescue.

At present, I have the EFW off to the right hand side (as one looks from the back) to achieve balance (this is probably to balance up my electric focusser on the left).  

Excellent tip on the 5 secs exposure whilst slewing - I did think about putting some sort of index mark on camera and focusser - but this is better.

[Sp@ce_d]

I feel your pain with the EFW2. Mine does this fairly often. In fact it hindered my first attempt imaging since April last night too! As Barry said, I try to keep it on a separate bus/hub to the mount or any other kit that I don't want to be influenced by resetting the FW. As in the past it used to hang everything. I've found it necessary to pull the cables & if it's via a powered hub reset the hub to clear the port. As I operate remotely I've got it wired so the 12v & hub supply can be recycled independently & I disable/re enable in device manager. Sometimes I still have to reboot though! My SX wheels being powered from USB don't give me this problem & you'd think with the EFW having a separate supply it would be the other way round!

Good move with the springbank... Nice wee dram [emoji108]

Congrats on the Tak.. Following with somewhat envious interest... the days getting closer when I sell up the collection & consolidate [emoji3]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steppenwolf]

These connectivity issues crop up all the time and yet I have never had them myself. The key seems to be - and I know we can't all do this - to NOT use HUBS!  I use an old XP desktop PC which has five USB 2.0 ports and two USB 1.0 ports of its own and I have added to these with a four port USB 2.0 PCI card.

I dread the day this old banger of a PC gives up the ghost.

[Sp@ce_d]

Yup this is the problem. We are getting less & less I/O options as it all goes wireless .. Even power! Got a new MacBook for work the other week. Only 1 USB C port on it & that's for charging it too!

USB just isn't robust enough for our demands. At least you knew where you were with the old serial & parallel ports..... Aye I remember when these were all fields [emoji89]

... Ah.. Got that off me chest.. Sry for the thread creep

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gnomus]

As I said I think I had an Ascom driver issue.

I need to have about a 6m run of cabling so one length of cable is not really an option. If I have more issues, I could look into fitting a second USB hub system.

I've started making enquiries about the Tak. Does anyone know anything about Takahashi rings (that are made somewhere in Europe apparently)?

[swag72]

I have to say that I have found the Clamshell more than appropriate - I used the set-up Olly showed for a while with the Baader attachment on the top. Now I use an OAG, so no fixings necessary.

[gnomus]

I have to say that I have found the Clamshell more than appropriate - I used the set-up Olly showed for a while with the Baader attachment on the top. Now I use an OAG, so no fixings necessary.

Is this the Baader attachment we are talking about?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetail-bars/baader-vixen-style-dovetail-clamp.html

I assume its fixed on with one bolt straight down the middle.  If you and Olly are producing what you are producing with this set up then what on earth am I worrying about!

[swag72]

Yes that's the attachment but as I use the OAG now, I don't use it anymore.

[gnomus]

Yes that's the attachment but as I use the OAG now, I don't use it anymore.

Thanks.  So long as you found it reliable I will be OK with that.  I'm not going to attempt OAG yet - I'm finding things difficult enough as they are 

[Barry-Wilson]

As I said I think I had an Ascom driver issue.

I need to have about a 6m run of cabling so one length of cable is not really an option. If I have more issues, I could look into fitting a second USB hub system.

I've started making enquiries about the Tak. Does anyone know anything about Takahashi rings (that are made somewhere in Europe apparently)?

You are making progress Steve.  I have to remind myself from time-to-time, that things of great value demand great effort.  Because of the challenges of AP, when it does all click and you produce an image you're proud of, you'll feel such a glow of pride.  You don't get excellence from everyday effort.

Have another wee dram and look at the glorious Milky Way this evening . . .

[gnomus]

Thanks for the encouragement Barry. I'm having a better night tonight..... so far !!!!!! Having a go at M31 again. All seems to be going according to plan, but due a filter change in the next quarter of an hour, so fingers crossed.

[ollypenrice]

The clamshell works and your link to the Baader saddle from FLO is correct.

Olly

[gnomus]

The clamshell works and your link to the Baader saddle from FLO is correct.

Olly

Looks like I'm all out of excuses then. I believe I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks.

[gnomus]

I thought I'd provide a brief update.  Firstly, Lee from Green Witch has discovered that there is another clam-shell collar for the Tak.  It looks like this:

As you can see, it has three holes on the top plate.  The two outer holes are 35mm apart which is the same distance as the holes on the Baader Vixen clamp - http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetail-bars/baader-vixen-style-dovetail-clamp.html

As such, I am optimistic that I may be able to get two fixing points with the clamp (admittedly only 35 mm apart).  I still plan to get the offset plate (which does fit the clamshell pictured above).  Incidentally, I do not need to 'align' the guide scope with the telescope, do I (this issue came up in this thread - http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/252662-heq5pro-stars-trailing-in-one-direction/?p=2754331 post 9 onwards)?

My only outstanding issues are:

1) Should I get a motorised focusser (Lee is recommending the Lakeside Astro one)?  I am aware some folks think there is no substitute for auto-focussing.  I intend to use this with Sequence Generator Pro.

2) Do I need the Takahashi Losmandy plate?  It is significantly more expensive than the ADM equivalent.

Thanks again for everyone's help on this.  Purchase is imminent.

[ollypenrice]

That's a happy coincidence regarding the hole spacings. I must admit that I just used a central hole to hold my Baader mini-saddle onto the clamshell and it never gave the slightest difficulty.

On single scope rigs which are well polar aligned a close alignment between guidescope and main scope has never proved necessary for me. I routinely use 30 minute subs without issue.

The need, or not, for robotic focus is unclear. I found, living in SE France and using a roughly 7 micron pixel size, that the Baby Q was both parfocal with Baader filters and very temperature stable, needing at most two focus tweaks in a long night. Sometimes I found it needed none. The very same scope, now in Sara's capable hands in southern Spain, does apparently need a focus tweak between filters and regularly during the night. Her pixel size is smaller, about 5 micron, I think. Ho-hum! Make of that what you will.

There is no doubt that an autofocus system which is working well is an asset - albeit an expensive one. Nor is there any doubt that an autofocus system which is not working well is a darned nuisance... More ambiguities! 

Olly

[gnomus]

Thanks again for your reply. I am minded to get the robotic focusser. I think I may have been a little too 'casual' in my approach to focussing. (Sarah has just pointed me in the direction of Bahtinov Grabber). If I can get the Lakeside working it should help reduce one element of "user error".

[gnomus]

The deed is done....

I went to the FLO site to order an ADM Losmandy plate to bolt the whole kit and caboodle onto.  ANy thoughts as to: a)  size 11" or 15"; and metric or imperial?

I assume the off-set plate will happily bolt onto one of these.