Auto-guiding with AstroEQ and PHD doesn't work on RA axis

[marcosamsjr]

Hello,

I hope somebody can give me a hand on this. I have a Skywatcher EQ5 mount and am looking into autoguide.

I have already the dual axis motors, AstroEQ (which I bought from Tom) and all the cables, guide cam, etc. Also, I successfully managed to install ASCOM drivers and it is working perfectly. I can move the motors on both RA and DEC axis using the constrols. The sidereal tracking works good as well.

Now coming to the PHD Guiding 1.14.2 (stark labs) is where I have the problem. It can identify succesfully my camera and mount, seems to be all normal. However the RA axis is not receiving commands from PHD. The manual output works for North/South - DEC axis - but it doesn't work on EAST/WEST - RA axis. When the PHD calls out the EQMOD, I can manage both axis normally from there. But from the PHD, only the DEC axis.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Marcos

[marcosamsjr]

Just for the record, the same problem occurs on PHD 2.6.1.

 

[Thalestris24]

Hi again

It sounds like if everything works as expected using manual controls then it must be a software/driver/parameter problem. What mount have you selected in PHD? What do you see on the PHD screen? Do you get any error messages? Please give as much information and detail as you can.

Louise

[marcosamsjr]

Hi Louise,

I have selected EQMOD ASCOM HEQ5/6.

I see the screen normally. PHD loop brigs the images from the guiding scope/cam normally.

When PHD connects to scope and brings up the EQMOD, I can control both axis via EQMOD Slew Controls. However via PHD I can't control RA axis. Thus, calibration cannot work.

I have dual axis motors connected to AstroEQ and the Astro connected to my COM5 port via usb.

Thanks!

These Slew Controls work fine. Both E W N S are OK!

[marcosamsjr]

Attached is the config of the EQMOD.

I'm using windows 10.

[Thalestris24]

Hi

What details have you entered in PHD for your guide scope? What happens when you try to calibrate? What does the log say? Are you sure heq5 is the correct mount?

I'm not sure what difference it makes but I have values of 2000 for Timeout and 2 for Retry in the Eqmod Ascom Setup.

Having just tried the manual guide with my PHD the East-West keys don't seem to do much either. The manual guide keys are meant for tiny adjustments. Perhaps the problem is something to do with not being able to calibrate?

Have you asked on the AstroEQ support forum? https://astroeq.co.uk/forum/

Louise

[marcosamsjr]

I have put no details in PHD for Guide Scope. Everything default.

When I try to calibrate, it gives me the error: RA Calibration Failed. Star did not move enough. (I am pointing my guide scope to a LED on the other side of the room to test the rig. As far as I understand, the PHD should move my mount on both axis and detect the LED movement to calibrate, the same way it should when I point to a star and turn the sidereal tracking on - assuming I have a very good polar aligment. Hope I am not doing something stupid.)

I see no logs.

Changing that 2000 for timeout and 2 for retry doesn't change anything at all.

It looks like HEQ5 is the right one since I have no other choices better than this. I have bought these "Sky Watcher Dual axis motor drive for EQ4/EQ5 plus Enhanced Handset [86081]" to my Skywatcher EQ5 mount that had only single axis motor drive previouslly. Bought from http://www.canadiantelescopes.com/ .

I understand the manual output is tiny adjustment, however I can feel it very well in South North commands. Since the calibration fails near the 60th step on RA axis, I think if I get the EAST / WEST button to send command to the RA motor, I would fix the calibration problem.

I sent TOM an e-mail, but you're right. I'm gonna post it on the forum.

Thanks for the support so far!

 

[marcosamsjr]

I'm sorry. Here are 2 logs.

PHD2_DebugLog_2016-02-27_183813.txt

PHD2_GuideLog_2016-02-27_183813.txt

[Thalestris24]

Hi

I think you can only calibrate with a real star and tracking on. The logs will only be meaningful under those circumstances. You need to enter accurate details for your guide scope and guide camera in phd2. You can then use the 'calculate' button in the advanced setup to get a value to use as the calibration step time. If you can  get logs using a real star that would be good. Only the guide log is of interest and you can use phdlab to analyse it.

Louise

[michael8554]

Worth setting the Guide Pulse Duration (ms) in Manual Guide to a large figure, eg 2000, then try East And West again, to be absolutely sure there's no movement.

As Louise says, you need a real moving star to setup on.

http://openphdguiding.org/man-dev/Trouble_shooting.htm

Michael

[marcosamsjr]

Hello Louise and Michael,

Thank you for the tips. I finally got clear skies here and tested it on a real star. But, unfortunately, it's not working.

It cannot calibrate due to PHD not contacting RA axis. DEC works fine. EQMOD controls both axis normally.

I have done every setup I could, like increasing steps up to 8000ms. Have done all I found on forums.

Any help is appreciated.

[kens]

PHD2 thinks you are trying to calibrate at the pole. 

Are you indeed pointing at the pole? If so try calibrating nearer the equator. If not then the mount is telling PHD the wrong Declination

[Thalestris24]

Hi

Have you polar aligned on the South Celestial Pole before trying to calibrate? If PA is poor then calibration will give strange results. Did you try moving in RA using PHD2 manual mode with a long pulse duration? (Say 1000ms) I can't think of any reason why PHD2 wouldn't control both axes if you can move them both in eqmod. Maybe you could post a photo of your setup?

Louise

Edit: I'm assuming you are in the southern hemisphere but I guess you must be close to the equator? That means your scope will be (close to) horizontal when the mount is aligned...

[marcosamsjr]

Hi Ken and Louise,

In fact I did try to calibrate yesterday very near the south pole. I'm in Sao Paulo - Brazil, and I tried from my apt's varanda which faces South. I was using BCrux star. (Usually I use my scope in a countryclub - Apartment and Astronomy are enemies)

I did a rough polar aligment. Will do it better next time... and will try to get a star as far as possible from the pole.

I have raised the pulses up to 8000 ms. But never got 1 single pulse on the RA axis. (Weird!)

I'll let you know my next tries. I'm also thinking on reinstalling everything (ASCOM platform, AstroEQ firmware, etc...). Windows 10 may have some sort of driver issue. Not sure.

Will let you know my next results. Thank you so far!

[Thalestris24]

Hi again

Hmm.... Could be a driver problem but then why does eqmod still work ok? I'm puzzled - there must be an answer! Could you have a very bad RA imbalance causing a lot of backlash? What setting do you have in eqmod for guide speed? I think it defaults to 0.9 x sidereal. The difference between using the manual controls in eqmod and PHD2 is that eqmod is using slew speeds #(which can be quite fast) whereas PHD is only using guide speeds which, at most are x1 sidereal. Did you get anywhere with the astroeq forum at all?

Louise

[kens]

You should try to calibrate as near Dec zero as possible. However BCrux at -60 should be ok. So the question is why is your mount telling PHD2 that it is at Dec -90 when it is pointing at -60? Are you moving by hand by loosening the clutches or are you using the hand control to centre on BCrux?

Whats happening is that PHD thinks your declination is -90(that's what the log says). To work out how far it has to move the scope for a certain angular distance it multiplies the RA amount by cos(Dec) which is zero when Dec=-90. So it isn't moving at all.

If you are pointing the mount manually, the mount control does not know where it is pointing. By default it is in the park position with Dec -90. You must always move using the hand control or via EQMOD.

This does not look like a software problem.

 

[marcosamsjr]

Hello,

It was cloudy yesterday so I just made this video. Hope you guys can see whats going on:

 

 

I got no answer on the astroeq forum yet...

Really appreciate your help guys!

[Thalestris24]

Hi Marcos

Your English is infinitely better than my Portuguese! Thanks for posting the video. Um, what planetarium program are you using? I run StellariumScope and Stellarium. If you have the same then run them. That way you can tell the mount to slew to a star. See if that works. You can do that during the day or anytime, just as a test. If that doesn't work, go back to eqmod. Change the slew speed by selecting 3 or 4 for both axes. Then use the arrows on the eqmod pad to slew the mount in dec or ra. It could be that you have a lot of backlash in ra. That can give the impression that nothing is moving. But with the higher slew speeds it should move a lot in both axes.

On my avx mount it needs a number of presses to take up backlash and move the mount using the PHD manual controls and even then it only moves a tiny amount each press. Just testing on mine, I have to zoom in on a star in stellarium to see the movement.

Louise

[Thalestris24]

Hi again

Just thought I'd mention there was a thread from a few years ago in the SGL diy section: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/188877-astroeq-for-eq-mounts/?page=2

On that page it mentions about configuring the astroeq and there is a suggestion that you may have to select to reverse the RA motor direction? I'm afraid I've no experience of the astroeq...

Louise

[kens]

Thanks for the very useful video Marcos. And no need to apologise for your English which is very good.

So it looks like pulses are being sent to the mount. Note that when you move east it is normal for the controller to simply stop the motor from tracking and let the earth's rotation make the movement. And for the small movements that PHD makes you might not detect the movement. A basic question: did you do up the RA clutch? If I recall right, the EQ5 hs a similar setup to the Super Polaris and there is a thumb screw on the silver clutch on each axis. You need to make sure that it is engaging the gear and the thumb screw is tightened.

 

[michael8554]

Hi Marcos

I agree with Louise, your English is great.

Try putting the RA lead into the Dec motor, and vice-versa - what happens then?

Michael

[marcosamsjr]

Hello guys!

I would like to thank you all for the tips, specially Louise. With your help, lots of tests and patience I finally could be able to get PHD working.

After a while I realized that my DEC axis was not working properly as well, not only the RA was down. The whole thing started to work when I set the RA rate and DEC rate to x0.90 in ASCOM PulseGuide Settings.

When I go to PHD and use manual control, I still can feel the pulses only in the DEC motor... what really doesn't matter as long as it works when it is supposed to.

Best regards,

Marcos Augusto

[Thalestris24]

Hi Marcos

Looks like you've made progress - great! You should probably try to increase exposure times from 1s to 2s or 3s - should give a better graph. Also, you might like to try APT for image capture - it has lots of useful facilities

All the best

Louise