very new to PHD.......help please.

[Stridor]

I have attempted a bit of imaging with some minor success; all unguided, but with good polar alignment first of all, it seems to work. This has prompted me to go a stage further. I have now bought an Altair GP Cam and altair guidescope, and a laptop computer onto which I have installed PHD & Ascom drivers. When I connect camera and mount they are all recognised in PHD, I then click `start looping` (what exactly is `start looping?`) the image I got when viewing was just a muddy grey blur + some grey blobs!!!  All instantly obvious as something wrong. I was told a couple of days ago to try focussing the guide camera in the daytime on a distant object to get the focus right; I have just attempted this and find that all I get is a white box with no image at all!!??  Now I do realise that PHD stand for `push here dummy`, so I am prepared to be told that it is glaringly simple to get an image , and that I am obviously stupid, but that is ok; I would prefer that to putting the laptop, the guidescope and camera all on Ebay!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Davey-T]

Start looping takes continuous exposures so you can focus and select a guide star.

The grey blobs were probably out of focus stars, the white picture is just overexposed.

Dave.

[alacant]

Hi. Make sure you have the camera installed correctly. In daylight you'll need to reduce both the gain of the camera and the shutter speed to their smallest values and then set the back... It's probably easier to do this in the dark. It looks as though you have stars, just out of focus. Set the looping to around 0.5s and focus on the stars. The focus doesn't need to be exact. HTH.

[michael8554]

The camera view in PHD is not a true representation of the camera output.

More important is the shape of the Star Profile - if it is a sharp mountain then you have a good image.

You can check focus on a star using another programme such as Sharpcap or the imaging software that came with the camera.

Michael

[kens]

When you focussed the camera did you do that in PHD2? Not that it is necessary but it would indicate that PHD2 is working as it should.

Once you have the exposure, gain and focus correct you can use the Screen Gamma (brightness) slider next to the expsoure time drop down to get the brightness correct. 

Your camera driver may also have a brightness control.

Another thing you can do is to use the Tools>Auto-select Star on the menu when you are pointed at the night sky. If PHD2 can detect stars in the picture it will select one and display a green box around it. That will tell you that PHD2 is working and you just need to sort out the brightness on the screen.

 

[Stridor]

Thanks for all the advice. I have retried the camera on a distant point about a mile away on this overcast evening: I have adjusted the 'gain' up and down and the speed up and down; still all I get is a blank white screen unless I place my hand over the front of the guide-scope, in which case it goes grey.  I think in the short term I will remove the camera and guide-scope, and put the finderscope back on so that at least I can go back to unguided imaging; although at this time of year I'm not doing much anyway.

[Davey-T]

If it changes when you cover it it must be working, probably still not focussed.

I know it's sold as a guidescope but are you sure it can actually reach focus without an extension ?

The best thing to try in this situation is the Moon as you can tell very easily if it's in view on the camera and if you can actually achieve focus, if you run out of out travel try loosening the camera and pulling it out of the focuser a bit.

Dave

[iapa]

As @Davey-T says check focus.

i have done as above but targeting and old shale bing a couple of miles away in day light

[michael8554]

Try connecting it to the wide-angle meteor lens and pointing it down the garden.

Sharpcap probably has a fully auto setting, otherwise start with low gain and a fast exposure.

If you're still getting a white frame with the lowest gain and fastest i.e. shortest exposure, then try it at twilight.

Once you've got a "muddy grey blur" it's time to try focus.

Once you've gained experience with getting a focused and roughly exposed image, try the same settings with the guidescope on the shale bing.

I have a similar ZWO camera and I seem to remember getting a daytime image of my garden with the meteor lens and SharpCap.

Michael

[kens]

And if you have the meteor lens - remove it before putting the camera into the guidescope.

[newbie alert]

I too am just starting out with phd2,and like you am using ascom drivers...

With regard to these do I open up the ascom file and then open phd? Sorry I'm not really computer literate..

Sounds like you are not getting focus on the camera..id suggest not to focus during the daylight hours as focus points on infinity are further away..you could use it as a guideline but it won't be focused,just somewhere near it 

[MilwaukeeLion]

On ‎6‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 14:34, Stridor said:

I have attempted a bit of imaging with some minor success; all unguided, but with good polar alignment first of all, it seems to work. This has prompted me to go a stage further. I have now bought an Altair GP Cam and altair guidescope, and a laptop computer onto which I have installed PHD & Ascom drivers. When I connect camera and mount they are all recognised in PHD, I then click `start looping` (what exactly is `start looping?`) the image I got when viewing was just a muddy grey blur + some grey blobs!!!  All instantly obvious as something wrong. I was told a couple of days ago to try focussing the guide camera in the daytime on a distant object to get the focus right; I have just attempted this and find that all I get is a white box with no image at all!!??  Now I do realise that PHD stand for `push here dummy`, so I am prepared to be told that it is glaringly simple to get an image , and that I am obviously stupid, but that is ok; I would prefer that to putting the laptop, the guidescope and camera all on Ebay!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may have figured this out by now...if not.  I'm not familiar with your camera but PHD2 doesn't loop fast enough for my SSAG camera to view during daytime, the only way for me to focus during the day is to place my light pollution filter on or use 2x barlow lens in front of camera.  Even with my finder scope solar filter on, viewing sun during the day via PHD2 there's no detail on sun, its a bright white disk - fastest camera setting in PHD2 is just not fast enough.  Can try pointing at Polaris,  put camera in finder and move it slowly back and forth pulling it in and out of finder until you achieve focus.  Use set up wizard in PHD2, set bining to 2x2 mean to reduce camera noise and create dark library at end of set up, that can be done during the day.  On my Stellarvue finder I have to use a 2x barlow to achieve focus, its not really designed for guiding being cant remove the diagonal.

[SonnyE]

Let's back up a little here.

White is your camera being over saturated with light. It wants nighttime to work. Milwaukeelion and I both get that. I need to get pretty dark before my guide camera begins behaving properly.

PHD wasn't dumb enough for this dummy either. But I have some real help for you: PHD Basics 1, and PHD Basics 2 helped me get going with mine.

Just do small changes once you get going. You will be dialing in PHD2 for your gear.

I've gotten (finally) to where mine runs well enough that I leave it alone.

But until I found those video's I was pretty dismayed with PHD.

Keep at it, you will win.

[iapa]

As suggested by michael8554 you could try downloading SharpCap and use that for daytime focussing - I needed to do that for the ToupTek mono guide cam that I use

[iapa]

On 06/06/2017 at 09:57, newbie alert said:

I too am just starting out with phd2,and like you am using ascom drivers...

With regard to these do I open up the ascom file and then open phd? Sorry I'm not really computer literate..

Sounds like you are not getting focus on the camera..id suggest not to focus during the daylight hours as focus points on infinity are further away..you could use it as a guideline but it won't be focused,just somewhere near it 

What you need to do is install any ASCOM rivers for mount/telescope and camera.

You then start PHD2 - the first time you run it will run a 'wizard' which allows you to select the proper drivers for your kit, and ask for some parameters to be provided such as focal length the guide 'scope (not the imaging 'scope)

It will then prompt you to take a set of 'darks' for the guide camera - well worth taking that step.

[iapa]

On 05/06/2017 at 19:16, Stridor said:

Thanks for all the advice. I have retried the camera on a distant point about a mile away on this overcast evening: I have adjusted the 'gain' up and down and the speed up and down; still all I get is a blank white screen unless I place my hand over the front of the guide-scope, in which case it goes grey.  I think in the short term I will remove the camera and guide-scope, and put the finderscope back on so that at least I can go back to unguided imaging; although at this time of year I'm not doing much anyway.

I think that the guide scope is 60mm F3.75, so has a focal length go 225mm (9")

So, you need that distance between the lens and the camera sensor. A quick check with a ruler will give you an idea of the focus positions a starting point

In the packages I have seen it looks as if it comes with a focuser and extension tube. e.g. https://www.altairastro.com/MiniGuider-60-Guide-Scope-Kit-110mm-Rings-Losmandy.html