Guiding Camera Problems (PHD2 +ST4)

[Z3roCool]

Hi - had my first evening of clear sky since getting my setup:

• NEQ6
• Altair Astro 60mm Guide Scope
• Altair Astro GPCAM2 Mono v2).

Set everything up and tried to use SharpCAP to Polar Align but it could not find a single star (Even when PHD2 had stars in view). Gave up on that (as will look at later) and had a play with PHD2.

Setup config with Camera (Altair GPCAM) and chose 'On Camera'. Connected everything up. Camera most of the time was like static on T.V and sometimes settling down and could get a star in focus. Sometimes getting a hard line across the picture also. Could lock on but calibration just will not run. Get the yellow cross over the target but the star wonders off and nothing happens. Also cannot seem to move the mount at all using 'Manual Guide' so presume something is not connected properly.

Was playing with this the other night through bedroom window but think I was using the controller to slew the mount. Should I be able to manually move the mount when using an ST4 cable to the mount and USB to PC? Have installed ASCOM/EQMOD and can move the mount around with that and Stellarium okay. Has the same issue though using the EQMOD cable instead of ST4...nothing in PHD2 wanting to calibrate or move the mount (Can hear faint sound when connecting though).

Anyway, clouds then came in so packed away. 3 hours of not getting very far! Expecting many more Has anyone got any tips on how to get working...

Cheers,

Tom.

 

[LightBucket]

I am a bit confused on your cabling....

the ST4 is to connect guide camera to the mount

the EQMOD cable is to connect mount to PC without using the handset, you then use the EQMOD software to control the mount, the ST4 cable has nothing to do with moving the mount manually, it only works with commands from your guide camera...

so you should have your cables connected as above, and then select “on camera” in PHD2 mount drop down box, and your guide camera from the camera box, then you can guide via PHD2.... but as you are using ST4 guiding make sure you have not got the pulse guide option checked in EQMOD as that is for guiding without using an ST4 cable....

[Z3roCool]

Okay, thanks for info. 

Last night I originaly just had the EQMOD cable plugged in from mount to PC and the USB from guide camera to PC. I then ran PHD2 and set it with camera as the guide camera and Ascom HEQ5/6 for mount.

Could control mount from EQMOD fine but nothing from PHD2. Have read that I would not need the ST4 cable if using pulse guiding, which is why I removed it when trying with the EQMOD cable. 

Tried with the ST4 cable only and did not work but obviously because the setup was wrong as you state above. 

So, if I am right (not often!) I should have ST4 cable to mount from camera. The EQMOD cable from mount to PC, choose 'On Camera' and then make sure guiding is not pulse (so it uses the ST4 cable).

Thanks,

Tom. 

 

 

[Merlin66]

Tom,

That's the way I guide with my Lodestar/ C11 - St4 "on camera" and set to ST guide rate x0.5 and mount, with EQMod under CdC set to EQMod.

 

[newbie alert]

• Altair Astro 60mm Guide Scope
• Altair Astro GPCAM2 Mono v2).

Set everything up and tried to use SharpCAP to Polar Align but it could not find a single star (Even when PHD2 had stars in view). Gave up on that (as will look at later) and had a play with PHD2.

In sharpcap  you need click on the camera tab and make sure the camera is connected..then over on the right is the camera settings..you need to adjust the gain and exposure to show stars otherwise it be just blank screen..

With phd2 have you got to the calibration stage yet?

[LightBucket]

38 minutes ago, Z3roCool said:

Okay, thanks for info. 

Last night I originaly just had the EQMOD cable plugged in from mount to PC and the USB from guide camera to PC. I then ran PHD2 and set it with camera as the guide camera and Ascom HEQ5/6 for mount.

Could control mount from EQMOD fine but nothing from PHD2. Have read that I would not need the ST4 cable if using pulse guiding, which is why I removed it when trying with the EQMOD cable. 

Tried with the ST4 cable only and did not work but obviously because the setup was wrong as you state above. 

So, if I am right (not often!) I should have ST4 cable to mount from camera. The EQMOD cable from mount to PC, choose 'On Camera' and then make sure guiding is not pulse (so it uses the ST4 cable).

Thanks,

Tom. 

 

 

Yes you have that correct, on both accounts, not sure what you could not get pulse guide to work, i find it much better than ST4, but use what works for you, also make sure you have all your guide scope settings entered correctly for the calibration routine to work, also the guide cam bust be focused although critical focus is not an issue as PHD does not mind stars very slightly out of focus, it actually can help..  

[Z3roCool]

1 hour ago, Merlin66 said:

Tom,

That's the way I guide with my Lodestar/ C11 - St4 "on camera" and set to ST guide rate x0.5 and mount, with EQMod under CdC set to EQMod.

 

Cheers Merlin

[Z3roCool]

54 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

• Altair Astro 60mm Guide Scope
• Altair Astro GPCAM2 Mono v2).

Set everything up and tried to use SharpCAP to Polar Align but it could not find a single star (Even when PHD2 had stars in view). Gave up on that (as will look at later) and had a play with PHD2.

In sharpcap  you need click on the camera tab and make sure the camera is connected..then over on the right is the camera settings..you need to adjust the gain and exposure to show stars otherwise it be just blank screen..

With phd2 have you got to the calibration stage yet?

Thanks Newbie, had got camera selected but then I think I just missed the Gain Settings and Exposure...took me until after the clouds rolled in to work out 400ms will not give much and should have changed the exposure!

Have got to the calibration stage but when clicking on green target icon it does nothing. Always have the red mark next to calibration. Have done darks etc. Think I had set the guiding mode when I had the EQMOD cable in to ST4 (or vice versa, cannot re-call now as changing things around). Think not having PA done will not have helped at all but just worrying why in PHD2 could not get the mount to do anything at all...

[Z3roCool]

55 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Yes you have that correct, on both accounts, not sure what you could not get pulse guide to work, i find it much better than ST4, but use what works for you, also make sure you have all your guide scope settings entered correctly for the calibration routine to work, also the guide cam bust be focused although critical focus is not an issue as PHD does not mind stars very slightly out of focus, it actually can help..  

Thanks Light Bucket, think i just need to play with it and take a step back and check all settings, got to wait until in Morocco now as my Dad is taking all the gear down in van with him this week  Hopefully plenty of clear sky and a little warmer!

[newbie alert]

1 hour ago, Z3roCool said:

Thanks Newbie, had got camera selected but then I think I just missed the Gain Settings and Exposure...took me until after the clouds rolled in to work out 400ms will not give much and should have changed the exposure!

Have got to the calibration stage but when clicking on green target icon it does nothing. Always have the red mark next to calibration. Have done darks etc. Think I had set the guiding mode when I had the EQMOD cable in to ST4 (or vice versa, cannot re-call now as changing things around). Think not having PA done will not have helped at all but just worrying why in PHD2 could not get the mount to do anything at all...

If the callibration is still red then it's not calibrated,so clicking on the green target won't do anything.. have you watched this u tube video?

Also it's best to callibrate near the celestial equator at DEC 0..and on the meridian 

 

[Z3roCool]

8 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

If the callibration is still red then it's not calibrated,so clicking on the green target won't do anything.. have you watched this u tube video?

Also it's best to callibrate near the celestial equator at DEC 0..and on the meridian 

 

Will have a look at when back home. Meant shift click to force cal on target button. Cheers for the help ?

[mikey2000]

I tried ST4 guiding but didn't get very far.   I found the following guidance on the PHD2 website (https://openphdguiding.org/man-dev/Basic_use.htm) :

 

Benefits of Using ASCOM (or INDI) connections

If you're running on a Windows platform, you'll probably be better off using an ASCOM connection for guiding your mount.  On other operating systems, your best choice is likely to be an INDI connection if one is available.  This advice may be contrary to some old-school experience or folklore on the Web and probably isn't what you'll hear from the manufacturer of the guide camera.  But the benefits of doing so with PHD2 are substantial, and you should use this alternative unless you have specific and credible information against it.  Here are some of the primary benefits:

1. A drastic reduction in the number of re-calibrations you'll need to perform.  Changing targets will not require another calibration because PHD2 can know where the scope is pointing and automatically make adjustments to the guider calibration.  Most users get a good calibration and then re-use it until they make hardware changes of some kind.
2. Automatic adjustment for meridian flips - no need to remember to manually flip the calibration data.
3. Automatic adjustment of RA calibration to handle targets in different parts of the sky (declination compensation)
4. Elimination of the ST-4 guide cable as a point of failure - this is a surprisingly common problem because the cables can be damaged or confused with similar-looking cables (e.g. telephone cables)
5. Elimination of a moving cable that can snag, drag, or bind as the scope is moved around.
6. Improved ability for PHD2 to sanity-check calibration results and warn of possible problems before you waste hours of imaging time.
7. Better diagnostic and trouble-shooting information, which is particularly helpful if you need to ask for assistance
8. Availability of scope-slewing options during drift alignment which can further speed the process of polar alignment

 

That was enough to put me off ST4.   So now I have the guide camera connected to the computer by USB.  Then the computer connects to the mount with another USB cable.  EQMOD and PHD2 run on the computer and talk to each other, slewing or guiding as appropriate.  it's nice and simple and no need for a possibly flaky ST4 cable.

[LightBucket]

Yep totally agree Indi all the way for me, it just works all the time..

[Z3roCool]

Nice info Mikey, so when you set your profile up in PHD2 what do you choose for the connection, Ascom or Indi? Thanks.

[mikey2000]

I use Windows 10 (yep, it can be a pain at times when it decides to do a big unstoppable update).

I have ASCOM installed to allow EQMOD to work.  I have a EQDir usb cable to connect to the mount (I tried going with the synscan handset PCDirect mode but it was a bit unreliable)

 

In PHD2, I choose "QHY Camera" (as I have a QHY5L-iiC guide camera) and EQMOD ASCOM HEQ5/6 for the mount. 

 

The hardest part for me was getting the QHY camera to work.  I had all sorts of dropouts and disconnects until various driver updates stabilised it a bit.  Then running everything through a powered USB hub got it all working fine.

[Merlin66]

1 minute ago, mikey2000 said:

(I tried going with the synscan handset PCDirect mode but it was a bit unreliable)

Interesting comment. I regularly use the PCDirect connection to both my HEQ5pro and NEQ6pro and haven't honestly had any issues........

 

[mikey2000]

Maybe I just had a dodgy cable then.  I still prefer the tidiness of connecting directly to the mount - my handset has been parked in a drawer for quite a long time now :-)

[Z3roCool]

On 04/02/2018 at 21:44, mikey2000 said:

I use Windows 10 (yep, it can be a pain at times when it decides to do a big unstoppable update).

I have ASCOM installed to allow EQMOD to work.  I have a EQDir usb cable to connect to the mount (I tried going with the synscan handset PCDirect mode but it was a bit unreliable)

 

In PHD2, I choose "QHY Camera" (as I have a QHY5L-iiC guide camera) and EQMOD ASCOM HEQ5/6 for the mount. 

 

The hardest part for me was getting the QHY camera to work.  I had all sorts of dropouts and disconnects until various driver updates stabilised it a bit.  Then running everything through a powered USB hub got it all working fine.

Thanks for clarifying  That is how I last tried the other night but failed to get it working. Just wanted to know I was not being daft as that is how I thought it should be.

I stop all the update and other services linked to WIN10 bloat..so not to get dodgy downloads when you do not want them