Manual Guiding with EQ3 Pro

[ZiHao]

Gonna try out PHD2 Guiding the first time tonight, but my mount doesn't seem to move west when using the manual guiding. The gears make sound for East, North and South but not West. I am using ST4 connection to the mount. Anyone knows how to deal with this? Thanks a lot.

[Thalestris24]

8 hours ago, ZiHao said:

Gonna try out PHD2 Guiding the first time tonight, but my mount doesn't seem to move west when using the manual guiding. The gears make sound for East, North and South but not West. I am using ST4 connection to the mount. Anyone knows how to deal with this? Thanks a lot.

Hi

Any reason you are using st4? If you are using a qhy5l-ii mono guide cam make sure you are set to 8-bits. I think it probably doesn't move the mount in West - just stops it. Try out with stars - should be ok.

Louise

[ZiHao]

I am using ASI120MC to guide, just want to sort out all the problems first before beginning to use ASCOM connection instead of ST4, which I think is way more complicated. Issues are just keep coming, never ending lol, astrophotography is difficult haha.

[Thalestris24]

6 minutes ago, ZiHao said:

I am using ASI120MC to guide, just want to sort out all the problems first before beginning to use ASCOM connection instead of ST4, which I think is way more complicated. Issues are just keep coming, never ending lol, astrophotography is difficult haha.

Pulse guiding is better and saves a (st4) cable. It's quite straightforward to install Ascom and Eqmod.

Louise

[ZiHao]

It requires another cable right, I guess? RJ45 from the mount and to the laptop?

[Thalestris24]

3 minutes ago, ZiHao said:

It requires another cable right, I guess? RJ45 from the mount and to the laptop?

Yes, it does require a usb - serial/rj45 cable but you'd want that for computer control anyway.  However, you can just guide via st4 if you want and use the hand controller for everything else.

Louise

[SamAndrew]

Sounds like you might have a bad st4 cable, I think it's quite common for one of the connections to break

[wimvb]

If you guide against RA, at sidereal rate, you essentially stop the mount's tracking, as Louise already wrote. If the mount doesn't guide in RA-, it should keep moving at tracking speed (sidereal). Try calibration in PHD2. If that works, your cable & mount should be ok.