Disappointed with guiding Mesu - logs now attached

[david_taurus83]

Just now, tooth_dr said:

I’m not sure where to set the guide rates at, or how to adjust it. It says guide rate 0.33 in PHD2 calibration wizard. 

The reason I ask is I had trouble before with my AZEQ6. It must have been after a fresh install of EQMod on my laptop and for some reason the guide rates were 0.1 sidereal in the EQMod box. Guiding was awful compared to what I knew the mount could do. Eventually I spotted the guide rates and set them to 0.5 and guiding much improved. Since then I've always made sure to check. Using Commander now with the new iOptron CEM25 and the default rate in that is also 0.5.

 

Not sure where this settings box is on your kit but it looks like you can change the guide rate here:

[tooth_dr]

5 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

The reason I ask is I had trouble before with my AZEQ6. It must have been after a fresh install of EQMod on my laptop and for some reason the guide rates were 0.1 sidereal in the EQMod box. Guiding was awful compared to what I knew the mount could do. Eventually I spotted the guide rates and set them to 0.5 and guiding much improved. Since then I've always made sure to check. Using Commander now with the new iOptron CEM25 and the default rate in that is also 0.5.

 

Not sure where this settings box is on your kit but it looks like you can change the guide rate here:

Hi David, thats where I noted the rate at 0.33.   Should I try it at 0.5?  Thanks for posting the photo.

 

Here is another example of guiding below, taken using my 178MC on a SW finder guider.  It can guide well, down to 1/5 and 1/6 of a pixel.  I think I'll swap back to the SW finderscope used here, and park the Altair Astro guidescope for now.  It's a variable that I could do without.

 

[david_taurus83]

Try 0.5 and see if it makes a difference? Also, I added a IR/UV cut filter to the nosepiece of my 120MM and it made a noticeable difference to focusing stars on my mini guidescope. Pretty much eliminated bloating. I suppose I'm getting at how accurately PHD measures pixels. Any ideas why it failed calibration with the OAG?

[tooth_dr]

1 minute ago, david_taurus83 said:

Try 0.5 and see if it makes a difference? Also, I added a IR/UV cut filter to the nosepiece of my 120MM and it made a noticeable difference to focusing stars on my mini guidescope. Pretty much eliminated bloating. I suppose I'm getting at how accurately PHD measures pixels. Any ideas why it failed calibration with the OAG?

Thanks David. I don’t know why it failed that calibration. Maybe the wrong profile set up.  I’m keen to get out again but the clouds aren’t playing ball.  I’m not sure where I can fit a UV IR filter, I’ll have a look shortly. Benefits of CV-19 is time at home to tinker. 

[tooth_dr]

Last night I had a very brief session under a hazy sky.  I swapped over the guiding cameras, and used the 120MM as the OAG camera.  I then discovered it was out of focus after spending minutes trying to find a star.  I got it focused as the clouds thickened, I just managed a (poor) calibration and 30s guiding.  I was getting a guiding of 0.24" and 0.32" DEC and RA respectively, 0.4"RMS so I think with more time for it to settle, and running GA, I should be ok.  I changed the guiderate to 0.5 @david_taurus83 so that might have helped.