Synscan - How do you know mount is tracking.

[Zermelo]

23 hours ago, woldsweather said:

began 2* alignmment. The scope swung round

I only use AZ mode, but when I do a 2-star alignment, I have to slew to the first star myself. If I do a 3-star alignment, the mount does a goto for the first star.
?

 

23 hours ago, woldsweather said:

Now this has been a common feature

"common" as in, consistently, or just frequently?

As @Gfamily says above, most of the problems like this are caused when people are using the handset and entering the data incorrectly. The app usually does everything correctly (but do check that the location and time are being relayed properly).

This couldn't be a left-arm/right-arm thing could it? I believe there are different versions of the firmware depending on which way round you mount the OTA.

[irtuk]

Is it still behaving oddly this morning?

 

Another thing I did was get a sky app on a spare mobile then fettle a way of bolting it to the mount so I could see very roughly what the mount was pointing at. this allowed me to do alignment and slew-to tests during the day.

 

 

[woldsweather]

I havent been using it this morning. It doesnt always point to the ground, recently it jst moved a very tiny amount from the home position.

[M40]

I haven't checked but shouldn't you be using the sysnscan pro app with the eq mount? 

[woldsweather]

Apparently I had both synscan apps on my phone and wasn't using the pro though someone said this didn't matter. C;lear skies tonight and I think I have sorted a back focus issue so getting there slowly.

[woldsweather]

7 hours ago, Zermelo said:

I only use AZ mode, but when I do a 2-star alignment, I have to slew to the first star myself. If I do a 3-star alignment, the mount does a goto for the first star.
?

 

"common" as in, consistently, or just frequently?

As @Gfamily says above, most of the problems like this are caused when people are using the handset and entering the data incorrectly. The app usually does everything correctly (but do check that the location and time are being relayed properly).

This couldn't be a left-arm/right-arm thing could it? I believe there are different versions of the firmware depending on which way round you mount the OTA.

Can you explain how to do a 3 * alignment? My synscan app only has 1 and 2* ?

[Zermelo]

11 minutes ago, woldsweather said:

Can you explain how to do a 3 * alignment? My synscan app only has 1 and 2* ?

 

38 minutes ago, woldsweather said:

wasn't using the pro though someone said this didn't matter

 

The 3-star alignment can be done with either alt-az or EQ operation, but it's an option in the Pro version of the app only.

[woldsweather]

O rightio O maybe I'll see it tonight thewn when I start using the pro I had thought I was using.

[woldsweather]

On 13/04/2021 at 11:28, AstroMuni said:

Check that it has your location coords correctly. Also it can sometimes think you are in Southern hemisphere and move your scope incorrectly. There is a park option in Synscan. When you execute that check where it puts the scope - that is where it thinks the Home position is. You can move your scope manually to the correct position after your have parked the scope to adjust.

I still can't find this park option.

[woldsweather]

On 13/04/2021 at 12:40, happy-kat said:

What mount are you using?

For inputting correct details the Android app synscaninit is very good. 

Mount is EQM-35 PRO

[woldsweather]

22 hours ago, carastro said:

Yes that's correct. 

Yes I agree with above, if your mount points to the ground on first try, it must surely be trying to get a star on the other side of the world.  By then moving the mount manually, you are not "telling" the mount it is pointing in the wrong place and therefore it thinks it has it right, so next time it will do the same again. 

One really basic user error is you need to have the date in the American format.  i.e.  yesterday was 04:12.21  Not the English way around.   If you put it in the English way around the mount will think it is the 4th December and will be looking for what is in the sky in early December.  

It doesn't sound promising though if your experienced friend thinks it is not tracking.  Assuming you have the correct power to the  mount it sounds possibly faulty.  If it is still under guarantee I would have a chat with your retailer. 

Carole 

  

I can't see anywhere whewre you input the date?

[Gfamily]

2 hours ago, woldsweather said:

I can't see anywhere whewre you input the date?

That's not the issue, the date is read from your phone,  so you can assume it's correct in the app.

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Gfamily

[carastro]

Ah yes, forgot it was a phone app.

Carole 

[woldsweather]

Last night Sharpcap wouldn't work at all. A couple of star images on screen were very blurry so I decided to find a bright star and use the Bahtinov mask. Unfortunately Sirius is below trees by the time its dark so used Capella. I have grown to really hate the helical focuser on the Altair GPCAM . There werent even the expected 3 rays to centre, it was just a blurr. You turn the focusser to sharpen and the star image moves with the focusers rotation. Before you know it the star has drifted offscreen any way  as the mounts not tracking at this point . Eventually my hands were so cold I had to give up on this and PA with P{olemaster. That done I did 2* alignment (when sent to the first star - Capella in the west the scope slewed towards the Plough. I manually centred Capella the went to 2nd star and Procyon was nearly centre frame. I them went to M86 and to a 30s exp. Huge trails. Mount clearly not working. I went into the synscan app and clicked on tracking and it showed the RA and DEC reading as they were changing. It had commenced tracking. After leaving it an hour taking 1min exps I came back out and swopped over the SD card to have a look how it was doing. The 1 min exp,s were fine. THis morning I have just looked at the second batch of lights after I had swopped out cards and the mount had stopped working - huge trails. Would it be expected that by replacing an SD card you have to ensure tracking is running?

 

If there is such a thing as a guidescope with a rack and pinion focuser I'd be very tempted.

[AstroMuni]

15 hours ago, woldsweather said:

I still can't find this park option.

Its called Home position (for some reason they havent called it park)

[michael8554]

You've probably read about setting focus during the day with SharpCap on Auto Exposure, and a pinhole in ally foil over the objective.

Focus on a mid-distant landmark, then notice which way you turn the focuser to focus a really distant landmark.

Then on a star only turn focus in that same direction.

Are you saying you changed the SD card without stopping guiding ?

And you had to reselect Tracking in the app ?

Had the device gone to sleep during the hour of exposures ?

Michael

[Padraic M]

7 hours ago, woldsweather said:

I have grown to really hate the helical focuser on the Altair GPCAM

Which guide scope have you got the GPCAM camera attached to? I have the Starwave 50 so I understand to some extent what you're saying but it sounds like you need to make sure your connectors on the guidescope are tightened properly, and that the thumbscrew lock on the focuser is loosened. The focuser camera shouldn't rotate when you change focus. I find that it's useful to use the thumbscrew as a focusing lever for fine focus, but it's not essential to have the guidescope perfectly in focus. No need for a Bahtinov mask.

Dedicated guide scopes don't have r&p focusers and don't need them. Once you've got reasonable focus, you should just lock the thumbscrew and try not to knock it out. No need to ever focus again. 

The other option that occurred to me - have you checked if the guidescope has fogged up? That would impact on visibility. I have dew straps for the main scope and the guide scope.

[woldsweather]

No I have never heard of the pin hole in foil method. I shall give that a go though thanks. Tonight I have the moon to focus on so I was going to start with that before it got dark then move on to a star. I wasn't guiding when I swapped out the SD card. I obnly discovered it hadnt been tracking this morning when I downloaded the lights. So no I didn't reselect tracking. I don't know if the device went to sleep because as I say I only discovered this morning it hadn't been tracking.

[woldsweather]

1 hour ago, Padraic M said:

Which guide scope have you got the GPCAM camera attached to? I have the Starwave 50 so I understand to some extent what you're saying but it sounds like you need to make sure your connectors on the guidescope are tightened properly, and that the thumbscrew lock on the focuser is loosened. The focuser camera shouldn't rotate when you change focus. I find that it's useful to use the thumbscrew as a focusing lever for fine focus, but it's not essential to have the guidescope perfectly in focus. No need for a Bahtinov mask.

Dedicated guide scopes don't have r&p focusers and don't need them. Once you've got reasonable focus, you should just lock the thumbscrew and try not to knock it out. No need to ever focus again. 

The other option that occurred to me - have you checked if the guidescope has fogged up? That would impact on visibility. I have dew straps for the main scope and the guide scope.

Its the Altair 10x60mm RACI Finder Scope . Ah yes the camera does rotate extremely easily. I have been caught out by misting up but I have a dewband on and regularly check. How do you get around the problem of the image rotating out of view when you try and focus?

[michael8554]

Earlier you said "I came back out and swopped over the SD card"

Did you stop guiding to do that, then reselect Tracking ?

Michael

[Padraic M]

17 hours ago, woldsweather said:

Its the Altair 10x60mm RACI Finder Scope

I don't know for sure, but this may not be a suitable scope for polar alignment. I haven't seen anyone else using a right-angled corrected image finder for PA - will Sharpcap plate solving be able to work with a mirrored and corrected image? Also, is that focuser a non-rotating helical focuser? It doesn't say it in the spec so it's probably not. If your polemaster works well for you then keep using that.

This is the one I use:
https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-50mm-guide-scope-straight-thru-with-non-rotating-helical-focuser-no-eyepiece-2496-p.asp

I've never had a problem with the star moving out of frame when I'm focusing. If you're not happy with your PA, then use Polaris for an initial focus. Don't try to focus on another star until your PA is accurate. You can always fine-tune your focus on Capella or Arcturus later.

On 15/04/2021 at 09:13, woldsweather said:

I manually centred Capella

Don't manually centre Capella to correct the star alignment. The whole point is to use the app (or hand controller) to correct the alignment so the mount realises that it got it wrong. It can then correct its internal sky model and identify where the celestial pole is wrt the alignment stars. If you manually centre the alignment star the mount can't correct its model. While it may get the 2nd star location correct, it still doesn't have a fix on the CP so there's no guarantee that it will Goto a 3rd star reliably.

[woldsweather]

25 minutes ago, Padraic M said:

I don't know for sure, but this may not be a suitable scope for polar alignment. I haven't seen anyone else using a right-angled corrected image finder for PA - will Sharpcap plate solving be able to work with a mirrored and corrected image? Also, is that focuser a non-rotating helical focuser? It doesn't say it in the spec so it's probably not. If your polemaster works well for you then keep using that.

This is the one I use:
https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-50mm-guide-scope-straight-thru-with-non-rotating-helical-focuser-no-eyepiece-2496-p.asp

I've never had a problem with the star moving out of frame when I'm focusing. If you're not happy with your PA, then use Polaris for an initial focus. Don't try to focus on another star until your PA is accurate. You can always fine-tune your focus on Capella or Arcturus later.

Don't manually centre Capella to correct the star alignment. The whole point is to use the app (or hand controller) to correct the alignment so the mount realises that it got it wrong. It can then correct its internal sky model and identify where the celestial pole is wrt the alignment stars. If you manually centre the alignment star the mount can't correct its model. While it may get the 2nd star location correct, it still doesn't have a fix on the CP so there's no guarantee that it will Goto a 3rd star reliably.

I'm not using a right angle corrected image I have the GPCAM on instead of the corrector and eyepiece.

[woldsweather]

1 hour ago, michael8554 said:

Earlier you said "I came back out and swopped over the SD card"

Did you stop guiding to do that, then reselect Tracking ?

Michael

I havent successfully got guiding working yet.

[woldsweather]

1 hour ago, michael8554 said:

Earlier you said "I came back out and swopped over the SD card"

Did you stop guiding to do that, then reselect Tracking ?

Michael

I did this again last night but it stopped tracking after that.

[woldsweather]

18 hours ago, woldsweather said:

Its the Altair 10x60mm RACI Finder Scope . Ah yes the camera does rotate extremely easily. I have been caught out by misting up but I have a dewband on and regularly check. How do you get around the problem of the image rotating out of view when you try and focus?

BY thumbscrew do you mean the 3 screws holding the camera in?