Guiding inconsistent

[newbie alert]

4 hours ago, ninjageezer said:

Many thanks for the suggestions ,yes i also saw the wobbly pulleys on some youtube videos .i am super keen on tolerances' with belt line ups ect . (engineering background)

i did the manual backlash adjustment at the using the belt cog with not belts on as you really can feel any binding ,i have just rechecked and re adjusted everything .i did find the the collar locking rings if you just tighten them more than just nipped slightly, causes some binding of the worm drive ,so i readjusted those ,and marked them in case of movement.

double checked the belts are the correct tension and the is no drift or wobble of anything ,just need clear skies weds as they currently promise here in the north east.

i will make sure the guide setting is put back to .5 as well ,its something i never changed ,the only other thing i noticed last time out when doing a phd2 calibration it took forever 51 steps.... its set it 12 but there is also a step adjustment.

i will reset the profile and start again me thinks.

one more thing is it worth still balancing east heavy or not ? ive tried to balance exactly.

oh ive just checked from a snap i took you was spot on it was on pixels nor arc .. doh

as for polar alignment i used sharp cap pro and it was steady on excellent so not sure it said 4.5 arc secs of error...

cheers

 

paul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seems like you know what to look out for

In order of your response... Yes the locking collar if done too tight can put pressure on the the axis causing issues..well spotted..

Personally I have a neutral balance , I'm using a cem 60 which has really fluid axis so even a lens cap on or off a finder scope shows in balancing..some say to balance east heavy but as you have no cogs to mesh only belts I don't really see the point

 I bet once you "hypertuned" your mount the axis shows, lack of stiction,  much more fluid, easier to balance etc, should make a huge difference.. 

Sharpcap is good but still found it wasn't perfect... My guiding assistant show .4 to .6  arc secs of error and I usually run it for at least a worm period

Best of luck Paul, hope it works out for you

[ninjageezer]

1 hour ago, newbie alert said:

Seems like you know what to look out for

In order of your response... Yes the locking collar if done too tight can put pressure on the the axis causing issues..well spotted..

Personally I have a neutral balance , I'm using a cem 60 which has really fluid axis so even a lens cap on or off a finder scope shows in balancing..some say to balance east heavy but as you have no cogs to mesh only belts I don't really see the point

 I bet once you "hypertuned" your mount the axis shows, lack of stiction,  much more fluid, easier to balance etc, should make a huge difference.. 

Sharpcap is good but still found it wasn't perfect... My guiding assistant show .4 to .6  arc secs of error and I usually run it for at least a worm period

Best of luck Paul, hope it works out for you

Many thanks much appreciated.

[ninjageezer]

4 hours ago, Stuart1971 said:

After you change the guide rate back to 0.5, you have to re calibrate anyway, don’t try and guide without doing that, also when entering your pixel size and focal length into PHD, it should work out the step size needed for calibration, also set where in the sky you will do the calibration, should be just due south at 30 degrees is best…👍🏼
you should not have anywhere near 51 steps, that’s the highest I have seen….Should be set at 12, and it should take between 8 and 12 normally…

Many thanks great help..