In a message dated 11/2/2007 7:44:55 AM Central Daylight Time,
werison@... writes:

I have an AP900 with GTOCP2 microcode D Keypad 4.12.
The mount is in an observatory and I have done a star drift polar
alignment but still have a problem with tracking. The mount is
tracking fast when set to sidereal rate. I can see movement is 30
second exposures in RA. The drift is always to the East in RA, it
does not matter where I am pointed. I.E. at DEC + 50 and and DEC + 0
the star only drifts in RA to the East (tracking too fast?). The
balance of the ota is fine and the goto functions work great on both
sides of the mount. Also checked PE and the star just keeps moving
East even after the 8 minutes of the PE cycle. Any ideas on what I
can check?

How long have you had this mount? Is it a used mount, new to you?

Normally you have to offset the Alt axis from the true pole to the refracted
pole in order to zero out the RA drift. I would suggest pointing your scope to
a star near the celestial equator and meridian line and then adjusting the
height of the altitude axis until the drift is zeroed out. There will always be
drift elsewhere in the sky because of atmospheric refraction. You cannot
eliminate drift entirely over the whole sky with the sidereal rate because of the
variability of refraction.

By the way, the classic drift alignment procedure that you probably used does
not eliminate RA drift because it results in the polar axis being pointed at
the true north pole rather than the refracted pole.

Rolando


**************************************
See what's new at
http://www.aol.com

Hello Everyone,

I have an AP900 with GTOCP2 microcode D Keypad 4.12.
The mount is in an observatory and I have done a star drift polar
alignment but still have a problem with tracking. The mount is
tracking fast when set to sidereal rate. I can see movement is 30
second exposures in RA. The drift is always to the East in RA, it
does not matter where I am pointed. I.E. at DEC + 50 and and DEC + 0
the star only drifts in RA to the East (tracking too fast?). The
balance of the ota is fine and the goto functions work great on both
sides of the mount. Also checked PE and the star just keeps moving
East even after the 8 minutes of the PE cycle. Any ideas on what I
can check?

Thanks,
William Rison

Thanks Bill and Jeff.

--- In ap-gto@..., "Jeff Young" <jey@...> wrote:

Gavin --

I have a Losmandy dovetail attached to the top of my Parallax rings
holding a Meade 16" LX200GPS OTA. On the rail rides a Tak FC-100.

The FC-100 is a doublet, and considerably smaller than 140mm, so it
probably weighs about 1/2 what the TEC does. Then agian, the 16"

OTA is

about twice the weight of the 14", and leaves the Tak's weight on a
slightly longer moment arm.

Seems to work fine. The mirror flop is enough in the SCT that you

can't

get both scopes to point to the same spot all over the sky, but the
refractors have a big enough field to mostly make up for that.

-- Jeff.


________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...]

On

Behalf Of Gavin Bray
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 12:28 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] TEC 140 + 14" LX200R on an AP1200



Hello

I have a 14" LX200R attached to an AP1200 using a set of
Parallax
Instruments rings. The setup is housed in my observatory and

I'm

very
happy with it.

I was wondering whether I could attach a dovetail plate to the
top of
the parallax rings (above the 14") and attach something like a
TEC 140
to that.

Is it feasible to mount something like a TEC 140 on top of the
14"?

Is there a better option I should be considering?

Thanks
Gavin







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks all for the opinions on the pier heights. I talked with Howard and
them may be able to make one for me from a 42" tube.

Thanks,
Dean S

Dean,

I opted for the 48-inch pier. I usually set the pier base on some
pavers (for leveling), so that adds a couple of inches. I need to use
a small step (about a foot tall) to get my 6-inch refractor into the
saddle. I'm vertically challenged as well, but since I do both visual
and imaging I didn't want the EP height to be too low when viewing
near the zenith.

Regards,
Lou Marchesi

Hello Harold,



The filter is supposed to work in conjunction with the horizon limits
that you can set (which are also available in v.4.12). I have not
tried this out yet, but will do so the next time I am out. I hadn't
really thought about it before, but I imagine that most people would
benefit from using a horizon limit of at least 20 degrees whenever using
the "What's up now?" function. Why waste time slewing to dim fuzzies
that are lost in the soup? You can set the horizon limit all the way
up to 50 degrees. Then "What's up now?" becomes "What's in prime
viewing location now?" ;-) Excellent suggestion!



Mag. 7 skies!



Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf
Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 4:34 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Howard,

Thanks. Will the control of the "What's up now" allow me to set a
filter which eliminates objects below a settable elevation angle? I
spend a lot of time slewing to objects below the local tree line.

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"Howard" <howard@...> wrote:

Hi Harold,



I'm not Marj, but I'm pretty familiar with the v.4.20 firmware

project

and am personally beta testing the firmware. There are several

nice

additions to the already impressive functionality and reliability of
v.4.12. Most notable are some new database catalogs. (Details on
some of these are still being hammered out.) In addition, v.4.20

will

allow a wider selection of mounts including the Mach1GTO and mounts

from

Parallax and Mathis that use our GoTo system. The keypad will now

be

able to poll the mount for the ROM chip version so you no longer

have to

pull the cover off of your control box to check your chip.

The "What's

up now?" function has been greatly improved allowing far better

control

of the objects it selects. A bookmark function has been added that
allows you to program a night's worth of observing targets into a

list,

or to keep a new found favorite handy for further examination. I

used

this feature just last night with comet Holmes 17P, that I was

showing

to trick-or-treaters. I only had to enter the RA and dec once,

then I

bookmarked it, and all night long I could slew around to different
objects and always get back to the comet very quickly. All the

ghouls

and goblins were really impressed!



Mag. 7 skies!



Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>

[mailto:ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf

Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 3:12 PM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>

<mailto:ap-gto%
40yahoogroups.com> , "Marj

Christen" <marj@> wrote:

Hi Larry,

We are planning to finish up the 4.2 keypad code soon, then will
release it to the beta group. After beta, we will have it

available

on our website for downloading.

Marj Christen
Astro-Physics



--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>

<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,

"Larry Phillips" <llp41astro@>

wrote:

Can anyone tell me if version 4.12 of the GTO Keypad firmware

is

still

shipping with the current Mach1GTO mount or has there been an

update

released?

I read somewhere that it is to be updated soon. If so, when

will

Mach1GTO mounts have the updated firmware included when shipped?

Also, will the next update of the firmware require changes to

the

manual?

Larry

I got my October S&T on 10/31. I will not be renewing my subscription
when it expires. The much higher international subscription rate
should cover the cost of something a little faster than a slow boat to
Japan. May not renew when I get back to the US.

Sounds like it would be nice to have uploadable catalogs, that we could
swap space with existing ones that might not be in someone's particular field
of interest or study.

Joe

Howard,

Thanks. Will the control of the "What's up now" allow me to set a
filter which eliminates objects below a settable elevation angle? I
spend a lot of time slewing to objects below the local tree line.

Harold

--- In ap-gto@..., "Howard" <howard@...> wrote:

Hi Harold,



I'm not Marj, but I'm pretty familiar with the v.4.20 firmware

project

and am personally beta testing the firmware. There are several

nice

additions to the already impressive functionality and reliability of
v.4.12. Most notable are some new database catalogs. (Details on
some of these are still being hammered out.) In addition, v.4.20

will

allow a wider selection of mounts including the Mach1GTO and mounts

from

Parallax and Mathis that use our GoTo system. The keypad will now

be

able to poll the mount for the ROM chip version so you no longer

have to

pull the cover off of your control box to check your chip.

The "What's

up now?" function has been greatly improved allowing far better

control

of the objects it selects. A bookmark function has been added that
allows you to program a night's worth of observing targets into a

list,

or to keep a new found favorite handy for further examination. I

used

this feature just last night with comet Holmes 17P, that I was

showing

to trick-or-treaters. I only had to enter the RA and dec once,

then I

bookmarked it, and all night long I could slew around to different
objects and always get back to the comet very quickly. All the

ghouls

and goblins were really impressed!



Mag. 7 skies!



Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On

Behalf

Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 3:12 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%

40yahoogroups.com> , "Marj

Christen" <marj@> wrote:

Hi Larry,

We are planning to finish up the 4.2 keypad code soon, then will
release it to the beta group. After beta, we will have it

available

on our website for downloading.

Marj Christen
Astro-Physics



--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,

"Larry Phillips" <llp41astro@>

wrote:

Can anyone tell me if version 4.12 of the GTO Keypad firmware

is

still

shipping with the current Mach1GTO mount or has there been an

update

released?

I read somewhere that it is to be updated soon. If so, when

will

Mach1GTO mounts have the updated firmware included when shipped?

Also, will the next update of the firmware require changes to

the

manual?

Larry

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
ap-gto group:

Which catalog(s) would you like to see added to the keypad software?

o Abell Planetary Nebulae
o Barnard Dark Nebulae
o Lynd's Dark Nebulae
o Sharpless catalog of emission nebulae
o van den Berg's nebula catalog
o Arp's Catalog of Peculiar Galaxies
o Caldwell catalog of deep-sky objects
o Other catalog not referenced above


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ap-gto/surveys?id=2603433

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
ap-gto group:

Which catalog(s) would you like to see added to the keypad software?

o Abell Planetary Nebulae
o Barnard Dark Nebulae
o Lynd's Dark Nebulae
o Sharpless catalog of emission nebulae
o van den Berg's nebula catalog
o Arp's Catalog of Peculiar Galaxies
o Caldwell catalog of deep-sky objects
o Other catalog not referenced above


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ap-gto/surveys?id=2603419

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the
ap-gto group:

Which catalog(s) currently available in the keypad would you delete since they do not meet your needs and/or interests?

o Messier catalog
o NGC catalog
o IC catalog
o Solar System Objects
o Abell Galaxy Clusters
o ADS Double Stars
o Common Object Names
o Common Star Names
o Greek Star Names (by constellation)
o Search by Type/Mag etc etc
o What's Up Now
o Tour Objects within Constellations
o Custom RA/Dec (GOTO)
o Custom Alt/Az
o Other (just in case of error with the available options in this list)


To vote, please visit the following web page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ap-gto/surveys?id=2603432

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

--- In ap-gto@..., "Jeff Young" <jey@...> wrote:

Howard --

The new bookmark feature sounds great.

As far as the catalogs go, I'd love to see Arp, Hickson's, the Abell
PNs, and the rest of the ADS catalog. Palomar might be cool too, but I
can't seem to see most of them....

Me too as far as Arp and Abell .... hhmmm, poll time .... give me a
few minutes. :-)

Anthony.

Cheers,
-- Jeff.



________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On
Behalf Of Howard
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 8:28 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: RE: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Hi Harold,

I'm not Marj, but I'm pretty familiar with the v.4.20 firmware
project
and am personally beta testing the firmware. There are several
nice
additions to the already impressive functionality and
reliability of
v.4.12. Most notable are some new database catalogs. (Details on
some of these are still being hammered out.) In addition, v.4.20
will
allow a wider selection of mounts including the Mach1GTO and
mounts from
Parallax and Mathis that use our GoTo system. The keypad will
now be
able to poll the mount for the ROM chip version so you no longer
have to
pull the cover off of your control box to check your chip. The
"What's
up now?" function has been greatly improved allowing far better
control
of the objects it selects. A bookmark function has been added
that
allows you to program a night's worth of observing targets into
a list,
or to keep a new found favorite handy for further examination. I
used
this feature just last night with comet Holmes 17P, that I was
showing
to trick-or-treaters. I only had to enter the RA and dec once,
then I
bookmarked it, and all night long I could slew around to
different
objects and always get back to the comet very quickly. All the
ghouls
and goblins were really impressed!

Mag. 7 skies!

Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf
Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 3:12 PM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware

Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Marj
Christen" <marj@> wrote:
>
> Hi Larry,
>
> We are planning to finish up the 4.2 keypad code soon, then
will
> release it to the beta group. After beta, we will have it
available
> on our website for downloading.
>
> Marj Christen
> Astro-Physics
>
>
>
> --- In ap-gto@...
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"Larry Phillips" <llp41astro@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Can anyone tell me if version 4.12 of the GTO Keypad
firmware is
> still
> > shipping with the current Mach1GTO mount or has there been
an
> update
> > released?
> >
> > I read somewhere that it is to be updated soon. If so, when
will
> > Mach1GTO mounts have the updated firmware included when
shipped?
> >
> > Also, will the next update of the firmware require changes
to the
> > manual?
> >
> > Larry
> >
>









[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In ap-gto@..., "Howard" <howard@...> wrote:

Hi Harold,

A bookmark function has been added that
allows you to program a night's worth of observing targets into a list,
or to keep a new found favorite handy for further examination. I used
this feature just last night with comet Holmes 17P, that I was showing
to trick-or-treaters. I only had to enter the RA and dec once, then I
bookmarked it, and all night long I could slew around to different
objects and always get back to the comet very quickly. All the ghouls
and goblins were really impressed!

This is a GREAT addition since we can now slew to zenith for focusing
and then right back to our target. Good stuff!!!!

Just a suggestion: it would be really neat if we can add our own
catalog in some future release/version. For example, I personally do
not care much about the double star catalog and which I would love to
be able to replace with the Sharpless catalog of emission nebulae
and/or the Barnard catalog of dark nebulae etc etc.

Anyway, the new version sounds very exciting. I will keep an eye on
the beta-test group on a more frequent basis from now on.

Anthony.

Mag. 7 skies!



Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf
Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 3:12 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Marj
Christen" <marj@> wrote:

Hi Larry,

We are planning to finish up the 4.2 keypad code soon, then will
release it to the beta group. After beta, we will have it available
on our website for downloading.

Marj Christen
Astro-Physics



--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,

"Larry Phillips" <llp41astro@>

wrote:

Can anyone tell me if version 4.12 of the GTO Keypad firmware is

still

shipping with the current Mach1GTO mount or has there been an

update

released?

I read somewhere that it is to be updated soon. If so, when will
Mach1GTO mounts have the updated firmware included when shipped?

Also, will the next update of the firmware require changes to the
manual?

Larry

--- In ap-gto@..., "Joseph Zeglinski" <J.Zeglinski@...> wrote:

If I were in their line of work, I would maintain a continual

liaison with

major product manufacturers, so I would have a heads up, (with a non
disclosure agreement), and be prepared with an article. I'm not

talking about

mind reading here.
I suppose it will be Hot Flash item in the January issue.

I don't mean to play the devil's advocate but perhaps the mount was
completed very late for any possible review and scoop buy the time the
conference came around.

Just a thought ...

Anthony.

Joe

Howard --

The new bookmark feature sounds great.

As far as the catalogs go, I'd love to see Arp, Hickson's, the Abell
PNs, and the rest of the ADS catalog. Palomar might be cool too, but I
can't seem to see most of them....

Cheers,
-- Jeff.



________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On
Behalf Of Howard
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 8:28 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: RE: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Hi Harold,

I'm not Marj, but I'm pretty familiar with the v.4.20 firmware
project
and am personally beta testing the firmware. There are several
nice
additions to the already impressive functionality and
reliability of
v.4.12. Most notable are some new database catalogs. (Details on
some of these are still being hammered out.) In addition, v.4.20
will
allow a wider selection of mounts including the Mach1GTO and
mounts from
Parallax and Mathis that use our GoTo system. The keypad will
now be
able to poll the mount for the ROM chip version so you no longer
have to
pull the cover off of your control box to check your chip. The
"What's
up now?" function has been greatly improved allowing far better
control
of the objects it selects. A bookmark function has been added
that
allows you to program a night's worth of observing targets into
a list,
or to keep a new found favorite handy for further examination. I
used
this feature just last night with comet Holmes 17P, that I was
showing
to trick-or-treaters. I only had to enter the RA and dec once,
then I
bookmarked it, and all night long I could slew around to
different
objects and always get back to the comet very quickly. All the
ghouls
and goblins were really impressed!

Mag. 7 skies!

Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf
Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 3:12 PM
To: ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware

Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Marj
Christen" <marj@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Larry,
>
> We are planning to finish up the 4.2 keypad code soon, then
will
> release it to the beta group. After beta, we will have it
available
> on our website for downloading.
>
> Marj Christen
> Astro-Physics
>
>
>
> --- In ap-gto@...
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"Larry Phillips" <llp41astro@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Can anyone tell me if version 4.12 of the GTO Keypad
firmware is
> still
> > shipping with the current Mach1GTO mount or has there been
an
> update
> > released?
> >
> > I read somewhere that it is to be updated soon. If so, when
will
> > Mach1GTO mounts have the updated firmware included when
shipped?
> >
> > Also, will the next update of the firmware require changes
to the
> > manual?
> >
> > Larry
> >
>

Hi Harold,



I'm not Marj, but I'm pretty familiar with the v.4.20 firmware project
and am personally beta testing the firmware. There are several nice
additions to the already impressive functionality and reliability of
v.4.12. Most notable are some new database catalogs. (Details on
some of these are still being hammered out.) In addition, v.4.20 will
allow a wider selection of mounts including the Mach1GTO and mounts from
Parallax and Mathis that use our GoTo system. The keypad will now be
able to poll the mount for the ROM chip version so you no longer have to
pull the cover off of your control box to check your chip. The "What's
up now?" function has been greatly improved allowing far better control
of the objects it selects. A bookmark function has been added that
allows you to program a night's worth of observing targets into a list,
or to keep a new found favorite handy for further examination. I used
this feature just last night with comet Holmes 17P, that I was showing
to trick-or-treaters. I only had to enter the RA and dec once, then I
bookmarked it, and all night long I could slew around to different
objects and always get back to the comet very quickly. All the ghouls
and goblins were really impressed!



Mag. 7 skies!



Howard Hedlund

Astro-Physics, Inc.

815-282-1513

________________________________

From: ap-gto@... [mailto:ap-gto@...] On Behalf
Of masterson_harold
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 3:12 PM
To: ap-gto@...
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: GTO Keypad Firmware



Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold

--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> , "Marj
Christen" <marj@...> wrote:

Hi Larry,

We are planning to finish up the 4.2 keypad code soon, then will
release it to the beta group. After beta, we will have it available
on our website for downloading.

Marj Christen
Astro-Physics



--- In ap-gto@... <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ,

"Larry Phillips" <llp41astro@>

wrote:

Can anyone tell me if version 4.12 of the GTO Keypad firmware is

still

shipping with the current Mach1GTO mount or has there been an

update

released?

I read somewhere that it is to be updated soon. If so, when will
Mach1GTO mounts have the updated firmware included when shipped?

Also, will the next update of the firmware require changes to the
manual?

Larry

It may not even be in the January issue. Most magazines have to have their copy to the printer at least a couple of months before the publish date. Bottom line: only the web is capable of up-to-the-minute news.
Bert

If I were in their line of work, I would maintain a continual liaison with
major product manufacturers, so I would have a heads up, (with a non
disclosure agreement), and be prepared with an article. I'm not talking about
mind reading here.
I suppose it will be Hot Flash item in the January issue.

Joe

Marj,

Any hints on what 4.2 will include?

Harold