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Re: problem with mount resetting...
Todd Gross <toddg@...>
--- In ap-gto@..., "Paul Gustafson" <drgus@e...> wrote:
Another possible problem is the cigarette lighter adapterconnection. Every alligator clip-to-female-cig-adapter I have seen was very cheaplymade and doesn't give a positive connection. I took my 32 amp hour batteryto a custom stereo store and explained the problem. For a reasonableprice, they ran very heavy gauge wire from the battery terminals to specialsnap-lock connectors, and wired the mating connectors to the ends of my APpower cable, Kendrick controller, power inverter. There's absolutely noway to screw up, and each connection locks solidly with a positiveaudible "snap." prompted my search for a better setup. Paul.. this may be my problem, I'm not sure, but I have now had too many glitches using this stupid alligator clips on too many DC items to ignore it or rule it out. I can't picture exactly what you did, but I'm wondering if there is an off the shelf solution? Todd
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Re: problem with mount resetting...
Paul Gustafson <drgus@...>
Another possible problem is the cigarette lighter adapter connection. Every
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alligator clip-to-female-cig-adapter I have seen was very cheaply made and doesn't give a positive connection. I took my 32 amp hour battery to a custom stereo store and explained the problem. For a reasonable price, they ran very heavy gauge wire from the battery terminals to special snap-lock connectors, and wired the mating connectors to the ends of my AP power cable, Kendrick controller, power inverter. There's absolutely no way to screw up, and each connection locks solidly with a positive audible "snap." The low quality cig adapter fried my Daystar filter (egads!) and prompted my search for a better setup. Gus Todd Wrote:
My mount is still resetting (A/P 600 GTO) Out of nowhere it just
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problem with mount resetting...
Todd Gross <toddg@...>
My mount is still resetting (A/P 600 GTO) Out of nowhere it just
resets and keeps running, but loses it's whereabouts. I am now using a different battery (suspecting fluctuating voltage in the old) and am going to swtich to a new cable tonight. If it keeps happening, is there a cure short of sending it to a/p ? thanks Todd
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Re: Recalibrating object position
Chuck Hancock
The only consumer software product that does what Chris is talking about
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is The Sky, as far as I know. The software models the mount/scope combination, in a way, and compensates for the differences with the ideal. Todd Gross wrote:
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Best regards, Chuck Hancock c d h 5 9 at b e l l s o u t h d o t n e t
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Recommended telescope position on powerup
Mike Mah
On AP GTO, does the declination axis position on powerup matter?
I know the RA axis should be visually aligned to Polaris and the mount should be fairly horizontal. Is there an optimal position for the declination axis (e.g. vertical or horizontal) that might affect pointing or ease of setup? On other Gotos, there are recommendations for the position of the Dec axis on powerup. When I powerup with the dec axis vertical and after alignment using the Polaris routine, I find that the dec axis is oblique between vertical and horizontal when pointing at Polaris. Is this of any consequence? I am trying to chase down my source of ponting error of up to one degree. Mike Mah
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Re: Recalibrating object position
Todd Gross <toddg@...>
At 01:19 AM 5/14/00 -0000, you wrote:
Suppose I set the scope on M3 and hit the "Recal" button and thenno, it remembers only the last..
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Recalibrating object position
Chris Spratt
Suppose I set the scope on M3 and hit the "Recal" button and then
move on to the next object and "tweak" that position with another "Recal". Does the keypad "remember" each correction and thus improve the scope's pointing accuracy as each "Recal" is done? Eventually the scope should be right on if the mount can remember each calibration.
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Playback PEM corrections
Chris Spratt
If you "train" the PEM at 1x or .5x what speed should you set the
keypad at when playing back the PEM? I usually have my speed set at 12x and leave it there for the observing once set. Does this setting compromise the PEM playback?
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Re: AP600 RA Backlash
Ron Wodaski <ronw@...>
I've had the same thing happen. On some nights, it seems that backlash
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compensation needs to be adjusted depending on what side of the meridian I'm on. Ron W
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Spratt [mailto:cspratt@...] Sent: Saturday, May 13, 2000 4:28 PM To: ap-gto@... Subject: [ap-gto] AP600 RA Backlash I've noticed that when I "train" my RA backlash that the number I chose one night isn't good the next. I thought that once calibrated the RA backlash number would be retained for each session. Now I have to reset it each observing session. I'm using version 2.6 of the software (mount came end of March 2000). On my mount the range at 12x runs from 4-6 with 5 the median most nights. The balance of the 8" OTA and attachments I'm using appears to be good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 72% off on Name brand Watches! Come and buy today and get free shipping! http://click.egroups.com/1/4011/5/_/3615/_/958260476/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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AP600 RA Backlash
Chris Spratt
I've noticed that when I "train" my RA backlash that the number I
chose one night isn't good the next. I thought that once calibrated the RA backlash number would be retained for each session. Now I have to reset it each observing session. I'm using version 2.6 of the software (mount came end of March 2000). On my mount the range at 12x runs from 4-6 with 5 the median most nights. The balance of the 8" OTA and attachments I'm using appears to be good.
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Question - tracking rates on AP mounts
Tim Khan
This past weekend in the Everglades, A question was
posed to me "does your AP1200 mount have the King tracking rate." I checked the menu to find only the Lunar, Solar, and Sidereal tracking rates. The question is: does the software taken into account the position and adujust the tracking rate due to the atmospheric refrction effects. Is it possible to model a tracking rate as a function of the pointed position. I do understand that this is complex due to the nature of the atmospheric refraction calculations. What is the exact difference between the two tracking rates in arcsecs/hour? Tim __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/
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Re: Tripod for 400 GTO
Chuck Hancock
I have a 400GTO mount on order right now, and have received an item for
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adapting the mount to the Celestron Celestar 8 Deluxe tripod. I think mountong ring is the same thing Steve is taking about. ADATRI is the Part No. for this item. All I had to do was go to the hardware store for the right length bolts and some nuts. Chuck Hancock Steve Leikind wrote:
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Best regards, Chuck Hancock c d h 5 9 at b e l l s o u t h d o t n e t
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Re: pointing accuracy
Louis A. Mamakos <louie@...>
Hi Colt,Ah, so this makes sense. Based on my experience with some digital setting circles on my G-11 mount (on the waiting list for a 900GTO, sigh), polar alignment doesn't seem significant. That's of course doing a two star alignment. Orthoganality does seem very important during alignment (e.g., the SET DEC=0 step) can be difficult on the G-11 given the lack of a fixed declination axis setting circle. louie
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Re: pointing accuracy
Ron Wodaski <ronw@...>
I think that pointing accuracy on any of the AP goto mounts is excellent,
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and mostly depends on how well aligned you are to the celestial pole. On nights when I have taken the time for really good polar alignment, objects routinely show up in just about exactly the same spot on the CCD chip. On those nights, it wouldn't matter what camera I was using; objects would be on the chip. <g> To get really high pointing accuracy, you must also make sure that your scope is well aligned to the mount's RA axis, of course. Ron Wodaski
-----Original Message-----
From: Colt Bednorz [mailto:colt@...] Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2000 8:44 AM To: ap-gto@... Subject: Re: [ap-gto] pointing accuracy Ray, So, it's not only on the chip of a st7/8, but not too far off center. I looked at what u see and that would even hit the st-4's little chip for a standard sct. Thanks Colt Ray Gralak wrote: Hi Colt, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Would you like to save big on your phone bill -- and keep on saving more each month? Join beMANY! Our huge buying group gives you Long Distance rates which fall monthly, plus an extra $60 in FREE calls! http://click.egroups.com/1/2567/5/_/3615/_/957627549/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Re: pointing accuracy
Ray Gralak <ray@...>
Hi Colt,
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Yes, from one part of the sky to the opposite side I have seen better than 2-arc-minutes accuracy. To get this kind of accuracy you need to make sure your OTA is orthogonal and that none of the optical elements shift in movement (e.g. many SCT's primary mirrors will shift when you move to another part of the sky). That is why I said I get this accuracy with my refractor. Take care, -Ray
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Re: pointing accuracy
Colt Bednorz <colt@...>
Ray,
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So, it's not only on the chip of a st7/8, but not too far off center. I looked at what u see and that would even hit the st-4's little chip for a standard sct. Thanks Colt Ray Gralak wrote:
Hi Colt,
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Re: pointing accuracy
Ray Gralak <ray@...>
Hi Colt,
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With really good polar alignment (and my 5" refractor) I have seen better than 2 arc-minutes accuracy on my 1200 GTO. And most of that error could be from non-perfect polar alignment. Taka care, -Ray Gralak
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pointing accuracy
Colt Bednorz <colt@...>
What is the pointing accuracy of the A.P.1200?
Assuming everything is accurately set up, and polar aligned, what do you normally get? I would imagine that this feature, which I've never had, is pretty nice for imaging those faint invisible objects. Thanks Colt Bednorz
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Re: Help with AP GTO on Parallax 125
ericj <ericj@...>
Peter wrote:
Can you or anyone tell me where to find aHi Peter: Please see my response to Mike's question about the "three star alignment procedure". I think I inadvertently created it :-). If you cannot use Polaris from your site and the two-star alignment procedure isn't working try using a third calibration star. It helped me to get accurate alignment. Let us know how it goes. Clear Skies, Eric Jamison
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Re: Help with AP GTO on Parallax 125
ericj <ericj@...>
Mike Mah wrote:
What is the three star alignment procedure? I don't recall seeingHi Mike: I think I inadvertently created the "three star alignment procedure" :-). I noticed the other night that after I had used the two star alignment procedure (Polaris and Vega) when the scope slewed to a deep-sky object it was not quite in the center of the field of view, even in a low power eyepiece. On page 8 of the GTO Keypad Controller manual, items 7 through 14, it recommends that using additional calibration stars to get a more accurate polar alignment. In my case after I used Regulus as my third calibration star (the "third" star in my "three star alignment procedure") any deep-sky object that the scope slewed to was near the center of the field of view of the 16mm Zeiss. Normally when deep-sky observing I start off with a low power 2" eyepieces like a 56mm Meade or 35mm Panoptic and work my up to higher power views using the 1-1/4" eyepieces. But Sunday night it was late, I was tired, so I just left the 16mm in. When AP comes out with the polar scope it should make the whole polar alignment process much easier and faster. I should mention that I have only had the mount for a short while, and only had the chance to use it a few times, so am learning like everyone else. Also, I did not mean to imply that the Dec setting circle on other AP GTO mounts might be off slightly as mine was. I think I just happened to get one that had this issue. Clear Skies, Eric Jamison -----Original Message----- From: Mike Mah <mikemah@...> To: ap-gto@... <ap-gto@...> Date: Friday, May 05, 2000 8:42 PM Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Help with AP GTO on Parallax 125 Thanks for the advice, everyone.
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