Wayne,
Congratulations on getting some clear skies!     I was hoping for another night tonight myself, but alas Vermont weather doesn't cooperate often.   I found the same as you, that the mount didn't ever require more than one plate solve to get an object centered.   

Terri  

On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 05:31 PM, uncarollo2 <chris1011@...> wrote:

1) Polemaster does not necessarily insure good polar alignment. Only drift alignment can reduce drift.

 

2) Having perfect polar alignment does not insure zero drift due to atmospheric refraction

 

3) doing a drift alignment can produce zero drift for both RA and Dec if you use the right method, but this zero drift will only occur in the area around the zenith. In other parts of the sky the stars do not move at sidereal rate, and will also drift slowly in Dec. This is fundamental, and no amount of polar alignment will prevent drift.

 

4) In our new keypad software we have added the King rate which reduces the RA drift in those parts of the sky where the sidereal rate is incorrect, however the King rate does not address Dec drift. We have modeling software in the new keypad which can be used to compensate for drift in both axes, and can allow unguided imaging. You can also go full model with APCC Pro, but I would recommend using that for permanent setups where you can spend some time getting a really good all-sky model.

 

Rolando 

 

Hi Rolando,
In looking at my graph without guiding input, the center of my RA trace drifted around 6.25 arc seconds in 11 minutes (in RA).    In DEC, the trace shows only  about 3.75 arc seconds of drift in 11 minutes.      The peak to peak of the each graph was similar, and more than 2.5 arc seconds P-P.     I sent this to you in a screen shot.   I expect this is telling me that the seeing was poor at best, based on these values.   I was still getting round stars (while actively guiding).   Such is life in Vermont under the jet stream!

I'm happy to report that I've successfully installed APCC, and set it up and at least tested it out without any clear sky.    Everything connects as it should.    Called George today, who was very helpful, to provided guidance on some of the finer points.    Now just waiting for clear skies.

Terri

After a couple of seconds, the ASCOM driver would set back to Sidereal with no errors reported.

Do you have any applications connected at the time? It could be that one of them is setting the rate back to sidereal. Any slews will also reset to rate to sidereal (APJog, for instance issues slews).

BTW, the mount's lunar rate is just an average rate. If you want to track the moon in both axes a little better consider using the Horizons application that comes with APCC.

-Ray Gralak
Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/software/apcc/apcc
Author of PEMPro V3: https://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Mike Miller
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 12:04 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] Lunar Tracking Rate #ASCOM_V2_Driver

I was trying to do some EAA on the moon over the weekend with my Mach1, and I found that anytime I clicked the
Lunar Tracking button in the ASCOM driver, it would reset back to Sidereal after a few seconds.

Custom rate did work correctly.

My procedure this night:
1. Polar align via Sharpcap
2. Use SGP to solve and sync
3. GoTo RA/Dec of moon in APCC
4. APJog to nudge moon into center of frame
5. Press Lunar Tracking button in ASCOM driver

After a couple of seconds, the ASCOM driver would set back to Sidereal with no errors reported.

Hi Wayne,

I did some troubleshooting and found the Actual Mount Location showed 0 latitude and 0 longitude.
I checked my site info and it was ok, but couldn't sync it to the mount. Probably missed something easy. Restarted

Latitude and Longitude can only be set one time after each power cycle. If there was no site defined the lat/long might default to 0.

Anyway, once the mount is initialized you cannot change Lat/Long unless you power cycle, which explains the behavior you were seeing.

-Ray Gralak
Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/software/apcc/apcc
Author of PEMPro V3: https://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Wayne Hixson via Groups.Io
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 2:42 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] First Clear Night with Mach2

Halleluiah - The skies opened up enough to run the Mach2, albeit with a very bright Moon in the middle of the sky
area I can see! It was one of 4 new pieces of gear I was hoping to actually try after the long cloudy period - the
QHY Polemaster, Optec Saggita OAG, QHY 268C OSC camera, and the Mach2. I'll focus (pun intended) on the
Mach2. Note this is based on a very limited experience, but the mount has lived up to my expectations and even
surprised me with some features

Summary:
- I got through all the testing I'd planned by 12:30 - a first!
- The encoders' capability to keep track of the scopes position is a godsend.
- The ability to loosen and tighten clutches and altitude by hand only is a pleasant unanticipated surprise
- Motors are quiet and fast, even at 12v
- Guiding seems improved

I run the system remotely (100 ft from the dining room to the deck) with a Primaluce Eagle 3S mounted atop a
130GTX. I'm using USB through-the-mount to connect to the GTOCP5. Did a rough alignment with the
Polemaster - nice to have that built-in attach point. The altitude adjuster is easier to use than on my AP1100,
being only two larger knobs instead of 4 smaller ones to loosen and lock the axis. No wrenches required.

I did a GOTO the Moon, but I saw from the APCC model that t was going the wrong way. I ran to the deck and
found the mount stopped because the camera USB cable had impacted the top of the railing. Darn camera is
really long! One pleasant finding was the USB cable on the camera was not bent or damages when it impacted
as I had set the clutches by hand only and the controller may have sensed the impact and stopped. And since the
mount retains its location, I loosened the clutch and repositioned the mount and didn't have to do any manual re-
park, unpark and re-sync operation.

I did some troubleshooting and found the Actual Mount Location showed 0 latitude and 0 longitude. I checked my
site info and it was ok, but couldn't sync it to the mount. Probably missed something easy. Restarted CP5 and PC
and all was OK again. Even after all that, a GOTO the Moon put the moon in the camera FoV. Note: I had a similar
issue with the CP4 and the AP1100 in that sometimes it would show an altitude of zero when the mount was in
Park 3. This always seemed to be on initial start up and was rare.

The rest of the evening was spent first in camera testing (plate solves, V- curves, focusing and live image
stacking). The mount responded to all demands. My software (Voyager) does precise GOTOs for targets and focus
stars. Never once did it require more than one extra plate solve to pinpoint the location and mostly it was close
enough the first time.

Finally connected to PHD2 and used default settings. I know Roland had some suggested settings but I didn't
have them handy so just rolled with it. I use an Ultrastar guide camera. Did a calibration in several different
locations and always got RMS of under one arcsecond.

Finally ran Sharpcap and did some live stacking of M53. Ran about 30 minutes with guiding and even though the
sky was really washed out by moonlight every frame stacked

Parked and shut everything down. Very pleased with this first admittedly limited experience. Hope to try more
tonight!

Wayne

A little more digging, and I think maybe my problem is that I had APCC and the ASCOM driver up at the same time.
I only set it in ASCOM and not in APCC. Will the two programs fight over Tracking Rates?

No, it doesn’t matter and it is easy to test.

1. Run APCC and the driver and enable sidereal tracking.
2. On APCC's Rate Settings tab change the tracking rate to Lunar and click "Set Now".
3. Notice the driver will change to the "Lunar" icon and APCC will show "Lunar" tracking rate.
4. On the driver's control window click the "Solar" icon.
5. Note that on APCC the tracking rate now will show "Solar".

So, whichever sets it last is what will be set. The setting can even be set from an ASCOM client application.

-Ray Gralak
Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/software/apcc/apcc
Author of PEMPro V3: https://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Mike Miller
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 1:22 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Lunar Tracking Rate #ASCOM_V2_Driver

A little more digging, and I think maybe my problem is that I had APCC and the ASCOM driver up at the same time.
I only set it in ASCOM and not in APCC. Will the two programs fight over Tracking Rates?

On Mon, Mar 9, 2020 at 01:04 AM, Wayne Hixson wrote:

Update - I rebooted both computer and CP5 my mount is back in Seattle. Terri, wonder if this was related to your mispointing? Do you remember if your site was correct?

HI Wayne, my issue was a little different.  It had to do with V2 reporting a different coordinate than the direction the mount was pointing.   I believe it was due to a corrupt V2 installation.  Once I reinstalled 5.30.8 it resolved the issue.   I've not seen any issue with the site location.

Terri

Taken on and off between the clouds over the Jan and Feb new moon period.
https://www.astrobin.com/op6tmp/0/ for tech details
https://www.astrobin.com/full/op6tmp/0/ higher res.
Mount: AP900
Telescope: 12.5" Planewave CDK
Camera: FLI Proline 16803
Processing: PixInsight
FOV: 43' x 43'

Exposure B 90m, G 120m, R 130m, L 140m, Ha 80m
I would have liked more Blue and Ha, but sometimes you have to just work with what you were able to get.
The Ha made a big difference to the final image--it was a bit anemic and overwhelmed by stars with just a straight LRGB

Halleluiah - The skies opened up enough to run the Mach2, albeit with a very bright Moon in the middle of the sky area I can see! It was one of 4 new pieces of gear I was hoping to actually try after the long cloudy period - the QHY Polemaster, Optec Saggita OAG, QHY 268C OSC camera, and the Mach2. I'll focus (pun intended) on the Mach2. Note this is based on a very limited experience, but the mount has lived up to my expectations and even surprised me with some features

Summary:
 - I got through all the testing I'd planned by 12:30 - a first!
 - The encoders' capability to keep track of the scopes position is a godsend.
 - The ability to loosen and tighten clutches and altitude by hand only is a pleasant unanticipated surprise
 - Motors are quiet and fast, even at 12v
 - Guiding seems improved

I run the system remotely (100 ft from the dining room to the deck) with a Primaluce Eagle 3S mounted atop a 130GTX. I'm using USB through-the-mount to connect to the GTOCP5. Did a rough alignment with the Polemaster - nice to have that built-in attach point. The altitude adjuster is easier to use than on my AP1100, being only two larger knobs instead of 4 smaller ones to loosen and lock the axis. No wrenches required.

I did a GOTO the Moon, but I saw from the APCC model that t was going the wrong way. I ran to the deck and found the mount stopped because the camera USB cable had impacted the top of the railing. Darn camera is really long! One pleasant finding was the USB cable on the camera was not bent or damages when it impacted  as I had set the clutches by hand only and the controller may have sensed the impact and stopped. And since the mount retains its location, I loosened the clutch and repositioned the mount and didn't have to do any manual re-park, unpark and re-sync operation.

I did some troubleshooting and found the Actual Mount Location showed 0 latitude and 0 longitude. I checked my site info and it was ok, but couldn't sync it to the mount. Probably missed something easy. Restarted CP5 and PC and all was OK again. Even after all that, a GOTO the Moon put the moon in the camera FoV. Note: I had a similar issue with the CP4 and the AP1100 in that sometimes it would show an altitude of zero when the mount was in Park 3. This always seemed to be on initial start up and was rare.

The rest of the evening was spent first in camera testing (plate solves, V- curves, focusing and live image stacking). The mount responded to all demands. My software (Voyager) does precise GOTOs for targets and focus stars. Never once did it require more than one extra plate solve to pinpoint the location and mostly it was close enough the first time. 

Finally connected to PHD2 and used default settings. I know Roland had some suggested settings but I didn't have them handy so just rolled with it. I use an Ultrastar guide camera. Did a calibration in several different locations and always got RMS of under one arcsecond. 

Finally ran Sharpcap and did some live stacking of M53. Ran about 30 minutes with guiding and even though the sky was really washed out by moonlight every frame stacked

Parked and shut everything down. Very pleased with this first admittedly limited experience. Hope to try more tonight!

Wayne

A little more digging, and I think maybe my problem is that I had APCC and the ASCOM driver up at the same time. I only set it in ASCOM and not in APCC. Will the two programs fight over Tracking Rates? 

I couldn’t find that setting and not sure I want to disable even if I could!

You can find the setting here:
https://www.gralak.com/apdriver/help/additional_configuration_setti.htm

Because of PHD2 possibly *causing* a deadlock I do recommend making sure to uncheck "Synchronous PulseGuide calls".

-Ray Gralak
Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/software/apcc/apcc
Author of PEMPro V3: https://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Wayne Hixson via Groups.Io
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 12:05 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] PHD2 versus ASCOM driver

Had a really good night with the Mach2 under clear but moonlit skies. PHD2 ran reasonable well with default
settings, but ran into a couple issues. First, it warned me I should disable Synchronous Pulseguide in the driver, I
couldn’t find that setting and not sure I want to disable even if I could!

Second I had several times where I got a warning message that mount wasn’t responding to pulseguide
commands and I had to disconnect/reconnect to resume.


We have another clear night expected tonight before the rains return. Any suggestions on these issues
specifically or settings for PHD2 more generally?

wayne

Wayne,

Had a really good night with the Mach2 under clear but moonlit skies. PHD2 ran reasonable well with default
settings, but ran into a couple issues. First, it warned me I should disable Synchronous Pulseguide in the driver, I
couldn’t find that setting and not sure I want to disable even if I could!

Don't believe that!

One of the PHD2 devs tried to provide an example but it turned out to be a faulty test. If PHD2 or any other application is using multithreaded operations the process has to be carefully coded to send the commands on the same thread. .Net framework applications automatically do that under the hood, but non-.Net applications, like PHD2 and CDC, do not. Those applications need special synchronization logic to prevent possible deadlocks. Unless they made that change PHD2 can cause a deadlock in the driver. They don't seem to accept that explanation but neither they can they seem to create a deadlock when using Net ASCOM client applications.

-Ray Gralak
Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/software/apcc/apcc
Author of PEMPro V3: https://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Wayne Hixson via Groups.Io
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 12:05 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] PHD2 versus ASCOM driver

Had a really good night with the Mach2 under clear but moonlit skies. PHD2 ran reasonable well with default
settings, but ran into a couple issues. First, it warned me I should disable Synchronous Pulseguide in the driver, I
couldn’t find that setting and not sure I want to disable even if I could!

Second I had several times where I got a warning message that mount wasn’t responding to pulseguide
commands and I had to disconnect/reconnect to resume.


We have another clear night expected tonight before the rains return. Any suggestions on these issues
specifically or settings for PHD2 more generally?

wayne

Hi Mikko,

I have never calibrated the mount to any start or object but always used the SG Pro
and it's platesolve (with which I have had issues lately and which made me look closer to what's going on with the

If in SGPro you plate solved and synched, that is in fact recalibrating (RCAL).

-Ray Gralak
Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm?products/accessories/software/apcc/apcc
Author of PEMPro V3: https://www.ccdware.com
Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Mikko Viljamaa
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2020 8:54 AM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Mach1 Unable to Find Home Position Suddenly

Ray,

The clutches are tight as I have manually rotated the axes to re-park it correctly. No changes there from the day 1
when I received the mount. I have never calibrated the mount to any start or object but always used the SG Pro
and it's platesolve (with which I have had issues lately and which made me look closer to what's going on with the
mount itself). So to clarify (sorry if I'm repeating myself), today when I get home, I'll adjust manually - clutches
engaged and power off - the mount so it's parked to position 3. Then turn the power on and slew the mount using
the AP V2 and then park it again and see if it returns correctly to home position. If It doesn't I'll uninstall the AP V2
and reinstall it, making sure that the time / date are correct. If you can think of something else I can try, please let
me know.


- Mikko

Ok will do - thanks!

--

Had a really good night with the Mach2 under clear but moonlit skies. PHD2 ran reasonable well with default settings, but  ran into a couple issues. First, it warned me I should disable Synchronous Pulseguide in the driver, I couldn’t find that setting and not sure I want to disable even if I could!

Second I had several times where I got a warning message that mount wasn’t responding to pulseguide commands and I had to disconnect/reconnect to resume.

We have another clear night expected tonight before the rains return. Any suggestions on these issues specifically or settings for PHD2 more generally?

wayne 

I was trying to do some EAA on the moon over the weekend with my Mach1, and I found that anytime I clicked the Lunar Tracking button in the ASCOM driver, it would reset back to Sidereal after a few seconds. 

Custom rate did work correctly.

My procedure this night:
1. Polar align via Sharpcap
2. Use SGP to solve and sync
3. GoTo RA/Dec of moon in APCC
4. APJog to nudge moon into center of frame
5. Press Lunar Tracking button in ASCOM driver

After a couple of seconds, the ASCOM driver would set back to Sidereal with no errors reported.