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Re: Vintage 800 Mount Serial Number

Karen Christen
 

Hi Mike,

 

Well that’s a good question!  I checked with our master mount maker Dave and he had to look at the one 800 mount we have here.  Like you, he could not find a serial number.  I checked with our most senior employee Christine and she also can find no record or hint of the 800 mounts ever having serial numbers.  You’re welcome to give yours a name instead.  😜

Karen

AP

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of M Hambrick
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2021 11:36 AM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: [ap-gto] Vintage 800 Mount Serial Number

 

Do the old 800 mounts have serial numbers ? If so where do I find it ? I have an old 800 mount that I bought in 1992 that I am thinking about selling to help pay for absolute encoders when they become available. If I sell the mount, it would be nice if I can give the buyer the serial number.

Mike


--
Karen Christen
Astro-Physics
Re: APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Andrew J
 

Hi Ray.

Thanks for the feedback. Good info on SGPro v4 allowing negative values. Also, your point about allow CW UP Slews is a good one. I think Luca made the same suggestion above. I am always reluctant to give external programs the ability to do CW Up Slews for fear of Pier Crashes. However, I guess as long as I keep the Homing Limits in place I should be OK.

Slightly off topic, but I do wish the Homing Limits were more like the meridian limits where you could specify different values for different DEC values. I use the Homing Limits as a "no fly zone", that no matter where a slew or tracking command comes from the mount will never get into a situation where a Pier Crash is emminant. Meridian Limits are great, except for the "Not Slew Limits" warning. I wish they they were slew limits as well. We could setup the limits one time when mounting a new scope and imaging train and the sleep well knowing there is no possible way for an errant slew or user error to cause the mount to slew or track into the Pier. For those of us who operate our rigs remotely, this would be a very nice feature....

Andrew J
Re: semi-OT: deterring critters in the obsy

Joseph Beyer
 

Really nice!  I live in a suburban neighborhood not far from open space on the San Francisco peninsula and we've got a variety of critters around including lots of deer.  The other night I was pulling the car into the garage and close by heard one of the neighborhood deer getting attacked by "something".  Looked in the rearview mirror and saw a young mountain lion run right in back of the car and off down the street.  When I'm out imaging at night the 8 foot fence around the yard is constantly vibrating due to animals jumping on and off in other yards.  So far worst I've had is families of raccoons and opossums come down the fence line in back of me.  I'm just waiting for the night when it's a bobcat or bigger.   
Re: semi-OT: deterring critters in the obsy

thefamily90 Phillips
 

Wow! Very nice!!

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Phillip Klein <klein.phillip@...>
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2021 12:45:50 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] semi-OT: deterring critters in the obsy
 
Hello,

Seeing the emails about critters prompted me to send the photo of the critter that strolled by last night . The image was captured on my game camera. The mountain lion is approximately 100 feet from the concrete pier of my telescope which was not in use at the time. Perhaps I need to keep a can of bear spray next to me but on the other hand if I was present the lion would likely never have walked by
My site is located on the central coast of California on the east side of the Santa Lucia Mountains.

Wishing you clear skies!

Phil

On Fri, Sep 17, 2021 at 2:19 PM Bill Long <bill@...> wrote:
For the wasps you can use decoy nests. It does not kill them, but you can basically decide where they will go. 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Joel Short <buckeyestargazer@...>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2021 1:51 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] semi-OT: deterring critters in the obsy
 
I do two things.  
1.  Twice per year (early Spring and early Fall) I spray an insecticide called Tempo SC Ultra on the outside walls and perimeter of my roll off roof obs.  This stuff works great, for other areas of the house too.
2.  I put a little bit of peppermint extract in a small spray bottle and once a month I spray the inside of the obs, especially around any cracks.

I haven't seen a spider in years in my obs; wasps are a completely different story.  Nothing deters those buggers.

joel

Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

Roland Christen
 

You have basically a permanent setup and I believe you are missing a fundamental fact about the mount CP4 controller. The fact is that the controller always knows where the mount is pointed, even after the power is removed. That assumes that you do not take the telescope off the mount and disturb the positions of the axes by loosening the clutches. Therefore, once you have established the mount's position in the sky by having it go to a known object and doing a Recal on it, then all other positions will be correct. There is never a need to go to a known park position and doing a "Resume from Park X" routine.

The absolute simplest and most foolproof way to operate your mount is to change the setting in the keypad from Autoconnect "NO" to Autoconnect "YES". This will insure that the logic in the mount servo controller is always in charge of the operation and is never fooled by human error during startup. With Autoconnect YES the mount will start automatically and will never be lost or go to wrong park positions. You can move your mount on the dolly and it will not change the mount's internal calibration - as long as you never loosen the clutches and move the axes manually.

You have a permanent setup, which is defined as having the telescope attached to the mount and never removed and not disturbing the axes by loosening the clutches. Therefore the best, easiest and most sure-fire way to start your mount is to allow the mount's controller to determine where the axes are, and not over-riding this internal knowledge by starting manually every time. Set the keypad to Autostart YES and your startup will be seamless and accurate every time. Of course you can park your mount at any of the park positions at the end of your session, even Park 1 if that's where the setup clears your roof. Autostart YES will take all that into consideration, EVEN if the mount is parked with counterweight up and past the meridian!!

IMPORTANT: as long as you never loosen the clutches and move the axes manually.

We put a lot of smarts into the CP4 controllers in order to make operation of the mount as simple as possible. You take advantage of that by setting the keypad to Autostart "YES". If you always start with Autostart "NO", then you are throwing away all the smarts that are built into the mount, and it becomes just another mediocre mount that needs a lot of babysitting to get it going every night. Does all this make sense to you?

Roland Christen
Astro-Physics Inc.

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Giannaccini <tgiann3@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Sent: Wed, Sep 22, 2021 11:42 am
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders

The mount and pier are on a motorized dolly. The dolly moves about 20-30 ft. I have not taken the setup apart yet but in the future, yes, it will be disassembled and substantially moved. 

I think updating the keypad to Park 5 and using the sequence you suggested will go a long way. 

Thank you,

Tom

On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 8:42 AM Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011=aol.com@groups.io> wrote:
Let me ask you a more fundamental question. Do you have a fixed setup where you do not remove the scope from the mount after each session?

Roland

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Giannaccini <tgiann3@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 9:32 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders

Mike,
I received an email from Roland telling me to use Park 3, 2 and 5. So I will try that. 

I think I generally only used “resume from park” on the initial startup. Initially that was Park 1, until George said to use Park 3. So, from that point forward I would resume from Park 3. 

I store the mount in Park 1 so it will fit in the shed. Perhaps I can try Park 4 or 5 to store it. I will first try resuming from Park 4 or 5 but if that doesn't work, I will just start from Park 3 by manually placing it there by hand if necessary  after slewing to Park 3.

In terms of waiting, I never timed it but I never went immediately to a target, I didn’t realize there was a time crunch. I did read the manual but I think it takes a few iterations for it to all sink in. 

What was confusing is that some Park attempts would end with the OTA in very odd positions. So it wasn’t a small margin of error as if the difference was based on movement from tracking; there were many times it wasn’t even in the ballpark. As to if the weights were pointed upwards, I did not notice them pointing up but if it was by a small amount I may not have seen it.

I am interested to try Roland’s suggestion. I think I may have to update my keypad to get Park 5. 

I try not to bog the forum with beginner questions, I only really ask when my attempted solutions don’t seem to work at all.

Thank you for your help,

Tom




On Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 6:56 PM Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote:
On 9/21/2021 8:37 PM, Thomas Giannaccini wrote:
> When I try to attain Park 4 by slewing to it then
> manually adjusting, it throws the other Park positions off.

After you manually adjust the mount in Park 4, what do you do next? Do
you "Resume From Last Parked?"

> ...when the mount is in Park 1 and slews to Park 4 which way
> is the main objective of the OTA supposed to swing? South or North?

In Park 1, the OTA is horizontal pointing north. In Park 4, the OTA is
horizontal pointing south.

The issue with Park 1, as pointed out by A-P, is that as soon as you
unpark, the mount is tracking, and after only a few seconds, it believes
the counterweight is up, which can be bad. From the keypad manual: "Park
1 is only seconds away from tracking into a counterweight-up status and
slews from Park 1 to western objects may cause the scope to point toward
the ground when beginning the slew."

How long do you wait after unparking from Park 1 before you slew to a
sky target? I usually do that immediately, as quickly as I can pick a
target. I have never had a problem unparking from Park 1 if I'm quick to
slew  to an east target. But, again, Park 4 where I level the mount and
OTA if necessary. (Actually, I will use Park 5 in the future because
that doesn't stretch my imaging cables as much as Park 4.)

--- Mike


--- Mike







--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua

--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics

--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua

--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics
Re: semi-OT: deterring critters in the obsy

Phillip Klein
 

Hello,

Seeing the emails about critters prompted me to send the photo of the critter that strolled by last night . The image was captured on my game camera. The mountain lion is approximately 100 feet from the concrete pier of my telescope which was not in use at the time. Perhaps I need to keep a can of bear spray next to me but on the other hand if I was present the lion would likely never have walked by
My site is located on the central coast of California on the east side of the Santa Lucia Mountains.

Wishing you clear skies!

Phil

On Fri, Sep 17, 2021 at 2:19 PM Bill Long <bill@...> wrote:
For the wasps you can use decoy nests. It does not kill them, but you can basically decide where they will go. 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Joel Short <buckeyestargazer@...>
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2021 1:51 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] semi-OT: deterring critters in the obsy
 
I do two things.  
1.  Twice per year (early Spring and early Fall) I spray an insecticide called Tempo SC Ultra on the outside walls and perimeter of my roll off roof obs.  This stuff works great, for other areas of the house too.
2.  I put a little bit of peppermint extract in a small spray bottle and once a month I spray the inside of the obs, especially around any cracks.

I haven't seen a spider in years in my obs; wasps are a completely different story.  Nothing deters those buggers.

joel

Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

Thomas Giannaccini
 

You know….I thought about being more accurate with my description….hahaha

Tom 

On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 8:02 AM Jerry Floyd <jlfloyd720@...> wrote:
Of course you can't "achieve" all the Park positions (1-4) simultaneously. You can only put a mount in one park position at a time.  Otherwise the mount would need to be in 4 places at once, which would violate Einstein's laws of relativity.


--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua
Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

Thomas Giannaccini
 

The mount and pier are on a motorized dolly. The dolly moves about 20-30 ft. I have not taken the setup apart yet but in the future, yes, it will be disassembled and substantially moved. 

I think updating the keypad to Park 5 and using the sequence you suggested will go a long way. 

Thank you,

Tom

On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 8:42 AM Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011=aol.com@groups.io> wrote:
Let me ask you a more fundamental question. Do you have a fixed setup where you do not remove the scope from the mount after each session?

Roland

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Giannaccini <tgiann3@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 9:32 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders

Mike,
I received an email from Roland telling me to use Park 3, 2 and 5. So I will try that. 

I think I generally only used “resume from park” on the initial startup. Initially that was Park 1, until George said to use Park 3. So, from that point forward I would resume from Park 3. 

I store the mount in Park 1 so it will fit in the shed. Perhaps I can try Park 4 or 5 to store it. I will first try resuming from Park 4 or 5 but if that doesn't work, I will just start from Park 3 by manually placing it there by hand if necessary  after slewing to Park 3.

In terms of waiting, I never timed it but I never went immediately to a target, I didn’t realize there was a time crunch. I did read the manual but I think it takes a few iterations for it to all sink in. 

What was confusing is that some Park attempts would end with the OTA in very odd positions. So it wasn’t a small margin of error as if the difference was based on movement from tracking; there were many times it wasn’t even in the ballpark. As to if the weights were pointed upwards, I did not notice them pointing up but if it was by a small amount I may not have seen it.

I am interested to try Roland’s suggestion. I think I may have to update my keypad to get Park 5. 

I try not to bog the forum with beginner questions, I only really ask when my attempted solutions don’t seem to work at all.

Thank you for your help,

Tom




On Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 6:56 PM Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote:
On 9/21/2021 8:37 PM, Thomas Giannaccini wrote:
> When I try to attain Park 4 by slewing to it then
> manually adjusting, it throws the other Park positions off.

After you manually adjust the mount in Park 4, what do you do next? Do
you "Resume From Last Parked?"

> ...when the mount is in Park 1 and slews to Park 4 which way
> is the main objective of the OTA supposed to swing? South or North?

In Park 1, the OTA is horizontal pointing north. In Park 4, the OTA is
horizontal pointing south.

The issue with Park 1, as pointed out by A-P, is that as soon as you
unpark, the mount is tracking, and after only a few seconds, it believes
the counterweight is up, which can be bad. From the keypad manual: "Park
1 is only seconds away from tracking into a counterweight-up status and
slews from Park 1 to western objects may cause the scope to point toward
the ground when beginning the slew."

How long do you wait after unparking from Park 1 before you slew to a
sky target? I usually do that immediately, as quickly as I can pick a
target. I have never had a problem unparking from Park 1 if I'm quick to
slew  to an east target. But, again, Park 4 where I level the mount and
OTA if necessary. (Actually, I will use Park 5 in the future because
that doesn't stretch my imaging cables as much as Park 4.)

--- Mike


--- Mike







--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua

--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics


--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua
Vintage 800 Mount Serial Number

M Hambrick
 

Do the old 800 mounts have serial numbers ? If so where do I find it ? I have an old 800 mount that I bought in 1992 that I am thinking about selling to help pay for absolute encoders when they become available. If I sell the mount, it would be nice if I can give the buyer the serial number.

Mike
Re: APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Ray Gralak
 

Hi Andrew,

Negative values will work if you are using SGPro V4, or an up-to-date SGPro V3.

BTW, I noticed your screenshot has meridian limits off and counterweight up slews to West unchecked. You should enable both, and consider unchecking "Limit to meridian" as that might not allow the flip offset to be set appropriately at times.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io] On Behalf Of Andrew J
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2021 7:37 AM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Update: I just realize that my SGP screeenshot show Minutes Past Meridian to Flip is set to 5, which conflict
with the Homing Limit of 2.0 Mins from Meridian. SGP use to be set to 0 Mins Past Meridian to Flip. Not sure
how this got changed. Normally I set to zero. I would use a negative number, but my understanding is that
negative values don't work.

Andrew
Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

Roland Christen
 

Let me ask you a more fundamental question. Do you have a fixed setup where you do not remove the scope from the mount after each session?

Roland

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Giannaccini <tgiann3@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 9:32 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders

Mike,
I received an email from Roland telling me to use Park 3, 2 and 5. So I will try that. 

I think I generally only used “resume from park” on the initial startup. Initially that was Park 1, until George said to use Park 3. So, from that point forward I would resume from Park 3. 

I store the mount in Park 1 so it will fit in the shed. Perhaps I can try Park 4 or 5 to store it. I will first try resuming from Park 4 or 5 but if that doesn't work, I will just start from Park 3 by manually placing it there by hand if necessary  after slewing to Park 3.

In terms of waiting, I never timed it but I never went immediately to a target, I didn’t realize there was a time crunch. I did read the manual but I think it takes a few iterations for it to all sink in. 

What was confusing is that some Park attempts would end with the OTA in very odd positions. So it wasn’t a small margin of error as if the difference was based on movement from tracking; there were many times it wasn’t even in the ballpark. As to if the weights were pointed upwards, I did not notice them pointing up but if it was by a small amount I may not have seen it.

I am interested to try Roland’s suggestion. I think I may have to update my keypad to get Park 5. 

I try not to bog the forum with beginner questions, I only really ask when my attempted solutions don’t seem to work at all.

Thank you for your help,

Tom




On Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 6:56 PM Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote:
On 9/21/2021 8:37 PM, Thomas Giannaccini wrote:
> When I try to attain Park 4 by slewing to it then
> manually adjusting, it throws the other Park positions off.

After you manually adjust the mount in Park 4, what do you do next? Do
you "Resume From Last Parked?"

> ...when the mount is in Park 1 and slews to Park 4 which way
> is the main objective of the OTA supposed to swing? South or North?

In Park 1, the OTA is horizontal pointing north. In Park 4, the OTA is
horizontal pointing south.

The issue with Park 1, as pointed out by A-P, is that as soon as you
unpark, the mount is tracking, and after only a few seconds, it believes
the counterweight is up, which can be bad. From the keypad manual: "Park
1 is only seconds away from tracking into a counterweight-up status and
slews from Park 1 to western objects may cause the scope to point toward
the ground when beginning the slew."

How long do you wait after unparking from Park 1 before you slew to a
sky target? I usually do that immediately, as quickly as I can pick a
target. I have never had a problem unparking from Park 1 if I'm quick to
slew  to an east target. But, again, Park 4 where I level the mount and
OTA if necessary. (Actually, I will use Park 5 in the future because
that doesn't stretch my imaging cables as much as Park 4.)

--- Mike


--- Mike







--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua

--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics
Re: APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Andrew J
 

Update: I just realize that my SGP screeenshot show Minutes Past Meridian to Flip is set to 5, which conflict with the Homing Limit of 2.0 Mins from Meridian. SGP use to be set to 0 Mins Past Meridian to Flip. Not sure how this got changed. Normally I set to zero. I would use a negative number, but my understanding is that negative values don't work. 

Andrew
Re: APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Andrew J
 

Hi. 

I am following this topic with great interest. I have also had issues with consistent Pier Flips when using SGP with APCC with my Mach1 and a TEC140. In my previous setup, I had very narrow window to do the Pier Flip because with my old Pier I was barely able to go past the meridian without risking a Pier crash. Basically, I needed to do the flip as close to the meridian as possible.

 

These are the Meridian settings I have used previously with the Mach1.

 

 


I also use Homing Limits to help guard against accidental Pier crashes.

 

 

These are my settings Meridian Flip settings in SGP:

 

 


I plan on setting up APCC and SGP this weekend for my new GTO1100 on an ATS Pier. The new Pier should give me a little more time past the meridian as the new Pier does not have the wide “birds nest” design that limited how close the pier I could get before risking a collision. That said, I would welcome feedback on the best settings to use when setting up a new mount for SGP. I looked in the help document for APCC, but did not find anything that discussed how to setup APCC for SGP. I would be very interested to see what settings others are using to get Pier Flips to work consistently. I hope to continue to be able to use the Homing Limits to prevent pier crashes, but not sure if that will be possible.

 

 Andrew J

 

 

 
Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

Jerry Floyd
 

Of course you can't "achieve" all the Park positions (1-4) simultaneously. You can only put a mount in one park position at a time.  Otherwise the mount would need to be in 4 places at once, which would violate Einstein's laws of relativity.
Re: APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Patrick Sparkman
 

Thanks Luca.  I have tried the #1 and #2 approach and still have had issues.  But I think the key difference is using the Telescope Sync Behavior setting Sync.  I have been using Target Offset and I think that is why I have inconsistent behavior.  Depending on the error, I might have a situation where the error causes the slew command to still be within the West Pier limits and cause the aborted slew.  So I will go to Sync and option 2) to take advantage of the fact that I will need to do far less pier flips that way.  
Re: [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

George
 

Bill,

 

<G>   Thank you!    …located on Velveeta Estates!   <G>

 

Regards,

 

George

 

George Whitney

Astro-Physics, Inc.

Phone:  815-222-6538 (direct line)

Phone:  815-282-1513 (office)

Email:  george@...

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of Bill Long
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 6:43 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

George, that's simply amazing naming sir. Bravo!! 😂

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 4:38 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

Some nebulae are probably made from Velveeta cheese. Our George has named his observatory Velveeta Valley observatory since it's right in the middle of Northern Illinois cow country, complete with the smells.

 

Rolando

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Long <bill@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 6:21 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

I get what you mean, but its still pretty good. 🙂 

 

Some of the images I look at in my submission queue on Astrobin are wickedly over-processed and start to look more like colored Velvetta cheese than nebula. 

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 4:16 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

Not if you're pixel peeping  ;^)'

 

Rolando

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Long <bill@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 5:48 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

Good looking image to me as well!

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of thefamily90 Phillips <thefamily90@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 3:46 PM
To: main@ap-ug.groups.io <main@ap-ug.groups.io>; Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>; main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

Looks Great to me!

 

JimP

From: main@ap-ug.groups.io <main@ap-ug.groups.io> on behalf of ROBERT WYNNE <robert-wynne@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 6:39:47 PM
To: main@ap-ug.groups.io <main@ap-ug.groups.io>; Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>; main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

This revision reveals many more stars in the void. -Best, Robert

On 09/21/2021 3:26 PM Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...> wrote:

 

 

Also known as the Elephant Trunk

 

 

This is the last object that I will be imaging with the 10" F6.3 Astrograph. Although the detail came out quite well, the stars were messed up by Topaz de-noise program. I may re-process this object at some point because the stars really were perfect in the original frames, but the lack of 20 to 40 hours of OIII and SII made it necessary to de-noise them.

 

My next scope will be a 70 lb 12" Astrograph system which will go on the Mach2 for more torture. I'm confident that the mount will handle it just fine.

 

Rolando


--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics


--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics

Re: [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

George
 

Bill,

 

<G>   Thank you!    …located on Velveeta Estates!   <G>

 

Regards,

 

George

 

George Whitney

Astro-Physics, Inc.

Phone:  815-222-6538 (direct line)

Phone:  815-282-1513 (office)

Email:  george@...

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> On Behalf Of Bill Long
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 6:43 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

George, that's simply amazing naming sir. Bravo!! 😂

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 4:38 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

Some nebulae are probably made from Velveeta cheese. Our George has named his observatory Velveeta Valley observatory since it's right in the middle of Northern Illinois cow country, complete with the smells.

 

Rolando

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Long <bill@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 6:21 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

I get what you mean, but its still pretty good. 🙂 

 

Some of the images I look at in my submission queue on Astrobin are wickedly over-processed and start to look more like colored Velvetta cheese than nebula. 

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 4:16 PM
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

Not if you're pixel peeping  ;^)'

 

Rolando

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Long <bill@...>
To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Sent: Tue, Sep 21, 2021 5:48 pm
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

Good looking image to me as well!

 

From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of thefamily90 Phillips <thefamily90@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 3:46 PM
To: main@ap-ug.groups.io <main@ap-ug.groups.io>; Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>; main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

Looks Great to me!

 

JimP

From: main@ap-ug.groups.io <main@ap-ug.groups.io> on behalf of ROBERT WYNNE <robert-wynne@...>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 6:39:47 PM
To: main@ap-ug.groups.io <main@ap-ug.groups.io>; Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>; main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [ap-ug] IC1396 Garnet Star Nebula in Hubble Palette

 

This revision reveals many more stars in the void. -Best, Robert

On 09/21/2021 3:26 PM Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...> wrote:

 

 

Also known as the Elephant Trunk

 

 

This is the last object that I will be imaging with the 10" F6.3 Astrograph. Although the detail came out quite well, the stars were messed up by Topaz de-noise program. I may re-process this object at some point because the stars really were perfect in the original frames, but the lack of 20 to 40 hours of OIII and SII made it necessary to de-noise them.

 

My next scope will be a 70 lb 12" Astrograph system which will go on the Mach2 for more torture. I'm confident that the mount will handle it just fine.

 

Rolando


--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics


--
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics

Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

Thomas Giannaccini
 

Thank you Mike

On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 6:58 AM M Hambrick <mhambrick563@...> wrote:
Here is a picture of the alignment marks on the 1100 mount. This mount was purchased in February, 2017.

FYI, those "setting circle" marks were done by hand. The mount did not come with them.

As for the availability of Park 5, I am anxiously waiting for the new keypad software version 4.19.5 to become available to those of us with GTOCP4 and older control boxes.

Mike

 


--
CN: HasAnyoneSeenMyNeblua
Re: #Keypad Park Positions: AP 1100 GTO with encoders #Keypad

M Hambrick
 

Here is a picture of the alignment marks on the 1100 mount. This mount was purchased in February, 2017.

FYI, those "setting circle" marks were done by hand. The mount did not come with them.

As for the availability of Park 5, I am anxiously waiting for the new keypad software version 4.19.5 to become available to those of us with GTOCP4 and older control boxes.

Mike

 

Re: APCC with SGP Pier Flip Failure #APCC

Luca Marinelli
 

On Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 11:00 PM, <psparkman@...> wrote:
Luca Marinelli,

How do you set your Telescope Sync Behavior in SGP?  I am using Target Offset.
I set Telescope Sync behavior to Sync, which is translated to Recal by APCC. Ray can comment further but I believe this should be ok also when running an APPM model. It just tells the mount where it actually is, regardless of any assumptions, and the model should rotate if necessary to take into account the actual position of the mount.

I ran a couple of experiments and found something else that may be causing your meridian flip failure. You need to check the West Limits checkbox or the meridian flip will happen at the actual meridian, regardless of whether Limit to Meridian is checked. Given your meridian limits, I would set up the flip in one of two ways:

1) SGP handles the meridian delay and APCC only handles safety: Set Minutes Past Meridian to Flip in SGP at least 5 minutes to ensure that the mount is definitely CW up when the flip procedure starts. In APCC, uncheck send limits with offset to SGP.

2) APCC handles meridian delay and safety, SGP requests the flip at the time set by APCC: Minutes Past Meridian to Flip is irrelevant and overridden by APCC, make sure Limit to Meridian is unchecked, West Limits and Send Limit with offset to SGP are both checked. Set Flip Offset to 15 minutes (or 5 min + longest exposure in your sequence).

I prefer approach 2) but both should work. If you connect the mount and play with the settings in APCC you will see how the Scope flip time in SGP changes in real time.

Luca
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