Hi Dick, I'm not sure that an old 10" LX200 OTA is the correct scope to start with for astrophotography. Its focal length is too long for a beginner even with a focal reducer. It also has mirror

Jerry Lodriguss website has useful info online as well as the books that he has written http://www.astropix.com/ Bryan

thanks, charles, for the advice. i'm a "re"-new watcher, so i appreciate all new comments. dick fast atlin

As a rookie I found Trevor Jones of Canada own Astrobackyard to be a great source of grounded reason. His transition from DSLR to CCD to CMOS is well chronicled in his videos. Might be too simplistic

Dick, there is a choice you will have to make up front on cameras. Either one shot color like the ZWO ASI294MC Pro or monochrome with red, green and blue filters like the ASI1600MM. These are the only

Thank you very much for the precision Karen! Sébastien

Dick, get ready for the deluge of advice! LOL! This is THE list for getting help with premium gear. I'm pretty certain that an AP1100GTO would be more than adequate for the 12" LX200 OTA. You can get

i'm an old guy who, after 25 years absence, (now at N 59.5 degrees) wants to watch the sky again. can you help me find a book/course/tutorial that would update me on modern amateur astrophotography? i

Ray, I did an experiment to understand the source of issue. When I run APCC and nothing else, including not having the ASCOM V2 I immediately get the -15.04056 vs the 4.48 in Tracking Correction. I

The APCC tracking rate does not match the RA rate on the bottom (see screenshot below). Something may have set an offset rate close to 1x sidereal in the ASCOM driver, which shows as a negative

I did a 25 point Point Model Solve as I just purchased software (just got the software and doing a small model first). I was able to get Pointing to work effectively but the tracking is not working.

Thanks Roland, I was able to record a curve for the 1100 and Mach1 Saturday night. I should be able to test them with PhD2 the next time we get another clear night. They are rare in Tennessee this

With the AP mounts, yes absolutely you can run PEM while guiding. There is no conflict whatsoever and it will make guiding better. Rolando

OK, after pulling the imaging computer out and looking at the PHD2 settings I see that under the Algorithms/Mount Guide Algorithms/Right Ascension settings I am not using Predictive PEC. -- Dean

I’m confused now. What are you guys talking about? I guide my mount with PHD2 and with the mount’s on board PEC/PEM turned on. -- Dean Jacobsen http://astrophoto.net/wp/ Image Gallery -

Bryan, You wrote: Yes, the PPEC algorithm is in PHD2, so I consider it a "PHD2 algorithm". Understood! I was just pointing out that using that PHD2 algorithm should not provide any benefit over

Ray You wrote "I would not rely on the PHD2 algorithm for most AP mounts. It will not be able to accurately predict any residual periodic error that could already be taken out by AP's PEC mechanism.

Hi Bryan, I would not rely on the PHD2 algorithm for most AP mounts. It will not be able to accurately predict any residual periodic error that could already be taken out by AP's PEC mechanism. It

Charles See Slide 14 in Best Practices for PHD2 Also. from the Help file discussing the PPEC algorithm in PHD2 (note that PPEC guiding algorithm is NOT the same as PEC in the mount) ·Short-term: for

Thanks Mike..... Good advice on the re-mesh of the gears. Thanks for all your comments. I will be at my remote site ( about 120 miles away in the Bradshaw Mountains ) in 2 weeks. I will give you an