For me, good guiding looks like an RMS guide error of 0.5 arcsec or less. The attached screen shot of Maxim's autoguider error graph from four years ago shows an exceptionally good run, but typically

No, they're not necessary. You can point your scope at a target with the GTO hand box, then start taking images. I've done that myself. But i've moved on to computerized imaging. I have no experience

Hi, Mike. I don't have aPCC, but I do use Maxim for imaging and guiding, as well as ACP for automation software. To give myself greater flexibility for what apps connect and when, I first launch the A

I believe the 1200 has a "park anywhere" feature that will remember its last pointing position when power is restored. IOW, you can simply turn off the power. Check the user manual; I think there's so

Oh, absolutely! The mount draws only a few amps maximum, and that when slewing at high speed. I think #18 is file all the way, given the equipment you show connected to the D-block. #18 copper wire ha

At the risk of incurring the wrath of the purists, I'll mention something I did a while back when I thought my ASI1600 camera was tilted slightly (no OAG, no tilt plate). I have a 3D printer, so I des

Maybe this will help a bit.... I have a 1200, and used an SPA to mount it to a concrete pier. The second and third photos on this page <http://astronomy.mdodd.com/observatory.html#Pier> show it. Befor

I'm rethinking, too. I have really nice images of the three parts of the Veil Nebula with 13 to 24 hours total exposure on each part. I would like to do a large mosaic of the entire Cygnus loop, but h

I think I dragged the red curve up a bit too much, although the nebulosity _is_ largely red. Attached is one of the 3-minute subs I got on the same night. Calibration and HDR processing in Pixinsight,

I'll throw my hat into the ring with this full frame from my ASI-1600MC Pro one-shot color camera on a TMB-130SS OTA mounted on an AP1200. Six guided 30-second subs processed in PixInsight. I ran the

I don't understand your reasoning, Roland. The dynamic range of the sensor is determined by the number of bits in the A/D converter. Let's assume it's 14 bits -- that is 16,384 discrete signal levels.

Sorry, I goofed. You are correct, Park 1 has the OTA horizontal pointing north. Sorry. --- Mike

#Keypad

Why do you want to uninstall the driver? Just install the new driver, and all will be well. I have NEVER uninstalled an AP ASCOM driver. --- Mike

On 1/29/2023 3:33 PM, Christopher M wrote: want a park position that can be accurately leveled, we recommend Park 5" > Is Park 4 as accurate a starting point as Park 5? I assume it is. Most likely. Pa

#Keypad

You don't have the Enable King Rate box checked. --- Mike

On 1/24/2023 11:21 AM, Newbee132 wrote: Larry, I tried to send you an email off-list, but it bounced. Will you please contact me at mike@...? --- Mike Mike Dodd Louisa County, Virginia USA http:

Sorry, Steve; I'm swamped for the next month, and my pathetic rural Internet probably would take that long to download your files. Besides, I'm not a Pixinsight expert, so your best bet might be to ch

Yes; I forgot the complete name. :-) I have used that before on I hope you get some more clear skies. I'd love to see that long tail come into its own. I was blown away when Curves in Photoshop brough

There is a LOT of hidden data in that image. I opened the comet-tiny.jpg image in Photoshop and made a large Curves adjustment followed by raising the black point a bit in Levels, just to show the lon

My suggestion: Try more integration time. I think it would reveal more of the tail. In terms of the bright coma, why not try High Dynamic Range (HDR) in PixInsight? I've found that to do a good job on