That's what I was going to say. Technically, all the points made were valid, but practically, to power an AP mount, don't over-think it! Get some 16AWG insulated stranded copper wire (14AWG for REALLY

In the "cleaning up" domain.... Back in October during the Mars opposition, a friend told me about Topaz Labs DeNoise AI that removes noise and sharpens images. <https://www.topazlabs.com/denoise-ai>

Which mount would that be? Periodic error has nothing to do with Dec, only RA. If your mount requires Dec corrections, that indicates your polar alignment should be adjusted. Dec adjustments should be

I have a PC in the observatory to keep thing simple. I have an Icron 2304 between the PC and the pier, a cable length of about 15 feet. It works great. Here are some factors to consider: * The 2304 is

Thanks, Roland; I didn't know this. --- Mike

I recommend doing that; see below. I displayed pixels, but then it occurred to me that pixels and plate scale on the guide camera have no relation to pixels and plate scale on the imaging camera, so w

Your X-axis RMS is 0.168 (pixels, I assume). At 3.21 arcsec/pixel, that's0.539 arcsec RMS error. I typically get that or slighter better with my AP-1200 and a separate guide scope/camera. With this gu

It went through, and Ray replied. I think he advised you to select the ASCOM mount in SkyX, then open the Properties dialog to find and select your 1200. --- Mike

Oops! Pressed Send too soon. Sorry. Look for a link on this page: <https://www.astro-physics.info/index.htm?products/software/ascom/ascom>

Try this: <https://www.astro-physics.com/ascom> --- Mike

Questions: 1. Does the driver say Parked or Unparked when you see these tiny movements? 2. If you manually slew the mount using the driver's buttons, then park it using the driver's Park (to Az/El) bu

For safety's sake, you could switch the 12VDC from your power supply to the mount. I assume you have a way to switch the AC to your power supply, so why not leave that alone and just switch the low-vo

I routinely use Windows Remote Desktop to control everything in my observatory (300 feet away) over an CAT5 Ethernet link. I power-up the observatory, start the PC, then log-in. The observatory's desk

I have used Sunon Maglev fans for many years with good results: <https://www.mouser.com/Sunon/Thermal-Management/Fans-Blowers/Fans/DC-Fans/MagLev/_/N-dwatb?P=1y9c0j0Z1y97tnr> --- Mike

I use the A-P ASCOM driver <https://www.astro-physics.com/ascom> on my 1200, and it works fine. Ray Gralak, the developer, is a regular on this list. The driver GUI has NSEW buttons, and you can set t

I use Power Poles to connect power to my AP1200, and they've performed perfectly for more than a year in hot and cold, with humidity up to 90%. I run power cables for cameras, focuser, rotator, anti-d

Steve.... What happens if you click the Park button in the ASCOM driver when the mount is in that situation? Does the driver flash "PARKING" and does the mount move to the specified park position? Jus

I use Dimension4 to sync my observatory PC's clock. No issues at all. I have it configured to sync when when it launches as the PC starts up, then every 30 or 60 minutes (don't remember which). Note t

#Polar_Alignment #Mach2GTO

Thanks, Tim. I read the article, and it appears that LTSB is for Windows 10 Enterprise only. I'm not sure it would apply to Professional, which is what I could use on the obs PC. I'll keep it in mind.

Thank you, Bryan. That article is very encouraging. Nice to be able to disable updates during hours of darkness. I'm a bit concerned about how long to defer updates. Often the observatory PC doesn't r