Date
1 - 20 of 27
Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights
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Ray Gralak
Not sure whether or not I should post the resolution back here, but Roland was able to help me out, and it works greatThat's great to hear! BTW, it would be nice to also post on CN that the issue has been resolved. -Ray Gralak Author of PEMPro Author of APCC (Astro-Physics Command Center): https://www.astro-physics.com/apcc-pro Author of Astro-Physics V2 ASCOM Driver: https://www.siriusimaging.com/apdriver -----Original Message----- |
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deonb
Not sure whether or not I should post the resolution back here, but Roland was able to help me out, and it works great now without any oscillation.
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Roland sets up something similar during the indoor final testing phase for each Mach2GTO. It is a bit of a chore, but has deepened his understanding of this mount.
Clear Skies,
Marj Christen Astro-Physics, Inc 11250 Forest Hills Rd Machesney Park, IL 61115 Phone: 815-282-1513 Fax: 815-282-9847 www.astro-physics.com
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io]
On Behalf Of Don Anderson via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2020 11:45 PM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights
Wow! Just setting it up must have been quite a chore. I suppose you have to wash dishes for a week after taking this picture. Merry Christmas to you and Marg and the rest of the crew at AP. Regards
Don Anderson
On Thursday, December 24, 2020, 05:04:19 p.m. MST, Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...> wrote:
Well, I couldn't resist. Here's a pix of the setup with the caveat of WHAT NOT TO DO!
It's a 155EDF on top of a 160EDF, each has CCD cameras and Quad TCC hand grenades. The two scopes weigh ... I don't really know. The goodie bag on the end of the
counterweight shaft holds another 10lb weight because I ran out of shaft length. Total cwt = 3x 14lb plus 5x 10lb plus 1x 5lb. (yes it tracks and slews just fine, but a bit boingy if you bang on it).
Do Not try this at home upon pain of death from Marj!!! (my death mostly)
Rolando
-----Original Message----- Marj has forbidden me from taking a pix of this setup! Upon pain of death and worse.
Rolando
-----Original Message----- On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 12:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote: Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone.
Just to make sure that these kinds of loads work in a stable and accurate manner (and because I like to do crazy stuff)
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Roland Christen
Ok, we'll get back to you and take a look at your mount.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: deonb <deonb@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 9:39 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights Thanks Roland,
I sent the mount info in email. The direction of oscillation is RA. -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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Wow! Just setting it up must have been quite a chore. I suppose you have to wash dishes for a week after taking this picture. Merry Christmas to you and Marg and the rest of the crew at AP. Regards Don Anderson
On Thursday, December 24, 2020, 05:04:19 p.m. MST, Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...> wrote:
Well, I couldn't resist. Here's a pix of the setup with the caveat of WHAT NOT TO DO!
It's a 155EDF on top of a 160EDF, each has CCD cameras and Quad TCC hand grenades. The two scopes weigh ... I don't really know. The goodie bag on the end of the counterweight shaft holds another 10lb weight because I ran out of shaft length. Total cwt = 3x 14lb plus 5x 10lb plus 1x 5lb. (yes it tracks and slews just fine, but a bit boingy if you bang on it).
I set this up to test the QuadTCC with the 155EDF scope for a customer request, but didn't want to disturb my 160 setup which I am using for a winter imaging project. Do Not try this at home upon pain of death from Marj!!! (my death mostly)
 Rolando
 -----Original Message-----
From: chris1011@... To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:33 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights Marj has forbidden me from taking a pix of this setup! Upon pain of death and worse.
 Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Marcelo Figueroa via groups.io <marfig1970@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:30 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 12:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote:
Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone. Just to make sure that these kinds of loads work in a stable and accurate manner (and because I like to do crazy stuff) We want a picture of that! :D -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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deonb
Thanks Roland,
I sent the mount info in email. The direction of oscillation is RA. |
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Roland Christen
oops, I see you have VP02-08 already.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 7:58 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights So a couple of things would be good to know:
1) the serial number of the mount
2) the direction of the oscillation (most likely RA I'm guessing)
You can send this to my e-mail direct and we can go from there: chris1011@...
I'll be leaving for Christmas eve dinner in a few minutes, and tomorrow we are not here, but I will get back to you first thing Monday. We'll get it sorted out. Probably a simple setting and also you may want to load the latest version P02-08 into the CP5.
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics Inc.
-----Original Message-----
From: deonb <deonb@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 7:10 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 08:20 AM, Roland Christen wrote:
I'm the dope who originally posted this on CN :). I wasn't specifically posting it as a problem. It was more like a "hey cool, this mount can track for 10 minutes at 2800mm without guiding!", and "here's what I did" post. I loaded more counterweights than the specs of the mount originally so I didn't think there was anything to fix. I do now... It seems that there is a some positions that if I slew my mount there, it goes into an infinite "oscillation" mode. I can physically see the scope move back-and-forth a few millimeters about once a second, and it will keep doing that even if I stop tracking completely. It stops though if I park the mount in that position. I'm running directly through the ASCOM driver v5.30.10 connecting via USB. (I'm still learning APCC). The mount firmware is VCP5-P02-08. The encoder firmware is A02-08. -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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Roland Christen
So a couple of things would be good to know:
1) the serial number of the mount
2) the direction of the oscillation (most likely RA I'm guessing)
You can send this to my e-mail direct and we can go from there: chris1011@...
I'll be leaving for Christmas eve dinner in a few minutes, and tomorrow we are not here, but I will get back to you first thing Monday. We'll get it sorted out. Probably a simple setting and also you may want to load the latest version P02-08 into the CP5.
Roland Christen
Astro-Physics Inc.
-----Original Message-----
From: deonb <deonb@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 7:10 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 08:20 AM, Roland Christen wrote:
I'm the dope who originally posted this on CN :). I wasn't specifically posting it as a problem. It was more like a "hey cool, this mount can track for 10 minutes at 2800mm without guiding!", and "here's what I did" post. I loaded more counterweights than the specs of the mount originally so I didn't think there was anything to fix. I do now... It seems that there is a some positions that if I slew my mount there, it goes into an infinite "oscillation" mode. I can physically see the scope move back-and-forth a few millimeters about once a second, and it will keep doing that even if I stop tracking completely. It stops though if I park the mount in that position. I'm running directly through the ASCOM driver v5.30.10 connecting via USB. (I'm still learning APCC). The mount firmware is VCP5-P02-08. The encoder firmware is A02-08. -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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deonb
On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 08:20 AM, Roland Christen wrote:
I'm the dope who originally posted this on CN :). I wasn't specifically posting it as a problem. It was more like a "hey cool, this mount can track for 10 minutes at 2800mm without guiding!", and "here's what I did" post. I loaded more counterweights than the specs of the mount originally so I didn't think there was anything to fix. I do now... It seems that there is a some positions that if I slew my mount there, it goes into an infinite "oscillation" mode. I can physically see the scope move back-and-forth a few millimeters about once a second, and it will keep doing that even if I stop tracking completely. It stops though if I park the mount in that position. I'm running directly through the ASCOM driver v5.30.10 connecting via USB. (I'm still learning APCC). The mount firmware is VCP5-P02-08. The encoder firmware is A02-08. |
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deonb
On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 08:20 AM, Roland Christen wrote:
I'm the dope who originally posted this on CN :). I wasn't specifically posting it as a problem. It was more like a "hey cool, this mount can track for 10 minutes at 2800mm without guiding!", and "here's what I did" post. I loaded more counterweights than the specs of the mount originally so I didn't think there was anything to fix. I do now... It seems that there is a some positions that if I slew my mount there, it goes into an infinite "oscillation" mode. I can physically see the scope move back-and-forth a few millimeters about once a second, and it will keep doing that even if I stop tracking completely. It stops though if I park the mount in that position. I'm running directly through the ASCOM driver v5.30.10 connecting via USB. (I'm still learning APCC). The mount firmware is VCP5-P02-08. The encoder firmware is A02-08. |
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Roland Christen
Strickly off-axis guiding if guiding at all. It's on the bottom camera.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Dodd <mike@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 6:10 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights > It's a 155EDF on top of a 160EDF, each has CCD cameras and Quad TCC hand grenades.
Where's the guide scope/camera on top of the 155EDF. Oh, I forgot! This
rig probably does unguided imaging! :-)
--- Mike
-- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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Cheng-Yang Tan
First I need to get my hands on an AP155 and AP160 and a Mach2 before I can try this ... just pulling your leg :)
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Thursday, December 24, 2020, 6:10 PM, Mike Dodd <mike@...> wrote:
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It's a 155EDF on top of a 160EDF, each has CCD cameras and Quad TCC hand grenades.Where's the guide scope/camera on top of the 155EDF. Oh, I forgot! This rig probably does unguided imaging! :-) --- Mike |
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Bill Long
Nice setup! I will be sure not to try this.
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Roland Christen via groups.io <chris1011@...>
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2020 4:04 PM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights Well, I couldn't resist. Here's a pix of the setup with the caveat of WHAT NOT TO DO!
It's a 155EDF on top of a 160EDF, each has CCD cameras and Quad TCC hand grenades. The two scopes weigh ... I don't really know. The goodie bag on the end of the counterweight shaft holds another 10lb weight because I ran out of shaft length.
Total cwt = 3x 14lb plus 5x 10lb plus 1x 5lb. (yes it tracks and slews just fine, but a bit boingy if you bang on it).
I set this up to test the QuadTCC with the 155EDF scope for a customer request, but didn't want to disturb my 160 setup which I am using for a winter imaging project. Do Not try this at home upon pain of death from Marj!!! (my death mostly)
Rolando
 -----Original Message-----
From: chris1011@... To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:33 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights Marj has forbidden me from taking a pix of this setup! Upon pain of death and worse.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Marcelo Figueroa via groups.io <marfig1970@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:30 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 12:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote:
Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone. Just to make sure that these kinds of loads work in a stable and accurate manner (and because I like to do crazy stuff) We want a picture of that! :D -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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Roland Christen
Well, I couldn't resist. Here's a pix of the setup with the caveat of WHAT NOT TO DO!
It's a 155EDF on top of a 160EDF, each has CCD cameras and Quad TCC hand grenades. The two scopes weigh ... I don't really know. The goodie bag on the end of the counterweight shaft holds another 10lb weight because I ran out of shaft length. Total cwt = 3x 14lb plus 5x 10lb plus 1x 5lb. (yes it tracks and slews just fine, but a bit boingy if you bang on it).
I set this up to test the QuadTCC with the 155EDF scope for a customer request, but didn't want to disturb my 160 setup which I am using for a winter imaging project. Do Not try this at home upon pain of death from Marj!!! (my death mostly)
Rolando
 -----Original Message-----
From: chris1011@... To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:33 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights Marj has forbidden me from taking a pix of this setup! Upon pain of death and worse.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Marcelo Figueroa via groups.io <marfig1970@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:30 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 12:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote:
Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone. Just to make sure that these kinds of loads work in a stable and accurate manner (and because I like to do crazy stuff) We want a picture of that! :D -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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Worsel
You should ask Marj for the refractor...you might get a deal!
Bryan |
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Roland Christen
-----Original Message-----
From: Xentex <michael@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 2:48 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 01:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote:
Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone.You shouldn't have to live like that. Let me take one of those 6" refractors off your hands and I promise to give it a Mach2 of it's own. -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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John
Well, I'll settle for a nice AP 5" refractor!! :) I don't see it under the tree, maybe next year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year John |
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On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 01:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote:
Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone.You shouldn't have to live like that. Let me take one of those 6" refractors off your hands and I promise to give it a Mach2 of it's own. |
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Roland Christen
Marj has forbidden me from taking a pix of this setup! Upon pain of death and worse.
Rolando
-----Original Message-----
From: Marcelo Figueroa via groups.io <marfig1970@...> To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2020 1:30 pm Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Interesting Mach2 Behavior on Cloudy Nights On Thu, Dec 24, 2020 at 12:32 PM, Roland Christen wrote:
Right now I have my Mach2 loaded with two 6" refractors, one on top the other, and all the heavy camera gear and counterweights galore, which is in the no-no zone. Just to make sure that these kinds of loads work in a stable and accurate manner (and because I like to do crazy stuff) We want a picture of that! :D -- Roland Christen Astro-Physics |
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