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LX80 RA tracking

Started by Wigleydh , Jul 03 2012 08:31 PM

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1339 replies to this topic

#376 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 02:00 AM

Post 2 of 4 GUIDING and PEC.

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#377 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 02:01 AM

Post 3 of 4 GUIDING and PEC.

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#378 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 02:02 AM

Post 4 of 4 GUIDING and PEC.

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#379 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 02:08 AM

Current Conclusion of the Meade LX80 mount.

At this point, i think we know....
The mount in Alt/AZ works well. That has not been an issue.
The mount in Polar, now with the new Meade firmware, works well. See my comments above about pointing accurracy, and holding "on target" with NO GUIDING for over an hour....

Guiding is a NO GO in Alt/AZ for the time being. Bummer ! I will continue working on that.
Guiding in Polar is very clean and works, but you must use PHD (which stands for "Push Here Dummy" -- interesting story). PHD is freeware, but i think a "Thank You" to Craig (donation) would be in order.

As to the PEC results.... I'll leave that to the techies. But i was very impressed with holding "on target" that way it did.... UNGUIDED.

OK FOLKS.... have at it! I am going to sit back and follow the commentary. Oh yes.... the data package for the PEC run is available, if needed. Send me a PM, and include your regular email address. The file is about 14KB.

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#380 jmiele

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 08:01 AM

Well, thanks for the effort David! Not a ton of cycles there so it's hard to come to any definite conclusions. I'm sure Alph will want at the data file.

Did you use the PemPro polar alignment routine? It works very well and might actually save time for you. If you make another attempt, let it run as many cycles of the worm as you can. The more data the better. At that point, maybe Ray will even take a look see and give us his thoughts.

Once again though, I applaud ALL of your efforts. Much has been uncovered and even corrected, throughout this effort.

Joe

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#381 neotesla

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 09:16 AM

Well that helps my decision to buy... now to find somewhere that has it in stock.

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#382 jmiele

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 10:10 AM

I think Highpoint has the LX80 with the 8" SCT on it in stock. Not the LX80 alone however. I'm sure someone not wanting the scope with the new paint would be able to sell it however. Joe

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#383 Alph

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 10:15 AM

Current Conclusion of the Meade LX80 mount.

Please post the logs and we will come up with conclusion. I have learned over time while watching forums that screenshots mean little to nothing

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#384 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 10:47 AM

Hi Alph...

To many liness to post the log. Send me a PM with your regular email address, and it will be on its way to you. I look forward to your review and comments.

I really don't know if it looks "good" or not... i'm leaving that to your guys to say. But the actual performace (visual and imaging) was awsome. I think i am repeating myself.... better watch that.

[Ed:] I have posted again, about 4 posts down, with the log file as an attachment....

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#385 Griffin!

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 10:54 AM

Could you copy it to a text file and attach/upload it to your post that way?

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#386 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 11:08 AM

Hi Griffin....

The log file IS a text file. Its about 14 KB in size (small... but too big to post).

[Ed:] Ahhhhh, but now i know how to add it as an attachment. See post below...

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#387 mmalik

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 11:38 AM

Here is how to attach a file in the forum... (see attachment which shows how/where to attach)

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#388 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 11:42 AM

Howdy Mmalik...

Now why did i not realize that. I attach "pictures" all the time... But the pictures show up in the post ?? Oh well, i will give it a try .... (here with this post).

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5336522-Pempro try two 07252012.txt 13.18KB 82 downloads

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#389 mmalik

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 11:46 AM

Thanks David; I see the file. I'll let PEC folks chime in.

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#390 Lee Jay

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 11:56 AM

Howdy Mmalik...

Now why did i not realize that. I attach "pictures" all the time... But the pictures show up in the post ?? Oh well, i will give it a try .... (here with this post).

Okay, I'm now lost. Was this data taken through the 6" or the 80mm? DSI-II, right? What's the focal length of the 80mm, if that was used?

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#391 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 12:14 PM

Hi Lee Jay...

The data was collected through the 6", with the DSI-II.
The 6" fl is 1524.
The plate solve data from the target image is as follows:

******** ASTROMETRIC SOLUTION RESULTS ********
Center RA: 17h 26m 39.0s
Center Dec: -05° 04' 58.8"
Scale: 1.29 arcseconds/pixel
Size (pixels): 748 x 577
Angular Size: 0° 16' 06" x 0° 12' 25"
Position Angle: 136° 34' from North
RMS: 1.37 (X: 0.68 Y: 1.19)
Number of Stars Used in Solution: 8 (100%)
FWHM: 12.18 pixels, 15.73 arcseconds

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#392 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 01:20 PM

I have been thinking about what is next in this "testing" series.

There is, of course, going to be comments on PEC. We must remember that this currently is a READ only of the basic mount, and that would be my mount. By this, i mean it is a piece of hardware, and this is its RAW condition.

And yes, i know it is not a READ (meaning reading from the table in memory). The current PEC results are a MEASUREMENT of "what is".... out of the box, and un-modified.

So what is left ??

Well, I think Andrew is working on a Patch, that would let us update the PEC table in memory. Then, by updating the PEC, we can make it better. At least, that is the theory. "Ready, Willing, and Able" Andrew... (Andrew is THE MAN !!!)

We have GUIDING under control for POLAR. And we are still working on guiding for Alt-AZ.

By the way... speaking of guiding. I posted above the plate resolve for the PEC target image. The exposure (a stack of about 7 out of 10 images) is a 30 sec exposure. I think i understand that the FWHM is a measure of guiding (or stability) accurracy for the image. Not positive on that. I do NOT know how to understand the value. Can anyone comment on that ?? AND... this is an UNGUIDED image, so the measurement would be on STABILITY, not guiding...

[Ed: (on 7-26 afternoon)] Since the sun is up, I seem to have time to browse and search. Apparently, FWHM is more a measure of "Seeing", and is affected by atmosphere, amoungst other things. Apprently, it is measuring the width of the star(s), and determining a value. My PEC target image propbably is NOT a good choice for this topic. I was NOT in EXCELLANT focus, and when contrast is opened, i have some bloated background stars. That was not an issue for PEC (i don't think). Nor for guiding. I have a 30 sec from a couple of nights ago (but in Alt/AZ), and the FWHM was 4.08 pixels and 5.88 ArcSec. And that pic WAS in EXCELLANT focus. Focus does indeed affect the visual "size" of the targets. [End of Edit...]

So..... other than "PEC updating", and "GUIDING in Alt/AZ", can anyone suggest other tests ?? I have not yet done a "Train Motors" I have been changing configurations too much for that - IMO. Andrew is suggesting otherwise, but then sometimes when i change configurations, i use the AudioStar Reset, and i am sure that would wipe it out.

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#393 Stew57

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 01:33 PM

The staying on target really doesn't tell us anything. My ETX80 with a good polar alignmant will do that. The PE figures do look promising but it will need to run for several worm periods to really get good data.

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#394 Lee Jay

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 02:20 PM

Hi Lee Jay...

...

Scale: 1.29 arcseconds/pixel

Thanks for that, David. I was about to say that's the worst PE in history, but I did my calcs on the other OTA!

I'll defer to the real analysis, but by-eye that doesn't look bad to me.

Thanks for the info.

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#395 mmalik

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 03:44 PM

I have been thinking about what is next in this "testing" series.

I would like to add testing ST-4 guiding, be it testing with cloned APM. I think few of you folks need to call Meade to have them release APM for LX-80 (a needed accessory).

Optionally, you folks could test SkySafari/SkyWire/iPad based operation/sync of LX-80, which works great with professional grade mounts. This will be a good way to test RS-232 connectivity of non-Meade accessories (pinned RS-232 interface of SkyWire to phone jack style AUX ports of LX-80). Again, quite an optional test.

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#396 brokenwave

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 07:38 PM

(I think few of you folks need to call Meade to have them release APM for LX-80 (a needed accessory).)

Probably not happening, My original reply got buried.

I was at the OPT SCAE event last weekend and spoke with the Meade Rep's there. When the LX80 guide port ship date came up, I was told it's not happening anytime soon. It seems that because of the different electronics in the LX80 and LX800 that Meade has put the LX80 guide port development on hold.
Plan on screaming really loud at Meade.

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#397 dmdouglass

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Posted 26 July 2012 - 08:19 PM

Well.... to be clear....

An ST-4 port is for guiding, in polar mode. We HAVE resolved that we CAN GUIDE with the LX80, but using PHD. The only "issue" here is that there is no ST-4 port.

To many, apparently, that is an issue. To others, not an issue. Is it a deal breaker ?? That would be a personal preferance issue.