432 replies to this topic

[ThatsMyCoffee]

I've used Mark Jordan's Stardeck page as well - very helpful.  Do let us know how guiding goes for you when next you're able to get out.

 

Guiding continues to elude me.  My OAG no longer seems to be in focus with the main cam and some bad seeing meant that I kept losing my guide star.  Resulting images were a mess.  Threw away 75% of the subs I took last night, but still got a very noisy low-quality image out of it.  Honestly amazed I can see anything with 14 minutes of total exposure time!!

 

One big surprise after the mount tuning:  My first alignment star was in my field of view.  I don't recall this *ever* happening before.  And nearly centred.  Wow.  I hope that continues!

 

NGC 7000

 

Edited by ThatsMyCoffee, 01 July 2019 - 02:18 PM.

[Devonshire]

If the conditions (seeing, clouds, wind, whatever...) don't cooperate, not much you can do.  Those are my 'testing' nights, if I go out at all. 

 

I'm not surprised that your mount benefited from some work.  Mine certainly did, and those Stardeck pages, while not fully applicable, were still good enough to show me what I was getting into.  A bit of thoughtful work and adjustment, and it was like night and day.

[nmk456]

If you're running the POTH hub before doing anything else, you should see correct coordinates there.  If you don't, then you have an issue.

I wasn't before, but I tried connecting the mount to POTH and APT to that. It still doesn't work. The handset will show whatever coordinates it's pointed at and will respond to a GOTO command in APT, but POTH and APT both show zero for all the coordinates.

[ThatsMyCoffee]

I wasn't before, but I tried connecting the mount to POTH and APT to that. It still doesn't work. The handset will show whatever coordinates it's pointed at and will respond to a GOTO command in APT, but POTH and APT both show zero for all the coordinates.

 

Before complicating things by using APT, try just the POTH hub by itself.  Mine did the same (showing zeroes) until I changed something.  I just don't remember what the something is.....   Don't give up!   I remember going step by step through the (horrible) instructions from the Bresser firmware upgrade.  I'd go through them again, if I were you.  Not the firmware part, just the connection instructions after that.

[nmk456]

Before complicating things by using APT, try just the POTH hub by itself.  Mine did the same (showing zeroes) until I changed something.  I just don't remember what the something is.....   Don't give up!   I remember going step by step through the (horrible) instructions from the Bresser firmware upgrade.  I'd go through them again, if I were you.  Not the firmware part, just the connection instructions after that.

Can you share a picture your POTH advanced settings? I uncheck a bunch of the options under "Scope Capabilities", and now it displays coordinates, but not the correct ones. I can't figure out which of the options to check to get the correct coordinate, but there probably is some combination that works.

[ThatsMyCoffee]

Can you share a picture your POTH advanced settings? I uncheck a bunch of the options under "Scope Capabilities", and now it displays coordinates, but not the correct ones. I can't figure out which of the options to check to get the correct coordinate, but there probably is some combination that works.

 

I'm working from memory, since I no longer use Windows.  But I think I didn't change anything in those advanced settings.  Just used the default values.  Mostly because I didn't understand them.

 

Can anybody else help?

[ThatsMyCoffee]

I've been saving from a long time now to buy a new mount and get rid of this one.  The day has finally come:  My new SkyWatcher HEQ5 with the Rowan belt drive upgrade is on the way from FLO.

 

Many thanks to those that tried to help me on this journey.  I learned a lot, despite all the frustrations.

 

I did have one final victory I'd like to share.  I managed to get rid of that annoying BEEP!  I opened the handset and cut the lead to the speaker.  I thought it might destroy the handset, but I'm at the point where I didn't care anymore...  It worked!!  Total silence.

[PatrickVt]

I did have one final victory I'd like to share.  I managed to get rid of that annoying BEEP!  I opened the handset and cut the lead to the speaker.  I thought it might destroy the handset, but I'm at the point where I didn't care anymore...  It worked!!  Total silence.

 

That beep has always annoyed me, annoyed my wife, annoyed my neighbors.  I tried covering the speaker with foam tape but there was no difference.  Just recently, I filled the hole in the speaker with Gel CA glue...  reassembled it...  let it dry overnight...  now there is only an almost inaudible beep like you hear during a hearing test.  

 

On a sidenote...  best of luck with your new HEQ5.  

 

Patrick