1390 replies to this topic

[Stefan Lilge]

Thanks for the explanation Andrew. 

Actually I spent my first ten years of CCD imaging with a Meade LX200 fork mount. But I probably never slewed over larger distances by hand because I would just do a "Goto" to a target and then do some minor corrections. With the Nyx I have been slewing around by hand quite a lot in my quest to get a usable polar alignment in various regions of the sky during drift alignment...

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday Gilles

Thank you Andrew for your expertise, I'm impressed !

Nahh, this one looked pretty simple when plotted

Have attached a section of your log data showing the guiding working then failing.

The Red line shows the recorded DEC position and the black line is the DEC pulses

being sent to correct it.

What we see here is no DEC guides got sent, hence it stayed stable

as only RA corrections were needed..

As soon as the DEC needed to guide, it went off the rails.

Whenever you see the DEC pulses increasing with the error,

and the error keeps tracking with the pulses ( ie it moves the correct distance with the pulse ) ,

it is a classic sign that the DEC corrections are going the wrong way.

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

 

PS what i did note was the theoretical RA guide plot "indicates" a high RA drift

and i would not have been expecting that.

You need to grab a section of unguided data at some time to see whats really going on.

Edited by OzAndrewJ, 20 January 2023 - 04:22 PM.

[OzAndrewJ]

Gday Stefan

The difficulty with guiding logs is that I don't use PHD2 but AstroArt 8. So I am not sure if my guiding logs are of any use to most people here.

I should be able to grab data from the log without too much trouble

but it has no details re the guide pulses sent.

Is this the only log AA8 creates or is there a more comprehensive log

that this one was created from 

( as the pulse information is sometimes more useful than the reported position data )

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

[Obs30]

Thanks for the explanation Andrew. 

Actually I spent my first ten years of CCD imaging with a Meade LX200 fork mount. But I probably never slewed over larger distances by hand because I would just do a "Goto" to a target and then do some minor corrections. With the Nyx I have been slewing around by hand quite a lot in my quest to get a usable polar alignment in various regions of the sky during drift alignment...

Hallo Stefan,

 

Same here: Railing around the balcony/terrace (“Balkongeländer”) and no direct view of Polaris.

 

I have been using the “polar alignment assistant“ in KStar/EKOS. Works very well now since the recent updates. It uses plate solving and INDI-based drivers.

 

I do not have a NYX (yet). I have an Avalon M-Uno, no Meridian flip required. Thinking about the NYX-101 because of its light weight and high payload. Great thread! 

Edited by Obs30, 21 January 2023 - 03:14 AM.

[Stefan Lilge]

Gday Stefan

I should be able to grab data from the log without too much trouble

but it has no details re the guide pulses sent.

Is this the only log AA8 creates or is there a more comprehensive log

that this one was created from 

( as the pulse information is sometimes more useful than the reported position data )

 

Andrew Johansen Melbourne Australia

Andrew,

 

unfortunately this is the only log available in AstroArt. AstroArt can "talk" to  PHD2, so I'll have to try this combination too. But weather forecast is all clouds and snow for the next weeks.

Edited by Stefan Lilge, 21 January 2023 - 05:34 AM.

[PhilippeL]

To thoses who would like to use a polemaster with a nomad fashion more easily, I designed an adapter for the NYX-101:
https://cad.onshape....ad5e670ec90c3e4
 

 
You still need to cut a bit the foam in the casing though.

 

Edit: Finally I don't have to cut the foam to store it

Edited by PhilippeL, 21 January 2023 - 06:13 AM.

[astronewbster]

Hello fellow astroneers! 

 

I took delivery of the mount yesterday!  I thought I would share my experience as it has gotten cloudy and rainy since I got the mount (typical isn't it!!  lol)

 

I spent most of the evening putting it together.  After putting the mount together, I placed my gear on it and connected the usb cord to the mount from the Pegasus USB hub.  I then fired it up.  After updating the Pegasus Astro Unity program on my mini NUC, I tried connecting to the mount and couldn't.  I then ran NINA and tried connecting to the NYX101 mount per the latest instructions and couldn't see the mount listed in the drop down window.  

 

This seemed really strange to me and I re-read the NYX101 manual on the initial software setup and it stated that the Unity app installs all the Pegasus ASCOM drivers and to make sure to have the latest ASCOM platform loaded.  So I uninstalled ASCOM 6.6 platform and Pegasus Unity app.  Then I installed the latest versions of both apps I downloaded from their respective websites.  Of course it took a while for the downloads to finish but afterwards I started NINA and the dropdown list did show Pegasus Astro NYX101 mount.

 

I was able to slew to M42 in NINA.  After using NINA, I started TheSkyX and was able to control the mount with it.  I am very happy with doing the dry runs.  One thing I did noticed that some folks here have commented on the sound the mount makes while slewing.  I had mine slew at 5 degrees and it did sound like a coffee grinder.  But I've heard the same sound out of other mounts I've owned in the past and it doesn't bother me.  I did slow the mount down and it was a lot quieter in its slews.

 

One of my biggest likes about this mount is i can pick up the gear with the mount and move it.  I haven't been able to do that with the other mounts I've owned (except maybe for an AVX mount I owned).

 

One thing I wasn't able to do was do the mount firmware update since it can only be done via wifi at the moment.  I don't use Android and am hoping an Apple app will be available soon.  I also hope we will be able to do updates via usb connection sometime soon.

 

Another thing I noticed (as was noted by other posters here) was when I forced connected to the mount if I manually slewed N it was slew the opposite way first.  I had to slew N once and stop and then press N again for it to slew the correct direction.  Now if I didn't do a manual slew and used a goto selection first it would slew in the correct direction.

 

I hope to receive the m12 extension screw as I plan on using a heavier EQ6 based tripod for a larger scope in the near future.

 

I can't wait to start imaging with this mount!

 

Here are some pics of the mount and gear I am using.

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Edited by astronewbster, 22 January 2023 - 08:41 AM.

[astronewbster]

case

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[astronewbster]

mount in case

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[astronewbster]

accessories

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[astronewbster]

tripod case

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[astronewbster]

mount on tripod extension and tripod

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[astronewbster]

tripod with case

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[astronewbster]

my imaging gear with NYX101 mount.

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[astronewbster]

another view of gear and mount

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[astronewbster]

close up of gear!

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[astronewbster]

close up of NYX101 mount and tripod

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[Starlancer]

I received mine today, of course it's been cloudy here for 2 months and that's no exaggeration so who knows when I'll get it out.  I have a couple things I don't like but I'll make a post at some point about that and more.  I did manage to rig it on my AM5 tripod, it's not perfect but it works in a pinch, I will do some 3d printing to improve that mounting.  I intended this to go on my tripier but I'll worry about that once I might have a clear night.

 

Was there a firmware update pushed?  I do not have any options to upgrade and haven't really seen anything official.

 

 

**EDIT**

 

I've been tinkering and some things I've noticed. 

 

Every time the mount crosses the meridian it will stop, pause, and then continue on to the commanded location, first mount I've owned that does this, it's OK but seems a bit odd. 

 

I have yet been able to set it up in AltAz mode, I set it like shown in the manual but it seems like everything is 180 degrees off.   Also when switching between modes Unity has crashed more than once.

 

You must turn on tracking (you can then turn it off again) to be able to slew the mount, again seems a bit odd.

 

The android app seems to work ok and has a catalog (This needs to be added to the PC unity software)

 

Wifi actually seems to work well, I've had other mounts where it was difficult to setup or station mode wasn't reliable and really it's to early to say but so far it has worked well for me.

 

They firmware/software is definitely a bit buggy but it seems to do it's job and I'm sure it will improve.  I hope Pegasus either reads these forums or a bug report email would be nice since it is such a new product.  Right not software wise the AltAz is the most concerning thing, I simply can not get it to work and while I would rarely use it, it would be nice to have an AltAz mount that can move larger loads.

[Psychlist1972]

close up of NYX101 mount and tripod

Is there through-mount wiring of some sort in this? If not, where's your power coming from, and how is the PC on the front of the OTA connected to the mount USB? (I see the USB cable in the mount)

 

Pete

[astronewbster]

Pete,

 

Thanks for pointing this out!  There's not through the mount wiring, I just ran the usb and power cables under the RA axis to the front and then up to through the risers under the scope.  Then the cables hug the scope and I plugged into the powerbox and the usb hub.  Here are the pictures of the two cables running under the RA axis and up the side.  I allow enough slack for movement when scope is slewed.  From what I can tell, Pegasus Astro seems to have done a good job on the knobs and handles to keep cables from snagging.

 

A couple of posts down I show the plate the mini NUC is attached to and the brand.

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Edited by astronewbster, 22 January 2023 - 08:31 AM.

[astronewbster]

Here, the cables are running under the scope.    The second picture shows the power cable connected to the powerbox on the left and the usb cable is connected to the hub on the right.  (The blue usb cable from the mini NUC is connected to the PC on the usb hub for communication with PC.)

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Edited by astronewbster, 22 January 2023 - 09:21 AM.

[astronewbster]

Pete,

 

I use the Pegasus Astro A-Plate to mount the min NUC, the Pegasus Astro Powerbox and usb hub.  The accessories are attached to the plate with small metrics screws that I got at the local hardware store.  The plate is screwed to the scope rings.  It really allows for a lot to be attached on top!!  Here is a picture of the A-plate.

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[Psychlist1972]

Pete,

 

I use the Pegasus Astro A-Plate to mount the min NUC, the Pegasus Astro Powerbox and usb hub.  The accessories are attached to the plate with small metrics screws that I got at the local hardware store.  The plate is screwed to the scope rings.  It really allows for a lot to be attached on top!!  Here is a picture of the A-plate.

Nice. Looks like you managed to get quite a bit installed on there.

 

I'm always wary about having USB3 with too many power cables around it. But if that all works, then awesome. Looks like they left some decent room to run the cables under the moving parts as well, which is nice.

Not an Intel NUC, though, just a mini PC, right? NUC is the Intel brand. What you have looks like one of the even smaller form factor mini micro PCs.

 

Pete

[astronewbster]

Pete,

 

You're correct I have a mini pc and it's nicknamed as a "NUCbox" (still a mini pc).  The brand is GMKTec.  I believe mine uses the Celeron N5105 and has 8GB of ram with 1TB of space. It's a very small format measuring 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches.  I got mine off of Amazon for a couple of hundred dollars.   I've tested it outside with the wifi range is decent.  I can be about 100 ft from my wifi extender and have 4 bars of signal.  

 

This setup for me is so much better than using a laptop like I used to.  I can set up outside and get things dialed in and then go inside to start the imaging from remote connection.  I have been using Pegasus Astro's USB cables that come with their products and haven't had any issues to date.

 

can't wait for first imaging!!

 

Clear skies!!  (still cloudy here ugh)

[Psychlist1972]

Pete,

 

You're correct I have a mini pc and it's nicknamed as a "NUCbox" (still a mini pc).  The brand is GMKTec.  I believe mine uses the Celeron N5105 and has 8GB of ram with 1TB of space. It's a very small format measuring 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches.  I got mine off of Amazon for a couple of hundred dollars.   I've tested it outside with the wifi range is decent.  I can be about 100 ft from my wifi extender and have 4 bars of signal.  

 

This setup for me is so much better than using a laptop like I used to.  I can set up outside and get things dialed in and then go inside to start the imaging from remote connection.  I have been using Pegasus Astro's USB cables that come with their products and haven't had any issues to date.

 

can't wait for first imaging!!

 

Clear skies!!  (still cloudy here ugh)

Oh right. Thanks. I thought Intel made them stop referring to things as "NUCboxes" because that's Intel's "Next Unit of Computing" trademark, but I remember that being thrown around for a while. I also see they still say "Nucbox5" near the bottom of their listing. Maybe it was enough to change "NUC" to "Nuc". In any case, enough on random brand trivia.

 

The N5105 is a good little processor and those GMKtec boxes are so nice and tiny. I've never seen one with 1TB of drive space, but good to know they exist.

Pete