Greg,
Yes, I do use autodarks. I was tongue in cheek re hot pixel - I always make sure it is not.
I just don't have many issues at all any more - it just works, and I am happy with that. I had even been leaving it out covered (sprayed down with Ballistol once every 2 weeks to be safe).
I was even discussing with H how long this one will go - watching the PHD2 status bar, it is "silent" most of the time. The last image I made (
http://www.pbase.com/lewism/image/160890603) I watched for the entire 2 hours (OK, I let the focus shift with temp change - my fault - and yes, there is some bottom right tilt in the system) - the guiding was flawless and it issued a minor correction once every 4.5mins (seeing was unusual and fluctuating - thanks for living near a river and ocean!). The centroid graph was scaled to 0.5, and it stayed below 0.25 the entire 2 hrs. The auto settings just seem to work!
I am a complete gumby with the software - I don't even pretend to know what everything does.