PHD2 guiding

[TrevorW]

Suddenly while using PHD2 in conjunction with NINA every time I start a new guiding session PHD2 is requiring a new calibration (even though the auto restore calibration box is checked) get a huge spike in RA before the message pops up to recalibrate. I had it working OK for some time with the same calibration data, now its playing up on me. Any clues thanks

[The_bluester (Paul)]

New session or new target?

I assume you have a direct connection to the mount via ASCOM rather than using ST4 guiding (Fixed my typo there regards ST4 versus pulse guiding) and/or a "Secondary" mount connection used with ST4 guiding? If it is not connecting to the mount to get position information PHD2 would need calibration on any target change.

[Startrek (Martin)]

As Paul mentioned , use Ascom pulse guiding direct to mount ( not ST4 via camera to mount )

Try this ……..
Open PHD2 by itself ( not through NINA )
Run a new calibration near Dec =0 ( near celestial equator and north meridian)
Save calibration ( Auto restore calibration in Brain tab )
Pick an object in the east up at say 40 to 60 degrees
Guide on that object autonomously with PHD2 for 5mins
If guiding is good , return mount to home or park position, shut down mount
Restart mount and launch PHD2 through NINA as normal
Find same object in east and guide on it , if guiding has issues, NINA is your problem
If guiding is problematic using PHD2 by itself without NINA
Delete existing profile and create a new profile using the Wizard. The Wizard is the best method of setting up PHD2 and ensures you don’t miss or skip procedures , foul up on focal lengths of guide camera and miss Dark libraries etc….
Good Luck

Martin

[The_bluester (Paul)]

Another question would be to ensure that you have not changed the guide rate of the mount, if you are using ASCOM pulse guiding, and you change the guide rate of the mount then PHD2 will throw an error that the guide rate has changed and to either put it back to what it was or re-calibrate.

[TrevorW]

I am using Pulse guiding, haven't changed any settings, had one night where wasn't watching and guide session went skew if after clouds rolled in then after that PHD2 started playing up

[The_bluester (Paul)]

The answer might be in the PHD2 logs, I have not seen mine throw and error requiring a new calibration without it showing a reason why, typically changed guide rates in the mount ASCOM driver.

[TrevorW]

Thanks for the suggestions if all else fails reinstall and start from scratch

[Star Hunter]

1. How does one adjust the green box to be larger when selecting a guide star?

2. Should one do a reset Guide calc. when near or on the Eq. -45 Deg. south and close to pole?

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by Star Hunter

1. How does one adjust the green box to be larger when selecting a guide star?

2. Should one do a reset Guide calc. when near or on the Eq. -45 Deg. south and close to pole?

Hmm……
I’m not quite sure why your asking those specific questions
Are you using the latest version of PHD2 ?
Download the latest version 2.6.11 dev6 then the Wizard will pop up and guide you through the whole program from start to finish including capturing a dark library, calibration , and guiding , the whole shabang.
Selecting guide stars is a thing of the past.
PHD2 has Multistar guiding , Calibration assistant , Guiding Assistant and so on
It’s really “Push Here Dummy” ( PHD 2 ) now a vast improvement on a few years ago !!
Some Prerequisites…..
Use a mono guide camera eg: ZWO120MM avoid colour cameras if possible
Try and get your guide camera to imaging camera pixel scale ratio ( image scale ratio ) around 4:1 but not critical.
Set up guide camera for Ascom pulse guiding ie : guide camera cabled directly to PC / Laptop ( not the old ST4 where camera was connected to mount )
Polar align to at least a few arc minutes , no need for sub arc min PA
Focus your guide scope / camera using the Star profile tool which can be set up on the main screen and pick a single star which is not too bright day mag 2 or mag 3.
Ascom pulse guiding will work anywhere in the night sky ( either side of the meridians as well ) provided you have a good calibration and save it , and of course your not trying to guide at super low altitudes like 15 or 20 degrees.
The new “Calibration Assistant” will help and guide you to achieve and save a good calibration ( I’ve used the same calibration for a year or more thanks to Ascom pulse guiding set up )
The new Guiding Assistant will help you fine tune or iron out issues that may arise in your guiding.
The new Version 2.6.11 Dev 6 user manual is excellent !!!
I could suggest many other cross checks , do’s and don’t’s but that will do for the moment
Hope the above helps
Clear Skies
Martin

[The_bluester (Paul)]

Normally you should not need to change the size of the search region, but if you do need to, that is the name of the setting and it is in the "guiding setup" tab after you click on the brain. Normally if you create your equipment profile using the wizard and plug in all the correct details you should not need to fiddle with that.

If you mean should you redo guide calibratin to operate near the pole, not unless you are guiding with an ST4 cable and no "aux mount" connection in the equipment setup tab. If you are using pulse guiding via an ASCOM driver for your mount, you calibrate near the equator and around 45 degrees elevation and PHD2 will sort out the change of guide rates if you then go off and point near the pole. If you try to calibrate more than 20 degrees away from the equator it will throw a warning (But it will let you do it) and if you are really near the pole it might error out instead of calibrating.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Originally Posted by The_bluester

Normally you should not need to change the size of the search region, but if you do need to, that is the name of the setting and it is in the "guiding setup" tab after you click on the brain. Normally if you create your equipment profile using the wizard and plug in all the correct details you should not need to fiddle with that.

If you mean should you redo guide calibratin to operate near the pole, not unless you are guiding with an ST4 cable and no "aux mount" connection in the equipment setup tab. If you are using pulse guiding via an ASCOM driver for your mount, you calibrate near the equator and around 45 degrees elevation and PHD2 will sort out the change of guide rates if you then go off and point near the pole. If you try to calibrate more than 20 degrees away from the equator it will throw a warning (But it will let you do it) and if you are really near the pole it might error out instead of calibrating.

Paul,
I should have mentioned to “Star Hunter” that the default settings in all the Brain tabs usually work pretty well.
The new Calibration Assistant CA in 2.6.11 dev6 eliminates the need to manually slew to a suitable area at Dec=0 , choose a Star and calibrate.
Bruce has spent a lot of time in development of this brand new feature , it’s pretty much automatic calibration now. From recent posts on PHD2 it works really well.
I might try it in the new year as I save and use calibration for at least a year.
The only drawback is CA doesn’t work through imaging Apps , it only works internally with PHD2.
There’s a good write up about CA in the 2.6.11 dev6 manual
Cheers
Martin

[Ant0nio (Tony)]

Hi Trevor,

I've had the same issue as well as the "lost connection with guide camera" thing. I suspect it has something to do with Windows USB connections or porting issues. In my case I shut down my laptop, unplug cables, plug everything back in & restart the laptop. This always solves the problem for me, ymmv but I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Tony