Ready to guide

[jjjnettie]

Ok, tonight I'm going to try to set up for guiding.
I have the Heq5pro mount, serial to usb adaptor, a Meade LPI (yuk, I know, but it's only a practice run) I have a range of software to use, but need help choosing which would be best for my particular set up.
autostar suite
phd guiding
guide dog
k3ccd tools

I understand that I'll need to set up eqmod as well.

If anyone has the time to write a short and sweet idiots guide that would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance.:)

[matt]

Looking forward to seeing this thread develop.

This is a path I'll have to head down shortly too.

Good luck Jeanette....and be sure to report back with your findings:)

[Davros]

Oh arnt you jumping n the deep end. Good luck with the run.

[gbeal]

Go Girl, good luck. Can't say I have used your mount, but PHD is what I would use. I have used K3 many years ago, and it worked OK, but PHD really is the dummy software, plus there is a great support base on this forum.
Make sure you can actually move the mount with the software, and make equally sure you don't "guide" on a hot pixel.
I am sure as you go, you will find other questions, just go for it.
Gary

[jjjnettie]

Thanks Gary. I've heard good things about Guide Dog too.

[TheDecepticon]

Good luck for tonight! I would use PHD, it is by far the easiest to use for beginners. I was just having a look, I'm not sure that PHD supports the LPI, it is not listed. Auto Star Suite will only talk to a Meade mount unless you can find the patch that makes it think the mount you have is an LX200, can't remember what it is called now. As for Guide Dog, never used it and I thought K3CCD Tools was rubbish, so never used it after buying it.
EQMOD is great stuff, made me forget what a hand box looks like. I found it in the back of the cupboard the other week and wondered what it was and where I got it!:lol:
Just remember to have a quiet 2 mins before you go into battle and breathe!:P:D:)

[troypiggo]

Not sure about the LPI - is it a Windows type WDM camera? If so, PHD will be able to use it.

Idiot's guide written by an idiot:

Get ASCOM and install it
Get EQASCOM and install it
Get Cartes du Ciel and install it
Get PHD and install it
Set up scope
Polar Align scope
Run CdC
Connect to telescope, choose EQMOD
Use CdC to slew to a star. If the alignment is a little off, manually slew to align with the star. Right click on the star in CdC and click "sync"
Do this for a few stars and now CdC and EQMod will be aligned
Slew to the target you want to image and frame the shot.
Run PHD
Click on the camera and choose yours. I assume it's a WDM capture type one as mentioned above.
Click on the telescope and choose EQMod
Start looping. Play with exposure settings so you can see stars.
When you've found a suitable guide star, stop looping.
Click on star to get green box.
Click the PHD/Guide button. PHD will calibrate, may take a while. Once it's guiding the crosshairs will turn green.
Image away.

[[1ponders]]

Good luck Jeanette. If you can get the LPI accepted as a WDM device you will be away. Unfortunately I don't think it is going to be that easy. I seem to recall trying the LPI with K3 once and giving up. From memory I think I had to select it as a TWAIN device. PHD doesn't have that option. For your sake I hope I'm having a seniors moment. :lol:

[jjjnettie]

Which means I'm going to have to use Autostar. Dang.
How much for a stand alone guider??

[Bassnut]

Guide dog is about as simple as it gets for starting IMO.

[jjjnettie]

K3ccd recognises the camera. Might give that one a go if I can't get guidedog to work.

[dpastern]

Me too! I'm about to start down this path myself.



Thanks Troy - that's very much appreciated, and simple enough so that this dummy can even follow the instructions. :)

Good luck Jeanette!

Dave

[[1ponders]]

If K3 recognizes it then phd should recognize it as well. This is a very good thing. What does K3 recognize it as? WDM or TWAIN?

[jjjnettie]

Can't remember off hand Paul. I'll check later when I finally get outside.

[RobF]

How's it going JJJ?
Sounds like you've set yourself up to climb a pretty steep hill tonight.

Figuring out EQMOD and using it to drive the scope is quite a handful in itself, but you probably need it to drive the scope (pulse guiding) if no ST4 interface. Getting just the guiding going can be quite a bit of work on its own. If does become too much, I've got a GPUSB you could use for a while so that you only have to worry about Phd, cameras and guidescope set up for a while.

Where are you up to?
(and have you got plenty of booze and chocolate nearby :lol:)

[[1ponders]]

Oh yes, you will need a GPUSB. Otherwise you will be stuck using Autostar and the Serial to RJ12 cable to the hand paddle. :(

[jjjnettie]

:lol: All I've done is set the scope up Rob. Can't seem to find the back door.
I've been waiting on feedback on this thread, and downloading necessary programs.
And now Shrek the Third is about to start.:D
Plenty of time to get out there. ;)

[RobF]

Oooo - Shrek the 3rd - I haven't seen that...
(dashes off....)

[troypiggo]

As Paul mentioned, if it works in K3CCDTools, good assumption it'd work in PHD.

[jjjnettie]

:lol: Well that was almost a complete waste of time. I couldn't get passed step one, plug in the usb pda adaptor. Didn't have the drivers for the device did I, and the download link for it at Belkin wasn't working.
There's always something isn't there.
Paul has kindly offered me a lend of his gpusb thingo for now, Ta Pablo:).

[gbeal]

So.......... what happened, any further on this saga?
Auto-guiding is a black art, but once you have it up and running, you will not look back. I didn't.
If you get 100% stuck, I have a QHY5 that I could lend, short term. It is likely I will replace it anyway, it has been superseded by the SX Guide-head, and this seems to be playing nicely with the SX camera and Maxim.
My only concern is that if I use the DSLR, then the guide-head won't play and I will be stuck.
Gary

[damo_Melbourne]

Good luck Jeanette,

Hope you dont mind me jumping in here Ive just started down the path of guiding too!... but in reference to Troys "Idiot's guide written by an idiot" which is perfect for an idiot like me! :)

Troy,

When you say "Polar Align" - how accurate does this need to be given your syncing in Cdc later on?
I was going to start using AlignMaster to Polar align and give that a go. Have been using WCS which is also good but time consuming.

My aim is to be able to take 3 - 5 mins subs to begin with.

thoughts?

Have installed CdC and it looks great, cant wait to have a play when we get some clear skys down here.

thanks
Damian

[pmrid]

Hi Jeanette.
I'm running a full EQMOD system these days and would be happy to help you get yours working if you care to drag it down here.
Peter

[jjjnettie]

I'm afraid everything's had to be put on the back burner for now.
I have....issues.

[bmitchell82]

JJJ, this is what i would do
get yourself a Meade DSI 1 for the guide cam the LPI can work but youll be struggling for stars generally

Get EQ mod set up on your lappy it interfaces with the mount perfectly and the new 118 version is unreal!

I love starry nights but use a program that will interface with EQMod

Buy a Logitech Rumble pad 2 approx 50 rods from somewhere (DSE, Kmart ect ect) without this you will smash your head against a wall trying to align things...

Polar alignment well depends on how much you want your guide system to work. accurate polar alignment youll have the guide system just bumping the scope. not so accurate polar alignment = guide system ripping the scope backwards forwards. I posted a easy method to get to within a bees whisker of alignment come to think of it i might just write it up and send it to mike.

you don't need a GPUSB as eqmod will send your guiding movements straight though the hand paddle. in my mind 1 less cable to worry about. i have 3 cables coming from my mount. 1 for the 40d, 1 for the dsi and 1 for the mount. i could go the powered usb2 hub and have 1 cable if i wanted. :D

follow troys IFIG :D and you should be right!

[troypiggo]

G'day Damo,

Firstly, keep in mind I'm pretty new to all this too. Hence the "by an idiot" title :)

The Polar Alignment is to get your mount all aligned with the axis the Earth spins on so you don't get any rotation in your shots. The more accurate you get this, the less hard guiding is and you'll get cleaner stars without rotation about the guide star. In fact if you have really accurate polar alignment, and had a "perfect" mount that didn't have periodic errors and other mechanical imperfections etc, you wouldn't need to guide at all.

You may have read about "drift aligning". This is a way of achieving polar alignment. Another is to use a polar scope in your mount - difficult in Southern Hemisphere unless at dark site since we don't have Polaris and the constellation commonly used has fainter stars that get a little drowned out by light pollution, at least here where I live.

Alignmaster is another way to go and I'm loving it. Very quick and easy.

Haven't used WCS so can't comment.

Polar Alignment is different to the alignment you do in CdC. The alignment in CdC is really syncing stars in the real world - ie through your viewfinder on your scope, crosshairs, camera field of view - with the stars modelled in the planetarium software. This is so that when you click on a star in CdC and click to slew to it, it will be pointing at the right star in the real world. Make sense?

[damo_Melbourne]

Thanks Troy
That makes sense.
Good to know your having success with Alignmaster Im looking forward to giving that a go. Will let you know how I go
cheers
Damian

[allan gould]

I currently use Alignmaster and find its far better than any other program (drift aligning, WCS, etc) thay I've ever used. Im currently testing a new pre-release of Alignmaster for the Southern Hemisphere and will let you know how it goes. At the moment using Alignmaster with guidemaster I can guide at 2000mm focal length for 10 min subs and get round stars with EQMOD.

[darrellx]

Hi All

I have had a go at this using GPUSB on my EQ5. I had limited success. I now have an EQ6 and have purchased the EQDIR module. When I try the EQMod method, and I better off plugging the module directly into the handcontroller port? I have gone through the EQDIR manual, and I see that there are three connection methods, all attaching to the hand controller port.

Can you go from the EQDIR module to the auto guider port on the EQ6 and leave the hand controller in place?

Brendan, with the Rumble pad you use, do you not have the hand contoller attached at all? Also, did you configure the keys yourself?

Thanks
Darrell

[TheDecepticon]

You can use your hand controller with EQMOD if you use it in the PC Direct mode which is in Utilities, I think, of your hand controller. You use the cable that came with your EQ6 plugged into the bottom of the hand controller and the other end to a serial port or a USB to Serial adapter. Then use a planetarium to drive the mount.
You can also purchase an EQDIRECT module through Shoestring Astronomy or I think Bintel now have some Shoestring products, and this then goes where the hand controller used to plug into and put the hand controller in the cupboard. You then connect a straight through serial cable to it from your PC or a USB to Serial adapter and use a planetarium to drive the mount.
The third way to do it is to buy an FTDI USB 232 TTL 5 Volt cable from Dontronics, a D9 connector and shell from Jaycar, and make your own cable, taking away the EQDIRECT and providing a higher level of reliability over USB to Serial adapters.
The EQDirect module and the GPUSB are two different animals and should never be tried to be plugged into each other. If you are talking about EQMOD's pulse guiding routine, you just plug the EQDIRECT into the hand controller port of the mount, the other end to a USB to serial adapter or your PC if fitted with a serial port, and enable pulse guiding from the properties menu in the Telescope Chooser when you set up. You do not need to plug in the GPUSB to the auto guider port or the hand controller at all.
EQMOD has a very good Wiki(instruction manual) that should explain most of what you need to know, or you can join their Yahoo tech group for advice and search through old messages that may already have many of the answers to your questions.:thumbsup:

PS: I use and old PS2 dual shock controller to drive the mount to the first star if it is off, which you can calibrate and select what buttons you want to use in the EQMOD window that pops up after you get a successful connection to the mount. I then go back to my warm room and use my cameras to line up any further alignment star on my screen with cross hairs and the EQMOD interface.

PPS: Set it up during the day with just the mount on the tripod and all connected to familiarize yourself with its functions before taking it out and getting frustrated at night because it doesn't work.