Latest version of PoleAlignMax to align your mount

[Greg Bock]

guys
a quick note about PoleAlignMax (PAM), in case you use it for aligning you mount. I have used it for several years now, it really is excellent, but recently found that it wouldn't work consistently for me..probably due to a faulty user...

Last night however, I wasted 4 hours trying to get PAM to solve plate images so I could align my Losmandy G11 after returning it to service from Leyburn last week. Finally after alot of experimenting and research, I got PAM working by about 2:15am, then used it to align the mount to less than 1 arcmin on each axis, then got to bed at 3am.
PAM usually solves image plates no problem, but no luck this time, so it was a very frustrating night.

I checked and re-checked that I had the plate solve settings correct, as well as the image synced with Sky6, and I adjusted the exposure settings between 0.1 second and 10 seconds to see if the number of images stars made a difference, no good. I usually solve images taken by the ST10 with Pinpoint and MaximDL, as it wouldn’t solve with CCDSoft cos PAM said that CCDSoft was an old version which it isn’t. I have no idea of why PAM just didn’t want to solve for me this time.

In the end, by about 1:45am, I resorted to the internet for help, and found that a newer version of PAM is available, so I upgraded from 2.0.35 to version 2.0.55 from here http://www.rkastro.net/polaralignmentsoftware.html

Next, I tried this latest version with CCDSoft, but it said that CCDSoft was still an old version which is rubbish, so further searching on the ASCOM Focus Max/Pole Align Max user group found a post that recommended turning off the ‘version check’ option in Pole Align Max..( see here if you can get into it … http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/message/5510 ) and then, it seems that I found the ‘silver bullet' I needed cos incredibly, everything worked when I used version 2.0.55 of Pole Align Max with CCDSoft and Sky6. It solved images within seconds, and the entire PAM alignment process went smoothly….I couldn’t believe it.

So, if you are a PAM user, it’s worth getting the latest version of PAM and using it with CCDSoft and Sky6, it much better than using it with Pinpoint and MaximDL..

[jase]

Thanks for the write up Greg. I used PolarAlignMax a couple of years ago but didn't experience the woes you mentioned. What I did find however was that the Gemini pointing model lacked accuracy. Even with a warm restart, I would need to resync to get plate solving to work correctly which in turn would destroy the pointing model. This made using PolarAlignMax at times frustrating. Good to hear the new version has addressed your problems. Productive nights ahead should make up for lost time.

[Greg Bock]

Hi Jase,
I use PAM with my G11 controlled by an Astrometrics Skwalker and Maestro.
I don't have the mount pointing errors modelled by Tpoint, or corrected by the Skywalker system, but I do park the scope each night using the Skywalker.

I usually find that I can start the scope from park, and it will slew to a target on the same side of the mount and place the target on the CCD chip OK. From there, I can fine tune and centre the object, and then re-sync, and all is good.

Slews across the meridian usually don't place the target in the FOV, so I usually have to re-sync again.

Good productivity for me is be able to image 70 to 80 galaxies per hour as part of my supernova search program, so yes, its important to get things aligned well enough to get those pesky galaxies to fall onto the chip every time!

[jase]

Hi Greg,
For sure, parking the scope is key for night in, night out operation. Sounds like the alternate controller has reduced the quantity of headaches. Resyncing after a power outage was also another challenge, especially when operating remotely. Home sensors are the only way.

70 to 80 galaxies per hour is solid work. Out of interest what are you guys using to script these observing sessions and how automated are they? I think at AAIC there was mention of Orchestrate being used which came as a surprise to me as the tool is archaic by today's automated observation tools. Don't get me wrong, they work but lack efficiency due to poor logic.

[DavidTrap]

Thanks for the tip Greg - filed for future reference.

Out of interest - why is CCDsoft & Sky6 better than Maxim & Pin Point? The latter works for me with PAM.

DT

[Greg Bock]

Hi Dave,
sorry, 'works better' was my short-hand way of saying that CCDSoft and Sky6 solved astrometric positions much faster than Pinpoint, and it does not seem to get confused by bright blooming streaks in images taken by NABG cameras such as my ST10. Certainly, Pinpoint has failed to solve images that had blooming streaks in them, which means I either have to drop the exposure time enough to avoid blooming, or choose a fainter star to centre on as a starting point.

In the end, I have given up using Pinpoint for the time being, I just cant get it to solve lately, and I have wasted too much time this week trying to rectify it!

[Greg Bock]

Hi Jase,
yes, Orchestrate is used to script the point, and image steps. The selection of galaxies comes from database queries from SkyX.
And, yes, its archaic, but works, however, if only using Sky6. I have found that Orchestrate and Skyx using TeleApi for Maestro (the application that control the Skywalker telescope controller) has a problem in that Orchestrate does not wait for a slew command to finish before it then initiates a 'Take Image' command, effectively just stepping through the list of commands without waiting.

So, I still use it with TheSky6 for now.

[DavidTrap]

Touch wood Greg, I don't have a problem with plate solves - mine usually take <3secs (however, I am not using a NABG camera).

Peter (pmrid) was having issues solving with the small field from his C14 at 3900mm, but that was improved by changing the max magnitude to 20 - it gave PinPoint more catalogue stars to work with.

DT

[jase]

Sounds good Greg. Not sure if you guys have considered using ACP with Scheduler (http://scheduler.dc3.com/Scheduler2006.pdf). Not cheap but boosts observation efficiency, at least that's what I've found. I'm using this for setting up 'pretty picture' imaging plans but it really is more orientated to scientific work. It wouldn't surprise me if you could hit 1200 galaxies a night with Scheduler. The rising plan delay algorithm minimises meridian flips amongst many other optimisations. You may also be interested in VOE (http://scheduler.dc3.com/VOEvent.pdf) where your gear is automatically alerted of astronomical events such as Gamma Ray Bursts, Supernovae, Cataclysmic Variable outbursts, etc. in realtime. If the scope is online it will go off an image the area, then return back to its normal processing queue.

Let me know if you've got any queries on ACP or Scheduler. I know of a couple of others here using ACP, not sure about Scheduler though. You can download trial versions to see if it would introduce efficiency. The scripting language is easy to understand, much easier than Orchestrate. Scheduler uses RTML (http://www.astro.physik.uni-goettingen.de/%7Ehessman/RTML/) for scripting so slightly different.