[g__day (Matthew)]

Guys interested in your thoughts.

Tuning the PE of a well polar aligned mount I presume can greatly improve its performance before auto-guiding kicks in. In my case I have a permanent set up on a pier.

But what software and hardware do you recommend to get the best results?

I have some intuitions I'd love confirmed, namely I presume it's best to:

1) run through not just one complete revolution of the gears - but maybe do 10 and average it and playback//upload the inverse of this averaged run to you mount/hand controller.

2) guide assessing error from your main scope at its greater focal length then do so from the shorter focal length of your guide scope.

3) correct error directly from your software to calibrate error e.g. PEMPro rather than indirectly thru say running PHD with 1.0 second updates and watching its guide moves and hoping seeing isn't getting in the way?

4) ignore guding in declination - in case your slightly off SCP alignment?

5) use a fast and sensitive USB2 capture device your software accepts.

On the last point I was interested in trialing PEMPro v2.0 - until the author (Ray) informed me on the weekend it will be < 3 months until it will natively support Meade DSI input. Also I am unsure whether or not you need one or more 3rd party software suites to run PEMPro or PrecisionPEC from Software Bisque? (e.g. a launch program like CCDSoft5 or Sky6 or MaxImDL etc and a video in stream processing software?). It's not well described or documented!

Any suggestions or a how to manual would be greatly appreciated. At present I just did a rough train of my mount by looking for a star near the zenith - running PHD on my Megrez 80 mm - 500mm focal length into a Meade DSI - with probably a 1-2 second guide interval and setting the Mount to remember and replay corrections! I am sure I can do better!

Many thanks folks - interested in what you advocate software and hardware wise and at least equally importantly the recommended approach or process you follow!