Hi Bruce,
The following, I hope, will be of some help.
Chances are that one or more of your encoder direction sense signs will need
reversing.
From your description, it sounds as if the encoder direction sense signs are set
for if the mount were '
flipped'. As you are aware, by construction, you can't push
the OTA on a Dob past the 90 degree vertical position in order to view objects.
However, your current encoder direction sense signs are currently configured
for such a situation.
What I recommend is this -
Keep the
SETUP MOUNT type as
ALT/AZ DOBSONIAN.
To start out, I strongly recommend you start by using
ALT REF=090.000 AUTO ADJUST OFF.
When determining the direction senses, it is good to have some intuition as to
how lines of RA and Dec are mapped onto the sky above you. You can do this
during the daytime if you imagine where the stars roughly are.
For example, let us assume you have set the signs to some arbitrary values and
performed the
FIX ALT REF step and a two star alignment. Point the scope
toward the zenith with its Alt axis now pointing East-West. Slowly push the
tube down in Alt only toward the SCP. You know that as you are pushing the scope
in that direction, Dec should be decreasing toward -90 degrees in
MODE RA DEC.
If it is not, reverse the
SETUP ALT STEPS sign and repeat the alignment and check again.
Once you have the Alt sign in agreement, point the scope along the meridian
near the celestial equator (Dec=0) and start to rotate in Azimuth and Alt toward the
due-East horizon.
(The celestial equator passes very close to the belt of Orion).
You know RA increases as you go toward the East (it wraps at 24:00 though). If it is
not increasing, reverse the
SETUP AZ STEPS sign and repeat the alignment.
In the end, there are only four combinations of
SETUP ALT STEPS and
SETUP
AZ STEPS signs (++, +-, -+, --). Two of these combinations may give the correct
results in
MODE RA DEC, but when you then GUIDE to an object, one of these
two combinations will be correct and the other will result in not correctly
guiding to the object. Of course, the former case is the one you are seeking.
Keep in mind that the direction you need to move the telescope in order to
make a guide number 0.0 might be opposite in direction to what the arrow indicates.
This is OK, as long as when you reach 0.0 and look through the eyepiece that
the object is within the FOV. You can later alter your preference as to
which way the arrows point in
SETUP GUIDE MODE.
Once you have the direction senses correct, then start trying to use
AUTO ADJUST ON.
Email
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au if you should require further assistance.
Best Regards
Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au