Hi all,
finally assembled all the software and hardware I think I need for this auto-guiding my LXD75 with autostar.. I've got PHD Guiding software and serial - 232 cable bought 232 to USB adaptor, downloaded the latest ASCOM platforms and read up on and got and loaded the right Meade driver for the LXD75.
Fired everything up, plugged in my phillips webcam... miracle the software recognised it, fired up the mount, miracle it found the right driver and I could select the mount and the program "saw" it...I could even do some looped images and find and focus and select a star to guide on, but that's wher it all started to fall apart
...while the PhD software clearly recognised the mount I could see no evidence that it actually made it move. There is a manual guide menu option which brings up N, S, E, W buttons but they did nothing.
I could select the star and hit targeting and it would calibrate, but because no actual mount movement occured it quickly lost the lock and everything starts flashing red. Now I know I have an issue here with poor polar alignment, but surely the thing should at least "move" the telescope a bit.
I've poured over the properties making sure all the right things are checked, but nothing I do seems to allow the connection with the mount to actually move the mount. I tried the "N" setting which supposedly makes the corrections using the handset set slew speeds and turned it up high, jut to see if maybe it was defaulting to the slowest correction slew speed, but it didn't have any impact.
I've also come to the realisation that I really have no idea how to properly polar align a scope. I've never used the GoTo for that reason. For planetary pics it's never been a biggy, but now I feel totally out of my depth.
A big problem I face is I have narrow observing window between house and trees so I cant see the southern pole area and I can't really drift align on stars near the horizon - any suggestions to help here?
On a brighter note I've also got Images Plus up and working and it controls the Canon 40D a treat. Managed to use it to get my focus close etc (that millimetre scale on the YO ED80's focus tube will be useful to find this again)...but even with 10s exposures I was star trailing.
Anyway, it's progress of a sort, but I could sure use some detailed advice, especially anyone with experience of Phd and ASCOm guiding via the Autostar controller.
thanks,
Rob