Best way to run AP1600 mount and Sky X?

[gregbradley]

I did several Tpoint models last night and go it to the point where Tpoint said no more adjustments. Its not clear if PEC was active or not as its something that is checked on the AP driver but that disappears when you start using SkyX for a while.

Guide errors would seem to indicate PEC was not being implemented.

I didn't do accurate PA on the final Tpoint as the model I did earlier of about 25 points made PA a lot worse. Perhaps the final accurate PA if only expects a small adjustment may be OK. I don't know how much to trust the TPoint model RMS values are very low at about 18. I don't recall getting RMS errors that low before on a TPoint model.

Can anyone using AP mounts advise me of the best way to run the mount using Sky X?

I ran it both ways where you select AP1600 in the list of mounts and then use the Sky X autoguider and select pulse guide (I also ran an autoguiding cable and used relays but that gave worse results).

I also ran the mount through the driver and selected Ascom Mount in the list and set the Ascom driver to teleAPI. Either way when selecting pulse guide it does not need a separate guide cable although I was unable to calibrate on the last setup.

The good news is that all got working to this point within 5 hours which is some sort of a record for me!

I suspect PA is still off as I am getting largish errors in the Y axis and PE is larger than I would expect if PEC were working. 10 minute subs gave medium elongated stars. Not shocking, but not good enough by a long ways but better by nights end than at the start of first guiding the Honders at 1159mm focal length.

Greg.

[gregbradley]

I found out myself.

You can run the mount either through the Sky X as AP1600 in the mounts list or you can select Ascom mount. You setup the AP V2 driver and enable PE correction and have all your latitude etc in there.

Autoguiding is done in Sky X and use Pulse Guiding in the autogudier setup tab. That way you don't need a separate guide cable.

I redid PEC using Pempro. The mount was doing 3.5 arc secs and very smooth PE before PEC.

Applying accurate polar alignment works better than no adjustment needed in the Polar Alignment report in TPoint. 2nd time I have seen that.
TPoint says its about as good as it can get yet the accurate polar alignment routine has you adjusting both axes a reasonable amount then tracking errors really drop. I checked it with Pempro Polar Alignment wizard and PA was pretty close to perfect.

I am also getting better guiding with Protrack turned on (204 point model) just like I do with my PME.

Out of interest to anyone my autoguider settings that seem to work best are 5 second calibration times. 3 second guide exposures, aggressiveness 4, no delays, pulse guiding, no backlash. I am using an STi in a MMOAG.

I plan on doing a 300 point model tomorrow and perhaps refining Polar Alignment just that tiny bit or I may just leave it alone and use the bigger model for better Protrack corrections (slow flexes and slightly off polar Alignment corrections).

The AP1600 is more rugged than SB mounts. The slew sound is louder but the tracking is silent, no machine electronic chatter. The altitiude adjuster is a dream with a large handle and much easier to adjust than the PME or PMX although they aren't that hard. Azimuth adjusters are similar. Overall build quality is very high. The 2 axes split apart for easier portability but I wouldn't describe it as easily portable as its pretty chunky.

You don't even need to get balance exactly right as the axes are stiff and it says so in the manual. The motors seem to have a lot of grunt.

Overall easy to use and handle and it seems to be extremely accurate. I miss the home position of the PMX though. I moved the mount last night after finishing with it and forgot that this will lose my synch. Oh well, it does take long to resync the mount. The counterweight shaft is thicker than the PME. Roughly the same size as a PME perhaps a tad smaller. Nicer looking. Both are great mounts. I think this can handle a Planewave CDK 20 which is saying something as PME cannot.

Greg.

[frolinmod]

You need more like 50 samples and Supermodel for good polar alignment. With 180 or more samples I can get my pointing down to 9/10 arc seconds RMS/PSD on my PME. If you want to put a CDK 20 on a Paramount, sell your PME and upgrade to a PME II.

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by frolinmod

You need more like 50 samples and Supermodel for good polar alignment. With 180 or more samples I can get my pointing down to 9/10 arc seconds RMS/PSD on my PME. If you want to put a CDK 20 on a Paramount, sell your PME and upgrade to a PME II.

I had 189 points. The report said no adjustments but the accurate polar alignment required a reasonable amount of adjustment. Its definitely superior to the report. I also did 3 iterations of about 23 points each before I did the large model.

Greg.

[niharika]

Looks like PE has smoothed out a bit more compared to what I was getting initially http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=115925

[gregbradley]

I have noticed that with mounts, unlike most other gear they can improve with age as the microscopic rough spots on gears etc wear in.

Greg.