sorry if you came here to see me in a girl guides uniform... it aint happening
I have been mucking about with my new heq5, which has a guide port!
Now the amount i know about guiding i can fit on a pin head, but i gave it a shot anyhow.
after polar aligning I pluged one of the cables that came with my lpi into the mounts guide port and with serial port adapter in place pluged the other end into my laptop.
I opened up the LPI program, set the telescope tracking a nice bright star, set the program to guide and..........
the LPI program start sending my telescope in the wrong direction and my star whizzes off the right of teh screen!!!
hmm... must be the program.
i next installed guidedog and did teh same. and i got the same result (ie guide star pushes the star off the right of the screen from something close enough to a standstill!
now i dont think my mount requires auscom software but i put that in next... nothing. i can now delete that.
What autoguiding adapter are you using between the laptop and the mount? Parallel or USB? Shoestring Astronomy makes excellent adapters for autoguiding, have a look at their site.
I am control freak, I have to have my dirty little hands on everything. I have a real problem with Autoguiders, I have them but I NEVER use them. I have been into astrophotography since I was 7 years old and that makes it 40 years worth. I utilize the new technology that we have at our finger tips but I embrace the old. I have 3 very fine CCD cameras and many DSLR's and film types at my disposal yet I still MUST HAVE MY HANDS ON THE HELM, if an autoguider takes it then I see it as the autoguiders shot, not mine. To me it is like having some one else to drive my car, to eat my lunch or make love to my wife for me. please dont think that I am judging anyone who uses an autoguider, Its just that this is an aspect of control that I love and must have. I mean I do go as far as using an electronic crosshair screened up on a computer monitor to guide with, but I must give the commands. And dont think for a minute that I dont suffer from this, Auto guiders are far far more precise and patient than I am and they dont have to go pee every 10 minutes but, but, but here I am. I just guess I am bound by the old ways yet arroused by the new. If there is anyone else like this out there please let me know.
Im sorry for my outburst but you guys are Soooo much easyer to talk to than the Russians astronomers I am used to talking to, I mean they are a wonderful bunch but there is much that just dont go across if you know what I'm saying. It blows me away that you guys are on the far side of the globe and the Russians arent nowhere near that far and yet getting the simplest point across to them is like pulling your own teeth and the few Americans I correspond with are as bad if not worse. LOL go figure. I guess I just need to move to Australia.
Yep, move to Ozzie, you would fit right in.
Vingster, I use K3 for auto-guiding, plus an old unmodded ToUcam.
Maybe try a thing called PHD, not sure where to send you for it, but a Google should get it. I know a PHD as a Post Hole Digger, but I think the story behind the mane is Push Here Dummy, not that I mean that with you Vinger. From what I have read it is just that simple. Try it.
Gary
You have to have the guide camera oriented correctly. That is N S on the DEC axis and E W on the RA axis. Then if the guidestar goes in the opposite direction it is a matter of swiching E for W or N for S in the guiding software.
Try GuideMaster software as it calibrates itself and camera orientation is irrelevant.
Guidedog does need Auscom installed to work correctly.
Bert
If its vinging off the edge ving I'd check what speed you have your mount set to. If it is set to anything more than 4X siderial it probably will ving...oops sorry....zing of the edge of the screen. I know mine does.
heyy vingster. you can also try guidestar then use virtual serial hardware to send the correct signals to your EQ mount and guide using envisage from the LPI.
I tried a little while ago using a Meade DSI via a USB into a laptop, which then has a serial cable I built, via adapters through a virtual h/w port, connected by a ShoeString adapter, into a LX200 emulator, into Meade's Autostar suite for auto-guiding a Celestron CG5 goto mount.
For all those connections it actually appeared to work after one annoying start up behaviour. On start up it would slew +ve RA; I guess the autoguider is getting a full RA +ve slew voltage by default rather than null voltages. If I connected the cables only after I had everything else set-up it all seemed to work (surprise, surprise); without being concerned as to the DSI's initial orientation.
Annoying how you need two foreign bits of hardware (three if I count the USB 2.0 PCMCIA adapter for the old laptop), and at least 3 types of foreign software (4 if I count the ASCOM drivers), before I can get it all to function. Next week I'm adding autofocusing too, using JMI's USB autofocuser into Meade's #1209 motorfocuser at the back of my C9.25 andd seeing if this will all run via Autostar (making it about 5 or 6 bits of foreign software to drive it all - shudder).
Then if I can get all this running I have to motorise the dome and finally remote access control it all - oh what fun!
Why isn't there one extensible package that does this all via ASCOM drivers for all main types of mounts and cameras? It would be much better than the forest of code, drivers and hardware I've assembled to do it all!
Why isn't there one extensible package that does this all via ASCOM drivers for all main types of mounts and cameras? It would be much better than the forest of code, drivers and hardware I've assembled to do it all!
There is to an extent or at least manufacturers are not far from it. The ASCOM platform has helped considerably, but it is difficult at the rate technologies advances - new camera, guiders, goto protocols etc, etc.
MaxImDL has a considerably large driver support base. It is pretty close to a one stop shop. Natively (without third party software), it will control your telescope, digital focuser, DSLR or CCD imager and guider. Then when that’s done, automatically calibrate your images. Doug George, President of Cyanogen (producer of MaxIm) has always committed to providing the best hardware support. IMO I think he's achieved just that. They code their own drivers for just about everything. Even when something else is available. By doing so, they can ensure product stability and functionality. I would recommend downloading a trial to see for your self. Sure, it comes with a hefty price tag, but you get nothing for free nowadays.
Though, I've found power and flexibility comes with MaxIm's integration into other products. I use MaxImDLv4.5 for CCD camera imaging, auto guiding, filter wheel control and automatic focusing (and of course image calibration). I have it integrated with TheSky6 professional for telescope pointing and FocusMax to control the RoboFocus converted JMI focuser. Much of this can be scripted in MaxImDL which leads to the beginning of automatic image acquisition. Though, if you are serious about this path (which I'm not... yet), you can't go far past CCD auto pilot. This integrates with just about any astromony software and can be scripted to do what ever you please.
...and no, I don't have shares in Cyanogen or any other companies/products mentioned.
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