Thank you Brian
It does feel thankless some times. Were it not for the encouragement of
people like you, René and the people at Losmandy, it could really get to
you.
I don't only moderate this group, but also the beta user group.
I am also trying to build what I call the unofficial www.Gemini-2.com
site with most of the information I had about the G1 on it and some of
the info
that I have on the G2 that i can release.

I hope that all realizes that it is René's goal is have the G2 with all
the features of the G1, plus with all the features listed besides the
picture on the main page.
Companies like AP, Celestron, Meade etc would probably have a gaggle of
programmers working on the project. We have René doing the code, with
Robert and Benoit helping him where they can. Benoit has been doing the
French translations, and Robert is working on the Mobile Web interface.
I know that René has been putting in late hours, because it is not
uncommon for us to be exchanging email at 02:00 UTC with each other.
This is kind of the way the G1 grew, and for 10 or more years been a
pretty darn good controller.
Of course there are others Like Dave Sandage, doing testing and
documentation, Paul modifying the ASCOM drivers, and others here and
there, plus of course myself. There are 24 user on the beta list at
this time. Not all are active however.

Tom

On 3/16/2011 8:33 AM, Brian V wrote:

Tom

I wanted to thank you and this group for your ongoing support for
Gemini II and getting it out to us.

It is a little nerve wracking to watch these threads while I still
have one on order (moving from non goto G-11, so no experience with
GOTOs yet).

After reading through all these past few months of emails, I'm still
keeping my order, and I recognize and appreciate this group is an
invaluable resource to be successful during this transition time. It
seems at times a thankless job to moderate this group, but i for one
am grateful.

Cheers

Brian

--- In Gemini-II@... <mailto:Gemini-II%40yahoogroups.com>,
"tom@" <tom@> wrote:

Please Note to all:
THE FIRMWARE IS NOT FINISHED as of MARCH 15, 2011
Modeling is still being work on.
PEC is not working yet.
Some targets have incorrect signs causing improper goto's.
Not, sure, but I think that the limits are not working yet.

René is working as fast as he can. Please be patient. As soon as
we have a new tested firmware package, we will post it with
instructions on how to install it.

Sincerely
Tom Hilton
Beta tester and Group owner.

?

Tom

I wanted to thank you and this group for your ongoing support for Gemini II and getting it out to us.

It is a little nerve wracking to watch these threads while I still have one on order (moving from non goto G-11, so no experience with GOTOs yet).

After reading through all these past few months of emails, I'm still keeping my order, and I recognize and appreciate this group is an invaluable resource to be successful during this transition time. It seems at times a thankless job to moderate this group, but i for one am grateful.

Cheers

Brian

--- In Gemini-II@..., "tom@..." wrote:
>
> Please Note to all:
> THE FIRMWARE IS NOT FINISHED as of MARCH 15, 2011
> Modeling is still being work on.
> PEC is not working yet.
> Some targets have incorrect signs causing improper goto's.
> Not, sure, but I think that the limits are not working yet.
>
> René is working as fast as he can. Please be patient. As soon as
> we have a new tested firmware package, we will post it with
> instructions on how to install it.
>
> Sincerely
> Tom Hilton
> Beta tester and Group owner.
>

Sorry for again incurring displeasure for neglecting a signature . . .Yahoo groups seem quite unique in the inability to auto append a sig. and I am unused to it.

I received nothing from Losmondy to the effect that "Doing more than a Sync and Initial alignment does not work." Had I received that information, it would have made the reasons for the flaky performance I have been experiencing both more clear and less frustrating. I have been totally wasting my time doing additional alignments . . . and wondering why my GOTOs remain so inaccurate as to barely place the object within the FOV of an 8X50 finder. Even the little quickstart sheet I DID receive with the mount clearly states on the 4th page that 'more accurate positioning can be enabled by using the ADDITIONAL ALIGNMENT" feature and selecting at least three objects spread across the sky." So, barring membership here, how can one possibly be expected to know that?

Thank you for replying and making it crystal clear that "doing more than a Sync and Initial alignment does not work."

I wonder how many others are as equally puzzled and frustrated by the behaviour of their new mounts? This information surely should have been communicated to new buyers! Losmondy should have the acumen to appreciate how poor an impression this crippled performance makes on users who do not understand the reason for it. It had occurred to me that, despite the readily apparent better mechanics of the G-11, that I had made a mistake in buying this unit . . . should even send it back. After all, poor performance can be had for half the price, eh? :)

So I look forward to far better GOTOs and fewer "crashes" with updated software.

On the good news front . . . there has been no recurrence of the disappearing/reappearing catalogs. Could the necessity of turning the unit off and then back on when it crashed have caused this? There seemed nothing else I could do at that point as the unit was unresponsive.

I still can not but wonder just how small the number of actual Gemini 2 users are here as opposed to those awaiting delivery?
Are there ANY actual users running firmware later than mine, dated Feb. 13, 2011 other than beta testers "in the know"?

A final question: What is the initial calibration when starting Gemini 2 supposed to accomplish? The procedure where you "press the center of each of the three dots as they appear sequentially?"


Terry Danks
Nova Scotia, CA
presently in FL

--- In Gemini-II@..., "tom@" <tom@> wrote:

Terry
would you please sign your messages. It is really no fun going back
through messages trying to figure out who your are, so that I can properly
address you.

As I have said in many messages so far. You cannot build a model.
Doing more than a Sync and Initial alignment does not work. René is working
on the modeling. He is close, but also down sick. Considering that
limits are probably part of the modeling math, I can understand why the
limits are not working. We are all hoping that the Gemini 2 will be
more functional with the next release of firmware. Also some of the
targets have
improper signs. Most of these have been identified and René has fixed
them in the firmware he is working on.

Sorry for your disappointment.

Tom Hilton

Terry
would you please sign your messages. It is really no fun going back
through messages trying to figure out who your are, so that I can properly
address you.

As I have said in many messages so far. You cannot build a model.
Doing more than a Sync and Initial alignment does not work. René is working
on the modeling. He is close, but also down sick. Considering that
limits are probably part of the modeling math, I can understand why the
limits are not working. We are all hoping that the Gemini 2 will be
more functional with the next release of firmware. Also some of the
targets have
improper signs. Most of these have been identified and René has fixed
them in the firmware he is working on.

Sorry for your disappointment.

Tom Hilton

Please Note to all:
THE FIRMWARE IS NOT FINISHED as of MARCH 15, 2011
Modeling is still being work on.
PEC is not working yet.
Some targets have incorrect signs causing improper goto's.
Not, sure, but I think that the limits are not working yet.

René is working as fast as he can. Please be patient. As soon as
we have a new tested firmware package, we will post it with
instructions on how to install it.

Sincerely
Tom Hilton
Beta tester and Group owner.

Please Note to all:
THE FIRMWARE IS NOT FINISHED as of MARCH 15, 2011
Modeling is still being work on.
PEC is not working yet.
Some targets have incorrect signs causing improper goto's.
Not, sure, but I think that the limits are not working yet.

René is working as fast as he can. Please be patient. As soon as
we have a new tested firmware package, we will post it with
instructions on how to install it.

Sincerely
Tom Hilton
Beta tester and Group owner.

Please Note to all:
THE FIRMWARE IS NOT FINISHED as of MARCH 15, 2011
Modeling is still being work on.
PEC is not working yet.
Some targets have incorrect signs causing improper goto's.
Not, sure, but I think that the limits are not working yet.

René is working as fast as he can. Please be patient. As soon as
we have a new tested firmware package, we will post it with
instructions on how to install it.

Sincerely
Tom Hilton
Beta tester and Group owner.

Jim,
That is a thoughtful idea. Thanks. I will have to try and catch her next time she is outside. It is an unfortunate situation, as her husband was pretty young (49) and it was quite sudden and unexpected. He was a stand up, responsible individual who would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. It was a shock to us.

Kirk

--- In Gemini-II@..., "Jim McKay" <astroguy67@...> wrote:

Kirk

Just a thought, but any way she'd be amenable to having you help her shield the light? She could still have the perceived security of having a light without it intruding on your imaging. I think there's several types of shields available or you could make one from some flashing material.

-Jim

?

Polar Axis Correction works very well. Usually a regular alignment with the Polar scope and then one iteration of PAC brings the Polar Alignment to a degree of accuracy that I do not see drift. Two iterations will make it even more perfect.
Floyd

Polar Axis Correction works very well. Usually a regular alignment with the Polar scope and then one iteration of PAC brings the Polar Alignment to a degree of accuracy that I do not see drift. Two iterations will make it even more perfect.
Floyd

Kirk

Just a thought, but any way she'd be amenable to having you help her shield the light? She could still have the perceived security of having a light without it intruding on your imaging. I think there's several types of shields available or you could make one from some flashing material.

-Jim

--- In Gemini-II@..., "gray_k99" <nemo129@> wrote:

Morgan,
Once again, thanks for the info. I am really looking forward to getting this mount! My concern about the utility is based upon how I can image at home. I can use my house to "shade" myself from my neighbor's floodlight, but that puts NCP out of view. On the nights when the floodlight is off I setup in the middle of my backyard and I get a much nicer slice of the sky including Ursa Minor and Polaris. I tried talking to her (my neighbor), but she recently lost her husband and she is a bit nervous, so I think the floodlight makes her feel more secure. Stinks for imaging...but what am I going to do?

Regards,
Kirk

--- In Gemini-II@..., "chaztro1215" <morgan_crew1@> wrote:

Kirk,
I'll give you my impression and maybe Tom can add color. I was not viewing this feature as a replacement for a Polarscope so much as I was planning on using it as a mechanism for fine tuning the less than perfect alignment one would be bound to get if the relied only on the polarscope. So, I think you would have to start with rough polar alignment in order for the feature to be useful. Or else, I suppose you could perform the function mutltiple times to get the job done as well.

I suppose it could also be used as you suggest. I've just heard of some others getting incredibly accurate alignments (IMHO) using the Polar align assist.

Regards,
Morgan

--- In Gemini-II@..., "gray_k99" <nemo129@> wrote:

Tom and Morgan,
So you have tweaked my interest here. Is the Polar Align Assist something like the Celstron "All Star Polar Alignment" utility, i.e. a built in utilty to help you point the RA axis at NCP without having direct sight of Polaris? (or there in abouts) If it is, that would be great, I had resigned myself to buying the polar scope and doing drift aligns....not that that is a bad thing, but it is nice to have alternatives.
Thanks for any info and I apologize for my ignorance on Gemini I, I have been pretty busy with a flooded basement and have not had time to review the level 4 manual.

Kirk

Actually, I just went and looked it up. It looks intersting, but not what I thought it would be. Could anyone comment on the usefulness of "Polar Align Assist" and "Polar Axis Correction" utilities for getting ready for long exposure astrophotgraphy?

Thanks,
Kirk

--- In Gemini-II@..., "gray_k99" <nemo129@> wrote:

Tom and Morgan,
So you have tweaked my interest here. Is the Polar Align Assist something like the Celstron "All Star Polar Alignment" utility, i.e. a built in utilty to help you point the RA axis at NCP without having direct sight of Polaris? (or there in abouts) If it is, that would be great, I had resigned myself to buying the polar scope and doing drift aligns....not that that is a bad thing, but it is nice to have alternatives.
Thanks for any info and I apologize for my ignorance on Gemini I, I have been pretty busy with a flooded basement and have not had time to review the level 4 manual.

Kirk

--- In Gemini-II@..., "tom@" <tom@> wrote:

Morgan

On a similar note, I'm assuming that the Polar Align Assist option
made its way into the Gemini 2, correct. From the online menu's and
the Quick Start guide, its a little unclear; but that was a key
feature I was interested in using.

Not yet. René is planning on incorporating every feature of the Gemini
1, but he is working on the Star Alignments at this time. Hopefully
after that PEC, etc.

Tom

Morgan,
Once again, thanks for the info. I am really looking forward to getting this mount! My concern about the utility is based upon how I can image at home. I can use my house to "shade" myself from my neighbor's floodlight, but that puts NCP out of view. On the nights when the floodlight is off I setup in the middle of my backyard and I get a much nicer slice of the sky including Ursa Minor and Polaris. I tried talking to her (my neighbor), but she recently lost her husband and she is a bit nervous, so I think the floodlight makes her feel more secure. Stinks for imaging...but what am I going to do?

Regards,
Kirk

--- In Gemini-II@..., "chaztro1215" <morgan_crew1@> wrote:

Kirk,
I'll give you my impression and maybe Tom can add color. I was not viewing this feature as a replacement for a Polarscope so much as I was planning on using it as a mechanism for fine tuning the less than perfect alignment one would be bound to get if the relied only on the polarscope. So, I think you would have to start with rough polar alignment in order for the feature to be useful. Or else, I suppose you could perform the function mutltiple times to get the job done as well.

I suppose it could also be used as you suggest. I've just heard of some others getting incredibly accurate alignments (IMHO) using the Polar align assist.

Regards,
Morgan

--- In Gemini-II@..., "gray_k99" <nemo129@> wrote:

Tom and Morgan,
So you have tweaked my interest here. Is the Polar Align Assist something like the Celstron "All Star Polar Alignment" utility, i.e. a built in utilty to help you point the RA axis at NCP without having direct sight of Polaris? (or there in abouts) If it is, that would be great, I had resigned myself to buying the polar scope and doing drift aligns....not that that is a bad thing, but it is nice to have alternatives.
Thanks for any info and I apologize for my ignorance on Gemini I, I have been pretty busy with a flooded basement and have not had time to review the level 4 manual.

Kirk

Jerry,

Just out of curiosity, you didn't by any change use Paypal did you? I ask because I ordered & have since received a piece of equipment from a different vendor using Paypal. I was immediately charged for the full cost of the item despite it being backordered. The reason as I was told was that was the way that Paypal did business. I thought it was weird but I had never run into a backordered situation before.

FYI I ordered mine on 3/10/2011. I received an order confirmation 03/11/2011. we'll see how long it takes.

Thanx

John.
39.143345, -77.174802


--- In Gemini-II@..., "Jerry" <jerrylg2@> wrote:

Thanks, Tom...and I hope your brother gets out of the hospital soon! (re an earlier post)

I still feel like Losmandy should communicate much, much better. The info you have provided, for example, should be posted on their Web site (however, you were unfortunately forced to use words like "think," "maybe," and "possibility"). There should be no secrets or guesswork when you purchase something. And people in this newsgroup shouldn't have to do the PR work for Losmandy. We are the paying customers.

Jerry

--- In Gemini-II@..., "tom@" <tom@> wrote:

Jerry
One problem is that the Firmware is still not finished. I think the
units that Losmandy is actually shipping is direct from Losmandy to
customers, where they are contacting each customer and letting them know
the product update status, and making sure the customer understands
before shipping. Now I am not sure of this, but it was what I was led
to be-leave. It this is so, then maybe that is why retailers are not
getting product, unless the retailer agrees to do the firmware upgrades
also, that will be needed in the future, if the customer does not want
to do the firmware upgrades themselfs. Just a possibility.

Tom

On 3/12/2011 6:10 PM, Jerry wrote:

Hello Don:

I fully agree with what you have stated...you should only pay for
something when it actually ships. But, do you recall how confusing
things have been since last April or so? For the longest time, I
didn't know when I should expect shipment and no one seemed to know
anything of substance at the time (and I'm not sure they do now!). As
I recall, my order was processed at a time *before* it was publically
announced a new unit was being produced. And do you remember how
secret that was? You would think a new military missile was being
developed and not a piece of amateur, telescope equipment!

One should not have to troll through newsgroup messages to figure out
when something is going to be produced/shipped. Frankly, I don't have
the time to do that. One should simply go to a Website and see when to
expect shipment (specific dates). I can do that with Amazon.com, for
example. Further, they keep me fully posted during the entire
purchase/shipment process -- via private e-mail. It's not that
difficult with modern software! Plus, I can rate their service --
publically -- once everything is done. It's called excellent customer
service. Some companies know how to do it very well.

This has been the most incredible shopping experience I have ever had
and people continually make excuses for an obvious absence of
effective, caring communication.

No offense to anyone though...everyone is certainly entitled to their
own opinion.

Jerry

--- In Gemini-II@... <mailto:Gemini-II%40yahoogroups.com>,
"Don" <don@> wrote:

Jerry,

I ordered the Gemini II upgrade for my MI-250 through Karen. She

said Losmandy would not charge my VISA card until they shipped the
unit. She "hopefully" expected a shipping date sometime in April.
This, IMHO, is fair treatment by Losmandy. If your retailer took your
money "up front" almost a year ago, then perhaps you have a problem
with them and not Losmandy.

Best of luck.

Don Waid


----- Original Message -----
From: Jerry
To: Gemini-II@... <mailto:Gemini-II%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 4:53 PM
Subject: [Gemini-II] Re: Updates re: Delivery Times



Hello everyone: Here's a good one for you...I ordered my Gemini II

last April (2010) - and paid the retailer in full then! - no word on
when to expect actual shipment and it's like pulling teeth to get a
firm answer from anyone involved (and I have tried). Horrible business
practice I'm very sorry to say. All they (Losmandy/retailer) have to
do is communicate - via their Web page - it is not that difficult! I
will remember this when I need to purchase something else in the
future. I just hope it is worth the wait...at least I have
contributed, financially, to an apparent work in progress. Jerry

--- In Gemini-II@...

<mailto:Gemini-II%40yahoogroups.com>, "lroehrdanz" <res09wpc@> wrote:

I suspect you will get the polarscope and OPW quickly unless you

requested them to be installed on the mount. I ordered my G11 last
May, but I don't think my experience is an accurate measure of the
wait. Once Feb rolled around, it took a couple weeks after the
official roll out before I got mine (I ordered mine through OPT), so
those dates are probably pretty close.

Lee

--- In Gemini-II@...

<mailto:Gemini-II%40yahoogroups.com>, "chaztro1215" <morgan_crew1@> wrote:

While some of us are waiting for our Gemini II's wondering if

anyone can help us with expected delivery dates based on their
experience. I've been on order since early January (3rd or 4th) and
just getting curious; was initially told end of March at the latest.
Also, I ordered the one-piece worm and polarscope from Losmandy about
one month ago and have yet to hear anything back from them, despite
leaving a couple follow-up messages. I know they're probably busy, but
sheesh!! Keep the updates coming, its great to read the experiences of
others to help us new owners when our delivery day arrives (and this
will be my first Losmandy mount)!!

Kirk,
I'll give you my impression and maybe Tom can add color. I was not viewing this feature as a replacement for a Polarscope so much as I was planning on using it as a mechanism for fine tuning the less than perfect alignment one would be bound to get if the relied only on the polarscope. So, I think you would have to start with rough polar alignment in order for the feature to be useful. Or else, I suppose you could perform the function mutltiple times to get the job done as well.

I suppose it could also be used as you suggest. I've just heard of some others getting incredibly accurate alignments (IMHO) using the Polar align assist.

Regards,
Morgan

--- In Gemini-II@..., "gray_k99" <nemo129@> wrote:

Tom and Morgan,
So you have tweaked my interest here. Is the Polar Align Assist something like the Celstron "All Star Polar Alignment" utility, i.e. a built in utilty to help you point the RA axis at NCP without having direct sight of Polaris? (or there in abouts) If it is, that would be great, I had resigned myself to buying the polar scope and doing drift aligns....not that that is a bad thing, but it is nice to have alternatives.
Thanks for any info and I apologize for my ignorance on Gemini I, I have been pretty busy with a flooded basement and have not had time to review the level 4 manual.

Kirk