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Hi all,
I am running Gemini 2, and I did a rough polar alignment on my mount. It consistently off by 20-40 degrees in RA and similar in DEC. I have had the Gemini 2 setup to do:
1) Warm Restarts
2) "Sync Performs additional align" is turned on.
3) My site: Lat: N 39 24.92 Long: W 119 46.47 Time Zone: UTC-8 PST/YDT
My mount does not find the target after successful platesolves and syncs.
I think that tonight I'd like to set the Gemini 2 to:
1) Cold Restarts, and?
2) Turn OFF "Sync Performs additional align".
NINA is setup to sync with mount at platesolves.
If this is the solution, great, but I'd like to hear from you guys if there is other issues (like getting a precise polar alignment) that could be causing this.
Clear Skies,
Paul
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I found with my Gemini on my MI250 That I have to do additional align, several on each side of the Meridian, Before it would point accurately. And the closer you can get the polar alignment the better but if you don’t get the polar alignment as close as possible and do multiple additional alignments then plate solving will be a real problem.?
Hi all,
I am running Gemini 2, and I did a rough polar alignment on my mount. It consistently off by 20-40 degrees in RA and similar in DEC. I have had the Gemini 2 setup to do:
1) Warm Restarts
2) "Sync Performs additional align" is turned on.
3) My site: Lat: N 39 24.92 Long: W 119 46.47 Time Zone: UTC-8 PST/YDT
My mount does not find the target after successful platesolves and syncs.
I think that tonight I'd like to set the Gemini 2 to:
1) Cold Restarts, and?
2) Turn OFF "Sync Performs additional align".
NINA is setup to sync with mount at platesolves.
If this is the solution, great, but I'd like to hear from you guys if there is other issues (like getting a precise polar alignment) that could be causing this.
Clear Skies,
Paul
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Hi Pal
>>>I think that tonight I'd like to set the Gemini 2 to: 1) Cold Restarts, and? 2) Turn OFF "Sync Performs additional align". NINA is setup to sync with mount at platesolves.
Yes you should do this, which is the common?practice when using platesolving.?
If your initial goto is off by that many degrees, chances are one or more of your settings is off, or your computer/gemini information is way out of sync.?
That's roughly 1-3 hours difference between initial goto and target.?
Hi all,
I am running Gemini 2, and I did a rough polar alignment on my mount. It consistently off by 20-40 degrees in RA and similar in DEC. I have had the Gemini 2 setup to do:
1) Warm Restarts
2) "Sync Performs additional align" is turned on.
3) My site: Lat: N 39 24.92 Long: W 119 46.47 Time Zone: UTC-8 PST/YDT
My mount does not find the target after successful platesolves and syncs.
I think that tonight I'd like to set the Gemini 2 to:
1) Cold Restarts, and?
2) Turn OFF "Sync Performs additional align".
NINA is setup to sync with mount at platesolves.
If this is the solution, great, but I'd like to hear from you guys if there is other issues (like getting a precise polar alignment) that could be causing this.
Clear Skies,
Paul
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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For that far off in both axes, I would make sure the following are all correct:
CWD position at warm start/cold start is correct. Mount Type is correct. Dec and RA cables aren't swapped.
In addition, ensure the first alignment is well away from the pole, and that date/time are both correct (watch out for time zone issues, etc)
Graeme
On Mon, 7 Mar 2022, 02:59 Brian Valente, < bvalente@...> wrote: Hi Pal
>>>I think that tonight I'd like to set the Gemini 2 to: 1) Cold Restarts, and? 2) Turn OFF "Sync Performs additional align". NINA is setup to sync with mount at platesolves.
Yes you should do this, which is the common?practice when using platesolving.?
If your initial goto is off by that many degrees, chances are one or more of your settings is off, or your computer/gemini information is way out of sync.?
That's roughly 1-3 hours difference between initial goto and target.?
Hi all,
I am running Gemini 2, and I did a rough polar alignment on my mount. It consistently off by 20-40 degrees in RA and similar in DEC. I have had the Gemini 2 setup to do:
1) Warm Restarts
2) "Sync Performs additional align" is turned on.
3) My site: Lat: N 39 24.92 Long: W 119 46.47 Time Zone: UTC-8 PST/YDT
My mount does not find the target after successful platesolves and syncs.
I think that tonight I'd like to set the Gemini 2 to:
1) Cold Restarts, and?
2) Turn OFF "Sync Performs additional align".
NINA is setup to sync with mount at platesolves.
If this is the solution, great, but I'd like to hear from you guys if there is other issues (like getting a precise polar alignment) that could be causing this.
Clear Skies,
Paul
--
Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Thanks all,
With the new settings, my mount is learning, as evidenced by the RA and DEC error going to zero with each plate solve. Brian and company sent me two new gearboxes with my retrofit kit, so I plan on swapping out my old ones to decrease mechanical problems. With an MI-250 mount, though, this involves shortening the gearbox shaft enough to enable the Oldham coupler to closely match the worm drive, so that? there is no slipping, but also? the motor is seated firmly. There is as bit of apprehension on my part because of lack of experience.
Clear skies,
Paul
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Hi Paul,
I don't know the MI-250, but why not just put some washers under the gearbox mounting and space the gearbox away from its mounting position that way... why?cut the gearbox shaft?? ?Too much work!
Michael
Thanks all,
With the new settings, my mount is learning, as evidenced by the RA and DEC error going to zero with each plate solve. Brian and company sent me two new gearboxes with my retrofit kit, so I plan on swapping out my old ones to decrease mechanical problems. With an MI-250 mount, though, this involves shortening the gearbox shaft enough to enable the Oldham coupler to closely match the worm drive, so that? there is no slipping, but also? the motor is seated firmly. There is as bit of apprehension on my part because of lack of experience.
Clear skies,
Paul
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Excellent
Steve Ruttenberg
Photographer
Amateur Astronomer
928.968.3444
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Can confirm, washers work on the MI-250 - we have this on our remote hosted mount.
Graeme
Hi Paul,
I don't know the MI-250, but why not just put some washers under the gearbox mounting and space the gearbox away from its mounting position that way... why?cut the gearbox shaft?? ?Too much work!
Michael
Thanks all,
With the new settings, my mount is learning, as evidenced by the RA and DEC error going to zero with each plate solve. Brian and company sent me two new gearboxes with my retrofit kit, so I plan on swapping out my old ones to decrease mechanical problems. With an MI-250 mount, though, this involves shortening the gearbox shaft enough to enable the Oldham coupler to closely match the worm drive, so that? there is no slipping, but also? the motor is seated firmly. There is as bit of apprehension on my part because of lack of experience.
Clear skies,
Paul
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Hi Micheal,
Thank You for the tip! Actually I did use washers in the more traditional sense when I put in my new gearboxes today. It turns out that one of the bolts was not going in all the way (suspect a piece of a previous bolt must have blocked it), so I added three flat washers to keep the gearbox tight against the mount. Works Good!
HOWEVER, now the new motor, upon putting everything back together races uncontrollably and then stalls. This is the DEC. The RA, which has a new gearbox, too, runs great. Did the motor controller get fried? I accidentally pushed in the DIN connector at an angle, and it bent the top pin. I pushed it back, and it slides in good, but the motor just races and abruptly halts, with "RA Stall" on the HC. I manually turned the worm gear, and it turns easy and smooth, so its not mechanical.
Clear Skies,
Paul
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Oh dear! That may have been an expensive mistake ?. If you inserted the DIN in the wrong orientation it’s possible you’ve burnt out the motor encoder IC or maybe even the decoder IC in the Gemini … ? ? Clarification here – you say the DEC motor races and halts but you get an RA stall message?? Doesn’t sound quite as expected. ? D. ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Romero
Sent: 13 March 2022 23:22
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Gemini_users_io] mount does not learn from platesolving? Hi Micheal,
Thank You for the tip! Actually I did use washers in the more traditional sense when I put in my new gearboxes today. It turns out that one of the bolts was not going in all the way (suspect a piece of a previous bolt must have blocked it), so I added three flat washers to keep the gearbox tight against the mount. Works Good!
HOWEVER, now the new motor, upon putting everything back together races uncontrollably and then stalls. This is the DEC. The RA, which has a new gearbox, too, runs great. Did the motor controller get fried? I accidentally pushed in the DIN connector at an angle, and it bent the top pin. I pushed it back, and it slides in good, but the motor just races and abruptly halts, with "RA Stall" on the HC. I manually turned the worm gear, and it turns easy and smooth, so its not mechanical.
Clear Skies,
Paul
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On Sun, Mar 13, 2022 at 07:21 PM, Paul Romero wrote:
the new motor, upon putting everything back together races uncontrollably and then stalls.
This sounds like a situation I had last year and the only solution that worked was replacing the Gemini 2 PC board entirely - now $500. But same thing, the Dec? motor would race at high speed for several seconds then stop in a place the Gemini 2 could not identify. I would check or replace cables, or try to straighten out the pins, but you may have to go the pricey route. You could check continuity for all connections with a multimeter into the board, but after that, there may only be the one solution. Good luck, John
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On Sun, Mar 13, 2022 at 07:21 PM, Paul Romero wrote:
I accidentally pushed in the DIN connector at an angle, and it bent the top pin. I pushed it back, and it slides in good, but the motor just races and abruptly halts, with "RA Stall" on the HC. I manually turned the worm gear, and it turns easy and smooth, so its not mechanical.
Swap the cables between RA and DEC and see if the other motor starts racing. If yes, you just need a new motor cable. Regards, ? ? ?-Paul
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If ?all else fails, I or one of the other repairers can replace motor encoders and repair Gemini controllers. ? I live in UK, Michael Herman is in CA, USA, and Bren Smith is in Australia. ? David ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Kanevsky
Sent: 14 March 2022 12:01
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Gemini_users_io] mount does not learn from platesolving? On Sun, Mar 13, 2022 at 07:21 PM, Paul Romero wrote: I accidentally pushed in the DIN connector at an angle, and it bent the top pin. I pushed it back, and it slides in good, but the motor just races and abruptly halts, with "RA Stall" on the HC. I manually turned the worm gear, and it turns easy and smooth, so its not mechanical.
Swap the cables between RA and DEC and see if the other motor starts racing. If yes, you just need a new motor cable.
Regards,
? ? ?-Paul
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Hi David et all,
I may have misspoke about the stall message..the HC said also "heavy lag", so it is as noted the Gemini does not know where it is.
Michael shared with me his troubleshooting expertise. I swapped the cables.and found that the problem still existed with a different cable. One down.?
I then swapped the G2 controller outputs, and I found the DEC motor runs fine when connected to the RA output. Shoot! Saved, as mentioned, $500.
So it's the motor. I found something interesting on the Losmandy store/replacement parts: 'Stepprr motor PC Board". Could this be what's fried??
In any case, I am anxious to get up and running again, butI am awaiting Losmandy response to repair request.
BTW, it seems I memorized the RA and DEC backeards, do that may have been the cause of my Ozp! Would be funny if it didn't hurt in the wallet so much.
Clear Skies,
Paul
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> I found something interesting on the Losmandy store/replacement parts: 'Stepprr motor PC Board". ? Not relevant – that’s for the earlier 492 digital drive system which used stepper motors not servo motors. ? I don’t believe Losmandy repair the motors when the encoders a burnt out but I could be wrong. ? D. ?
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Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Paul Romero
Sent: 14 March 2022 17:50
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Gemini_users_io] mount does not learn from platesolving? Hi David et all,
I may have misspoke about the stall message..the HC said also "heavy lag", so it is as noted the Gemini does not know where it is.
Michael shared with me his troubleshooting expertise. I swapped the cables.and found that the problem still existed with a different cable. One down.?
I then swapped the G2 controller outputs, and I found the DEC motor runs fine when connected to the RA output. Shoot! Saved, as mentioned, $500.
So it's the motor. I found something interesting on the Losmandy store/replacement parts: 'Stepprr motor PC Board". Could this be what's fried??
In any case, I am anxious to get up and running again, butI am awaiting Losmandy response to repair request.
BTW, it seems I memorized the RA and DEC backeards, do that may have been the cause of my Ozp! Would be funny if it didn't hurt in the wallet so much.
Clear Skies,
Paul
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Hi David,
Thanks for that. Possible warranty repair in the works per Losmandy.
I am hoping to get the unit on the last plane out tonight!
Clear Skies,
Paul
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Losmandy performed a timely non-warranty repair of my motor encoder, which I blew. Last week I felt really bad about this step back, but now things are looking up....and I don't have to explain to my wife why I need to buy a new motor 2 weeks after I bought the new Gemini. Thanks Brian and company for great service!
Clear Skies,
Paul
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Michael Herman
Steve Ruttenberg
David C. Partridge
Paul Kanevsky