I had a lot of head scratchin about remote operation of my mount.
In the end, Bluetooth just does not like going through the outside walls of my home. Where WiFi has no trouble with the right equipment.
I run my mount from inside my home. But it was difficult until the fates killed my aging laptop, then my router bellied up, after I got a new portable computer.
But I live in California, and in a Stucco sided house. Stucco is like living in a cement box, with a Faraday cage embedded in it. So signals like blue tooth is like a bug on a windshield.
Since I run at home almost entirely, power has never been a problem. And the few times I go wandering, I still have power someway. Like my little inverter to run my portable laptop, and my big battery for the mount.
But yeah, I'll take WiFi over Blue Tooth any day. Except when BBQing, then I'll take a beer, please.
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Re: Broken Gearbox...frustration, tears, and a little help from Losmandy!
Man! That sure looks like some catastrophic failure going on.
How's the RA drive doing?
I'm really encouraged when I hear how Scott and his folks come through for their customers.
I hope the replacement settles your other guiding concerns as well.
On the bright side, consider if that plastic "Achillie's Heal" was made out of iron parts, it might well have cause a lot worse damage elsewhere. ;^)
Happy New Year!
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Re: static electricity shock
If you want to eliminate static (electro static discharge or ESD) damage to installed equipment, after grounding the mount (make sure the contact area is not painted or anodized), you can also install rubber grounding mats around it. Then when you approach the mount step on the mat and touch an exposed (not painted or anodize) surface. Should be foolproof. Possibly not necessary but then I live under the Great Midwest Nebula and have no shortage of water vapor in the air, so who am I to say? I¡¯ll never forget walking into a high bay in one of the Palmdale aircraft assembly sites and being stunned to see fans pushing water spray into the air of the building. And the vapor disappeared a few feet away from the fans. ? But it isn¡¯t the current that zaps circuits ¨C it is the combination of small currents passing through high resistance. Then thanks to Herr Ohm, the voltage is large, like hundreds to thousands of volts. Bang! ? By the way, ESD is usually a handling problem when working with parts prior to them being soldered into circuits, not when they are installed in a system. That¡¯s why many electrical benches have groudnign straps for the wrist of the worker and anti-static mats on the bench itself. It doesn¡¯t have to cause an immediate failure: partial damage can occur on the workbench and then the circuit will fail days, months, or years later. ? A bit of searching with Google will bring further enlightenment. ? Mark C.
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Oh my goodness, Glen.
Too much time on your hands is right.
One thing I've learned in life is to wait, and do tiny steps.
I'd bet you could find a happy place somewhere between too loose, and too tight, if you tried.
And if you haven't heard from Michael yet, he sells higher friction disks for your mount.
But i recon you done wore all the shiny off your new bride before the clouds have parted.
You seemed to have put the U in used mount. Scary what you are doing.
I finally stopped worrying about what PHD2 was doing, and started concentrating on what my imaging was doing.
I can manipulate my PHD2 graph by changing numbers and show flat lines, or honest lines. But the real Proof is in the images from the entire mount.
PHD2 can only be as good as what the guide scope can see. And there is way too much variables from night to night to worry about it's graph.
I normally set my tripod up as level as I humanly can with a digital level (tenths of a degree accuracy), and spend nights getting my polar alignment the best as I can. And not with some polar scope, but through my camera and telescope. Where the real Meat and Potatoes are.
I've gotten great nights, and not so great nights, of imaging when PHD2 had all sorts of willy-waggles with it's nonsensical graph, and scattered Target star results. When I get the bling-bling-bling alarm, and red blink, it's usually the clouds in it's eye.
And guiding is a single star event. I can not see using a large telescope for the simple task of guiding.
Anyway, stop futzing around and filing on your new bride. She's already looking rode hard and put up wet.
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Re: Mount power supply...
I use the very same sort of meter in my Battery Box I use for my (now gone) AVX.
I like being able to glance down and see the volts and the amperage as my mount goes through various motions, or is just tracking and imaging.
It is sensitive enough to show the guiding adjusting the mount with PHD2.
Ohhhwah, come on February!?
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Re: static electricity shock
You need to use a personal ground lead for this.
.?
Static can amount to thousands of volts, that is why it is so annoying.
Most any form of metal in your hand will take away the "Oh DAMN!" of the discharge. Like stepping out of your car, then touch the metal with a key you have your skin? (finger) in contact with.
But a personal ground lead between the mount and you puts you at the same potential (charge).
Static is a very real danger to electronics.
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Hi,
I've been using an AGM Group 24 Sealed Lead Acid Battery for a number of years now.
I've simply used the fast blow 5 amp fuses that came in the "cigarette" plugs supplied.
Like Greg stated, Fuses are for the wiring, not the device.
Electronics are prone to catastrophic failures as a rule. If one item fails on a Printed Circuit board it usually causes a cascading effect and blows holes in other parts.
Suffices to say, if you blow a fuse, you have a very serious electronic problem.
Sorry to hear of your AVX. Mine failed for the 3rd time in 4 years. And I'm done with "off-shore" mounts. So a new Losmandy is in the works for me in February.
After the first two "No Responce 16 and No Responce 17" failures, I had the battery ready when my AVX came back. I have 42 years of electrical and electronic background. Nothing has a purer DC currant than a battery does.
Both of my AVX failures cam with using an AC/DC adapter from Celestron.
What killed my AVX for the 3rd and last time was forgetting to disconnect my battery maintainer, and letting 14 volts hit the AVX on start up.
Lucky for me, a friend on another forum PM'd me needing the hardware to fix his AVX and I sold the defunct head to him.
After some searching, I found Losmandy, and I found my next and probably last mount.
But use a Fast Blow type fuse, 5 Amp. Or less if the Manufacturer recommends it.
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Folks, ? Michael was not going over the deep end ¨C he has nothing to apologize for. ? Dave Healy (former imaging editor for Astronomy Magazine and operator of Junk Bond Observatory in Sierra Vista, AZ) suffered major equipment damage due to a lightning strike in 2001. It fried the electronics of his 16 inch Meade as I recall, which made it unavailable when I visited with him on Sept. 10, 2001. His isn¡¯t the only case I have heard of, so it isn¡¯t a theoretical concern. Many have lost RS232 to TTL serial voltage converter chips under less drastic conditions. In at least one case it happened twice: the converter was a soldered in DIP. After the second incident they installed a socket so it would be easier to swap it out. Hard to do that, of course, with surface-mount components. ? And it isn¡¯t just the direct lightning strike or things coming thru the power systems that are the issue -- it is also the induced currents caused by the rapid rise-fall-times of the electric fields, even if the strike was to a nearby sacrificial lightening rod. So unshielded long cables are to be avoided and even when shielded should always be terminated in low-impedance sources and sinks or should be disconnected at both ends if you can¡¯t insure that. Low impedance terminations mean that any currents that do get induced will produce low voltages, like less than a few volts. The damage threshold of lots of this digital stuff is 10 to 15V, which isn¡¯t a lot. Data cables are the most risky as the terminations on most consumer electronics are not especially hard in either a mechanical or an electrical sense. ? My personal experience was with high voltage arc lamps in confined metal enclosures (less than a cubic foot) with low voltage analog and digital circuits inches away ¨C the ignition of the arc lamp took joules of charge going into the lamp starter circuits. It was a real pain, to be polite, to work through the problems. At least we were dealing with 5V logic, not 3.3 or 2V which a lot of people use in an attempt to get the current requirements (and hence battery size) down. For our application that is totally irrelevant, of course. ? So a few minutes of disconnecting cables may save you hours and thousands of dollars of grief. Hard to do if you operate remotely. ? If it was me I¡¯d install very short extenders or right angle adapters so that the connectors on the actual camera/mount/focuser are not constantly being subjected to mate-demate cycles. Most of this gear is not well designed for strain relief on the connectors and, worse, the connectors are mounted to the main circuit boards making repair difficult even if the circuit board isn¡¯t cracked by the strain. ? Happy New Year, ? Mark Christensen
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Hi, brand new here and of course a few questions.
I am an Astrophotographer, and my old mount died for it's final time. In researching a new mount, I was drawn to a Losmandy, and believe in February a new GM811GHD will be finding a new home here. I certainly don't need a G11G for my tiny imaging rig, and have no plans to go heavy with my telescopes on my limited retirement budget. But I do need the quality I believe Losmandy offers. And I live 27.3 miles from their place of business in Burbank, CA. Kind of a perk.
I am so done with Asia mounts and their electronics problems, suffices to say.
But now I'm curious about what Programs others use to operate their Losmandy mounts. I'd like to get set for launch.
I've been using Celestron's NexStar control, and the virtual remote in screen, as well as the hand control at the mount during alignment, etc.
For object selections, I've been very successful using Stellarium to select and slew to my targets. I like how it has worked and would like to continue, if possible.
I use a Dell Inspirion 3000, 2 in one, as my mount computer, and WiFi with Tight Vnc to my indoor computer. Both Windows 10 Home edition.
So I'm hoping for some friendly guidance in transitioning to a Losmandy Mount.
In a way of introducing myself a bit:
I have several video's of compiled Astrophotography on Youtube at?
I consider myself a beginner still, but at 70 (in March) a bit short on time to get my buns in gear.
I started my journey around winter of 2014 back into Astronomy by finding The Great Orion Nebula in my 20-60X spotting scope.
And blame Orion for dragging me into the financial black hole of my Nebula passion.
I am too far into this to back out now, so plan to ride it out with a new Losmandy mount as my navigation system.
Thanks! And Please, hit me with some programs and beginner pointers to digest.
Sonny
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Thank you Brian, it looks like my cloud magnet is going to work for me to get first light tonight. What a way to usher in the New Year. "Blow Betelguese Blow!!!"
Sent from my Boost Mobile Phone.
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-------- Original message --------
From: Brian Valente <bvalente@...>
Date: 12/31/19 11:43 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Motor noise
nice!
--
Brian?
Brian Valente
portfolio
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Thank you Anthony.
Sent from my Boost Mobile Phone.
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-------- Original message --------
From: Anthony Q <anthonyquintile4@...>
Date: 12/31/19 11:40 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Motor noise
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Re: static electricity shock
Static
is definitely a problem to be avoided! Maybe not for the mount, but other
stuff, absolutely..
I
have smoked a couple cameras from static..
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Derek
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rappnron via Groups.Io
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2019
7:29 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io]
static electricity shock
?
bottom line ...? do I need to and/or how do I ground the mount ?
Out here in the wild west we get offshore "Santa Ana " winds and the humidity drops
real low. Then when I touch the mount or my metal bodied ZWO camera I might get
a shock of static electricity.
So am I to worry?, not enough power to cause harm right?
Im using a 110v power ( guess this ground doesnt matter as Im getting shocked)
and? imaging on a wooden rooftop deck under a ROR so presumably the mount
is a floating insulated ground?
I have clamped a copper wire to one of the leg mount screws and connected to a
nearby metal vent pipe
But perhaps I should ground myself to the vent pipe?
How best to ground the mount?
Will this help ?
Ron
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bottom line ...? do I need to and/or how do I ground the mount ?
Out here in the wild west we get offshore "Santa Ana " winds and the humidity drops real low. Then when I touch the mount or my metal bodied ZWO camera I might get a shock of static electricity.
So am I to worry?, not enough power to cause harm right?
Im using a 110v power ( guess this ground doesnt matter as Im getting shocked) and? imaging on a wooden rooftop deck under a ROR so presumably the mount is a floating insulated ground?
I have clamped a copper wire to one of the leg mount screws and connected to a nearby metal vent pipe
But perhaps I should ground myself to the vent pipe?
How best to ground the mount?
Will this help ?
Ron
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Hi Michael,
?
I did not think that you went off the deep end. Rather, I thought your post was very informative.
?
Greg
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
On Behalf Of Michael Herman
Sent: Tuesday, 31 December 2019 6:07 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Mount power supply
?
Hi John,
I really apologize for going off the deep end on that lightning topic.? I feel like the nutty character in one of the old Abbott and Costello movies..."slowly I turned...step by step...".?
I have a long history in high voltage electronics, and did my PhD on Field Emission, also called cold cathode emission (of electrons from surfaces). I was examining metal and silicon needle surfaces with 10,000 volts near the tip.? ?So
when you mentioned lightning, I really went off.? I apologize!
Anyway, you got the reasoning correct.??
Does Richard Berry discuss any of this in his articles or books?? I recall reading one where he recommended a rolloff roof observatory.
Is there a company in the world that makes metal domes who could discuss this with you?? It would be great to have some experience talking!
All the best and happy New Year,
?
Michael,
Thanks for the detailed analysis. The choices seem pretty clear. Keep the roof ungrounded (will need to check if it really is) and the equipment totally unplugged. There is a wooden support structure/trelise which the roof rolls onto when open, and I suppose
I could put a rod or pole off the far end. Or maybe something even further away from the whole shed itself. I got rid of all my old and tall trees sometime ago, but can't say the same for the surrounding yards.? But hopefully with a rod close enough and high
enough, any lightning bolt would hit there instead of the shed. I dread to think of the time and money it would take to replace everything if it really did get hit.
Thanks again,
John?
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Very nice, John. I was not familiar with the existence of such plans... sounds like a great idea.??
Send a link to your Astro images if you?can.? ?Love to see the amazing work everyone is doing.
Clear skies and happy holidays,
Michael
[Edited Message Follows]
Hi Michael,
My shed is a 6 x 8 foot wooden structure and built from plans from Skyshed, if you are familiar. I think paid about $60 for the schematics and instructions download which was well worth it for the planning and materials involved. The roof rolls out using garage door type wheels and tracks, which has pretty smooth operation. This past fall I also added a Genie worm drive garage door opener which now allows me to close up without making a trip outside in the cold morning air (nice!).
The roll off is preferable to me over domes, since you can see the whole sky and clouds coming; but domes are better winds breaks from what I have read. I used some standard white colored sheet metal roofing, with insulation board underneath to stop sweating. My Celestron 925 Edge with guide scope on top just fits its range of motion within the walls; for a 10 inch or larger SCT, an 8 x 10 foot design would probably be required.?
But planning ahead for electrical supply and storm events are definitely in one's own better interests.
Cheers,
John
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Hi Michael,
My shed is a 6 x 8 foot wooden structure and built from plans from Skyshed, if you are familiar. I think paid about $60 for the schematics and instructions download which was well worth it for the planning and materials involved. The roof rolls out using garage door type wheels and tracks, which has pretty smooth operation. This past fall I also added a Genie worm drive garage door opener which now allows me to close up without making a trip outside in the cold morning air (nice!).
The roll off is preferable to me over domes, since you can see the whole sky and clouds coming; but domes are better winds breaks from what I have read. I used some standard white colored sheet metal roofing, with insulation board underneath to stop sweating. My Celestron 925 Edge with guide scope on top just fits its range of motion within the walls; for a 10 inch or larger SCT, an 8 x 10 foot design would probably be required.?
But planning ahead for electrical supply and storm events are definitely in one's own better interests.
Cheers,
John
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Ok I assembled the? G11 "no problems their"? put the power to it and the RA motor is much louder then the DEC motor. Am I needing to ajust something or is this normal?
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Fortunately, our activity of observing or imaging forbids doing this in lightning storms!
Now as to golf.... fore!!!
The thing about lightning rods is you must present the lowest impedance path to an effective ground. A truly lightning rod system would use similar gauge rods on insulated standoffs down the side of the structure and a deeply driven section of larger rod to earth. I visited a historic inn which was a few hundred years old and for some reason has a very high frequency of lightning strikes. The entire collection of inn structures is topped with multiple pointed spikes with multiple smaller stalks with more spikes. The spikes are all on a huge bus bar that is held off the roof with glass insulators and this practice is carried down the side of the all of the inn's structures and into a collection of iron rods all mechanically clamped to the main rod from the structure roofs. These grounding rods are hammered into the earth several feet and inspected annually. They seem to take it very seriously, it works as far as I can tell because we were there in a summer lightning storm and they called us all in from the grounds as the lightning storm hit. You can feel it in the air on your skin!?
But as Michael suggested it is far safer to have an effective lightning rod some distance from the structures being protected to minimize the impact on the structure wiring and electronics. It must be significantly taller than surrounding structures to be effective.?
--
Chip Louie - Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware
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Ron
Michael Herman