Re: PoleMaster Add-on... Anybody use one?
I can second the Polemaster suggestion. I don't do long exposure AP, but get 2 min unguided subs with my G11g and a 10" RC.? Since I set up and teardown every time, its accuracy and 2 min alignment are a godsend, indeed.? Matt
I absolutely love my Polemaster and would never go back.? I set up my G11g, polar align and Plate solve to my target all within 10 minutes.? Trust me, at 54 staying in my chair to polar align is a treat I won't give up.
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Re: PoleMaster Add-on... Anybody use one?
I absolutely love my Polemaster and would never go back. ?I set up my G11g, polar align and Plate solve to my target all within 10 minutes. ?Trust me, at 54 staying in my chair to polar align is a treat I won't give up.
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Re: PoleMaster Add-on... Anybody use one?
I use PoleMaster, and it’s a godsend!? It had become practically impossible for this old man to twist his old body in the contortionist shapes necessary to use the polar scope; PoleMaster is easy and kind of fun.? Warning:? The user’s manual is worse than useless, but there are excellent instructional videos on YouTube, and the user interface for PoleMaster is excellent. ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Don Holmgren
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2020 11:29 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] PoleMaster Add-on... Anybody use one? ? I know there are lots of PoleMaster fans here8. ?It must be a very good add-on.
If you’ve got a fairly good view towards the pole, and you already have a camera on your telescope, you can always upgrade SharpCap for about $10 (?IIIRC) and use the polar alignment tool there. ?It uses plate solving and a 90? rotation that you perform to tell you how much to adjust the altitude and azimuth nobs (interactively - it’ll continuously do the plate solve and tell you the current alignment error as you adjust the knobs). ?Definitely worth the small license fee. ?And definitely easier for polar alignment than the polar alignment assistant in the Gemini II.
I find I can get even better alignment with drifting, either using the drift alignment assist tool in PhD2 or PemPRO. ?But I always start with the SharpCap tool.
For sure remote observing from your armchair is the way to go. ?When the temperature drifts towards 0?F and below I am always grateful that I’ve put in everything I need for remote work.
Have fun! - Don
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Re: PoleMaster Add-on... Anybody use one?
I know there are lots of PoleMaster fans here8. ?It must be a very good add-on.
If you’ve got a fairly good view towards the pole, and you already have a camera on your telescope, you can always upgrade SharpCap for about $10 (?IIIRC) and use the polar alignment tool there. ?It uses plate solving and a 90? rotation that you perform to tell you how much to adjust the altitude and azimuth nobs (interactively - it’ll continuously do the plate solve and tell you the current alignment error as you adjust the knobs). ?Definitely worth the small license fee. ?And definitely easier for polar alignment than the polar alignment assistant in the Gemini II.
I find I can get even better alignment with drifting, either using the drift alignment assist tool in PhD2 or PemPRO. ?But I always start with the SharpCap tool.
For sure remote observing from your armchair is the way to go. ?When the temperature drifts towards 0?F and below I am always grateful that I’ve put in everything I need for remote work.
Have fun! - Don
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PoleMaster Add-on... Anybody use one?
I'm shopping for accessories for my soon-to-be-purchased GM811G mount, and debating with myself if a PoleMaster8 add-on would make my life easier.
I think it might, but never used one before.
So wanted to ask what you experienced experts think. Worth the $300?
Friends like it with their mounts (Celestron's, Orion Atlas, Sky Watcher, ad nausem...)...
I've been successful without one, but at 70 (almost), I'm thinking armchair Astrophotography. Mount the telescope, plug in some wires, WiFi the Baby Dell, and go inside to have some remote fun.
What do you think?
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Re: GM8 Belt drive stepper mount
Makes sense with the higher resolution telescope to help the tracking.
I have a focuser I built using UNO and a small inexpensive (ridiculously so) stepper motor.
I took a side road from the originators plan and put a 12 volt DC motor in mine so I didn't have to A. Step down the 12 V to 5 V. B. Get more torque.
I put the drive on the fine adjust of my telescope's focuser and the total gives over 23,000 steps of focusing. It works out to steps of .00123 of an inch.
Far finer than my shaky old hands are able to do now. But the best part was being able to control the fine focusing with my computer, and never touching the equipment.
I would imagine your NEMA 17 steppers have a better drive train in them as well. I think those are an industrial design.?
Well done solution!
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Re: GM8 Belt drive stepper mount
Very nice project John, and very good description of your improved torque from the gear reductions.
On the EQ6 mount (Synta in China makes them, and marketed in the US by Orion as the EQG), some owners replaced the 2 transfer gears with a belt to reduce gear noise while slewing (calling it a "coffee grinder").? Now Synta makes that mount with the belt drive stock from the factory.? So belt drives are popular and proven workable.? The belt also eliminates gear gap and hysteresis time lag too.??
Anyway, very nice clean design job.? Thanks for that!
Michael
On Fri, Jan 17, 2020, 11:25 PM John Scherer < jrsphoto@...> wrote: Forgot to mention, I'm not driving anything to crazy on the GM8.? a C8 is about the biggest this will see, and the longer focal lengths are the main reasons for wanting better tracking.? These stepper mounts are really for someone NOT using the OEM motors and controller.? I've converted this mount to .
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Re: GM8 Belt drive stepper mount
Forgot to mention, I'm not driving anything to crazy on the GM8.? a C8 is about the biggest this will see, and the longer focal lengths are the main reasons for wanting better tracking.? These stepper mounts are really for someone NOT using the OEM motors and controller.? I've converted this mount to .
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Re: GM8 Belt drive stepper mount
Hey Sonny;
Torque is indeed one of the benefit of using additional gear reduction between the motor and the worm gear though not my primary goal.? For me its tracking resolution.? I'm driving the mount with 400 steps/rev, NEMA 17 stepper motors.? The stepper driver is further dividing these steps by 32.? Add to this the additional 4:1 belt drive reduction I'm adding at the motor, driving the 180-tooth worm gear and this gives me 256000 steps/deg for RA/DEC, and a tracking resolution of 0.14 arc-seconds.
Not sure what Gilmore belts are but the belts I'm using are 6mm GT2 timing belt with a 60-tooth and a 15-tooth GT2 pully.
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Re: Strange digital 492 drive behaviour
I use these cables on my Celestron CG11 492 DDS (3x all the same RA/Dec/HC)
Coil Cords - Hand Controller to 492 electronics and 492 to stepper motors
? This is the coil cord that came?from Losmandy included with the new HC that I purchased from them:
??? OEM Assmann WSW Components AT-C-26-6/6/B-7/R?
?? ?Cross ref?to:??
? Digi-Key P/N: A2662R-07C-ND, $3.98/ea.
? Qty: 3 (3x$3.98=$11.94)
? Style: Reverse
? Black, Flat, Coiled Cable Assembly
I purchased spares, all work fine.
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Re: OPW Adjustment Steps with Belleville Washer
Hi Taylor,
Some comments...I hope help.
Once you assembled the OPW, and in doing that you squeezed the Belleville washer flat, and so the worm will stay compressed.??
If your OPW has a cover that you can leave off, so you can see the Oldham coupler, do that.? You ideally want to see how the Oldham coupler parts look when the drive is slewing.? ?
There were 2 forms of OPW for the G11 (RA in the GM811): a)? Older long style (about $350?) has provision for the gearbox to bolt on.? This type requires a longer Oldham coupler (because the gearbox is further from the worm).? Prefer this type of you can get one, because the gearbox can be kept lined up with the worm ahead of time. b) Newer shorter style (~$150?). The gearbox does not attach to this one. Like the original design, the gearbox bolts to the mount.? This one takes the (original) short Oldham coupler.? Like the original drive design, the gearbox is fixed in position, so it's necessary to line up the? gearbox with the worm after the worm is positioned.??
If you have the older style OPW that has the Oldham coupler and gearbox attached, install those while the OPW is off the mount.? If you have the newer type, leave the gearbox off for now.
Now attach the OPW and just lightly force the worm into the teeth of the ring gear.? The Losmandy instruction is to rotate the axis so you use the ring gear teeth to force the worm toward the gearbox.? If you have the Belleville washer in place, the worm isn't going to move at all.? Just a very light force of the worm toward the ring gear is all you need.? Too much pressure could cause "stall" messages on the Gemini, which senses motor current.
Now allow the Oldham coupler ends to be loose.? You will want to slide the Oldham coupler in and out between the gearbox and the worm shaft, to center the gap between these.??
Now attach the gearbox and try to line up the shafts.? Gently lock down the gearbox...you may have to shift it's mounting once the Oldham is installed.
Now attach the two metal ends of the Oldham coupler, so that the white center is tight between the metal ends, and tighten down the setscrews in the metal ends.
Now attach the motor and run the drive and inspect the Oldham coupler as it rotates.? If the metal parts are not shifting in the plastic part, that's what you want...pure rotation.? If not, you might have to enlarge the gearbox mounting holes to shift it's position to try and line up these parts.? (The drive will work if the coupler shifts,? but you want lowest PE and absolutely no glitches in the drive.)
Shifting the gearbox is a pain because the motor is attached to it.? This can be work taking it apart and putting it back. Once it's done, you don't mess with it.? It should stay in the right position, and work properly for (forever?)...
(Or email me privately and call me if you need to...!)
On Fri, Jan 17, 2020, 2:06 PM taylor waber < taylorwab@...> wrote: My mount is a GM811 with a OPW, no springs. I added the Belleville washers as recommended by Michael H. but have a question about the steps for adjusting the worm.?
My steps as I understand how to do this:
I squeeze the worm blocks, in order to load the Belleville washer, then tighten down the bolts underneath.?
Then I bolted down the OPW cover that bolts into the side of the OPW blocks.?
Next I loosened the bolts underneath the blocks and followed Losmandy's YouTube video on OPW adjustment (setting the backlash).?
And finally just tighten everything back up.?
Is this correct? When I loosen the underneath bolts for the OPW blocks, does this take the load out of the Belliville washer? Or does the worm cover keep the load??
Thanks,
Taylor
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OPW Adjustment Steps with Belleville Washer
My mount is a GM811 with a OPW, no springs. I added the Belleville washers as recommended by Michael H. but have a question about the steps for adjusting the worm.?
My steps as I understand how to do this:
I squeeze the worm blocks, in order to load the Belleville washer, then tighten down the bolts underneath.?
Then I bolted down the OPW cover that bolts into the side of the OPW blocks.?
Next I loosened the bolts underneath the blocks and followed Losmandy's YouTube video on OPW adjustment (setting the backlash).?
And finally just tighten everything back up.?
Is this correct? When I loosen the underneath bolts for the OPW blocks, does this take the load out of the Belliville washer? Or does the worm cover keep the load??
Thanks,
Taylor
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Re: GM8 Belt drive stepper mount
OK John,
I'm not to proud to ask why?
I was the guy in class who usually asked the questions that made the Instructor sweat.
I didn't care if it removed all doubt, it clarified the discussion for me.
Besides bigger, torque-ier, motors, and Gilmore belts, are you driving an exceptionally large payload?
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GM8 Belt drive stepper mount
I've made what I'm hoping will be the final design changes to my Losmandy GM8 belt drive stepper mount.? You can find all the info on the page.? I've redesigned the plate to make it rectangular rather than that bent-rectangle design I had before.? The benefit of this is that the same cover design fits both the RA and DEC stepper mount.? I've also added a bearing mount in the cover so if you wish, you could extend the shaft on the 60T pulley so that it would recess into the bearing for added stability.? A very quick video is .? I'm waiting on couplers from R+W, they take a while but I think they are made to order.? The plan after that is to have them machined from aluminum.
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I'm a one wire guy.
I have a (12V). (A 4 port can work, but I have delusions of grandeur and filter wheels and expansion... but in reality, I use 4 ports on my hub.)
My cameras plug into it (I got short USB2 Male A to Male B cables), and a single 12 foot USB cable comes off my mount to my computer.
I also have a single 12V wire to power my Atik Infinity, the hub, the mount, and my focuser.
So, everything the computer runs, runs through that single USB cable.
When I first began, I ran a loom of wires off the mount. But I got smarter as I went along and instead of a hub near the computer, I moved the hub near the work. And a single USB cable to my computer.
I also tried one of those NUC type computers. But dang near wore a path without a display at the mount. So I got a Dell 2 in 1 so I'd have a display at the mount, as well as the WiFi to my inside computer.
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Re: Initial Setup of the Mount
Amen Sonny, The better you get with your set up the better your experience will be. Ajusting the front leg of the tripod to Polais when you can see it finally. As Sonny, mentioned the compass heading is just the start of your alignment process.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: sonnyedmonds@...
Date: 1/15/20 9:36 PM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Initial Setup of the Mount
I use a small magnetic compass,or the GPS on my cell phone.
I set y tripod up so a single leg points North. (It came with the sing leg pointing South. Just moved the pin 180°.)
But remember, Polar North for your tripod is a very rough and general setting.
When you can locate Polaris, there's your aim point.
Just practice. Eventually, you'll be able to aim yourself North, look up and there it is.
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Re: Initial Setup of the Mount
I use a small magnetic compass,or the GPS on my cell phone.
I set my tripod up so a single leg points North. (It came with the single leg pointing South. Just moved the pin 180°.)
But remember, Polar North for your tripod is a very rough and general setting.
When you can locate Polaris, there's your aim point.
Just practice. Eventually, you'll be able to aim yourself North, look up and there it is.
Edit In: Something else I've done is to use a long "yardstick" from the shop (aluminum, 48") and set it on the ground. Then compare it to my GPS on my smarter-than-me-phone.
Then adjusted it so it is in line with North/South, then set my tripod using that as a reference, and the opposing legs evenly spaced from the edge of the Yardstick.
Gets close enough to Azimuth into place for me.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Losmandy tripods machined so any leg can be your North leg? (120° slots for assembly)
One of my biggest concerns is finding Polaris. At some sites there are just too many darned stars.
For that I use the Big Dipper's Bucket.? 8^)
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Meridian Flip G11 with Gemini 2 and SGP
So I've gotten meridian flips to work, now I just want to understand how, why, and more importantly how to control when it happens. Here's my rudimentary understanding of my settings and how to go forward. Tracking an object on the east side of the pier, my Western limit is 97* 12" and I've set my Western GoTo Limit to 7* 12". This lets Gemini know that a goto for the object past the actual meridian or 90* (Western limit - Western GoTo Limit) requires a flip. Now Gemini will keep tracking until it hits the Western Goto Limit if I let it, but in SGP I have it set to do a flip at 0 minutes past the meridian. This triggers the flip since my object is now past 90*. Now if I want to keep imaging say up to 95* or 5* past the meridian all I need to do is adjust SGP to do a flip 20 minutes (4min x 5*) past the meridian. The object will be on the west side of 90* so Gemini will know to flip. No need to mess with Gemini since it won't flip without being issued a goto command. Does this sound correct? All of my source info and pics are coming from?
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Re: Initial Setup of the Mount
Bill, I place the compass down in the middle of the tripod extention and it points North. It points the same on the ground below the tripod.? so their is not enough ferrous material to affect the compass. But with a cell phone app the effects would be
moot.
Sent from my Boost Mobile Phone.
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-------- Original message --------
From: Bill Gardner <pictorobservatory@...>
Date: 1/15/20 7:55 PM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Initial Setup of the Mount
But I see it is already obvious that everyone *does* use a compass in proximity to the mount.. That’s what I wanted to know, as I thought that wouldn’t work
because of all the metal..
Compasses and magnets are not attracted to all metal.? Aluminum for instance is not a magnetic material
Bill
_____________
Pictor Observatory
Twitter: @pictorobs
Minor Planet 21350 - billgardner
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Re: Initial Setup of the Mount
But
I see it is already obvious that everyone *does* use a compass in proximity to
the mount.. That’s what I wanted to know, as I thought that wouldn’t work
because of all the metal..
Compasses and magnets are not attracted to all metal.? Aluminum for instance is not a magnetic material
Bill
_____________ Pictor Observatory
Twitter: @pictorobs
Minor Planet 21350 - billgardner
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Michael Herman
John Scherer