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Losmandy Update: Covid
Hi everyone i apologize for being offline for a day or so Losmandy has been hit by Covid. Pretty much the whole Losmandy office tested positive.
No one is critically ill, but several are bed-bound.? Unrelated, some of our suppliers also tested positive as well, including complete shops. Wow, this thing moves fast and leaves no one behind. This is despite our best efforts to be as careful as possible, following all protocols and recommendations from CDC and local health officials.? I am writing so that you know responses may be slower than anticipated, and shipping is slowed down as well.? We wanted you to know we are still doing everything we can to keep things moving, but it may be a bit before we are back to normal. Brian -- Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
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Re: Loud motor noise in new G811G
I'll propose an idea: The motor mounting holes are close to that thread OD.? So there is no real space to manouver the motor's pinion drive gear into the gearbox first input gear.? If it is too tight you will get a noise from that.? One option is to enlarge the mounting holes of the motor flange, but the mounting flange is maybe 1/4 inch thick.??? A simpler alternative is to file down the OD threads of the mounting bolts, just below the bolt head, of a distance the thickness of the? motor mounting?flange.? You must still have the threads past the motor flange to screw into the gearbox mounting holes.? Then by reducing the bolt diameter just in the thickness of the motor gjsnge, you will get some adjustment leeway to the motor mounting, so you can lighten up a tight fit of the pinion drive gear.?? You might want to get some spare 4-40 (x 1/2?) inch stainless steel allen socket head bolts to play with in case this idea?doesn't work!?? All the best, Michael On Sun, Dec 13, 2020, 3:13 PM Ralf Schiffert <Guglhupf@...> wrote: I have the same mount and brand new as well. At most 1 hour of runtime so far. It sounds just like yours. But I am thankful you posted, since I was equally concerned that the sound of the RA motor is so different from the DEC motor.? |
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Re: GM811G 8" saddle interference with motor housing
Sonny Edmonds
I opted for not getting the 8" saddle at the time of purchase.
I could not see an advantage in it for me. I do DSO imaging, and only use a small 80 mm refractor. I do, however, use a under my telescope, which rides in rings. I've never felt there was any security issues with the OEM clamp. I did add the (no Dec riser) for it's distinct advantages. I think if you contact Tanya you could likely purchase only the riser plate, without the entire RAEXK. -- SonnyE (I suggest viewed in full screen) |
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Re: multi-star PHD2!
I hoped you would chime in Don! thanks for the added perspective :) btw the new SkyWave software is pretty amazing so far :) On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 3:28 PM Don Holmgren <djholm@...> wrote: i ended up selling it... --
Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
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Re: multi-star PHD2!
i ended up selling it... ... to me (thanks Brian!). It¡¯s the smaller ONAG, appropriate for APS-C sensors. I love it.?
I still primarily use PHD2 for guiding with the ONAG. Their full frame guiding software is compelling (they compute a correlation function between the first frame and subsequent frames, so they essentially use all of the stars and any other features in the frame). It works but I prefer the PHD2 interface and get similar results.? |
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Re: PEC training
On 12/12/2020 4:58 PM, Paul Goelz wrote:
On 12/12/2020 3:58 PM, Brian Valente wrote:After looking at the log in the same viewer you are using, it looks normal to me. My guiding has always been that noisy, even on my LX200 (before I got the GM811). I have nothing to compare it to.... this is my first experience with guiding. So I accepted it as normal. If it is in fact noisier than it should be, one reason might be that my guide scope is the $135 model from Agena. It is nicely made but it does NOT produce pinpoint stars. They were truly awful until I added a minus-violet AND UV/IR filters but they are still not pinpoints. My average HFD hovers around 4+ and wanders around with seeing. Perhaps that adds noise, even with multi-star guiding? Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com |
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Re: PEC training
On 12/12/2020 5:11 PM, Brian Valente wrote:
>>> do you concur with PECPrep that my guiding was better than +/- 1"OK, gotcha. According to PHDLogViewer my overall RA RMS was 0.83". Peak was 5.25" but a lot of that is one big excursion early in the session. After that it was +3" / -3.5" which is about what I remember. I also can see that PEC removes the worm signal and the worm/2 signal and increases the worm bearing signal, which I now understand is to be expected. SO.... I seem to have two choices. 1. Adjust the RA worm bearings to see if I can remove the signal. 2. Use the trial version of PEMPro to create a valid PEC file that excludes the bearing signal. I prefer adjusting the bearing since it does not rely on expensive software? By now I am comfortable adjusting the worm block (plenty of practice on the DEC), so no big deal. If that can remove the bearing signal, PEC should be able to do the rest nicely. Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com |
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Re: PEC training
>>>
do you concur with PECPrep that my guiding was better than +/- 1" peak to peak??? I don't use PECPrep to evaluate guiding - the PHD Log viewer is much better for example, PECPrep doesn't subtract?dithers. it's not really a guiding analysis tool imo On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 1:58 PM Paul Goelz <pgoelz@...> wrote: On 12/12/2020 3:58 PM, Brian Valente wrote: --
Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
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Re: PEC training
On 12/12/2020 3:58 PM, Brian Valente wrote:
all i can say is i've seen dozens probably hundreds of logs, and the only time i see that kind of noise is when there is a periodic error correction that is poor qualityDon't know what to say. Seeing was not too bad that night (although transparency was horrid). The only time PEC was on was in the middle of the run. Maybe 10-15 minutes tops. For the rest of the 100 minute session PEC was at least supposed to be off. Unless I missed the fact that it was on the whole time, which is always possible. But I have been careful to leave it off because I have never seen it improve anything. And I check the hand controller once in a while to make sure ;) But no worries. I'll do an unguided run if I ever see stars again. In the mean time, do you concur with PECPrep that my guiding was better than +/- 1" peak to peak? That is what it says when I load the log and set the correct values for pixel dimension and focal length. If so, there may not be much point in trying to improve it. But at least on the PHD2 graph, RA was swinging +/- 2.5" once in a while. I had slightly oval stars too, but RA isn't the only thing that can cause that..... Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com |
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Re: PEC training
Paul It's ideal if you can run unguided for a period of time all i can say is i've seen dozens probably hundreds of logs, and the only time i see that kind of noise is when there is a periodic error correction that is poor quality take it for what it's worth On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 12:53 PM Paul Goelz <pgoelz@...> wrote: On 12/12/2020 3:34 PM, Brian Valente wrote: --
Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
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Re: PEC training
On 12/12/2020 3:34 PM, Brian Valente wrote:
Sorry i didn't mean that.I suspect it is noisy because that was a log of an imaging session with guiding active. So there was a lot going on in addition to just the mount's contribution. That doesn't change the fact that the signals are there, but it probably does explain the noise. If I EVER see stars again, I'll do a run with guiding disabled to get a better look at things. But am I chasing a phantom here? PECPrep seems to say my guiding was excellent at less than 1" P-P. At the time I didn't think it was that good. Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com |
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Re: PEC training
On 12/12/2020 3:38 PM, Brian Valente wrote:
PS i hope that didn't sound snarkyNot at all. It got me thinking again. And it raised a question.... unless someone has a ready answer, I may end up posting this on the PHD2 list. My recollection from the session on the 10th is that peak guide error was occasionally as much as +/- 2" or maybe even a bit more. However, PECPrep shows it as something less than +/- 1". Is it possible that when using multi star guiding that the displayed guiding error (the graph) does not accurately show the actual guiding error? If the corrections are based on the average centroid of all the guide stars being used, I'm wondering if the graph is only based on the one guide star in the crosshairs same as always. But the guide star's instantaneous position is NOT the same as the average centroid of all guide stars, causing the displayed error to be worse than the actual error????? See what happens when it is cloudy with no prospects of imaging for as far as the long range forecast can see ;) Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com |
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Re: GM811G 8" saddle interference with motor housing
Richard Benoit
Steve -
I had the same problem when I added the 8" saddle. I ended up making a 1/2" spacer plate to fit between the top of the dec axis and the saddle. This gave me enough separation that I no longer had the interference. Another possibility might be to add the RA extension kit but that was too expensive for me. I was lucky to have a friend with a machine shop where I could make my own part. Tanya sent me some new knobs that were slightly smaller but they weren't sufficient to provide the necessary clearance. Richard Benoit |
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Re: PEC training
PS i hope that didn't sound snarky i meant it as a compliment. usually it takes me days haha It's a constant learning curve for everyone.? On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 12:37 PM Brian Valente via <bvalente=[email protected]> wrote:
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Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
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Re: PEC training
>>>
?I know a lot more about what I am dealing with now than I did this morning ;) that's how it should work :) On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 12:35 PM Paul Goelz <pgoelz@...> wrote: On 12/12/2020 3:26 PM, Brian Valente wrote: --
Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
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Re: PEC training
On 12/12/2020 3:26 PM, Brian Valente wrote:
no one ever seems to think seeing conditions are ever a variable ;)Not me. To me, seeing is a HUGE variable. When I went back and loaded older logs, I found similar signals but the overall frequency domain was a lot more noisy. That makes sense because the troublesome session from the 10th was probably the best seeing I have had in a month. The older session had a lot of random noise due to seeing. The end result is that the session on the 10th LOOKED worse because the signals were much farther out of the noise floor. In truth, they may be the same amplitude.... just more buried in the noise so they LOOKED lower. If I seem to be contradicting myself, it is only because I am learning minute by minute from this process. I know a lot more about what I am dealing with now than I did this morning ;) Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com |
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Re: PEC training
>>>
Your included image looks perfectly understandable to me.? It shows RA errors at three important frequencies.... worm, worm X2 and worm bearing.? It also matches the frequency domain plot I get in PECPrep. Sorry i didn't mean that.? i meant they are extremely noisey - normally i see just a simple distribution curve and a smooth hump. Yours has many spikes in and around those periods. that suggests to me there is mis-alignment of your PEC which i would expect in a low quality PE correction, such as using PHD and recording it (the guiding adjustments happen after the actual event) I realize PEMPro isn't free, but if you are really focused on getting the most from your mount, it is a good investment. you just aren't going to get a high quality PE correction any other way (at least right now). On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 3:31 AM Paul Goelz <pgoelz@...> wrote: On 12/11/2020 11:46 PM, Brian Valente wrote: --
Brian? Brian Valente portfolio |
Michael Herman
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