Re: AstroGadget goto kit for G11/GM8
I will take a look at those. Thanks for the info.
Daniel V
On Tue, Apr 28, 2020 at 2:05 PM George Cushing < pinyachta@...> wrote: Tucked printable motor mount for G11,??And GM-8?
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Clear skies?
Daniel V
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Re: AstroGadget goto kit for G11/GM8
Tucked printable motor mount for G11,??And GM-8?
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Thank you AstroItalian, I am going to give it one more try tonight. Tonight will be the last clear night for awhile. When my mount was working well I go to bright star Align then alignment and what ever I would Goto would be somewhere in the eyepiece,
and that is just fine by me.HAAPY SKIES Deric.
Sent from my Boost Mobile Phone.
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-------- Original message --------
From: astroitalian@...
Date: 4/28/20 11:53 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pointing Issues
Good morning Deric, Brian et al,
I have good news to report.? Last night pointing was close to excellent.? I don't expect "perfect" from any commercial mount (or even a custom one!) but the accuracy was well within tolerance, falling for the most part within or on the little red square on
my camera viewer.? Tracking was also very good to excellent (that depending on where I was in the sky, not a reflection on the mount's capabilities).
Ok, so here's what my wife and I did yesterday.? First, I had done a factory reset recently, so I'm not sure what we HAD entered as parameters originally that might have changed, but one thing I do not believe we had entered was an accurate figure for our elevation,
so we did that.
We also entered SECONDS in the latitude and longitude boxes.
But the one thing that "might" also have had some effect was this:? On the online Gemini web interface page, where you can enter stuff like time, date, and location, the location default was for Hollywood.? I'm talking about where the dropdown is located, that
has Phoenix and other cities listed.? Now, we DID have correct latitude and longitude entered in the boxes below that, however whether the system DEFAULTS to Hollywood is what we did not know, but we did change that location to a custom one for Green Valley,
Arizona.? We're assuming that if that had any effect, it would have been that it was showing the elevation for Hollywood (??).
So, SOMETHING we did there must have worked, because pointing was a whole lot more accurate, enough that I'm perfectly happy with it now!? And also got a good night's sleep, because after a great evening of imaging, I wasn't lying in bed trying to work out
what might be going wrong with the mount!? Usually after a night out scopin' I'm pretty wound up as it is!
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Good morning Deric, Brian et al,
I have good news to report.? Last night pointing was close to excellent.? I don't expect "perfect" from any commercial mount (or even a custom one!) but the accuracy was well within tolerance, falling for the most part within or on the little red square on my camera viewer.? Tracking was also very good to excellent (that depending on where I was in the sky, not a reflection on the mount's capabilities).
Ok, so here's what my wife and I did yesterday.? First, I had done a factory reset recently, so I'm not sure what we HAD entered as parameters originally that might have changed, but one thing I do not believe we had entered was an accurate figure for our elevation, so we did that.
We also entered SECONDS in the latitude and longitude boxes.
But the one thing that "might" also have had some effect was this:? On the online Gemini web interface page, where you can enter stuff like time, date, and location, the location default was for Hollywood.? I'm talking about where the dropdown is located, that has Phoenix and other cities listed.? Now, we DID have correct latitude and longitude entered in the boxes below that, however whether the system DEFAULTS to Hollywood is what we did not know, but we did change that location to a custom one for Green Valley, Arizona.? We're assuming that if that had any effect, it would have been that it was showing the elevation for Hollywood (??).
So, SOMETHING we did there must have worked, because pointing was a whole lot more accurate, enough that I'm perfectly happy with it now!? And also got a good night's sleep, because after a great evening of imaging, I wasn't lying in bed trying to work out what might be going wrong with the mount!? Usually after a night out scopin' I'm pretty wound up as it is!
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Re: AstroGadget goto kit for G11/GM8
Hi Dan,
I don't know about 'OnStep', but Siderial Technoogy has all of the parts but the motor mounts.
My AZ8 has servo motors (tucked in), belt drives and a wireless hand pad. The mount is controlled by Cartes du Ciel which is a surprisingly good planetarium program (free) and 10" MS Surface pad. I sometimes use a 10" Galaxy pad and SkySafari with the
same rig. Full GoTo (quiet) programmable slew, pan and guide speeds.
No mods are needed to the AZ8. I used the factory motor mount holes and made motor mounts from 1/8" sheet aluminum. I think (hope) the most recent run of AZ8's have the drilled and tapped motor mount holes.
BG
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-------- Original message --------
From: daniel vrolijk <danielvrolijk55@...>
Date: 4/28/20 12:10 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] AstroGadget goto kit for G11/GM8
ive always wanted?to fit On step on an AZ8 but? never saw a guide on how to do it. first step I need an AZ8 :P
On Tue, Apr 28, 2020 at 9:42 AM Henk Aling < haling@...> wrote:
Not always a laptop, I plan on using my Pi and controlling it from my Galaxy Tab A.
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Clear skies?
Daniel V
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Re: AstroGadget goto kit for G11/GM8
ive always wanted?to fit On step on an AZ8 but? never saw a guide on how to do it. first step I need an AZ8 :P
On Tue, Apr 28, 2020 at 9:42 AM Henk Aling < haling@...> wrote: Not always a laptop, I plan on using my Pi and controlling it from my Galaxy Tab A.
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Clear skies?
Daniel V
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Re: AstroGadget goto kit for G11/GM8
Not always a laptop, I plan on using my Pi and controlling it from my Galaxy Tab A.
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Re: REPLAY LINK: Zoom mtg using microRouter for Gemini connect
Thanks for the session, Brian. I learned some networking. I am ok with my current wifi setup, but found this to be interesting.? I use USB from a permanent pier in front of my house to my my laptop in an observatory trailer next to the pier.? Then TeamViewer wifi connect to my tablet, or phone or desktop in house 40 feet away.? Has been working good since I put a wifi antenna outside on the trailer. Laptop in trailer is powerful Dell and runs all my apps and collects images.? The router you showed would be interesting for Star party setup, but my 16 ft USB active cable has done well and more simple. Also don't want to change out my USB hub at the mount to an Ethernet....laptop in trailer would need adapter if I did that.? Already use one just for Gemini 2 to hub at the mount. Rest is all USB.??
I have to set up mount and tele each time onto pier, then take laptop in when finished each night. Sure wish I had place for an observatory shed, but not possible.??
Great seeing some of the folks faces on Zoom that I read about.?
Losmandy mount G811 working great, just working on better guiding in phd.
Clear skies, all!
Mearl In hazy VA
On Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 4:30 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: HI everyone
At your request (and against my wishes!) here's a replay of this session.
??
thanks again to the 15 or so people who joined the live presentation
it's currently marked unlisted, so anyone with a link can view it, but we plan to do a more polished version of this video without?some of the hiccups i experienced.
nice to see and meet some of you! looking forward to more of these in the future
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Thank you Brian, on my way to work now.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: Brian Valente <bvalente@...>
Date: 4/28/20 1:11 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pointing Issues
Hi Deric
>>And punching in wrong information into the Gemini 2 HC to get it to work does not work for me that tells me its broke. As far as rugged and a long service life mine is not starting out so good.?
I don't think that's quite accurate Deric. Just to be clear, i proposed something that could be done easily and quickly. that was not a proposal to fix it, only to see if we could isolate it down to an issue with time inaccuracy.?
you are in the "still determining what is the issue" mode,
I sent you a separate email with some additional perspective and approach
I understand you are frustrated and feel like it's not getting anywhere. A 'i'm just throwing rocks' approach is definitely not a good approach at this point and will frustrate you further. After looking at the email i sent, i encourage you to take a more
methodical approach.?
clearly it worked before, and now it's inaccurate. we just need to figure out what changed.?
John, I'm very frustrated, this is just remenesent of what happened with my last mount all be it,it was Chinese junk to begin with. It had constant issues. Its final issue actually made me laugh when after a few hours of working it went up in
smoke with me thinking " Die you B¡î¡î¡î¡î"?
I was sent a Email tonight that Losmandy is sending a list of things to try, I'll bet I've tried most of them.
And punching in wrong information into the Gemini 2 HC to get it to work does not work for me that tells me its broke. As far as rugged and a long service life mine is not starting out so good.?
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
-------- Original message --------
Date: 4/28/20 12:21 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pointing Issues
Deric,
Sorry to hear about these troubles. I am sure Losmandy will try to accommodate your concerns. One advantage is that you can just return the Gemini without shipping the entire rig. Perhaps something was damaged in shipping. Last year I had to return a new telescope
three times as something happened each time I received it. The shipping companies and post office can be brutal with packages sometimes.?
I think you will find that the Losmandy mounts are really rugged and most users will attest to long service life of many years. The other brands are more premium and of course will cost you quite a bit more.
Perhaps someone else can think of some other things to try as a last resort.
Best of luck.
John
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Brian?
Brian Valente
portfolio
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Re: G11 dismantling and cleaning
Good day, I just did that this week-end with my G11. It is a 2000 model so yours might be a bit different. Strip everything then clean all the worms, gears, bearings with mineral turpentine and a brush in a large plastic tub to get rid of all the old grease. The bearings inside the RA and DEC housing you can just brush them until they get loose then keep rinsing them to get rid of all the gunk. Then let the whole thing dry. The day after grease all the bearings and the gears with a molypaste or equivalent (MP50 does the job). Be careful this grease is very messy. Whatever it touches is "wet". It will stick very well. That's the point anyway. Then you put everything back together and set the worm meshing then check the tension manually over the whole circumference back then forth. I usually do a service on the mount every 12 months. Once you've done it that many times it's just muscle memory.
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Hi Deric
>>And punching in wrong information into the Gemini 2 HC to get it to work does not work for me that tells me its broke. As far as rugged and a long service life mine is not starting out so good.? I don't think that's quite accurate Deric. Just to be clear, i proposed something that could be done easily and quickly. that was not a proposal to fix it, only to see if we could isolate it down to an issue with time inaccuracy.?
you are in the "still determining what is the issue" mode,
I sent you a separate email with some additional perspective and approach
I understand you are frustrated and feel like it's not getting anywhere. A 'i'm just throwing rocks' approach is definitely not a good approach at this point and will frustrate you further. After looking at the email i sent, i encourage you to take a more methodical approach.?
clearly it worked before, and now it's inaccurate. we just need to figure out what changed.?
John, I'm very frustrated, this is just remenesent of what happened with my last mount all be it,it was Chinese junk to begin with. It had constant issues. Its final issue actually made me laugh when after a few hours of working it went up in
smoke with me thinking " Die you B¡î¡î¡î¡î"?
I was sent a Email tonight that Losmandy is sending a list of things to try, I'll bet I've tried most of them.
And punching in wrong information into the Gemini 2 HC to get it to work does not work for me that tells me its broke. As far as rugged and a long service life mine is not starting out so good.?
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
-------- Original message --------
Date: 4/28/20 12:21 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pointing Issues
Deric,
Sorry to hear about these troubles. I am sure Losmandy will try to accommodate your concerns. One advantage is that you can just return the Gemini without shipping the entire rig. Perhaps something was damaged in shipping. Last year I had to return a new telescope
three times as something happened each time I received it. The shipping companies and post office can be brutal with packages sometimes.?
I think you will find that the Losmandy mounts are really rugged and most users will attest to long service life of many years. The other brands are more premium and of course will cost you quite a bit more.
Perhaps someone else can think of some other things to try as a last resort.
Best of luck.
John
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
John, I'm very frustrated, this is just remenesent of what happened with my last mount all be it,it was Chinese junk to begin with. It had constant issues. Its final issue actually made me laugh when after a few hours of working it went up in
smoke with me thinking " Die you B¡î¡î¡î¡î"?
I was sent a Email tonight that Losmandy is sending a list of things to try, I'll bet I've tried most of them.
And punching in wrong information into the Gemini 2 HC to get it to work does not work for me that tells me its broke. As far as rugged and a long service life mine is not starting out so good.?
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: John Kmetz <jjkmetz54@...>
Date: 4/28/20 12:21 AM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pointing Issues
Deric,
Sorry to hear about these troubles. I am sure Losmandy will try to accommodate your concerns. One advantage is that you can just return the Gemini without shipping the entire rig. Perhaps something was damaged in shipping. Last year I had to return a new telescope
three times as something happened each time I received it. The shipping companies and post office can be brutal with packages sometimes.?
I think you will find that the Losmandy mounts are really rugged and most users will attest to long service life of many years. The other brands are more premium and of course will cost you quite a bit more.
Perhaps someone else can think of some other things to try as a last resort.
Best of luck.
John
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Backlash can come from different things. The meshing too lose, the gearbox, the coupling or the end blocks. If you have a spring loaded worm then you can rule out meshing. Gearbox backlash is usually very minimal. Check your couplings that they are tight. The end blocks is the most likely. If the gear moves axially between them you need to unsecrew one, squeeze the worm between the two and secure it again.
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Deric,
Sorry to hear about these troubles. I am sure Losmandy will try to accommodate your concerns. One advantage is that you can just return the Gemini without shipping the entire rig. Perhaps something was damaged in shipping. Last year I had to return a new telescope three times as something happened each time I received it. The shipping companies and post office can be brutal with packages sometimes.?
I think you will find that the Losmandy mounts are really rugged and most users will attest to long service life of many years. The other brands are more premium and of course will cost you quite a bit more.
Perhaps someone else can think of some other things to try as a last resort.
Best of luck.
John
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Hi Steve
>>>E/W movement responds well, but the N/S response is very very slow.? It may take 20 to 30 seconds to start moving.?
use center for visually centering?the star, guiding rate is aggravatingly slow even in the best of conditions.
>>>Now as I'm trying to get PHD2 to guide, the calibration fails because the backlash clearing failed, star did not move enough.
I'm wondering if you got the 'little southern movement' advisory? if so, the calibration succeeded, but it gave you a heads up if your guiding in dec is problematic. A lot of people confuse this advisory with a calibration failure.?
my suggestion is you take this up at the PHD forums, since you are now describing guiding questions and using PHD software
I am a regular over there, and put together a doc on creating a baseline guiding, i recommend you follow those steps?and then post to PHD if you have any additional?questions
On Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 8:40 PM Steve Elmore via <gizmo_s67= [email protected]> wrote: Thanks for the response.? Last night and again tonight, i've been working on Alignment and Guiding.? I do my initial alignment with Polemaster, then go to building a model.? I will move the star close to my alignment center with the hand controller, then go to guide speed to get it right on the center of my camera field of view.? E/W movement responds well, but the N/S response is very very slow.? It may take 20 to 30 seconds to start moving.? This is probable when I'm changing directions, which is the backlash.? Now as I'm trying to get PHD2 to guide, the calibration fails because the backlash clearing failed, star did not move enough.? I think I really have a backlash problem.? What can I do to fix it?
I just tried to run the Star-cross test with PHD2 and did not get a cross.? Just a line with the bright spot in the center of the line.
Steve
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Thanks for the response.? Last night and again tonight, i've been working on Alignment and Guiding.? I do my initial alignment with Polemaster, then go to building a model.? I will move the star close to my alignment center with the hand controller, then go to guide speed to get it right on the center of my camera field of view.? E/W movement responds well, but the N/S response is very very slow.? It may take 20 to 30 seconds to start moving.? This is probable when I'm changing directions, which is the backlash.? Now as I'm trying to get PHD2 to guide, the calibration fails because the backlash clearing failed, star did not move enough.? I think I really have a backlash problem.? What can I do to fix it?
I just tried to run the Star-cross test with PHD2 and did not get a cross.? Just a line with the bright spot in the center of the line.
Steve
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Re: REPLAY LINK: Zoom mtg using microRouter for Gemini connect
Hi Glen
the TP-Link is great and soo close to what's needed, but the problem as you pointed out is it only has one wired lan port :(
plus GLi microRouter has the ability to create fixed assignments, which is critical for this working correctly. I think it's worth the $20 :)
On Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 8:29 PM glnth < IDEAL18@...> wrote: Thanks for the zoom.
I watched it on you tube. I didn't see the zoom until it was over.?
I was wondering, is the micro router only for the wifi and to be able to hookup wired pc at the same time?? Because I have a TP-link wr802n and I don't have another rj45 port on the router for a wired pc.
I was also having a problem with wired and wifi hookup, things would slowdown or disconect. I asume with both hookup fighting with each other. I'm going to try putting a priority to each like you showed and test it out tonight.
Thanks again
Glen?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Re: REPLAY LINK: Zoom mtg using microRouter for Gemini connect
Thanks for the zoom.
I watched it on you tube. I didn't see the zoom until it was over.?
I was wondering, is the micro router only for the wifi and to be able to hookup wired pc at the same time?? Because I have a TP-link wr802n and I don't have another rj45 port on the router for a wired pc.
I was also having a problem with wired and wifi hookup, things would slowdown or disconect. I asume with both hookup fighting with each other. I'm going to try putting a priority to each like you showed and test it out tonight.
Thanks again
Glen?
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Thank you John I did several times. Along with Cold Starts that also erase data stored in models.
Tonight I checked the RA Oldham coupler to see if it was loose. It was tight. Their really isn't much
Else I can think of. To check. One night everything goes well the next night it doesn't. I will send the Gemini box and handset to Losmandy, I hope they can find out what is wrong. Otherwise I will own a brand new mount that is broken. And I
will sell it? cheap and move on to a Astrophyics or a Paramount.
My best Deric.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab A
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-------- Original message --------
From: John Kmetz <jjkmetz54@...>
Date: 4/27/20 9:44 PM (GMT-06:00)
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pointing Issues
Dear John/AstroItalian:
Have you tried doing a factory reset on the Hand Controller?
It is shown in this Losmandy video:
When I was having some precise pointing issues a number of weeks ago (not exactly the same as what you are having), this was the only thing that would fix it for me. You will have to input all your info from scratch. This takes a bit of time but was well worth
it.?
Regards,
John
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Dear John/AstroItalian:
Have you tried doing a factory reset on the Hand Controller?
It is shown in this Losmandy video:
When I was having some precise pointing issues a number of weeks ago (not exactly the same as what you are having), this was the only thing that would fix it for me. You will have to input all your info from scratch. This takes a bit of time but was well worth it.?
Regards,
John
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Mearl Balmer
Steve Elmore