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Any thoughts on including how to polar align during the day for solar use or at night if you don't have a view of Polaris?

One last update just in case any crickets are listening. -- I was able to resolve the issue tonight. Starizona took a look at images of my corrector plate alignment and said it looked good, so I wasn't considering that for a while. I decided to try and adjust it, and now I've got it almost perfectly aligned. Yay!?

Jamie

Thanks John, Brian. The crickets were becoming deafening! I'll try those other places for info. This hobby can definitely have it's challenges, that's what makes it so rewarding once you overcome them.?

Jamie

Jaimie you might check out the AP user forums, there was a fairly robust discussion of sensor tilt and what to do about it (cone error was also an issue discussed here)

i think it's worth a read (you may need to join the group to read, i don't know)




Brian

Nothing but crickets so far, I see, Jamie. You could try the standard online forums or contact Starizona. You may wish to go to Astrobin and see who is producing good photos with the same equipment and politely see if they want to communicate with you. The Astrobin forum has become more active in the last year or so and you might post a question there.

You can also post the same question on Cloudy Nights, just be forewarned the first person to get back is usually some wiseguy who will claim he's used the same equipment for years without issue and you have no idea what you are doing. After that, someone fair-minded may chime in and give the needed information.

Just recently the Astro Imaging Channel had a speaker who talked about RASA telescopes:



There was some mention that RASA is better than Hyperstar since the lighter weight flexes the corrector plate less. I have been considering a choice between these two myself for a while, but everything is backordered since COVID.

Regards,

John

Steel worms, these are in my 1992 G11 (RA and DEC), not in my garden.? The brass ones are $100 each. I don't mind the money but is it worth doing.? The steel ones have obviously worked well for 29 years so, why should I buy new ones?

As always all free advice is welcome and thanks in advance.
Pete

Thanks so much and I will let you know my progress and results.
I also am anxious? to follow your results and enhancements.

Thanks for sharing,

Brent

开云体育

Thanks Brent -

I'll gladly make them available.? I haven't created a thingiverse account yet, but I'll try to attach them here for now.?? If that doesn't work, I can email them to you directly. ?

I drilled the plates out with what I believe was a 7/64 drill bit, and tapped for a 6-32 x 1" socket head screw.?? I printed the jig at 100% infill, and very slowly drilled out the plastic to keep it from melting.? Make sure you're satisfied with the holes being straight.??? You might want to try some light oil in the jig/guide to keep it from melting when you actually drill into the mount.? Mine melted a bit, but the holes were still pretty straight.? To set the depth, I simply chucked the drill bit so there would be about 3/8 depth before bottoming out against the jig.? Make sure you remove your worms and blocks of course, and tape over the worm wheels to avoid any errant chips or shavings getting in there.

For the anchor / attachment point, I think those were pretty much good to go right off the printer.? I printed in PETG for heat resistance.? The spring hole was just barely snug enough for the 8-32 x 1-3/4 screw to cut its own threads.? I used springs I had on hand from my 3d-printer bed, but the rough dimensions are about an inch in length, and maybe 1/4 inch ID.

Please double check everything just in case my memory is a bit off.?? And of course, feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks,
-Tony

Tony, I have an older G11 that I have been trying to do a DIY spring loaded worm. I am not able to upgrade to Losmandy newer spring load worms so I have
been playing around with a DIY spring loaded worm. I am impressed with your approach. I am using a modified gear system base on Rockmover and use the onstep?
system.??
Could you make available your 3d printed jig for drilling the holes in the base plate and the 3d printed spring attachment design.

Thanks,

Brent

Brian,
I think this is a great idea.? As you probably know my 1992 G1? is new to me as is the Gemini-1 system it came with.? I am running firmware 4.10.5 and I generally connect my mount via ASCOM to either Stellarium, Sky Tools Visual V4 or to KStars/EKOS.? I have, quite frankly struggled with the initial setup of the mount using Gemini-1 and would welcome a fully explanation of how to set up mu mount from all three boot modes, Cold Warm and Warm Restart.? Again I have gotten varying results via all of these processes.? This means that I do not know what I'm doing.? I have pored over the pdf manual and have still failed to comprehend. So, I must need a step by step and very simple explanation.

I understand that Gemini-1 is deprecated and I really should upgrade to Gemini 2 but I really don't want to do that just yet so including the Gemini-1 in your tutorial would be much appreciated.

Secondly I use a QHY Polemaster to help with Polar alignment.? That bit I do understand but feel that many people would appreciate its inclusion in the tutorial.

Thanks in advance.
Pete

On Mon, May 24, 2021 at 10:15 AM, Nick wrote:

The hang up is how to accurately align the ref constellations. Not really sure how to apply the ref marks - second star points etc??

PS - generally speaking, the alignment of the constellations is the starting point to get the rotation and position roughed in and get polaris placed in its slot. Then you would refine your adjustment using the secondary star (Delta Ursa Minor) to match the secondary star template. Generally that's good enough for visual observing and widefield. You can of course use more star positions to refine even further (if they are visible) but there is a diminishing return

Brian

The tightening of the Alt bolts is a problem for me as well.? There are 4 of them, I tighten one after another slowly and alternating trying to keep the PA as close as possible.? Nowadays when I just have to make small adjustments I don't bother loosening the bolts anymore and simply pull the Alt screw through it.? Other brands may have the same problem I suspect, not sure how this could be fixed.

On Sun, May 23, 2021 at 11:17 AM, ACorkill wrote:

The other place I see some "movement" or maybe just "flexure" is right at the Altitude Lock Bolt area. I still need to go through Polar Alignment again, so I may need to use the Altitude Adjustment Knob to get the elevation correct. After I have that "nailed", should I tighten down the Altitude Lock Bolts?

The Azimuth Locking Knob is another spot I would double-check to make sure it is tight after adjusting Azimuth in Polar alignment.

Hi Andrew - okay great we'll cover this

Yes, at the end you do want to have the bolts tightened, but you iterate: keep them somewhat snug at the start, then adjust your polar alignment, then tighten a bit more, adjust, etc.

Brian

Hi Les,

This is REALLY helpful. I was in the dark on the ref ticks and what was represented by the numbers.?There was a concern that my scope may have been “expired”, but I see it’s not. This seems to be one of the things you learn quickly and move on. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.?

Thanks so much!?

-Nick

Will do Brian. I hope the is a definitive software solution, especially since PoleMaster would be used most frequently by those with portable setups away from home.

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Mac....don't cross post the same question subject between differing forums.....you will be heard no need to post in 2.
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Brendan

On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 11:14 AM, Chip Louie wrote:

AFAIK the driver glitch was a power related timeout issue and the work around was to leave a video running in the background while using the Polemaster app. This has been fixed since though I am not certain which thing fixed it, Windows 10 updates or the PM app itself.?

Well I have now downloaded the Polemaster driver and app (for the fourth time), which looks like previous download version. I see nothing on their download page addressing this issue. We'll give it another try the next clear night. This started happening for me in late 2019 after replacing my seven year old Windows 7 machine with a Windows 10 one.