Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Thanks.? That makes sense.? It's always weird when things all work fine for a while and then suddenly, they don't.? But I suppose anything electrical is subject to spurious glitches from time-to-time.?
Jim?
Take
a look at your model parameters with the hand controller and look for large
numbers..
And
/ or if you just want it fixed, put it back in the park position, cycle the
power and do a cold boot..
You
will have to build a new model, but it will be “fixed”..
My
mount did similar last time I used it and it was that the model got messed up,
maybe by glitch, maybe by a bad entry by me, but either way, a cold boot fixed
it..
?
Derek
?
?
Probably a dumb question but:? Unsure what/how to do that.
?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:55 PM crocco1250 via Groups.Io
<crocco1250=[email protected]>
wrote:
Brian and
Jim
Is it
possible the list stored in memory has been corrupted?? On the web server,
check the status of the stored files.
Chuck
On Sunday,
January 5, 2020 Jim Ribble <[email protected]> wrote:
The night got cold and I
packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a
"-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last
session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to
sweet-talk it.??
?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at
10:35 PM Brian Valente <bvalente@...>
wrote:
Is it possible your location is off?
?
Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it
J
?
?
Brian
?
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31
PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io]
G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
?
Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden,
the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.?
If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random
location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system"
list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was
high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever
is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all
set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and
I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable
that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Take
a look at your model parameters with the hand controller and look for large
numbers..
And
/ or if you just want it fixed, put it back in the park position, cycle the
power and do a cold boot..
You
will have to build a new model, but it will be “fixed”..
My
mount did similar last time I used it and it was that the model got messed up,
maybe by glitch, maybe by a bad entry by me, but either way, a cold boot fixed
it..
?
Derek
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2020
7:58 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io]
G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
?
Probably a dumb question but:? Unsure what/how to do that.
?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:55 PM crocco1250 via Groups.Io
<crocco1250=[email protected]>
wrote:
Brian and
Jim
Is it
possible the list stored in memory has been corrupted?? On the web server,
check the status of the stored files.
Chuck
On Sunday,
January 5, 2020 Jim Ribble <[email protected]> wrote:
The night got cold and I
packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a
"-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last
session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to
sweet-talk it.??
?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at
10:35 PM Brian Valente <bvalente@...>
wrote:
Is it possible your location is off?
?
Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it
J
?
?
Brian
?
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31
PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io]
G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
?
Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden,
the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.?
If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random
location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system"
list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was
high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever
is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all
set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and
I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable
that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
Derek, ? Your recent post suggested you have a fear of autoguiding. You shouldn’t be afraid of it. Some try to image without guiding and almost make a fetish of it. I don’t recommend you do that other than with short focal length imaging optics. ? With a modest focal length like 1000 mm or less guiding is easy and doesn’t require anything like a Barlow on the guider as you suggested you would need to do. In fact, at 1000mm focal length for the imaging scope, a 300mm or less guider will be fine. ? And the shorter guide scope focal length will make it easier to find guide stars. ? Why can you get away with a guider with 1/3 to ? of the focal length of the imaging scope? Because autoguider cameras and software can detect errors of the order of 1/10th to ? pixel routinely. ? Another very common mistake is to guide with an expensive, heavy, APO refractors, when a lighter weight (but still rigid) and shorter focal length instrument will work – heavy expensive guidescopes are a waste of money and mass budget. But if it is what you have, and you can live with the weight, go ahead and use it. But you don’t need to Barlow it. ? People often assume that everything has to be absolutely optimal and perfect in this business. That’s OK if you want to set yourself up for unhappiness, esp. since 2 arc second ?long term seeing is very common (which is why planetary imaging now uses video streams and software to pluck out the best frames). I have friends who remotely image from mountains and they cry if they don’t get 1 arc second or better over 10s of minutes. We who live under the air-ocean rarely get to see that. ? I got into this hobby when guiding meant the lucky astronomer had to glue their eyeball to a guide scope eyepiece and push buttons on a hand controller. And individual (film) exposures could be ? hour or more long. Try doing that on a cold winters night – my jeans once froze to the ground while guiding near the zenith. Autoguiding makes that trivial and easy. And cheap compared to everything else. ? My bottom line is that there is no reason not to guide for long exposures given the availability of guide cameras and free software. And it doesn’t require a high-end computer to do it. In fact, the cheaper the better since laptops are generally not built to resist dew and frost – taking a high-end MAC or PC into the field is not necessary or desirable. Put the laptop in a tub and put a silicon keyboard skin on it. ? So don’t be afraid of autoguiding. And like anything else, practice makes perfect. ? Regards, ? Mark Christensen
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Scratch the earlier "don't know how to connect to the web server" message.? I found the walk-through on how to do it.? Thanks for your help.
Jim
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:59 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: anything is possible, for sure
when I hear that slew and other basic functions work, but gotos lock up or are unavailable, that to me generally means it thinks the target is not reachable, and that is usually a time or location issue. (could be from corrupt memory, low battery, etc.).?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 7:55 PM crocco1250 via Groups.Io <crocco1250= [email protected]> wrote: Brian and Jim
Is it possible the list stored in memory has been corrupted?? On the web server, check the status of the stored files.
Chuck
On Sunday, January 5, 2020 Jim Ribble <[email protected]> wrote:
The night got cold and I packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a "-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to sweet-talk it.?? On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:35 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Is it possible your location is off? ? Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it J ? ? Brian ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird ? Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
--
Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
anything is possible, for sure
when I hear that slew and other basic functions work, but gotos lock up or are unavailable, that to me generally means it thinks the target is not reachable, and that is usually a time or location issue. (could be from corrupt memory, low battery, etc.).?
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 7:55 PM crocco1250 via Groups.Io <crocco1250= [email protected]> wrote: Brian and Jim
Is it possible the list stored in memory has been corrupted?? On the web server, check the status of the stored files.
Chuck
On Sunday, January 5, 2020 Jim Ribble <[email protected]> wrote:
The night got cold and I packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a "-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to sweet-talk it.?? On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:35 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Is it possible your location is off? ? Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it J ? ? Brian ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird ? Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Probably a dumb question but:? Unsure what/how to do that.
Jim
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:55 PM crocco1250 via Groups.Io <crocco1250= [email protected]> wrote: Brian and Jim
Is it possible the list stored in memory has been corrupted?? On the web server, check the status of the stored files.
Chuck
On Sunday, January 5, 2020 Jim Ribble <[email protected]> wrote:
The night got cold and I packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a "-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to sweet-talk it.?? On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:35 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Is it possible your location is off? ? Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it J ? ? Brian ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird ? Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Brian and Jim
Is it possible the list stored in memory has been corrupted?? On the web server, check the status of the stored files.
Chuck
On Sunday, January 5, 2020 Jim Ribble <[email protected]> wrote:The night got cold and I packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a "-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to sweet-talk it.?? On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:35 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Is it possible your location is off? ? Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it J ? ? Brian ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird ? Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
The night got cold and I packed?it in, but I'll double check to see if somehow maybe a "-" sign got deleted.? Why that would change from my last session, I don't know....but? I suppose anything's possible.
And I'll continue to sweet-talk it.??
On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 10:35 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: Is it possible your location is off? ? Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it J ? ? Brian ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird ? Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
Re: G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Is it possible your location is off? ? Or maybe you didn’t talk nicely enough to it J ? ? Brian ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jim Ribble
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2020 7:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Losmandy_users_io] G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird ? Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
G-11/Gemini2 Hand Controller Acting Weird
Hi guys,?
I've been using my G-11/Gemini2 for a couple of years now, and all of a sudden, the hand controller (or more specifically the Go To function) is acting oddly.? If I tell it to go to a specific target, it will slew to some seemingly random location in the sky.? Furthermore, if I go to my "solar system" list, each planet, the moon, etc. are blacked out (even though the moon was high in the sky at the time), thus it won't slew to any of them.? Whatever is going on has confounded SGPro, so I can't get SGPro to work either.
The internal battery is fresh (4 months old), the date/time/offset etc. are all set, the cable seems intact because all the manual controls work fine....and I've even talked nicely to it.? No joy.? The only obvious variable that has changed is the year "2020."
Anyone have any thoughts?? All input greatly appreciated.?
Jim R.??
|
Re: GM8 Definition of "Load"
HI Paul
that weight spec is for your imaging equipment, not the counterbalance
so if your gear is 18.4 lbs you should be more than fine with the GM8
you will still add roughly equivalent counterbalance weight, so the total might be closer to 40lb, you you might think of the mount spec in terms of total weight as 60lb. Tim made roughly the same point i think
Brian
I'm looking for assurance that I understand the meaning of the GM8's maximum "load" specification - 30 lbs; I've looked for a good definition both here and on CloudyNights to no avail.? I've made the assumption that this load includes counterweights but NOT the declination post holding the weights.?
My setup is a classic Celestron 8" SCT, OAG, Loadstar X2, finderscope, dew shield, laser and a Canon 7D camera body totaling 18.4 lbs of instrument weight.? The counterweights are an additional 8.5 lbs, so total weight is 26.9 lbs.? However, the declination post itself adds 5.2 lbs and if included, total weight becomes 32.1 lbs.
DSO imaging with this setup has been remarkably good and getting better as I refine my technique; but that 32 lb weight limit bugs me.? Am I just being paranoid or am I over-stressing the mount and drives?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
Re: GM8 Definition of "Load"
The “load” is the imaging load for YOUR equipment … but not the mount’s equipment. ?The counterweight bar and weights (even if you add more) don’t factor in.
These loads are very rough estimates.
Think of wheel — such as a bicycle wheel. ?And suppose we add weights to the spokes of the wheel. ?If those weights are placed near the rim, the inertia you need to overcome to speed up or slow down the wheel is more than it would be if the identical amount of weight was added near the hub of the wheel. ?This is the idea of the “moment of inertia”. ?You can think of the counterweight bar on your mount as just a single “spoke” to which you’ve added weight.
This means you can sneak a little more load on the mount if the “moment of inertia” is low and a little less load if the “moment of inertia” is high.
Also, these are rough estimates for IMAGING. ?If you are doing visual observing (no imaging) you can go quite a bit higher.
Clear Skies, Tim
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I'm looking for assurance that I understand the meaning of the GM8's maximum "load" specification - 30 lbs; I've looked for a good definition both here and on CloudyNights to no avail.? I've made the assumption that this load includes counterweights but NOT the declination post holding the weights.?
My setup is a classic Celestron 8" SCT, OAG, Loadstar X2, finderscope, dew shield, laser and a Canon 7D camera body totaling 18.4 lbs of instrument weight.? The counterweights are an additional 8.5 lbs, so total weight is 26.9 lbs.? However, the declination post itself adds 5.2 lbs and if included, total weight becomes 32.1 lbs.
DSO imaging with this setup has been remarkably good and getting better as I refine my technique; but that 32 lb weight limit bugs me.? Am I just being paranoid or am I over-stressing the mount and drives?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
|
I'm looking for assurance that I understand the meaning of the GM8's maximum "load" specification - 30 lbs; I've looked for a good definition both here and on CloudyNights to no avail.? I've made the assumption that this load includes counterweights but NOT the declination post holding the weights.?
My setup is a classic Celestron 8" SCT, OAG, Loadstar X2, finderscope, dew shield, laser and a Canon 7D camera body totaling 18.4 lbs of instrument weight.? The counterweights are an additional 8.5 lbs, so total weight is 26.9 lbs.? However, the declination post itself adds 5.2 lbs and if included, total weight becomes 32.1 lbs.
DSO imaging with this setup has been remarkably good and getting better as I refine my technique; but that 32 lb weight limit bugs me.? Am I just being paranoid or am I over-stressing the mount and drives?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
|
Re: Owner of new Losmandy GM811G with Gemini II
Welcome Ronald, I am also a new owner of a G11, I watched all the videos and printed out the Losmandy manuals . I've been out under the skies four nights now. Each night I write out a game plan of what I want to accomplish . Learning something new each night. " Their is alot going on with this mount" the first night I just did a fast start and one star alignment. And each night tried something new. I think for you you may try Wifi and Skysafari, you can operate it with? tablet.I will go down that road at some point after I? have learn the hand controler. So far the only issues I've had were my own. There is alot of information here and Gemini-2.com. and Cloudynights.com. Watch your set up. "DON'T PANIC" Clear Skies to you .
|
Re: Owner of new Losmandy GM811G with Gemini II
There are quite a few how-to videos on Losmandy’s YouTube channel: ?
I *strongly* urge new users to avoid the temptation to start adjusting the performance of the mount. ?It comes from Losmandy already adjusted.
The clutches on the RA/Dec axes are designed to slip without damaging the mount (no need to try to crank them so tight that the axis can’t be moved by hand). ?I have done numerous public outreach events over the years. ?Invariably a guest will try to manually force the telescope to move — either they don’t think they see what they wanted to see or because they wanted to explore what else they can … or simply because they leaned on the telescope too much. ? This means you’ll need to manually get the scope back to your intended target. ?You can use your control box to move the scope back on target and then just ’sync’ the mount again and that’s all it needs.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
If you have any prior knowledge of other mounts or approaches, i'd recommend forgetting those techniques: many times the assumption that "this mount must work the same as my other mount" leads to a lot of problems *** HA! Amen to THAT! ? Welcome Ronald..? ? Derek ? ? ? Hi Ronald There are many helpful people here, so if/when you have specific questions, this is a great resource The closest thing right now to step-by-step instructions are the included Losmandy documentation, and the website? Try to go slowly and accomplish one thing at a time. Such as setup, balancing, basic understanding of gemini 2 to slew, goto, etc. then move on to imaging If you have any prior knowledge of other mounts or approaches, i'd recommend forgetting those techniques: many times the assumption that "this mount must work the same as my other mount" leads to a lot of problems ? On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 7:18 PM Ronald Lewis <vtpoet@...> wrote: I recently purchased a new Losmandy GM811G and would appreciate as much help as possible to aid in my understanding of its operation, as well as that of the Gemini II.? ? My main telescopes are 1) an 18” Classic Obsession with AN and ServoCat, 2) a Lunt LS152THa solar telescope, and 3) a Vixen ED81SWT APO. I plan to use scopes #2 & #3 with the Losmandy for visual and astrophotography. ? ? As Founder & President of the Green Mountain Astronomers (Vermont), I need to get up to speed as quickly as possible for our 2020 season, which as usual will have approximately two dozen Public/Community Outreach Programs. Our membership and inner circle looks to me to play a key role at our events, and as such, I can’t have equipment or software problems based on my lack of know-how thru inexperience. As you are well aware, there are few instructor’s manuals, per se, for astronomy gear, but help by fellow users and study provides for valuable replacement. Please allow me to get involved with your user’s group(s) as needed. Thank you, fellow astronomers/observers!
--?
|
That
is already my fallback position, not guiding at all.. “Less is more”..
“Don’t chase the seeing”.. Doing I like planetary imaging and
working slowly to longer and longer exposures is the plan, as I have tweaked
things all I can.. Now I need guide logs to see what worked and what didn’t..
I
would be pretty pleased with 60 second guiding..
I
would be darn near the happiest person alive to have most images useable at 5
minutes though..
I
might be close to 60 seconds unguided now, as my PA *was* about 1 minute off
and the mount has not been moved.. Since the scope was desaddled and replaced,
I am sure it’ll need touching up.. My RA guiding seems darn good already,
so there is hope..
Yep,
I paid for SharpCap Pro..
I
am very ready to try all I have learned in the last 2 months of being mostly
off and reading everything I want to know about guiding theory but was afraid
to ask.. I just need the WX to cooperate.. It is messing with me now, listing
the evenings when I don’t have to work the next day as cloudy.. WAAA..
?
“Imaging
– So simple even Derek can do it!” *will* be a slogan someday.. And
Y’All will be to blame.. :-))
?
Derek
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Valente
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2020
9:18 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io]
Thread pitch..
?
Derek here's what i'm thinking
with the cmos cameras you have, you can employ more?of a planetary
approach to imaging DSOs and not sweat the guiding.?
just make sure to nail your polar alignment (although i'm a longtime
polemaster user, i've come to really like the polar assist in sharpcap 3.2 and
it's super inexpensive too), and shoot maybe 30 second exposures. you can go as
low as 15 secs.?
that way guiding will be less of or no issue for you. i'm a little
concerned you are headed down a guiding path that is already pretty rough, and
it sounds like it's going to get rougher :)
the major downside is you just end up with a ton of data. I've seen
folks doing these short exposures on faint objects and when done right it's
really spectacular
?
Previously I have been doing planets
with the ASI178 OSC and IR band with the ASI120 Mono on the 130mm Raptor.. I
bought the QHY178M Cool for various single band planetary imaging and higher
resolution..
?
This is where I am heading..
Imaging scope..
130mm Raptor (f/7=910mm) w/ an ASI
178 OSC or the new QHY178 Cool Mono.. Both are 2.4um Pixels.. Around 0.5”
per pixel..
Guide Scope..
80mm Nighthawk (f/6=480mm) w/ an ASI
120 Mono w/ 3.75um Pixels.. Around 1.6” per pixel..
?
I may Barlow the guidescope, but not
right off the bat as I know I am asking a lot A) as a beginner, B) with a
separate guidescope, and C) at these image scales, but hope springs eternal!
?
Derek
?
?
?
?
Derek with which
camera are you doing imaging now?
?
--
|
Derek here's what i'm thinking
with the cmos cameras you have, you can employ more?of a planetary approach to imaging DSOs and not sweat the guiding.?
just make sure to nail your polar alignment (although i'm a longtime polemaster user, i've come to really like the polar assist in sharpcap 3.2 and it's super inexpensive too), and shoot maybe 30 second exposures. you can go as low as 15 secs.?
that way guiding will be less of or no issue for you. i'm a little concerned you are headed down a guiding path that is already pretty rough, and it sounds like it's going to get rougher :)
the major downside is you just end up with a ton of data. I've seen folks doing these short exposures on faint objects and when done right it's really spectacular
just a thought....
Brian
Previously
I have been doing planets with the ASI178 OSC and IR band with the ASI120 Mono
on the 130mm Raptor.. I bought the QHY178M Cool for various single band
planetary imaging and higher resolution..
?
This
is where I am heading..
Imaging
scope..
130mm
Raptor (f/7=910mm) w/ an ASI 178 OSC or the new QHY178 Cool Mono.. Both are
2.4um Pixels.. Around 0.5” per pixel..
Guide
Scope..
80mm
Nighthawk (f/6=480mm) w/ an ASI 120 Mono w/ 3.75um Pixels.. Around 1.6”
per pixel..
?
I
may Barlow the guidescope, but not right off the bat as I know I am asking a
lot A) as a beginner, B) with a separate guidescope, and C) at these image
scales, but hope springs eternal!
?
Derek
?
?
?
?
Derek with which camera are you doing imaging now?
?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
Re: Owner of new Losmandy GM811G with Gemini II
If you have any prior knowledge of
other mounts or approaches, i'd recommend forgetting those techniques: many
times the assumption that "this mount must work the same as my other mount"
leads to a lot of problems
***
HA!
Amen to THAT!
?
Welcome
Ronald..
?
Derek
?
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Valente
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2020
7:24 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io]
Owner of new Losmandy GM811G with Gemini II
?
Hi Ronald
There are many helpful people here, so if/when you have specific
questions, this is a great resource
The closest thing right now to step-by-step instructions are the
included Losmandy documentation, and the website?
Try to go slowly and accomplish one thing at a time. Such as setup,
balancing, basic understanding of gemini 2 to slew, goto, etc. then move on to
imaging
If you have any prior knowledge of other mounts or approaches, i'd
recommend forgetting those techniques: many times the assumption that
"this mount must work the same as my other mount" leads to a lot of
problems
?
On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 7:18 PM Ronald Lewis <vtpoet@...> wrote:
I recently purchased a new Losmandy
GM811G and would appreciate as much help as possible to aid in my understanding
of its operation, as well as that of the Gemini II.?
?
My main telescopes are 1) an
18” Classic Obsession with AN and ServoCat, 2) a Lunt LS152THa solar
telescope, and 3) a Vixen ED81SWT APO. I plan to use scopes #2 & #3 with
the Losmandy for visual and astrophotography.
?
?
As Founder & President of the
Green Mountain Astronomers (Vermont),
I need to get up to speed as quickly as possible for our 2020 season, which as
usual will have approximately two dozen Public/Community Outreach Programs. Our
membership and inner circle looks to me to play a key role at our events, and
as such, I can’t have equipment or software problems based on my lack of
know-how thru inexperience. As you are well aware, there are few
instructor’s manuals, per se, for astronomy gear, but help by fellow
users and study provides for valuable replacement. Please allow me to get
involved with your user’s group(s) as needed. Thank you, fellow
astronomers/observers!
--
|
Previously
I have been doing planets with the ASI178 OSC and IR band with the ASI120 Mono
on the 130mm Raptor.. I bought the QHY178M Cool for various single band
planetary imaging and higher resolution..
?
This
is where I am heading..
Imaging
scope..
130mm
Raptor (f/7=910mm) w/ an ASI 178 OSC or the new QHY178 Cool Mono.. Both are
2.4um Pixels.. Around 0.5” per pixel..
Guide
Scope..
80mm
Nighthawk (f/6=480mm) w/ an ASI 120 Mono w/ 3.75um Pixels.. Around 1.6”
per pixel..
?
I
may Barlow the guidescope, but not right off the bat as I know I am asking a
lot A) as a beginner, B) with a separate guidescope, and C) at these image
scales, but hope springs eternal!
?
Derek
?
?
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
|
Re: Owner of new Losmandy GM811G with Gemini II
Hi Ronald
welcome aboard!?
There are many helpful people here, so if/when you have specific questions, this is a great resource
The closest thing right now to step-by-step instructions are the included Losmandy documentation, and the website?
Try to go slowly and accomplish one thing at a time. Such as setup, balancing, basic understanding of gemini 2 to slew, goto, etc. then move on to imaging
If you have any prior knowledge of other mounts or approaches, i'd recommend forgetting those techniques: many times the assumption that "this mount must work the same as my other mount" leads to a lot of problems
Brian
On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 7:18 PM Ronald Lewis < vtpoet@...> wrote: I recently purchased a new Losmandy GM811G and would appreciate as much help as possible to aid in my understanding of its operation, as well as that of the Gemini II.?
?
My main telescopes are 1) an 18” Classic Obsession with AN and ServoCat, 2) a Lunt LS152THa solar telescope, and 3) a Vixen ED81SWT APO. I plan to use scopes #2 & #3 with the Losmandy for visual and astrophotography.
?
?
As Founder & President of the Green Mountain Astronomers (Vermont), I need to get up to speed as quickly as possible for our 2020 season, which as usual will have approximately two dozen Public/Community Outreach Programs. Our membership and inner circle looks to me to play a key role at our events, and as such, I can’t have equipment or software problems based on my lack of know-how thru inexperience. As you are well aware, there are few instructor’s manuals, per se, for astronomy gear, but help by fellow users and study provides for valuable replacement. Please allow me to get involved with your user’s group(s) as needed. Thank you, fellow astronomers/observers!
?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
Timothy Campbell