First successful tryout of my G11T mount
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When it got dark I tried some modeling. I don¡¯t know the names of hundreds of stars but I know Dubhe is not hanging around the northeast at ten pm. I went back and double checked all the data I had put into the mount.
Everything looked correct except that the scope wasn¡¯t pointing anywhere near where stars should be. finally I realized that even though my longitude numbers were correct I had probably put myself in the wrong hemisphere. My location in Utah is negative 111 degrees, not positive.? As soon as I changed that one thing and finished modeling, I tried the goto. M13, dead center. M57, dead center. Jupiter, dead center, So was Saturn and the Moon. The new mount handled my C14 very? well. Even with higher power eyepieces, there wasn¡¯t much wiggle when I slewed the scope. What little reverberation there was, was gone almost immediately.? So my new mount isn¡¯t just pretty. It also works quite well. The next step is autoguiding. I think I will try that with a smaller scope. ? |
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Hi Jeff, Wow...your experience with that longitude - sign triggers a few other things to watch for: Yes....the East/West longitude entry is confusing.? The unit boots up and describes E or W longitude.? So you'd think that when you enter that value on the handset, you would see a toggle of E or W.? But you do not... you enter a number only.? ? ?The Gemini-1 manual does not clearly state that you just use a - sign for West hemisphere Longitude.? I think if you change the value in Gemini.net on the Telescope entry panel, it might be clearer.? If you do use Gemini net to make any changes, be aware that you must always? "Send to Gemini"?the PC made entries because that is not automatic.? The Gemini has its own memory and the PC has its own memory and they must be manually synched (though a few checkboxes exist for automatic setting of UTC on connect and ...maybe automatic turn on of PEC on connect.? ).? In general you must Download from Gemini to see it's settings like the Model data, and you just Upload to Gemini also when you make changes.? ?I'll add: the tiny Upload/Download arrow button on the Model area of the Advanced panel does not work. Instead use the big buttons on the bottom right of the Advanced panel to change or reset the Model data.? You can zero the values of the Model, but the Upload tiny button does not work to send that data up to the Gemini.?? Also note that the "." in the location entries is not a decimal point....it is a European punctuation.? That is, consider it a comma "," so you are really entering:? ? ? ? degrees, seconds? Not: ? ? ? ?degrees.fraction Also check the UTC time against a good website, and ensure that is correct.? ? Do not bother with any local time setting.?? Finally, after you make any key location or time entry changes, turn off the Gemini and reboot as Cold Boot to get the new values to take hold in the software.? Your location changes will require a new model anyway. Your RA Titan section has a larger ring gear than the G11 so it's RA pointing accuracy and tracking should be quite dead on after polar alignment.? The G11 DEC section and RA on G11s is similarly excellent.? I'd think your RA PE should be very low too, but perhaps you can someday measure it and report it.?? You should have no fear of autoguiding.? I autoguide my C14EdgeHD on a G11 with no trouble....the Titan should offer even less trouble.?? Final note: walking around.? ?My buddy in the next town away had put a plywood floor in his domed observatory, on which he put his C14 on a Celestron tripod.? He was able to detect optical movement when he'd shift his weight on the plywood.? He eventually drilled holes in the plywood fur the tripod legs and put heavy flagstones under the tripod feet.? When you mentioned plywood pieces under the feet I thought they'd be as good as flagstones.? But anyway...ground can get soft and does transmit vibration so just be in the lookout.? You might just use something like TeamViewer and remotely operate your laptop to start deep sky acquisitions...well away from those tripod legs.?? Enjoy yourself! Michael On Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 12:30 AM jeff marston <jeffmarston@...> wrote: When it got dark I tried some modeling. I don¡¯t know the names of hundreds of stars but I know Dubhe is not hanging around the northeast at ten pm. I went back and double checked all the data I had put into the mount. |
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Thanks for the pointer to TightVNC, Sonny.? I'll have to try that out! I also am tired of the ads from TeamViewer, and worse it dropping off at around midnight requiring a new login from both computers.? I know I am a person stuck in habits...and TeamViewer became one. Time to upgrade....thanks again. Michael On Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 5:55 AM Sonny Edmonds <sonnyedmonds@...> wrote: In addition to Michael's advice about ground vibrations, and flex of wooden pads, I've always used pavers when going remote. In fact, I have 3 in the basement of our RV where I normally carry my equipment. |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýTeamViewer is nice for remote support ... but when both devices are on the same local network, VNC is much better.On Aug 27, 2020, at 9:59 AM, Michael Herman <mherman346@...> wrote:
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Brian,
The focal length of my C14 is 3910mm. A .7 reducer brings it down to a mere 2700mm, which is about the same as a C11 without a reducer.? I have had some success autoguiding while using a C14 mounted on my Celestron mount, but any deviation from ideal conditions can make it a real challenge. For years I did astrophotography without autoguiding, so getting round stars with exposures longer than 45 seconds is still a novelty to me.? Jeff |
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You guys are right about the plywood pads. They aren¡¯t ideal, but they do keep the legs from sinking into the ground with my big scope and three 22 pound counterweights.?
I am learning to find my way around the menu on the hand controller. It all seems intuitive, and setup isn¡¯t complicated, so it is pretty fast.? It would be nice to have a permanent observatory, where I could just turn everything on and image or view. I would much rather travel and do modeling every night than fight the light of my neighborhood. Jeff |
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Isn't it amazing how many lights recently built structures have? Even single family houses out in a rural area where my sister lives, have 3 or more bright lights in the front and 2 or more
in the back and they are always on. They are all doing their very best to turn a decent dark site into downtown. When did so many people become afraid of the dark??
I don't have the filters and the types of cameras that can be set up with them without a lot of hassle. I use full frame, Sony mirrorless, cameras, I also take on vacation and hikes with me. The only
things I use a computer for are internet, email, processing photos, and autoguiding. Maybe I will get the automated urban astronomy kit, someday, but I haven't come close to getting the best images out of the equipment I have now.?
I am going to go get some paving bricks, or stones, or whatever they are called, for my tripod legs. I am going to have to buy a bigger pickup truck to haul all my stuff around.
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Sonny Edmonds <sonnyedmonds@...>
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 2:18 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] First successful tryout of my G11T mount ?
On Thu, Aug 27, 2020 at 09:28 AM, jeff marston wrote:
It would be nice to have a permanent observatory, where I could just turn everything on and image or view. I would much rather travel and do modeling every night than fightWell, you can add thickness to your plywood pads to help stiffen them. Even with an observatory, there is the labor of love with Modeling (Alignment). I'm a backyarder, and use a Light Pollution filter, because my entire thing is imaging. I keep my Tripod set up much of the time, and cover it. That allows me to keep the tripod Polar orientated, but I still do a PA of sorts. (everything above the tripod gets brought inside. Bosses orders.) I think it is prudent because, after all, the Earth has moved, and the ground vibrations have some minor effect I'm also in my habit of doing the Quick Start just to check my numbers. They're always right, but it's one of my habits. Today a fence extension is being added to my back wall.? It will replace the towering ivy plant that used to be growing there. The ivy became a rat haven. My loverly Condoland neighbors. NOT! ? -- SonnyE (I suggest viewed in full screen) |
jeff marston
Michael Herman
Timothy Campbell