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Hello everyone. I'm still using a G11 with Digital Drives for astrophotography with a Sony A7 III (the field of view with a 700 mm focal length refractor is over 2.5 degrees and the Sony live view means you can usually see the DSO on the rear screen so finding and centering targets is easy). Not sure if anyone else on here is still using a DD set-up or whether everyone has moved over to Gemini??
Anyhow I have ordered a Pole master and my question is when I set it up do I really need to use the hand controller to move a target star by 30 degrees or can I simply rotate the mount by hand?
If anyone is interested I have a blog at:?
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Hi Robert
there are quite a few DD users out there :)
yes you can rotate it by hand, that's fine. just make sure it's tracking otherwise you'll get smeared stars
Hello everyone. I'm still using a G11 with Digital Drives for astrophotography with a Sony A7 III (the field of view with a 700 mm focal length refractor is over 2.5 degrees and the Sony live view means you can usually see the DSO on the rear screen so finding and centering targets is easy). Not sure if anyone else on here is still using a DD set-up or whether everyone has moved over to Gemini??
Anyhow I have ordered a Pole master and my question is when I set it up do I really need to use the hand controller to move a target star by 30 degrees or can I simply rotate the mount by hand?
If anyone is interested I have a blog at:?
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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I rotate my mount manually. ?Just make sure you return to the park position accurately. ? My mount has levels to square up both axis?
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Thanks for this Tim - I don't think there is a park position on the Digital Drive G11.
I do have bubble levels on the mount so make sure it is level.
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I think Tim is saying to get as close as you can back to your starting position.?
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On Fri, Dec 18, 2020 at 11:36 AM, <robert.ian.taylor@...> wrote:
Thanks for this Tim - I don't think there is a park position on the Digital Drive G11.
I do have bubble levels on the mount so make sure it is level.
-- Chip Louie Chief Daydreamer Imagination Hardware?
? ?Astropheric Weather Forecast - South Pasadena, CA?
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Correct. There is no park position on the 492 Digital drive systems. However getting the bubble levels just right isn¡¯t that critical either. After you rotated back it asks you to find the stars again and match up the template which is really the important next step.?
Thanks for this Tim - I don't think there is a park position on the Digital Drive G11.
I do have bubble levels on the mount so make sure it is level.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Ok thanks, when the clouds clear I'll try it out. I want to start using my 300mm f/4 Newtonian scope which has a focal length of 1200mm so need to get reasonably good polar alignment since I usually shoot unguided photos.
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Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
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Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@... To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
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if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Hi Brian, I tried every combo of exp & gain settings. I was running this polar alignment ffrom 6:35 until 8:40 and the best I could achieve was only two stars in the pattern (the little circles). The only thing I didn¡¯t try was to be tracking at the same time. I seem to recall that you don¡¯t run the tracking while polar aligning. Maybe that¡¯s where I went wrong? It was very dark, moon was low & sinking in the SW but should have been a good night of imaging. Frustrated!! ?Tom --- bvalente@... wrote: From: "Brian Valente" <bvalente@...> To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 21:11:50 -0800 :4000 if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
Hi Tom
yeah that does sound frustrating
tracking can be on or off - honestly it doesn't really make that much difference at the pole. i would have it on since one of the steps is to rotate it (and i have the gemini)
another possibility is you weren't actually on polaris, but another star?
that's about all i can think of
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:28 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Hi Brian, I tried every combo of exp & gain settings. I was running this polar alignment ffrom 6:35 until 8:40 and the best I could achieve was only two stars in the pattern (the little circles). The only thing I didn¡¯t try was to be tracking at the same time. I seem to recall that you don¡¯t run the tracking while polar aligning. Maybe that¡¯s where I went wrong? It was very dark, moon was low & sinking in the SW but should have been a good night of imaging. Frustrated!!? Tom --- bvalente@... wrote: From: "Brian Valente" < bvalente@...> To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 21:11:50 -0800 :4000 if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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My initial alignment was using my iPhone sitting on my level tripod point at due N and then I used my?green laser to check that?everything was?aimed at polaris. GM-8 set to 36 degrees (I am 90 miles N of LV). I guess I could have checked with my scope if I was on polaris but what a PITA!! I'll keep trying tomorrow night. ?Tom--- bvalente@... wrote: From: "Brian Valente" <bvalente@...> To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 21:29:48 -0800 Hi Tom
yeah that does sound frustrating
tracking can be on or off - honestly it doesn't really make that much difference at the pole. i would have it on since one of the steps is to rotate it (and i have the gemini)
another possibility is you weren't actually on polaris, but another star?
that's about all i can think of
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:28 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Hi Brian, I tried every combo of exp & gain settings. I was running this polar alignment ffrom 6:35 until 8:40 and the best I could achieve was only two stars in the pattern (the little circles). The only thing I didn¡¯t try was to be tracking at the same time. I seem to recall that you don¡¯t run the tracking while polar aligning. Maybe that¡¯s where I went wrong? It was very dark, moon was low & sinking in the SW but should have been a good night of imaging. Frustrated!!? Tom --- bvalente@... wrote: From: "Brian Valente" < bvalente@...> To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 21:11:50 -0800 :4000 if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Tom?
just to confirm you are using polemaster software?and the polemaster attachment correct?
can you send a pic of that setup?
sorry - i have to ask the simple questions
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 10:02 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: My initial alignment was using my iPhone sitting on my level tripod point at due N and then I used my?green laser to check that?everything was?aimed at polaris. GM-8 set to 36 degrees (I am 90 miles N of LV). I guess I could have checked with my scope if I was on polaris but what a PITA!! I'll keep trying tomorrow night.? Tom--- bvalente@... wrote: From: "Brian Valente" < bvalente@...> To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 21:29:48 -0800 Hi Tom
yeah that does sound frustrating
tracking can be on or off - honestly it doesn't really make that much difference at the pole. i would have it on since one of the steps is to rotate it (and i have the gemini)
another possibility is you weren't actually on polaris, but another star?
that's about all i can think of On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:28 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Hi Brian, I tried every combo of exp & gain settings. I was running this polar alignment ffrom 6:35 until 8:40 and the best I could achieve was only two stars in the pattern (the little circles). The only thing I didn¡¯t try was to be tracking at the same time. I seem to recall that you don¡¯t run the tracking while polar aligning. Maybe that¡¯s where I went wrong? It was very dark, moon was low & sinking in the SW but should have been a good night of imaging. Frustrated!!? Tom --- bvalente@... wrote: From: "Brian Valente" < bvalente@...> To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 21:11:50 -0800 :4000 if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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Hi Tom, et al,
I tried the Polemaster for the first time few weeks ago.
I found the QHY software difficult to use.? It has poor?explanations of its commands, and was frustrating at first.? As Brian said, there are settings in the QHY software.? I know that you just emailed that you found and used the Gain and other settings. with no benefit.? ? The software is?not friendly, though it?can work.? It is poorly explained by the online YouTube offerings I viewed.
So here are some notes about my experiences.??
1. The program frequently crashed or froze up with no mouse response.. For some reason I found that I had to move the mouse to different places on the program or completely off the program window to get response. ? I had to kill the program in Windows using control panel when it would freeze?up.? There was no benefit to restarting the computer.? The software seems as though it is not running the camera capture in a separate "thread"...so when the program is busy with a poor USB connection, it just hangs up waiting for its image to download.? ??That is poor user interface programming in the modern age of multi-threading.?
2. There is a Gain setting that the YouTube said to use.? I pushed up the?gain and this helped.? You already tried that and had no benefits.?
3. In the YouTube video I viewed, and in some online?email notes, people said "the focus is set at the factory so don't adjust it"? ?But?on my unit, the focus was not set properly.? The stars were blurred and therefore of low intensity.? I had to unlock the lens focus with the small allen wrench that comes with the QHY?camera.? Then I got the PoleMaster to focus by adjusting the focus on the stars until they were sharp.? When they were sharp, their intensity increased in the PC display, and then the other stars showed up.? I think this is what is causing the problem with your unit.?
4. There is a rotator slider for the pole star star pattern.? The horizontal slider is tiny, and you must move it with the mouse...very clumsy.? You can maybe more it with the left and right keyboard keys, but the mouse has to be over the slider to get those keyboard?keys to activate the rotation slider.? The horizontal slider has a left stop and a right stop of course.? So the star pattern can go around only so far in each direction.? This is somewhat aggravating.? The rotation gadget slider only has coarse rotation steps also.????
5. ?The star pattern magnification on the software display was affected when I adjusted the lens focus to get the stars sharpest in the video image,.? The change in magnification of the star circle target dots generated by the software on the screen is not adjustable in the present software.? So even when you rotate the star target dots rotated to match your sky pattern,? the star camera image dots don't necessarily go into the center of the software image target circles.? You might find that the real star camera points only go into the inner corner of the provided circle pattern.? This makes the hand fitting of the real star pattern to the software adjustable star target circles somewhat tricky.??
6. There is no "back" button on the software.? If you are at a software step, and want to go back ...I had to click the top right X and kill the program, giving a system crash error.? Then I had to start the program over several times.??
7. The last step is the "Monitor" step.? I found this also tricky, but necessary.? In that step the software is watching all the target stars.? You just try to get the polaris star, or the NCP target, in its target circle.??I turned on the Windows Magnifier applet and used that to really magnify the star and Polaris target, or the NCP target and the virtual NCP star created by the software (as it monitors all the stars around Polaris in the sky.? Since I'm Red-Green colorblind, the software generating the NCP target in Red made it hard for me to see.? Magnifying it helped a lot.??
Bottom line: the PoleMaster is a clever product.? But it's?software is rudimentary and weak... hard to use.? In the future ... everything is perfect, but we don't live there yet!.? ?I'd give it a C-?for the software.? However once you figure it out by running it a few times,?you can figure it out by its behavior.? ?I took the PoleMaster from a G11T to a separate? G11 and got polar aligned quickly on the 2 nd mount.? ?
Then I ran a test of Drift Alignment using PHD2's drift tool.? That showed very good polar alignment, that could be further perfected during a Drift Align.? That report is attached.? (I had notes from using PoleMaster but that report is on another laptop... 400 miles away. )? ?Polemaster got my mounts closer to correct polar alignment than I could get with the polar scope.? Still...I needed the Polar Scope to get close enough to run PoleMaster to get the field of stars it?was expecting.??
So I guess the best method for getting long FL imaging system ready for deep sky exposures, for a mount that has been moved, would be: ? Use the Polar Scope ? Then use PoleMaster ? (If really critical, then Drift Align with say PHD2) ? Then start your Deep Sky or other imaging.??
Chip mentioned that SharpCap has better software for this PoleMaster alignment.? I have not yet tried that. Chip always explains his very practical experience in these matters...so I have more to try.??
Best of luck, and stay well all,
Michael
(Off to bed at last...)
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 9:12 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
--
Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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One thing to check - when you look down at the Polemaster camera is the USB port on the left - for some reason it needs to be like that - not sure if that is why you have an issue.
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On 12/20/2020 1:02 AM, Tom & Barbara Coverdale wrote: My initial alignment was using my iPhone sitting on my level tripod point at due N and then I used my?green laser to check that?everything was?aimed at polaris. GM-8 set to 36 degrees (I am 90 miles N of LV). I guess I could have checked with my scope if I was on polaris but what a PITA!! I'll keep trying tomorrow night. ?Tom What's the chance that metal in your tripod caused an offset in you your iPhone compass and you were in fact not pointing due north? Or more likely, the magnetic deviation for LV is 11.41 degrees east, which is almost the FOV of the Polemaster. If you were pointed "due north" without compensating for magnetic deviation, Polaris might not have even been in your FOV. Finally, I find that the target circles in my Polemaster display are not perfect. When the pattern is matched as well as possible, one or two stars might be on the edge of a circle or even slightly outside it. I just adjust for best overall pattern match. I have not tried turning on refraction correction, but I am at latitude 42 so probably doesn't make too much difference. Paul -- Paul Goelz Rochester Hills, MI USA pgoelz@... www.pgoelz.com
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Michael i'm so sorry. that is easily the worst user experience story i've heard on polemaster
I agree the documentation (and I use that word lightly) is terrible. Is there even any documentation? lol
FYI in sharpcap - you can actually use the polemaster camera in sharpcap, which makes both easier to use.?
On Sun, Dec 20, 2020 at 3:00 AM Michael Herman < mherman346@...> wrote: Hi Tom, et al,
I tried the Polemaster for the first time few weeks ago.
I found the QHY software difficult to use.? It has poor?explanations of its commands, and was frustrating at first.? As Brian said, there are settings in the QHY software.? I know that you just emailed that you found and used the Gain and other settings. with no benefit.? ? The software is?not friendly, though it?can work.? It is poorly explained by the online YouTube offerings I viewed.
So here are some notes about my experiences.??
1. The program frequently crashed or froze up with no mouse response.. For some reason I found that I had to move the mouse to different places on the program or completely off the program window to get response. ? I had to kill the program in Windows using control panel when it would freeze?up.? There was no benefit to restarting the computer.? The software seems as though it is not running the camera capture in a separate "thread"...so when the program is busy with a poor USB connection, it just hangs up waiting for its image to download.? ??That is poor user interface programming in the modern age of multi-threading.?
2. There is a Gain setting that the YouTube said to use.? I pushed up the?gain and this helped.? You already tried that and had no benefits.?
3. In the YouTube video I viewed, and in some online?email notes, people said "the focus is set at the factory so don't adjust it"? ?But?on my unit, the focus was not set properly.? The stars were blurred and therefore of low intensity.? I had to unlock the lens focus with the small allen wrench that comes with the QHY?camera.? Then I got the PoleMaster to focus by adjusting the focus on the stars until they were sharp.? When they were sharp, their intensity increased in the PC display, and then the other stars showed up.? I think this is what is causing the problem with your unit.?
4. There is a rotator slider for the pole star star pattern.? The horizontal slider is tiny, and you must move it with the mouse...very clumsy.? You can maybe more it with the left and right keyboard keys, but the mouse has to be over the slider to get those keyboard?keys to activate the rotation slider.? The horizontal slider has a left stop and a right stop of course.? So the star pattern can go around only so far in each direction.? This is somewhat aggravating.? The rotation gadget slider only has coarse rotation steps also.????
5. ?The star pattern magnification on the software display was affected when I adjusted the lens focus to get the stars sharpest in the video image,.? The change in magnification of the star circle target dots generated by the software on the screen is not adjustable in the present software.? So even when you rotate the star target dots rotated to match your sky pattern,? the star camera image dots don't necessarily go into the center of the software image target circles.? You might find that the real star camera points only go into the inner corner of the provided circle pattern.? This makes the hand fitting of the real star pattern to the software adjustable star target circles somewhat tricky.??
6. There is no "back" button on the software.? If you are at a software step, and want to go back ...I had to click the top right X and kill the program, giving a system crash error.? Then I had to start the program over several times.??
7. The last step is the "Monitor" step.? I found this also tricky, but necessary.? In that step the software is watching all the target stars.? You just try to get the polaris star, or the NCP target, in its target circle.??I turned on the Windows Magnifier applet and used that to really magnify the star and Polaris target, or the NCP target and the virtual NCP star created by the software (as it monitors all the stars around Polaris in the sky.? Since I'm Red-Green colorblind, the software generating the NCP target in Red made it hard for me to see.? Magnifying it helped a lot.??
Bottom line: the PoleMaster is a clever product.? But it's?software is rudimentary and weak... hard to use.? In the future ... everything is perfect, but we don't live there yet!.? ?I'd give it a C-?for the software.? However once you figure it out by running it a few times,?you can figure it out by its behavior.? ?I took the PoleMaster from a G11T to a separate? G11 and got polar aligned quickly on the 2 nd mount.? ?
Then I ran a test of Drift Alignment using PHD2's drift tool.? That showed very good polar alignment, that could be further perfected during a Drift Align.? That report is attached.? (I had notes from using PoleMaster but that report is on another laptop... 400 miles away. )? ?Polemaster got my mounts closer to correct polar alignment than I could get with the polar scope.? Still...I needed the Polar Scope to get close enough to run PoleMaster to get the field of stars it?was expecting.??
So I guess the best method for getting long FL imaging system ready for deep sky exposures, for a mount that has been moved, would be: ? Use the Polar Scope ? Then use PoleMaster ? (If really critical, then Drift Align with say PHD2) ? Then start your Deep Sky or other imaging.??
Chip mentioned that SharpCap has better software for this PoleMaster alignment.? I have not yet tried that. Chip always explains his very practical experience in these matters...so I have more to try.??
Best of luck, and stay well all,
Michael
(Off to bed at last...)
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 9:12 PM Brian Valente < bvalente@...> wrote: if you are using polemaster, you can adjust the exposure and gain settings to be more sensitive. Not sure when?you are doing this, but I find earlier in the evening can be a challenge. it needs to be a little darker
If i was roughly pointed at polaris, very rarely have i only seen a few stars that fit the polemaster pattern, and usually that was when it was too light
On Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM Tom & Barbara Coverdale < tcoverda@...> wrote: Robert, very timely post. I had a clear sky, level tripod and a good North alignment with my laser BUT I could never find more than 2 stars fitting the alignment pattern. I spent 2.5 hours trying every setting, releveling my tripod, and finally went home, frustrated and cold!! Do you or anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong? I am new to using my GM-8 but it is ridiculous to not be able to achieve polar alignment!!! Thanks for any suggestions! --- robert.ian.taylor@... wrote: From: robert.ian.taylor@...To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Losmandy_users_io] Pole master on G11 with Digital Drives Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2020 15:33:44 -0800 [Edited Message Follows]
Had a clear night tonight so tried the polemaster out. Very impressed with how quick this is to get good polar alignment.
--
Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
|
>>>
One thing to check - when you look down at the Polemaster camera is the USB port on the left - for some reason it needs to be like that - not sure if that is why you have an issue.
actually you can have it any rotation
the "rotate to match template" steps account for whatever orientation you attached the polemaster?
One thing to check - when you look down at the Polemaster camera is the USB port on the left - for some reason it needs to be like that - not sure if that is why you have an issue.
-- Brian?
Brian Valente portfolio
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David C. Partridge
Tim Kimbler
Chip Louie
Michael Herman