Losmandy Specific Version of PEMPro and Brian’s Manual?
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I got a new imaging laptop and would like to take the opportunity to run PEMPro on my G11G L6 mount. I downloaded release V3.10.09 from CCDWare. Isn’t there a specific version for Gemini-2 L6 mounts? Also, where can I find the manual Brian put together. Thx ------------------------ Jim W Phoenix, AZ. USA
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File /Losmandy_PEC_Primer_for_L6.pdf uploaded
#file-notice
The following files and folders have been uploaded to the Files area of the [email protected] group. /Losmandy_PEC_Primer_for_L6.pdf By: Ryan Noonan <repast_twerps0r@...> Description: Brian Valente’s PEMpro PEC reference
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G11G Gemini2 PHD2 autoguiding calibration jumps by more than 20px during east calibration
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Hello All, I've older version of G11G with OPWB (Prior to Spring loaded worm gear). I'm getting a sudden jump in PHD2 autoguiding calibration process when after moving by 25px in the west and as soon as it tries to move back towards east direction. This can be seen in my below uploaded video sharp at 31 seconds: https://youtu.be/2SW32UhU6v4 This calibration is closer to Meridian and East pointing West. But same observation is during calibration closer to Meridian and West pointing to East. I just re-greased the spur gears and the worm-wormwheel assembly with Liqui Moly in both RA & Dec axes. I then adjusted backlash to be minimum both in RA & Dec axes. Regardless of minimal backlash adjustment or not this behavior keeps repeating. I fairly balanced my Celestron C9.25 OTA with 1384 focal length after 0.63 reducer. I'm doing off axis guiding with this same focal length and have configured PHD2 as well with it. I made sure that the Dec motors are tightly screwed in. Anybody has any ideas on why this is happening then that would be really helpful. I can provide more details if anybody asks and can try suggestions the next night I get to imaging. Thanks, Nikul
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First visual use of my G11G
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I've had the G11G for about a year now. Got it mainly for back yard imaging. Last weekend the club had an outreach event so we brought the G11G and dusted off our old C11 and used it to share some views with the public. A few observations: - It handles the C11 way better than the EQ-G mount I bought the scope with. That is the predecessor to the current Eq6 class mounts. I got a lot of good use out of that mount, but this one was much more confident with that load. - Go-tos were much more accurrate, once I got a model built. There was nothing that was outside of the eyepeice that had about a half degree field of view. - Model building for the first time was...interesting. I should have read up on it. It took me about 4 tries to get it to work. The first one everything was way off the initial go-to, and slewing over before syncing still resulted in a bad model. The second time, for some reason still unkown to me, it selected 3 stars all i Cassiopea. I knew that wasn't going to work. It was after that time that I figured out I still had the Lat/Long from our recent trip to an out of state star party. I fixed that, and it fixed the initial go-to pretty well. Then on the next try I figured out I could hit the East or West button again before go-to and it would select a different star to go to. That was when I nailed a good alignment - I don't have a ton of star names memorized so I could pick ones easy for me to find! 3 stars on each side. Did a great job all night after that. I really enjoyed it for visual use. Been happy with the imaging, though I need to improve guiding a bit for my 130mm refractor. But I think its just a matter of finding the time to mess with some settings a bit. Was good to be out there in visual mode! And not pushing around a big dob, not that I'm complaining about having a nice big dob. Brian
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Using mini router to talk with Gemini thru wifi
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Hi folks I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. A member of the local club has kindly been round and helped set up my new mount. We didn't realize until yesterday that my "netbook", an Asus did not have an ethernet socket. So it's wifi only. Luckily, he had his laptop and worked on inputting stuff to Gemini. It wasn't until just before he left, I remembered I had a mini router - one that came with an Asiair (from Cloudy Nights) and not used yet. A GL-AR750S-EXT. I have managed to attach to the Gemini, log into this and thought that all I had to do was input the IP address (into my browser) now on the Gemini, obtained from the HC and I would be fine. It doesn't work. I am looking at videos etc - but talk of gateways and the like do confuse me. So, I am not experienced in such matters. Perhaps if I right click on my wifi icon in Network on my Win 11 netbook - copy the info from Gemini into that (IP address, gateway etc), it will work? Anyway - I'm sure my new mate from the club will assist but might take a week to get out here again and I need to research what I can. So, any advice or links appreciated. I have seen something from Losmandy but not quite what I need, I think. Obliged. ps I took the Gemini and router outside and attached to the scope. It's only on a deck a few yards away, powered up but that part works fine.
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Mount slow to respond to PHD2
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Hello group, I'm hoping that someone can decipher these guide logs better than I. The basic problem is that the mount is slow to respond to guide commands from PHD2, at times. The DEC axis is the most affected by this, though the RA axis also shows signs. I have tried a few things: Tightened the screws holding the motor assembly to the mount, both axes. (no discernible affect, though the spur gears are hard to move on both axes. Not as Scott describes in his videos, IMO.) Changed PHD2 exposure settings from 0.2 seconds through 3 seconds. (0.2 second most effective especially on the RA axis. The main advantage is the excursions are compressed in time) Changed RA algorithm from Predictive PEC to Resist Switch. (no discernible affect) Reworked the cabling several times. (no discernible affect) Used ST4 port to try and eliminate the software contributions. (Much worse on both axis) Disconnected all applications connected to the mount but PHD2. (no discernible affect) Set different tensions on the clutches. (no discernible affect) Equipment/software list Losmandy G-11 just reworked to include the tucked motor & spring loaded worm, the problem appears after this modification. ZWO ASI120mm guide camera. Gemini 2, level 6. plus the Gemini.net driver, ethernet connection to mount. PHD2 2.6.13 Cartes Du Ceil N.I.N.A. Windows 10 x64 Guide logs, debug logs are too big to send. Please note the times below. Ignore the other time stamps labeled guiding in each log. 07/19/24 22:52:59 Target gamma cygni region, about 70 degrees above the horizon. During this log I increased the mount settle after dither time from 10 seconds to 30 seconds. 23:36:36 Target gamma cygni region, about 70 degrees above the horizon. I began fiddling with the PHD2 settings towards the end of this part of the log. 01:05:48 Guiding assistant run showing very good polar alignment. 07/18/24 23:52:56 Target gamma cygni region, about 70 degrees above the horizon. ignore 0:16:45 thru 0:18:51 that was me touching the wires. 0:44:19 Target gamma cygni region, about 70 degrees above the horizon. Any thoughts are appreciated. Has this been seen before? Thanks Tim.
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RA Motor on G-11 very loose
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Bought a used G-11 and the RA Motor is very loose. It still drives the gears in the gearbox, but I'm concerned. Mounting screws seem tight. Any fix for this? Dave
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Allen key size for head bolts?
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Hello All, I recently joined here and have been gathering and learning a lot. I have been fortunate to acquire a GM8 with the 492 direct drive unit and an extension installed between the tripod and the head. Does anyone know what size Allen key is needed to disassemble the bolts? Pete
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G11 Gemini 1 v4 autoguiding
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Hello, I have a Losmandy G11 Gemini 1 v4 (updated) mount bought back in 2001. It’s the version with the RJ45 motor sockets. Until now I have not attempted to use the autoguiding RJ12 port but would like to get it working and invest in a cooled camera. According to the Gemini manual, the Common pin 2 has +5V on it rather than 0V of the ST-4 standard, but in both cases to activate the drive you connect one of the direction pins to the Common pin. I have verified that the +5V is present on Common. I currently have the mount indoors on a table. For a completely different reason I have made a simple hand controller consisting of four directional switches that connect the Common to each of the direction pins and I thought I could use this to test the autoguiding port. I also have a RJ12 tester box with 6 LEDS that light if +5V is detected. Using a ‘Y’ splitter in the autoguiding port, I have plugged in both. The Common pin LED lights and pressing each of the other switches lights the appropriate LED. In the Setup menu, I have set sidereal tracking rate, photo mode (repeated with All Speeds) as the manual says and also a guiding speed of x0.8. If I hold down one of the DEC switches for a long time, I see no indication on the motor/worm that it is turning. Also, the manual says that if I hold down the opposite direction switch at the same time, there should be an ‘Autoguiding error’ on the display (deluxe hand controller). I don’t see this message – the display is just blank. This makes me think the autoguiding port is not working. So here are some questions that I hope someone can help with: 1) Can I test the autoguiding port in this way? Does it only respond to short correction pulses rather than a continuous signal? 2) Am I missing something in the menu settings? Assuming I get it working at some stage there are a couple of other questions: 3) Do all cameras with a ST-4 port have opto-isolator outputs with open collectors? (I realise that I will need some kind of inverter to connect to the Gemini). 4) Some cameras only have a USB. Do cables exist that are USB at one end and ST-4 at the other end and suitable for guiding from the camera or direct from a computer. Thanks very much for any help you can give.
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Altitude adjuster tight
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Apologies for a somewhat stupid question. I am setting up my G11G mount and 12" lx200. I have yet to balance it. To make sure all is secure I have tightened just about every knob in sight. I cannot now adjust the altitude adjuster. Could be by the time this is answered I have the solution, but if I loosen the DEC clutch - is there a chance the counterweight bar will dropout? I'd hate to hurt my tootsies. And is that the correct way to do it? Cheers Dave
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An unguided shot of the Veil
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Here is an unguided shot of the western veil. It was taking with my TMB 105 mm F6 refractor, my trusty ZWO 294 and my G11T mount with the new L6.2 upgrade running with PEC model uploaded from PEMPro. This was taken at the end of the session where I created the PEC curve, so I was just curious as to how an unguided image would be. I believe it is about an hour total integration, with 2 minute subs. Turned out better than I anticipated, considering it is unguided and I was just fooling around. Thought I would share! JMD
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GM8 492 hand controller problem ?
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I have a GM8 non-Goto 492 mount. Until recently everything was working fine. Last night, I could not get the mount to slew in RA. It was tracking fine in RA, so I don't think out is a problem with the motor. Moving in DEC was fine through the hand controller. I switched cables, and it didn't he change. So I think the problem is either in the hand controller or in the output from the 492 box. I am suspecting the hand controller since the 492 box is still sending tracking signals to the RA motor. Neither RA button on the hand controller is working. Does anyone have an idea how to further diagnose this problem? If it is a problem with the hand controller, can it be fixed, or is it possible to buy a new one from Losmandy? (I did not see an obvious replacement on the Losmandy site). Thanks for any advice you can give.
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Hand Controller Frustration
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I have a Titan mount, which I love, but I'm having an issue with the hand controller. Last night after plugging in my hand controller into the Gemini Mini the touch screen would not respond. I shut down the mount and took the hand controller apart and reseated the Micro SD 4GB chip, which I was informed would solve the touch issue. When I again turned on the Hand Controller the menu was Red……….. I then tried the Gemini PC Controller by clicking on the Gemini Icon in the System Tray located at the bottom right of my laptop…Win11. I brought up the Categories and selected Kornephoros in Hercules. I clicked on the Sync then when to Rasalhague but it told me Object could not be reached. What I life in San Diego and the Gemini II has my location set to here but when the Hand Controller worked the other night I was able to align on Rasalhague without any issues. I then tried the Hand Control in the Gemini Server which did not show any way to select a star for alignment. I then tried the Mobil Hand Controller which also did not allow me to align on Rasalhague. Any suggestion on how to ‘fix’ the Hand Controller touch problem? Or is there a better Web Based interface for the Hand Controller? Kenn
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Getting Dec Stalled message on controller
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Hi All, I've G11G with Gemini2 version 5. I've mounted my RASA11 fairly balanced and would find that when it in position east-pointing-west and close to zenith, sometimes I get message Dec Stalled on the controller. however the mount continues to track and I do not get any error in my software controller on my Windows laptop. Do anybody know about this issue? The only thing I can think of is the dec balancing may be slightly heavy to the rear side but I'm not sure. I tried to find about this on Gemini's website but could not find anything. Any inputs on this is highly appreciated. Thanks, Nikul
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A couple of questions for the group
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I just up-graded my older G-11 to the tucked motor design w spring loaded worms. During setup a problem and a question came up 1. I stripped the head out of one of my cap screws shown below, Red arrow. Could anyone tell me what the specs are for this screw, Home Depot doesn't carry it's like. 2. In the image of the servo motor is installed with a 180 degree rotation from the pictures on the Losmandy web site, note the position of the plug in for the DEC cord from Gemini. Is there a known problem with this orientation? Would appreciate any help. Thanks Tim
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Meade Classic 12" lx200 and heavy duty tripod
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Hi All I've just deforked a 12" Meade Classic which comes in now at 35Ibs. I also have the heavy-duty tripod. Been looking round for another mount to do some beginner astrophotography and visual. Mainly lunar and planetary to start with. I originally thought the OTA was 45Ibs and was considering the G11T, but at 35Ibs I've been told the G11G should suffice. I lean toward the Losmandy as well because the adapters for the Meade tripod seem well established - while Skywatcher quoted quite high and may be made only to order. The G11T adapter has a central hole plus 6 holes closer to the edge. Do these correspond to the Meade at all? The G11G adapter just has the central hole. I'm thinking of using a couple of nuts to hold in place. If my picture turns out - should be attached. Any thoughts and suggestions welcome - and hello - first post. :) FYI - The scope will be permanently mounted on a covered south facing deck. Cheers. Dave
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RA safety limits
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I have some questions about RA safety limits. My system is Losmandy Gemimi 1 level 4. I perform the east limit using Deluxe Hand Controller and click “Set Safety Limits”; the same for west limits. How could I known the values of my safety limits? I ask this because if I know the values I can put them in “Set East” and “Set West” in the future. Luis
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G11 Tracking, need some advice
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Hello. I have a G11 with Gemini 2 that I purchased new in 2019. I recently did the Level 6 upgrade. Currently have a C11 Edge HD on it with a .7 focal reducer. PLL Esatto 2 LP focuser, Celestron OAG and a ASI1600mm image camera. Guide cam is a ASI 174mm mini. Running NINA and PHD2. My guiding works, but seems like it could be better. I have polar aligned it several times with the NINA three point polar alignment plugin. And have done numerous PHD2 Calibrations and Guiding Assistant runs. Attached is a PHD2 Calibration Results screen capture from last night. My orthogonality between RA and DEC seems way off at 12.1. My friend has a EQ6R mount and his results are dead on. While my guiding works, the guiding graph is rough. Total is about 1.70 (1.06"). I get the PHD2 Timed out waiting for guider to settle error quite often. What could be causing my orthogonality to be off like this ?
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G11G Tracking - how to know when to adjust the spring loaded worms?
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Hello all. I have a G11G that was new in August of 2023. It has been a great performer. I leave it outside all Fall, Winter and Spring under a 365 cover. I have had fine results guiding my 130mm f/7 refractor. Overall very happy. I took it off its permanent home and travelled to an outreach event at our club this past weekend. Some software issues meant my guider wasn't working, but I was just doing some unguided 1min subs for live stacking for outreach anyway. I noticed later looking at the subs that many showed some pretty hefty tracking errors - oblong stars all the way up to 'jumps' where each star was doubled along RA with a little trail between. Even with good guiding, I have noticed a lot of nights where the RA error is 1.5-2x that of Dec. I'm happy with the guided images, but I'm starting to wonder if an RA adjustment is in order? Perhaps sitting out through all the temperature cycling has caused something to loosen or tighten up? If I cold get RA tracking closer to DEC that would seem to be better. I'm not sure if the mount ever did that - I was new to guiding at the beginning and didn't pay attention. So my question to you is - how do I know if or when to try and adjust that spring loaded worm gear? Brian
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Computer astronomy software to control Gemini 1
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Good evening, I've heard you can control a Losmandy mount (I have just acquired a GM8/11) from a computer using astronomy software. Any recommendations, and can you point me to any instructions or chats? Mark Whittier, CA
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