Light Lubrication of Losmandy RA Shaft Recommended?
2
I have an observatory on the Florida Gulf Coast, and just had to remove all equipment prior to the arrival of hurricane Helene. I have a Titan mount, and I've had to evacuate the equipment from the dome for several prior hurricanes also. Each time I do this, pulling the DEC head unit off the RA shaft can be difficult, even though I do not see any corrosion on the RA shaft. I question as to whether it would be feasible to put a very thin coat of some sort of lubrication on the RA shaft, without getting any excess on that Teflon pad. Possibilities would be a thin coat of 3-in-1 oil, Teflon spray chain lube, or bicycle dry wax chain lube. I suppose I could remove the Teflon pad when applying this, and keep it thin, so I don't get excess on the pad when re-installing the DEC head. I constantly run dehumidifier and A/C unit in the dome, and have not noticed corrosion on my instruments since 2015, but it is on the Gulf coast. The light lubrication would be to lessen the chances of corrosion, and make it easier in the future to remove the DEC head. My neighbor recorded a wind speed of 108 MPH as the storm came by, so evacuation was advisable. This is at Ochlockonee Bay, FL, and the western eye wall grazed us prior to landfall in Taylor County. Thanks in advance. Dan
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Does G2 L6 Improve Slewing Accuracy?
4
I have a Losmandy Titan mount, and many months ago I upgraded to L6..... flashed the circuit board/HC with the GFU, and flashed the servo ports with the cable/software. I exclusively use the mount for astrophotography, and only did the upgrade for improving guiding/tracking. My overall guide error went from typically in the 0.80 - 0.90's", to the 0.50's". This was a home run. What I also noticed was that my plate solving greatly improved also, and I noticed that the plotting of calibration step points on the RA/DEC axes during PHD2 calibration, appeared much more accurate. With several calibration runs, all the step points were on the axes.... that did not used to be the case. My astronomy club has the same mount. The club only uses the mount for observing..... no astrophotography, and no autoguiding/tracking performed. The slewing accuracy can be fairly spotty.... not consistent, and I've played around with modeling and doing an align/synchronize in various parts of the sky. I looked at the Losmandy page that provides an overview of L6, and it only discusses improvement in guiding/tracking accuracy, which is the aspect that most of us want. With the improvement in encoder resolution with L6, I'm wondering if slewing accuracy of my astro club's Titan mount would be improved if I upgraded to L6? It seems as though improving encoder resolution would improve the precision/accuracy of any movement of the mount. If you think L6 would improve slewing accuracy, I'm going to go ahead and upgrade the club's mount. Thanks in advance. Dan
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APOD!
2
Congrats to our old friend Brian Valente with his recent achievement of getting a NASA APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240923.html High honors, Brian! Nice going :). John -- _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Losmandy G11G2 on pier; refurbed Losmandy G11 with OnStep controller; SkyShed design roll-off observatory; ZWO ASI2600MM-P; ZWO ASI071MC; Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 ED with field flattener; Celestron C925 Edge HD with 0.7XFR, William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO; PHD2, NINA, Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight user
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MAL to MA Adapter
19
Could someone please tell me the center hole size for the MAL to MA Adapter? I wish to attach a ZWO AM5 to me HD tripod. thanks, Jim
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High Resolution Tracking Gemini 2 Level 6...
10
At the risk of sounding like an idiot, I hate to ask a question that may have already been asked... I recently bought the G11 with Gemini 2 at Level 6. I promptly updated the firmware with the firmware update program. In the HC menu is a high-resolution tracking mode for RA and Dec. I have tried to find out specifically what that means. I cannot find it. Maybe I am stuck on the word "tracking". Is it high resolution for slewing from object to object or is it high resolution tracking for guiding during astrophotography? I've been out under the stars with the mount exactly twice and I did two nights of photographing the Cocoon Nebula. A total of 10 hours. First night I had it turned off. Second night I had it turned on. I couldn't tell a difference. Using the ASIair Plus, my guiding error was .25". If anyone can explain this high-resolution tracking to me, I would appreciate it. Doug
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Hello and questions about G11
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Hello everybody, I'm starting again astrophotography after 3 years of stop (kid was born - I needed to sleep) and I'm looking now for a new mount with adequate capacity. I was originally considering the iOptron CEM70, until I ended up in the Losmandy's page where I "found" the new G11. I have to confess, my heart has been stolen. But I still have to sort out a couple of questions before pulling the trigger. 1) Does anybody had the chance to use both mounts (CEM70 and G11) and can please provide a comparison to me? Specifically I'm looking into tracking performances. 2) Does the G11 have any sort of cable management feature? Like a through the mount cabling? In the Losmandy's page I see only few pictures and I can't tell too much from them. 3) Is the DEC axis equipped with at least 1x DC socket? Thank you in advance - Luca
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Updated polar reticle
8
Does anyone know where I can buy the updated reticle for the G-11 polar scope? My G-11 mount is 30 years old and works fine, but I've outlived the reticle, which has no alignment marks after 2010. - Ernie
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Mount Performance Baseline
14
So, after a few years of on/off use of an old G8 with Gemini 1 with the AsiAir, I’m keen to up my game by moving to NINA and properly getting into guiding and PEC. Additionally, as my mount has steel worms and separate worm blocks, I have got replacement brass worms and single piece worm blocks. With the AsiAir and this setup with a Z61 OTA, I’m getting between 1.5 -2.2 guiding in a bottle 5/6 back garden.I also plan to clean and re-grease. I also have an aging G11 with Ovision worm on RA which I’m yet to put into service, but will need a clean and re-grease at least. So, before I do anything, I’d like to get a baseline of the system performance so that I can compare it with the post upgrade performance. My question is, how do I get such a baseline using PHD2/NINA/something else? I’ve only used the ASIAir, so all other software is new to me. But I do at least have some concept of PHD, but no actual experience of using the full product in anger (yet!). Any advice/guidance on what to do gratefully received. (I have checked out Michael Herman’s approach in the documents area but not sure this is the best current approach?) thanks Bryn
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Guiding Stops after Meridan Flip
5
Been running my system for 2 years now, NINA and PHD2 and now for some reason, after a Meridan Flip, it appears PHD2 does not do a 'find new stars' to star guiding again. It appears PHD2 is trying to guide but it does not lock onto a guide star. Any help would be appreciated.
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ISS capture
10
Any Losmandy users capture the ISS and/or using SkyTrack?? Trying to decide whether to try this adventure.
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Balancing a G11G
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G11G, new this year. One thing I've had a time with is balancing RA. I get a good feel in DEC even with lighter payloads, but I find both sides of RA are just sticky enough to make getting very good balance difficult. I am wondering how others deal with this. Is there such a thing as upgrading those bearings? What I have done a few times is lower the altitude to nearly parallel with the ground and then it's loose enough to get great balance. I messed with the idea of tilting the tripod temporarily because cranking the altitude that much is a bother, but yeah, bad idea. Did not manage to topple it if you are wondering. I do not believe it is the clutch per se.
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Separating RA axis components
5
Here’s the backstory: I purchased a Celestron branded G11 RA axis that I placed my GM8 DEC onto. The problem with the old RA is that there is no way to lock the altitude when polar aligning and there is a fair bit of play. My GM8 has the locking ability, but I cannot figure out how or if there is a way to separate the parts for exchange. See the photo. I’m trying to remove the lower and upper rings so I can switch with the G11 pieces. Anyone have any ideas?
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Odd PEC training outcome
17
Hi, I just redid my PEC training of my G11G mount with PemPro last night and got some odd results. I am not sure what to make of the results so hoping one of the Group could have a look at the attached logs and venture an opinion. The night sky was very clear and I had no issues with the mount (snags etc) that I know of. Thanks, Ken G11G ASI071MC main camera Mains power.
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Meridian flip problem i
4
I have a 23 year old G-11 with Gemini 2. Software is last version 5 release. using Gemini.net driver, the mount will not do a meridian flip. It hits the east limit, turns off tracking, and stops. Using the function menu on the driver panel did nothing. Triggering a meridian flip from Nina did nothing either. Any suggestions? thanks
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Uncontrollable RA drift after pier crash
3
I set a sequence in Nina last night to park the mount at dawn. And I went to bed. Woke up to find a pier crash. Tonight when I started imaging, I had a slow drift in RA. It’s in the direction of the right button on the controller. I swapped motors. Same results. Checked clutch knobs. All tightened. not sure what to do.
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GM811, PHD2 and Non-Periodic RA Spikes
17
I've had a heck of a time understanding where I might be getting RA - and only RA - spikes from. My setup is a Celestron 9.25"Edge HD with an OAG, sitting on a Losmandy GM811 mount, using Gemini II, N.I.N.A and PHD2 to control everything. Calibration looks good (See the PHD2 log) and tracking is generally very good - nearly always within 1" ...except for occasional non-periodic spikes in RA which randomly occur a few times an hour, always in the same direction. All gearing and bearings have been thoroughly cleaned but I suspect something in the RA train is binding up, then suddenly releasing. I keep the clutches relatively loose. No real differences between East and West guiding. Alternatively, maybe it's the power supply (but then, why only RA)? Or a corrupted signal from PHD2? One of these days I'll try swapping motors but because tracking is generally really good I don't want to fool around with the drive train until I absolutely have to. Regardless, I should be grateful - I typically get at least 9 good images out of every 10 - but those spikes just bug me because I can't determine root cause. Have any of you dealt with this in the past, and if so, I'll take as many recommendations as I can get. Paul
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G11 guiding perfect until last night
16
Hello all, My L6 G11 has been a dream for the past 11 months now. However, two nights ago, it was not so nice. I had these dec spikes that appeared to be periodic but I am not sure, and overall the guiding was messy. I did a worm adjustment just in case it was wrong, regreased the worm gear, and then back for round 2 last night. Last night was not much better. Usually the mount guides at around .4-.5 ish but last night it was more around .9. Here is an attached image of a section of my guide log. Does anyone know what I can do to improve my guiding? Maybe I need to replace the wavy washer? It's been two years. Maybe a clutch pad replacement? Worm bearings? Also to note, my polar alignment error was 1.5 arc minutes which is fine. I have been at 2.7 and still guided at .59 throughout the night. I will also attach a good guide log from a couple months ago. Good log: Bad log: Thank you so much for your help! Clear skies, Michael -- Gear: Mount: Losmandy G11G Gemini 2 Level 6, SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Gti w/ pier extension, Star Adventurer Pro Optics: Stellarvue SVX102T-R Raptor, Redcat 51 V2, Askar FMA180 w/ focal reducer, Canon EOS 18-135mm Zoom Lens Camera: QHY 268M, ZWOASI 533 MC Pro, Canon EOS 80D (Stock) Guiding: ZWO 290mm Mini + Askar FMA 180 w/ focal reducer, ZWOASI 120mm, ZWO 30mm f/4 Accessories: Optec Alnitak Flip Flat, TSE Prowler 3rd Gen Night Vision, QHY CFW, Stellarvue Diagonal - 2", Meade HD-60 Eyepieces. Focuser: EAF w/RC51 kit, PLL Sesto Senso 2 Brain: PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S(spec'd out with upgrades), PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4, Asiair Plus(32 GB), Asiair Mini Filters: Antila V-Pro LRGB, Antila 4.5nm Edge Sii and Oiii, Antila 7nm Ha, Optolong L-Ultimate, Optolong L-eNhance, Astromania Luminance Filter, Thousand Oaks Optical Full Aperture (Solarlite Polymer) Solar Filter
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New G11 + ASIair guiding issues
15
Just began working out how to use a new G11. Using an ASIair plus, carrying a 380mm f/3.8 telescope. ZWO cameras - 533MC and the 174MM mini for guiding. Polar alignment verified with iPolar and the air app. Less than half a minute both axis. I was unable to achieve decent guiding after a few hours of trying things. Seeing is reasonable. Guiding with 2 second exposures. It will track well for 10 or 15 seconds, then it wanders into 5 to 10" errors. Doesn't seem to be one axis or the other. Fairly certain of the mount being level and everything tight and balanced. Looking for ideas on things that could be causing this. I have no experience using a Losmandy mount prior to this one. I have good experience with several other mounts from Vixen, Software Bisque and ZWO. Next time I will trying using Nina and PHD2 and see how that goes. Using the air is a convenience but not necessary. Might also try TheSky Professional if I can create a model for this mount from that. I am hopeful I am just missing something. I have not done any model input nor PEC training. Looks like TheSky supports these mounts so maybe a TPoint model will help.
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UPDATE Hand Controller Frustration
4
Since my last posting on this subject, I have an update. During the Winter I was having the same issue, touch screen not responding, so I started unplugging the hand controller (HC) from the Gemini II and taking it inside house. When I plugged the HC back in and the touch screen responded. Now during the warmer months that touch response no longer worked so I reset the chip inside the HC and reseated the touch screen. Problem still existed because I continued to unplug the HC and taking it inside. One night the touch screen responded and I forgot to dethatch the HC and the next night again I had luck with the touch screen responding once again. So for the last two weeks I have left the HC plugged in and everything is 'fat and happy' with the touch screen responding. Fingers are crossed for my continued success with the touch screen responding. Kenn
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Goto the Moon way off
44
Thanks for the help re the router. I can access the server with my desktop, Netbook and Chromebook. As I said on that first post - I was getting a little ahead of myself. As far as I can see - my time - location and GPS coordinates are all fine. Although last week when I did a dummy run I could not see the moon, the scope did seem to goto the right place. Today, I tested it and the goto was way out - pointing way under the horizon. I am sure that UTC was correct - I think that is automatic. I am in the northern hemisphere so have -117 as the longitude Pacific time so I'm -7. Sorry to take up more bandwidth. It was hot today and within a few mins the Gemini was close on being too hot to handle and I brought it in. Any suggestion please. Dave Although I logged into the server yesterday - I did not knowingly make any changes.
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