autoguiding with a SkyGuider Pro mount

[Matthew Fenton]

Hi - I have been trying (without success) to use PHD2 software and the ZWO ASI290 mini camera to autoguide my polar-aligned SkyGuider Pro. I have been able to get all the way to the calibration step, successfully connecting the equipment and auto-selecting a star to track, and have made the following changes in the PHD2 settings:

Global menu -> Dither --> check the in RA only box.

Aligorithms menu -> Declination -> Dec guide mode: Change to “off”

After about 2 minutes of attempting to calibrate, PHD2 returns an error message that there was not sufficient RA star movement, and does not complete the calibration process. In the meantime, the LED (for 1X speed) on the SkyGuider Pro blinks as if it is receiving data from the computer.

Any suggestions for how I can successfully complete the calibration process? Thanks.

Matthew

[Brian Valente]

Hi Matthew

Can you please upload whatever logs you had for the night, they are automatically generated. here are some details on how to do this: https://openphdguiding.org/getting-help/ 

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Brian 

Brian Valente

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[Brian Valente]

Also can you explain your setup - how your Skyguider Pro, zwo camera and computer are all connected, and if you are using ascom or st-4 connection for guiding? 

thanks -Brian

On Mon, Feb 24, 2020 at 7:01 AM Matthew Fenton <fenton....@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Matthew Fenton]

Brian,

Done. Here's the link: https://openphdguiding.org/logs/dl/PHD2_logs_j6Zy.zip. This was the viewing session that took place on 02/23/20 and uploaded the next day. Thanks in advance for taking a look at it. 

Matthew

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[Matthew Fenton]

Brian - my guidescope has a ZWO ASI290MM mini camera that is connected via the ST-4 cable to the SkyGuider Pro guide port, and via the USB cable that is connected to the laptop. The camera driver is the native ASI driver, not the ASCOM driver. In PHD2, under "connect equipment", the camera selection is "ZWO ASI Camera" and the mount selection is "On-Camera". No Aux Mount.

Matthew

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[Matthew Fenton]

Here are my debug logs.

[Matthew Fenton]

And here's my guide log from the same session.

[Brian Valente]

Hi Matthew

you sent the logs to the correct place :)

looking at your calibration it is doing a lot of steps and making some progress, but it isn't reaching it's goal of 25pix movement - this should be to the edge of the circle

i think it's probably because your step durations are too small. 

here's what i recommend:

1. create a new profile using the profile wizard tool. make sure to enter all your data in correctly esp. focal length and sensor details. 

2. slew to the intersection of the meridian and celestial equator. (can I assume you have a way to move RA without actually loosening clutches and moving? if not, just move both axis by hand)

3. try to calibrate again. if it errors out, try it a few more times.

if it still errors out, use the Manual Guide tool in PHD to make sure you can move the stars in both directions (obviously it won't move in one axis because you have RA only). 

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[Matthew Fenton]

Thanks. I'll try this as soon as I get a clear night.

Matthew

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