|
Re: Limited Sky View
Jim McKee
I created 4 retroreflective wedges that I applied to the mount after aligning both axes. The tape makes it very easy to see alignment using a head light.
-- Mounts: ES EXOS2-GT w/ PMC-8 Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II Cameras: Canon 60D Astro Mod, Canon 7D2 Misc: USB-to-Cat6 Extender, Astromania Red Dot sight (Flash Shoe) TELRAD, ZWO ASI120MM Guide Camera, Astromania 60mm Guidescope Software: EXPLORESTARS IOS & WIN, Stellarium. Backyard EOS, StarTools, APT, DSS Computer: 2012 MacBook Pro Bootcamp WIN 10
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
Harry
Scott, I initially had the same issue with my iExos 100 mount. It’s too bad that Explore Scientific did
not include any “Alignment “ marks or indicators for either axis. I thought they were included on the Exos 2GT, and with other mounts. -- Harry Vero Beach, FL Scopes: ES AR102, Meade ETX 90 EC (Deforked) Mounts: ES iExos 100-PMC Eight, IPAD & Fire HD8, Oberwerk 5000 Tripod Binos: Oberwerk 15x70, 8x40
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
brian skinner
Hi Wes, my Explorestars App is set to IEXOS 100, mount is level etc. The only possible answer as you say is the initial Polar Alignment. Maybe the magnetic North is much further away from true north at my location (south of England) than I'm told. I'll make sure I point at Polaris at Park before I start alignment and see how that goes. Be in touch no doubt.... Kind regards, Brian
On Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:22 Wes Mcdonald <wesmcd6@... wrote:
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
Brian: I had that problem as well at first; then I realized that my dovetail mounting plate affixed to my telescope needed adjusting so that the telescope was aligned with the axis of the mount. Went out to a place where I had a good view of a tall radio tower (during daylight hours), set the mount axes in their parked positions and locked them, and used the latitude and longitude adjustments on the mount to get the polar finder crosshair centered on the light on top of the tower. A crosshair eyepiece REALLY helps this process - it was suprising how misaligned my telescope was with the mount. By adjusting the mounting plate, I got it where the scope and mount were pointing at the same place and voila! Scott
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 8:22 AM Wes Mcdonald <wesmcd6@...> wrote:
--
Robert Scott Parks - Northwest Arkansas, USA Mount: Explore Scientific EXOS II GT WITH PMC-8 Polar Finder: EXOS II integrated with illuminated reticle Telescope: Explore Scientific 127mm f/7.5 FCD1 Air-Spaced Triplet ED APO Refractor Finder: Telrad Hardware: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7" Steering Software: ExploreStars App
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
Wes Mcdonald
Brian:
The software assumes you have the scope sitting at the North Celestial Pole (NCP), that is true north when you start the PMC8. PArk is thus at the NCP. If you are 15 degrees off, that is a lot of error. If you can see polaris and setup to point to it when in park you should not be that very far away with gotos. The error you have suggests you are not very well polar aligned, you are terribly out of level, or perhaps the wrong mount is selected in Explorestars. If you were running it as a G11, then the motor counts would be wacked by 11%.. this could be about 15 degrees depending upon where you were looking. My explorestars cam by default set as a G11. Maybe yours is too? Other issues come to mind but given that the mount returns to park those don't stand up to inspection. Check and make sure your mount type i correct. Wes. -- Wes, Southport NC PMC-8, ES ED 127, 10" LX200GPS, Astro-Tech 8" Newt, ETX-90 Polemaster, Orion ST-80 and SAG Electrical Engineer, Retired
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
brian skinner
Hi chaps, with my limited sky view I am finding that my OTA ends up consistently slewing to around 15 degrees to the right of my selected alignment stars. The end of slew position means my target stars are outside the field of view of my finderscope. This results in a fair amount of final adjustment in order to centre the stars. My mount when parked is pointing true north, level and so on and tracks fine. I am wondering whether it would help to start alignment with Polaris centred in my finder scope and not be quite so worried whether the mount is pointing North? In other words does the park position assume the OTA/mount is pointing north or at Polaris??? Your expert thoughts as always would be very much appreciated. Kind regards, Brian
On Tue, 9 Apr 2019 08:33 brian skinner via Groups.Io <brianjimskinner=gmail.com@groups.io wrote:
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
Darryl Ellis
What do I need to do to receive a copy?
-- DHEllis59, Dover, DE
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
W. Christopher Moses
I just wanted to thank everyone helping out! Thanks!!
If anyone else would like to try it, it is getting pretty stable now and shouldn't have too many issues left. Just drop me an email and I'll get it out to you. -- Mounts: ES PMC-8 G11, Losmandy AZ8 Scopes: Tak FSQ 106 EDX4, AT 115, WO Star 71, Mallincam RC6 Cameras: 2x ZWO ASI1600MM-P, Nikon D5100, ZWO ASI 120 Msc: IF ONAG, Moonlight Nightcrawler, ZWO EFW Software: PixInsights, TheSkyX Pro
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
Wes Mcdonald
Frank:
ESX! is safe to use, it flips back and forth. But you can pulse guide wirelessly with ascom if you want. The app allows you to flip communication modes. You won't get a splash screen until you are connected via serial... Use the Parallax serial port app to see the splash screen once you switch to serial. Chris has another app out there that will switch you from wireless to serial. It is in the files section of MAIN and is called PMC8Helper2.exe. If in serial it will switch you back to wireless. Wes. -- Wes, Southport NC PMC-8, ES ED 127, 10" LX200GPS, Astro-Tech 8" Newt, ETX-90 Polemaster, Orion ST-80 and SAG Electrical Engineer, Retired
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
jrichard333 <jrichard333@hotmail.com>
Hello Richard and all,
I too have a very limited view of the sky towards the North and trees blocking my view towards the North West. I am currently using the iEXOS-100 mount to do planetary imaging. I setup around 3:30AM and start imaging around 4:15AM. The stars I have selected for alignment are blocked by trees. When planets start rising earlier, I will be able to do a 2 or 3-star alignment. The most critical thing I have discovered is accurately having your mount pointed North. Might I suggest the following android apps: 1. SkySafari- detailed information on stars including visibility 2. Star Odysey- being able to sort stars by magnitude or distance. You can use those apps to collect star data. You can also create an excel spreadsheet to document the stars in your area and availability.
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
Chris - I’m not programming literate and don’t know if I’m a good candidate, but I’d be game. I’ve been using PHD2 wirelessly (POTH hub) and would like to try using the serial port, but have been unable to get it to connect. I’m using a using a DTech FTDI chip-based serial to usb cable. I tried to test the cable by downloading the Parallax Serial Terminal to see if I could see the PMC8 splash screen, but no luck. So I may have the wrong cable - or could it be due to not setting the PMC8 controller from wireless to serial as you mentioned? I’m a real novice at programming (chemistry and environmental science background) and noticed the disclaimer regarding ES not being responsible if I screwed it up. So I was hesitant to use the ESX!/ESY! commands to switch it. Is it necessary to do that to guide through the serial port? Would the beta version automatically switch? Frank Bastian
On Apr 11, 2019, at 8:56 AM, Suprit Singh <supritsingh@...> wrote:
|
|
|
|
Re: iExos 100 PMC-8, Tons of problems
On Fri, Apr 5, 2019 at 03:38 PM, T. Wesley Erickson wrote:
Support for the iEXOS-100 mount (switching between tcp and udp) was added in an update that was uploaded on March 31st.Hi Wes E., Can you provide a link to the upload that you are referring to Wes? Thanks! -- Jerry Hubbell Vice President of Engineering Explore Scientific, LLC. jrh at explorescientific.com www.explorescientificusa.com 1010 S. 48th Street Springdale, AR 72762 1-866-252-3811 Author: Scientific Astrophotography: How Amateurs Can Generate and Use Professional Imaging Data Remote Observatories for Amateur Astronomers: Using High-Powered Telescopes From Home Mark Slade Remote Observatory (MSRO) IAU MPC W54 Equipment Wilderness, VA Mounts: ES PMC-Eight G11 + Telescope Drive Master (TDM) Scopes: ES 165 FPL-53 ED APO CF, ES 102 FCD100 ED APO CF Cameras: QHY174M-GPS + FW, QHY163C Misc: 3-inch 0.7x Focal Reducer Field Flattener, Filters: Luminance, Red, V-band Photometric, Diffuser, 200 lpmm Spectral Grating Software: MaxIm DL 6, Cartes du Ciel, Astrometrica, AstroImageJ, AutoStakkert!
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
Suprit Singh
This is awesome. I will also be happy to try the Windows version on a virtual machine. But it would be great to get a Mac/LinuX version since those are my native OSs. Best, Suprit
On Thu, Apr 11, 2019 at 9:50 AM Jeremy Parker <jrs1@...> wrote: Hi Chris, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Suprit Singh --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --
-- Suprit Singh Postdoc @ UNB Fredericton Research Areas: Gravitation, Cosmology, and Computer Vision Interests: Wide-field and Deep Sky Astrophotography Scopes: ES ED102 APO Triplet, Meade 80mmF5 refractor, Super Takumar 200mm F4 Mounts: ES EXOS2GT PMC8, Astrotrac TT320X-AG Cameras: Sony A7
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
Jeremy Parker
Hi Chris,
I enjoyed your last utility program, so I'd be happy to try the new and improved version. I'll email you... Thanks, Jeremy -- Scope: StellarVue SV102T & Optimus Eyepieces Mount: Explore Scientific PMC-Eight G11, Spring-loaded OPWB on DEC, O-Vision Worm on RA Cameras: Nikon D5300 H-alpha mod Guiding & Alignment: StellarVue F50 GuideScope & ZWO ASI290MM Mini Guide Cam, QHY Polemaster Computer & Software: Surface Pro Windows 10, ExploreStars, ASCOM POTH, CdC, PHD2 Guiding, Backyard Nikon Accessories: Williams Optics clear Bahtinov Mask, 1000 Oaks Dew Heater Controller, Astrozap Dew Heaters, Celestron Lithium / Lithium-Pro Powertanks
|
|
|
|
Re: PMC-8 Software Beta Testers Needed !! Please Help Out
Darryl Ellis
I have a Windows 10 tablet/PC, and a EXOS PMC 8. I use a Startech Cable with the FTSI chip. I am willing to try the beta program.
-- DHEllis59, Dover, DE
|
|
|
|
Re: SkySafari 6Plus Will run the PMC8 via ASCOM
Wes
Many thanks. This solution finally addresses integration of Tablet AR (Skysafari), Planetarium. guiding and hand contoller all being connected and helping with workflow without a bunch of conflicting apps.. This was what I was looking for early on when I bought the EXOS 2. I'm waiting for Parallax serial-usb cord and will then prototype running everything off my Bootcamped Mac Mini at the mount. Jim -- Mounts: ES EXOS2-GT w/ PMC-8 Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II Cameras: Canon 60D Astro Mod, Canon 7D2 Misc: USB-to-Cat6 Extender, Astromania Red Dot sight (Flash Shoe) TELRAD, ZWO ASI120MM Guide Camera, Astromania 60mm Guidescope Software: EXPLORESTARS IOS & WIN, Stellarium. Backyard EOS, StarTools, APT, DSS Computer: 2012 MacBook Pro Bootcamp WIN 10
|
|
|
|
Re: Limited Sky View
brian skinner
Hi chaps, true north is almost at magnetic North here so sorry to miss lead.... Kind regards, Brian
On Mon, 8 Apr 2019 14:19 Wes Mcdonald <wesmcd6@... wrote:
|
|
|
|
Re: SkySafari 6Plus Will run the PMC8 via ASCOM
Darryl Ellis
By the way, I'm on Android.
-- DHEllis59, Dover, DE
|
|
|
|
Re: SkySafari 6Plus Will run the PMC8 via ASCOM
Darryl Ellis
I have Sky Safari 5 pro. Do you think it will work like this?
I'm still struggling to get my mount to connect via serial cable however. Sky Safari will be awesome. -- DHEllis59, Dover, DE
|
|
|
|
Re: SkySafari 6Plus Will run the PMC8 via ASCOM
Wes,
Now you get the hero medal ! :-)
Checked the app store, and it says that SS6+ only requires IOS 8 or higher, which means it might work on my old ipad 3. I'll be trying that :-)
- Bob
Mounts: ES PMC-8 EXOS2
Scopes: SV 102EDT
Cameras: Nikon D5300, Altair GPCAM2-IMX224C
Software: ASCOM, CdC, AstroTortilla, BYN Pro, Sharpcap, PHD2 Computer: Thinkpad x230, Win7Pro/64
|
|
|