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Re: #iexos-100 / Mac OS
#iEXOS-100
Dominick Tuccio
Mirko,
as Jerry noted, Indi is really the only option to directly control the mount from a Mac. I currently have a Linux computer acting as the go-between with the PMC-8 and my MacBook Pro, but I have connected my Mac directly to the PMC-8 (through wifi and serial). Kstars works well for me. Kstars uses Indi through Ekos which also provides an indi driver for sky safari. The nice thing about Ekos is that it provides a graphical interface for setting up the built-in indi server and drivers. Also, Ekos lets you control cameras and other hardware as well, so astrophotography becomes fairly simple without needing a bunch of different programs. The built-in plate-solving works well most of the time also. Alternatively, you can run a stand-alone indi server on the Mac. If the Sky Safari driver is enabled in the indi server, then you can control the mount directly through that program without using Kstars. There may be a way to control the mount using Stellarium and the Indi server, but I haven't explored that setup. Hope this helps. -- Dominick Tuccio Long, Island, New York Telescope: 8 inch Meade LX200 ACF Imaging Cameras: Pentax K3, ZWO ASI183MM Pro w/ ASI EFW and Baader LRGB filters Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-S Mount: EXOS2-GT w/PMC-8 Mount Controller: LattePanda Alpha 864s with Linux Mint Software: KSTARS/EKOS, INDI
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Re: EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
Wes Mcdonald
Medin003
As Jerry mentioned the level will impact your goto performance should the mount be tilted west-east. Now I like to think of miss-level as being resolvable into two orthogonal components, one east-west and one north-south. Thus it is best to realize that if you are not level it is very likely there is an error east-west. The simplest thought experiment you can do is rotate the DEC to 0 with the RA at 0. You will notice the telescope is pointing east and should be level relative to the local gravity vector. Note that if your mount is tilted, the telescope will not be level -- corresponding to an error in DEC pointing. This error will be manifest everywhere the scope points in one form or another. Another reason to have the mount level involves another setup error that affects your goto performance -- polar home. Polar home is the position where the mount is pointing at DEC =90, RA = 0 and the RA axis is aligned with the north (south) celestial pole. In the Exos2 mount this is approximately where the alignment marks are on the mount. But note what happens should your DEC polar home position be off by a few degrees and you should repeat the 90 degree movement of DEC as above, even with a level mount. The telescope tube will not be level. For this reason I advise people to make sure they find polar home and mark the mount appropriately. This allows you to set up correctly each time. The problem is DEC polar home looks alot like a mislevel in regard to how the mount goto performs. Thus it is important to get your mount level, find polar home, mark polar home, and always level the mount prior to each use (once you have moved it for storage etc). I have written a note on this describing how to find polar home, which can be found in the Files section of the Mounts subgroup. Hope this helps. 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
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Question regarding the ASCOM Alpaca and Stellarium
Mike Hammer
Hello Jerry,
Is it possible to run the Android version of Stellarium on a tablet using WiFi and with ASCOM Alpaca installed on the same tablet? i.e., can Stellarium be run without the use of a Windows based computer? In Lieu of that possibility, is it possible to get the PMC-8 to emulate one of the scopes that the Android version of Stellarium (or SkySafari for that matter) natively supports? Lastly, I was wondering why it is not possible to use both the WiFi and Serial Port with the PMC-8? Mike Hammer, Owner of a new EXOS2-GT with PMC-8. PS, did your last name have an influence on your pursuit of a career in astronomy (and yes, I know it is spelled differently).
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Re: #iexos-100 / Mac OS
#iEXOS-100
On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 01:40 PM, Mirko Gude wrote:
I’ve tried also the latest version from Stellarium (for Mac) - it supports ASCOM, but I could not figure out how to get this working. Ok, inside the stellarium program I could not select the IEXOS 100 mount, but I would expect, that other mounts would work, because they are using ASCOM.Hi Mirko, I think you are a bit misinformed as the standard ASCOM platform is Windows only, there is the new ASCOM Alpaca REST based network interface/server that can run multiplatform though, you may be thinking of that. The only other alternative is INDI on MacOS. There are a few users on here that are using INDI on MacOS, but I think it might only be 2 or 3 users. Hopefully they will chime in. -- 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!
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Re: One beginner's guide to getting EXOS2/PMC8 fully operational with ASCOM, Stellarium, SharpCap, ASPS, and ASCOMPAD
Luke
Great work Alex, thank you for the work you did explaining in so much details. Greatly appreciated. Luc
From: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io <MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io> on behalf of Alex Arjomand <alex@...>
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2020 10:59:21 AM To: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io <MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io> Subject: [ESPMC-Eight] One beginner's guide to getting EXOS2/PMC8 fully operational with ASCOM, Stellarium, SharpCap, ASPS, and ASCOMPAD Hi everyone,
Over the last 1-2 years, I have slowly been learning to use my EXOS-2 PMC8 system. At the outset I was completely new to this, and entirely new to equatorial mounts (having come from an ALT-AZ visual background). Social isolation finally gave me the time I needed to dedicate to this project, and I have finally gotten to a completely working system. I have learned so much along the way, and learned so many things from you via this forum - how to set up the mount, how to polar align, connect to various software via ASCOM, how to drive the scope via Stellarium, how to plate solve, and so much more. I am now in a place where I can easily and reliably observe (primarily via EAA for the time being; astrophotography is at least a year or two down the road for me). I am so grateful to all of you on this forum, and to Jerry & Explore Scientific in particular. I feel as though I've learned so much; and have accomplished more astronomy in the last three months than I managed in the last ten years. Sincere and profound thanks to you all. Along the way, I have been documenting the steps I followed to get my system fully operational, in case it may be useful to any other beginners out there. The document linked below attempts to show everything that a new user might need to do to set up their EXOS2 PMC8 and get it working via wired ASCOM with Stellarium / ASCOMPAD / SharpCap Pro / ASPS. I know this is just one possible stack out of many - it's just the one I stumbled on in following your collective advice. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15PeG6k3xgs6c48g9PVfGHCPmCjp48NShAGOZDt76QlM/edit?usp=sharing -- Mounts: ES EXOS2 PMC-8 Scopes: Celestron C8, 10" Antares Dobsonian Software: ASCOM, Stellarium, SharpCap Pro, ASPS, Ascompad Computer: Lenovo X1 Carbon, Windows 10/64 Cameras: ZWO ASI385MC Location: Toronto, Canada (Bortle 8) -- Mounts: ES PMC-Eight G11 - upgraded with OPWB on both RA and DEC Scopes: Televue NP127IS with HSM20 and focuser boss II - Questar field model 3.5 - Takahashi FC76 classic MC - Zeiss telementor - Lomo Astele 150mm Cameras: ZWO ASI071 PRO Misc: Televue 0.8 X Focal Reducer Eyepieces: Pentax - Masuyama - Televue - Takahashi - Vixen Software: Starry night PRO 8 - Nebulosity - Topaz studio - Sharp cap
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Re: EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 01:38 PM, medin003 University of Minnesota wrote:
I know levelness is necessary for altaz mounts, but I don't see that is the case for eq mounts.The reason to level the mount generally is to provide a consistent result every time you set up your mount night after night after taking it down after a session. I would also suggest as discussed previously to mark where your tripod feet are located (as precisely as you can manage). This provides a good starting point to touch up your polar alignment from the previous session instead of starting from scratch, this assumes that you set you mount up at the same location every session of course. The north south level does not matter as much as the east west level because the north south axis is taken care of with the altitude adjustment. If the east west is not level, the tilt will impact the pointing even if you have a "perfect" polar alignment as the mounts coordinate system is tilted in relation to the celestial coordinate system in that case. Wes can talk more about this, but this is generally why you would want to level the mount. -- 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!
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One beginner's guide to getting EXOS2/PMC8 fully operational with ASCOM, Stellarium, SharpCap, ASPS, and ASCOMPAD
Hi everyone,
Over the last 1-2 years, I have slowly been learning to use my EXOS-2 PMC8 system. At the outset I was completely new to this, and entirely new to equatorial mounts (having come from an ALT-AZ visual background). Social isolation finally gave me the time I needed to dedicate to this project, and I have finally gotten to a completely working system. I have learned so much along the way, and learned so many things from you via this forum - how to set up the mount, how to polar align, connect to various software via ASCOM, how to drive the scope via Stellarium, how to plate solve, and so much more. I am now in a place where I can easily and reliably observe (primarily via EAA for the time being; astrophotography is at least a year or two down the road for me). I am so grateful to all of you on this forum, and to Jerry & Explore Scientific in particular. I feel as though I've learned so much; and have accomplished more astronomy in the last three months than I managed in the last ten years. Sincere and profound thanks to you all. Along the way, I have been documenting the steps I followed to get my system fully operational, in case it may be useful to any other beginners out there. The document linked below attempts to show everything that a new user might need to do to set up their EXOS2 PMC8 and get it working via wired ASCOM with Stellarium / ASCOMPAD / SharpCap Pro / ASPS. I know this is just one possible stack out of many - it's just the one I stumbled on in following your collective advice. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15PeG6k3xgs6c48g9PVfGHCPmCjp48NShAGOZDt76QlM/edit?usp=sharing -- Mounts: ES EXOS2 PMC-8 Scopes: Celestron C8, 10" Antares Dobsonian Software: ASCOM, Stellarium, SharpCap Pro, ASPS, Ascompad Computer: Lenovo X1 Carbon, Windows 10/64 Cameras: ZWO ASI385MC Location: Toronto, Canada (Bortle 8)
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#iexos-100 / Mac OS
#iEXOS-100
Mirko Gude
Hi,
what are the options to control the IEXOS 100 Mount from a Mac (Laptop or iPad) with an Astronomie program (like Starry Night)? I’ve tried some attempts with Starry Night, but I could not get it working. Maybe I did not exactly understand, what software I need. Now I think, the ASCOM driver is necessary in this case, but it is not available. I’ve tried also the latest version from Stellarium (for Mac) - it supports ASCOM, but I could not figure out how to get this working. Ok, inside the stellarium program I could not select the IEXOS 100 mount, but I would expect, that other mounts would work, because they are using ASCOM. The only one solution that was working (not very stable) was KStars with Indi Driver. So If here are some Mac users, maybe they can give a brief notice (Software, Connection TypeWIFI/Serial), what you are using. Thanks and best regards, Mirko
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Re: EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
medin003 University of Minnesota
I don't understand the necessity of leveling the mount head (except to make it somewhat easier to polar align). There are four axes of rotation; azimuth, altitude, ra, and dec. The first two are only used to align the ra axis to the celestial pole; once that is accomplished, they are locked. I suspect that the tripod feet could be glued to a vertical wall and if there was enough freedom of movement to align the ra axis the mount would track just fine. I know levelness is necessary for altaz mounts, but I don't see that is the case for eq mounts.
On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 12:23 PM Jeff Snell <Jeffery.snell1@...> wrote:
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Re: EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
Suarez Tizoc
hi,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
could you post a photo of where you are setting the level on the mount? an image is worth a thousand words :) thanks and stay safe
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Re: EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
Jeff Snell
Mine was nowhere close either but that is likely pretty common for small bubble levels like that. They just won't overcome the friction inside the glass without a lot of "tapping." I bought a small 8" builder's level from Lowe's. It sits nicely with the mount attached on a little bit of a ledge along the left side of the mount as you face north. Fits well across the back of the mount too underneath the polar scope. Jeff PMC-Eight w/Explore Stars ES ED80mm APO Celestron 8" Edge HD Canon Ti-5 w/ Spencer Camera Astro-mod Lenovo Serial Connection w/APT, CdC, PHD2, Orion Starshoot Auto Guider, Polemaster
How I did - attach mount head to a tripod, put level on saddle and level it (saddle should be parallel to the ground)
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Re: EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
How I did - attach mount head to a tripod, put level on saddle and level it (saddle should be parallel to the ground)
Make a dot with a marker on mount's bubble where 'true' level is. -- EXOS2-GT PMC8 Orion150 Mak, Polemaster, ZWO ASI178MM
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EXOS2 / mount level inconsistent with tripod level?
Alex Arjomand
Hi all,
I had a quick question about leveling the EXOS2 mount. I have noticed that if I:
Is this expected (i.e. is the mount on a different plane than the tripod base)? Or should these two be different? Is it better to align using the bubble level or by leveling the tripod? Thank you! Alex -- Mounts: ES EXOS2 PMC-8 Scopes: Celestron C8SE (OTA from Nexstar 8SE), 10" Antares Dobsonian Software: ASCOM / Stellarium / Sharpcap Computer: Lenovo X1 Carbon, Windows 10/64 Cameras: ASI385 Location: Toronto / Bortle 8
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Re: #EXOS2 PMC Control Box makes rattling noises - Crazy?
#EXOS2
Ersin
Thank you for kind and prompt reply Jerry.
According to the previous owner the "set" is from 2019 an he did not mentioned any issues with the mount. Maybe your colleagues in Germany are able to identify the mount with the serial number. Again thank you for your help. Best regards Ersin Gueler
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Re: #EXOS2 PMC Control Box makes rattling noises - Crazy?
#EXOS2
On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 08:06 AM, Ersin wrote:
It sounds like a relay which is switching high frequently - any suggestions, firmware update?Hi Ersin, I am sorry you are having this issue. The controller should not be making any noise at all as you noted. Please contact Explore Scientific Germany at https://www.explorescientific.de/kontakt/ They should be able to help you with checking out the PMC-Eight. Do you know how old it is? Do you know if the previous owner registered the system with us? Did they tell you about any problems with the mount prior to you buying it? Thanks, I am sure you will be taken care of. -- 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!
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#EXOS2 PMC Control Box makes rattling noises - Crazy?
#EXOS2
Ersin
Hello I´m Ersin from Germany and i bought a pre-owned comet hunter and the exos2 pmc mount. After getting the system run (probs with android and missing sqllite/data) i´m pretty happy but the rattling noise coming out of the controller makes me a little bit nervous. It sounds like a relay which is switching high frequently - any suggestions, firmware update?
Thank you for kind help and best regards from Germany Ersin
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Re: #iexos-100 with Starry Night / Mac OS
#iEXOS-100
Chris Tardif
No not Mac....just windows (4ever)
-- Mounts: Explore Scientific IEXOS-100 w Celestron CG5 tripod, iOptron CEM 40 Scopes: Explore Scientific FCD-100 ED-102CF, Various Canon lenses, ZWO mini-guidescope, StarField 60mm guide-scope. Camera: ASI120MM Mini (mono), Altair GPCAM 130 Control PC: Intel NUC Loc: 44 -79
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Re: Crazy Question - What's The Difference Between the PMC8 and a Mini- Computer?
#EXOS2
#OpenGOTO
#TECHNICAL
Darryl Ellis
That does help Robert. I appreciate it.
So now I won't feel guilty when I invest in yet another device for my AP setup, lol. Thanks, Darryl -- DHEllis59, Dover, DE
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Re: Crazy Question - What's The Difference Between the PMC8 and a Mini- Computer?
#EXOS2
#OpenGOTO
#TECHNICAL
Darryl Ellis
Wow, that looks the business Jennifer. Love the dual monitor setup as well.
Yeah, I bought a mini computer off of Amazon which worked well. It had a defective power connection so I returned it. I plan on replacing it at some point, but got distracted and ended up buying a new to me camera. I'll have to look into the Optiplex. Thanks, Darryl -- DHEllis59, Dover, DE
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Re: ASCOM Freezing iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight
jrichard333 <jrichard333@hotmail.com>
Good day ToddB,
A couple of questions/ suggestions: 1. Try running POTH first before starting other applications For the most part, only one connection at a time through POTH. I run a different setup than you. POTH, Stellarium Scope, Stellarium, and APT. When I have POTH connected and APT, I can go back and forth with no issues, when Stellarium scope is active, on the third exchange, POTH crashes. 2. Have you upgraded your mount to the latest firmware? 3. Check and measure your battery voltage to make sure it is above 10.8 volts DC at the lowest. 4. If using your PC, are you running these apps as an Administrator? 5. Do you have enough RAM or hard drive space? 6. Have you downloaded all of the updates for your computer?
ExploreStars App: 1. How much free space do you have available? 2. How many other apps are running in the background? 3. The only issue I have with the Explorestars app is that “9” key. Sometimes it performs an electronic stick and I have to click it again to get it to stop slewing.
Electronic focuser: 1. What software are you using and are you running it as an Administrator? 2. Have you tried running it in compatibility mode?
I am thinking about deigning/ building my own electronic focuser for my Maksutov.
I hope this helps.
JR
From: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io [mailto:MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io]
On Behalf Of ToddB
Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2020 5:28 PM To: MAIN@ESPMC-Eight.groups.io Subject: Re: [ESPMC-Eight] ASCOM Freezing iEXOS 100 PMC-Eight
Thanks, Lloyd.
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