From: Milton Aupperle <milton@outcastsoft.com>
Date: January 17, 2006 4:27:21 PM MST
To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] Can't autoguide with Flea (or DSI Pro, for that matter).
Tim;
On 17-Jan-06, at 3:42 PM, Tim wrote:
Crud... Was hoping that the Flea was on the list of supported cameras at IOXperts, but it
isn't. So, I can't autoguide with it using EquinoX, and I can't guide with Astro IIDC since I
have Takahashi and Nexstar mounts (I don't do Meade).
As I said in the past several times, check out the "KITS and ASSEMBLED BOARDS Available as of now" section at:
http://www.technoplus.nl/astro/lx200.htm
which uses a serial port to emulates an LX200 and can be used with guide scope ports on a lot of scopes (SkyWatcher, Celestron, Meade LX 50, Meade LX10, Meade LX5, Losmandy G8 / G11, Vixen GP (DD-1 controller) etc.). You attache the KeySpan USB to Serial Port adapter to that.
If you don't like purchasing "foreign" products but you have any skill with attaching wires - reading a pin out diagram, you can pick up an "ActiveWire-USB" board ($59USD) and an "Optoisolator Add-on board" ($29) at:
Then wire it up yourself for your Auto Guide Ports. I can tell you which 4 +ve and -ve pins on the Optoisolator board you need to connect up to wire it into your Auto Guider connector on the mount. So basically you need to know what the connector polarities (i.e. +/- for Dec and RA) are for the AutoGuider port are (i.e Meade is different from Celestron is probably different from TAK etc.) and attach them using whatever RJ-xx connector they use.
I have an old ToUcam Pro and an even older 3Com Homeconnect, but they run too fast and
are too insensitive to guide with. The Aplux is all noise if I run it as long as a second/
frame.
Then your cranking Brightness or Black Point up to high, especially if you have the "Enable CCD Over Drive" option enabled. Also we never tested the APLUX with the CCD Over Drive (don't have one to test with) and only added it in because you asked for it.
Guess I'll have to hunt down a IOXperts-supported webcam, or use the ST2000XM to
guide. (It self-guides pretty well, but finding a guide star is a pain).
If you download QuickTime 7.04 and OSX 10.4.4, then the PGR camera will be recognized by Apple's QuickTime driver. Apple finally fixed the bugs in their code that prevented it and other cameras from beign recognized (busg in their Confirgorm code), after I had 4 arguments with the QT and FireWire engineers and finally talked to the head Engineer of Apple FireWire to get it fixed (only had to wait 8 months and 3 revisions for them to fix it).. But Neither IOXperts nor Apples let you set exposure times directly. QuickTime basically isn't suited to doing what you want. I've forced it to do so for other clients with other cameras , but it simply isn't a workable Architecture.
HTH..
Milton J. Aupperle
President
ASC - Aupperle Services and Contracting
Mac Software (Drivers, Components and Application) Specialist
#1005 - 815 14th Avenue. S.W.
Calgary Alberta Canada T2R0N5
1-(403)-229-9456
www.outcastsoft.com