From: albe albo <richter1956@yahoo.com>

Date: October 5, 2008 3:28:33 PM MDT

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] Re: Custom drive ratios disrupt tracking?

Hello Kirk,

i guess i had problems similar to yours.

Milton an me had a very long and intense brainstorming about my LXD75 (autostar 497)  testing some changes in the serial port command sequence but until now i'm not been able to guide with my LXD75 (belt transmission).

The calibrations always seems to succeed but the response of the guiding seems exaggerate  both in number of corrections than  in amount of corrections, while, leaving the star unguided, it is stiff into the center slowly moved only by the PE (approx +10 -10 arcsec on 10 minutes for my mount).

Milton suppose that almost surely it is a problem of my particular LXD75 configuration.

Now i ordered a 909 box and i will try using the shoestring interface instead of the serial interface.

Who knows maybe i will solve.

Alberto

----- Original Message ----

From: KirkusMcGurkus <kirk@stenvall.net>

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, October 5, 2008 12:35:08 AM

Subject: [Astro_IIDC] Re: Custom drive ratios disrupt tracking?

Milton,

Thanks again for all your help.

I've just ordered an upgrade to version 4. Along with that, several
minor adjustments I made to my mount, and drift aligning (I've avoided
doing that, I suppose because I'm lazy), hopefully I'll be able to get
more than 30 second exposures. :)

It may just be that my lower-end LXD75 simply isn't capable of doing more.

Anyway, thanks again for your support.

Kirk

--- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogro ups.com, "Milton Aupperle" <milton@...> wrote:
>
> Hi KirkusMcGurkus;
>
> I would seriously doubt that has any influence at all.
>
> During the Calibration process, we measure how much and what direction
> it moves for the 4 axis. We make no assumptions like "RA +ve should
> moves an onscreen star to the right", and actually measure it.
>
> The reason we make no assumptions is because we don't know how the
> Camera is oriented, don't know if you've enabled one of those
> controller switches that reverse movement directions (E is W , S is
> N), don't know if your using a prism or flip mirror, don't know if
> your using a Off Axis Guider, and you might be using "Flip Horizontal"
> or "Flip Vertical" in Astro IIDC too. All of the above things can
> cause all sorts of reversals of left / right / up / down, so we
> measure rather than guess.
>
> Hope That Helps..
>
> Milton Aupperle
>
> --- In Astro_IIDC@yahoogro ups.com, "KirkusMcGurkus" <kirk@> wrote:
> >
> > Milton,
> >
> > Here's a quick question for you. Because I went from gears to belt,
> > the actual direction of the gear ratios in my Autostar have been
> > reversed. "+'s" are now "-'s" and vice versa. I'll bet this is what's
> > going on.
> >
> > AstroIIDC is giving the mount commands to move, but because I'm using
> > belts instead of gears, the motors turn in the opposite direction then
> > what they used to. AstroIIDC is saying move the motor in direction A
> > but because of the belts as opposed to gears, direction A moves the
> > mount in the opposite direction.
> >
> > Doesn't that sound about right?
> >
> >
>