Mount orientation for Guiding phd2

[Bottletopburly]

Don’t know what’s happening to my guiding lately but it seems to have smoothed out last session the total Rms was 0.58 over 5hrs and it may be slightly lower than that as I haven’t worked out yet the command for Apt to stop guiding which I think it can now just need to add it in to my script  but I can’t see a command for stop guiding so I will ask Ivo at Apt and I haven’t recalibrated in about 5 sessions maybe the mounts just worn in since having new bearings and the belt mod 2 years ago , my current script is once imaging run finished is to #park #warm camera fairly basic but I usually pick a single target for the night .

I calibrate as below, a quote from the sky searchers forum click on the link to see original post and a picture of mount in calibration orientation for phd2 .

 

An easy way get the scope pointed in the correct region of the sky for calibration is to slew RA until your counterweight bar is close to horizontal, then slew Dec until your scope tube is somewhat perpendicular to the mount's polar axis, 

https://theskysearchers.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=13384&p=129218&hilit=Phd2+calibration#p129218

 

[+Derbyshire Dave]

Thanks Dave. That is exactly the same position recommended by Losmandy.

 

Additionally they suggest that you move the Dec axis northwards immediately before doing the guide calibration to take up the backlash. I always move it quite a bit further Southward  first, then slowly jog Northward until I am at the position that they recommend.

I watch the stars moving in PHD at this point to check that the backlash has actually been taken up.

[Bottletopburly]

24 minutes ago, Derbyshire Dave said:

Thanks Dave. That is exactly the same position recommended by Losmandy.

 

Additionally they suggest that you move the Dec axis northwards immediately before doing the guide calibration to take up the backlash. I always move it quite a bit further Southward  first, then slowly jog Northward until I am at the position that they recommend.

I watch the stars moving in PHD at this point to check that the backlash has actually been taken up.

Sounds good advice Dave regards to moving dec north , since following this advice my guiding hasn’t been so good , hopefully it lasts I’m swapping my Newtonian over shortly hopefully to my refractor so I will see how guiding goes on that just need some damn clear nights   I want to see if I can image Ngc 660 the polar ring Galaxy hopefully with the newt first, looks an interesting target and well placed for me to get a good run on .

[Bottletopburly]

Update to the Apt command so there is a guidecontrol command set to on or off so I edited my plan as to guidecontrol off  plan looks like as screen shot 

 

 

[+Derbyshire Dave]

Nice one David