![]() ![]() An analysis showed the FWHM to be very slightly smaller for the guided image.ġ) The cable management capabilities for this mount are excellent. The one on the left was guided and the one on the right is unguided. The mages below compare two image taken just 4 min apart. This guiding produces perfectly round stars which are a pleasure to see.Īs a final test I ran 3 min UNGUIDED exposures to see how well the encoders work. ![]() The rms Guiding Error is seen to be < 1 arc-sec which is about 5 times better than my typical guiding with the old mount!!! The picture below shows the PHD2 guiding graph. Next the guiding was started and 3 min exposures were the longest I could take with the LP and filter being used. Guide assistant showed a Polar Alignment error of >0.4 arc-min which is very encouraging. The image below is a screen shot of the results. Following that I ran the Guiding Assistant) which turns off the guiding and watches the RA and Dec Drift. I use PHD2 to perform the guiding (along with BackyardEOS) and did the normal PHD2 calibration. I setup the mount, performed the Polar alignment + 1-star alignment, did focussing, then slewed to the target for the night (M13). Couldn't be easier! However, remember to finish with a 1-star alignment to correct any RA offset. ![]() All you have to do is use your mount Alt/Az knobs to align the red dot and red "+" and you are Polar Aligned. NOTE: The next time you turn on iPolar to Polar align, the previous Dark Frame will automatically be loaded, and, you will see a screen similar to the one below. All that remains is to do a 1-star alignment to correct any RA offset and your alignment is done. Once the red dot covers the red + you are Polar Aligned. When the dot and + are close the screen automatically magnifies to ensure accurate alignment (see image below). Using the mount Alt/Az knobs, move the red dot until it covers the red "+". You should now see the red "+" near the center of the screen.Ĥ) Polar Alignment. Rotate RA axis until telescope is approximately back to zero position.Rotate RA axis counterclockwise approx 180 degrees until telescope is on other side of mount and telescope and counterweight are again approximately parallel to ground.Rotate RA axis clockwise until telescope and counterweight are approximately parallel to ground, then, click on the Confirm Position 1 button.If the red "+" is present skip step (3) and go straight to step (4).ģ) CALIBRATION (Only required for first use) In that case you will need to "Calibrate" the mount as described in step (3) below. If this is the first time you have used iPolar the red "+" symbol will not be present. When a plate solve is successful it will show a round red dot indicating where the North (or South) Celestial Pole is located (see image below). e) The iPolar system will now start taking images and Plate-solving them.d) Check the box Auto-Load Last Dark Frame and you won't need to take a Dark Frame next time.c) Click on Settings and then, in the window that opens, click on Take Dark Frame and follow the instructions.b) Where the Connect button was located you will see a message telling you a Dark Frame is required.a) Click on Connect to connect the iPolar system to the laptop.The opening screen will appear as shown below. The first time iPolar is connected to your laptop it will automatically download the required driver to your laptop.Ģ) Open the iPolar program (downloaded at link provided above). The instruction manual for the iPolar system can be opened from the link below.ġ) Connect the iPolar usb connector (located on the rear of the RA axel above the cable opening) to your laptop using the supplied USB cable. Clicking on the link below will download the iPolar software to your laptop. No more thrown out frames because of guiding issues.īefore using ithe Polar system you will need to download the iPolar software. After the first use (where a one-time calibration is required that takes about 5 minutes or less) Polar Alignment takes a minute or less.Ģ) The guiding has been sub arc second which is keeping my stars nice an round. Hi all - Finally had a couple clear nights where the final testing on the new CEM40 EC mount could be completed.ġ) The iPolar (Polar alignment system) works well and has produced Polar Alignment errors less than 1 arc min. ![]()
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