So, i met up with some other members of our science squad, scott, john, and larry, and attended the event where bruce waddington, one of the early developers of phd2 autoguiding software, discussed the ins and outs of the software and issues with autoguiding. Phd guiding basic use and troubleshooting blackwater skies. Now an employeeowned company, we pride ourselves on an unswerving commitment to best quality products, value and unmatched customer care. Phd2 is a telescope autoguiding software that automates the process of tracking a. Sep 02, 2018 they have reported running all ascom software including platform, drivers, and software as admin corrected these problems. I make no claims to be the ultimate expert on the subject, but i have travelled some way along the road from guiding failure to success, and so i thought it might be good to share a few pointers ive picked. Note that not all cameras with a built in st4 port have autoguiding capabilities. Pleas for help with phd guiding seem to come up more often than almost other imaging topic. The program works good on the west side of the pier imaging towards the east, guides great but when it does the meridian flip to the east side of the pier camera pointing to the west, guide camera gets the star and starts to guide and then loses the star, the star. But even if it came with excellent documentation it does not, there would still be a need to.
When you open phd you are presented with the following screen. Unfortunately there is very little official documentation on how best to use star 2000 so this web site was established to help spread real world user. Phd guiding, free software for autoguide astronomy academy. Jul 16, 2017 at this point, my autoguiding is performing better than it ever has before with my celestron cgx mount. This guide scope is just a small lens that allows the autoguider camera to see the stars. May, 2020 autoguiding with phd2 cloud break optics. The authors personal experience is limited to the lx200gps telescope with the orion ed80 as guide scope. Problems with autoguiding phd ccdcmos astro camera. Since auto guiding was the only way that i was going to be able to get long exposures, i decided to give phd a try. The qhy cameras have an st4 port that allows autoguiding with accurate timing and without an extra cable from the computer to the mount.
The software package is a zip file that you can download by clicking the below buttons that contains different files for every products, like pdf user manual and software updates. In this tutorial we will explain how to set up this software using an atik titan camera but the same steps can also be made using other autoguiding cameras. The fundamental problem is that phd will be successfully keeping the guide star in one spot on your guide image, but because the guide scope image is moving relative to the main scope image, the main image ends up trailing. I have also had good experience with the guiding features of maxim dl and good, but limited, experience with phd. From my experience, i find that backlash is eliminated by simple biasing the balance of ra towards the east so that the gears are weight loaded and do not float aka backlash when autoguiding commands change from one direction to another. I make no claims to be the ultimate expert on the subject, but i have travelled some way along the road from guiding failure to success, and so i thought it might be good to. Phd2 users can post questions here about troubleshooting guiding problems or problems with phd2. I run the skyx as admin and open and close the program, still no luck. Phd2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you.
The process takes a little bit of practice, but after doing it a few times, you should be able to obtain an accurate polar alignment in minutes. I have a losmandy titan, g11, and g8 and have been using phd with the three mounts for autoguiding the past eight years. Finally i had a clear night to begin testing autoguiding. This little no frills camera, when used with the included stark labs phd software, does exactly what its advertised to do. Patrick chevalley has phd2 ubuntu packages hosted on launchpad. Phd2 is guiding software inspired by stark labs phd guiding. Thats partly because of the price free, but it also happens to be a darn good guiding tool. As yet have been unable to get autoguiding to work. The better your initial polar alignment, the less work the autoguider has to do to counter dec drift. If youve had problems getting k3ccdtools, guidedog or other autoguiding software to successfully control your lx200gps through the rs232 port, it may not be your mistake or faulty software that is causing the problem. Personally, i use the autoguiding features built in to theskyxpro most of the time, since i am using that software anyway. By manually or automatically following a star by making corrections in right ascension and declination higher tracking accuracy is obtained. Phd and many other software programs recommend against running programs in admin mode as they give elevated priveleges that may not be required.
It is why all aspects of the system must be considered, such a flexure, part motions mirror, focuser play, mount tracking quality, autoguiding software and setup. When phdlogviewer loads a guiding session, the rms value is the. Beginners guide to setting up your losmandy equatorial. They have reported running all ascom software including platform, drivers, and software as admin corrected these problems. Problem with phd2 and windows 10 mounts cloudy nights. The previous version of phd and windows 7 pro was working well. Mar 05, 2018 get excellent guiding with phd2 what is phd guiding, how to use phd2 for autoguiding part1 duration. Phd2 guiding is the successor to phd guiding, which i used for several years before upgrading to phd2. Once you have an autoguider and guide scope, a usb cable will. Phd2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deepsky imaging or spectroscopy. If youre running an orion autoguider and youve not upgraded their drivers for. Get excellent guiding with phd2 what is phd guiding, how to use phd2 for autoguiding part1 duration. The above images demonstrate autoguiding with a second, smaller guiding telescope left and with an oag centre. Hi, i have an autoguiding orion starshoot set up which i use with phd.
Hi all maybe someone can help i have a paramount myt mount and a loadstar2x guider and i use sgpro and phd2 for guiding. There are so many options, and approaches, and resources with even more suggestions offered t. Phd2 is downloaded via dylans gear in this video 11 rowe ackerman schmidt astrograph rasa. I wrote this software for myself, using my camera, and my scope. Our product offers a unique solution for a flexure and motion free system without any compromise. The free phd2 autoguiding software can be downloaded via s. It seemed that the autoguiding worked, but when i started taking my first image, tracking stopped completely from phd and my mount. It offers automatic calibration and guiding with literally a single mouse click.
Phd guiding from stark labs has to be the most popular guiding software in use today. Stark literally made autoguiding as simple as pushing a couple of software buttons. I make no claims to be the ultimate expert on the subject, but i have travelled some way along the road from guiding failure to success, and so i thought it might be good to share a few pointers ive picked up along the way. Dylan odonnell gives an overview of phd2 guiding software, what it is and how to use it properly. Any of these problems can cause the guide star to move significantly on one.
In order to use the autoguider, youll also need a guide scope. At this point, my autoguiding is performing better than it ever has before with my celestron cgx mount. Extend your exposure times by learning how to autoguide. Autoguiding software for longexposure deepsky astrophotography, guiding during the exposure can be very useful in producing higher quality images. Phd2 is free of cost, open source, and communitydeveloped and supported. This is an important aspect of deep sky astrophotography because it allows you to focus on capturing successful long exposure images and get the most out of your telescope mount. This class will cover the basics of how autoguiding works, as well as give you knowledge on how to troubleshoot basic problems when configuring your guider.
The starshoot autoguider is powered via your computers highspeed usb 2. Phd guiding is a free software among the most used for autoguiding since its very easy to use. This paper explores a number of issues related to autoguiding through the rs232 port, and suggests solutions. Here you will find the software packages for primalucelab products like eagle, esatto, sesto senso 2, sesto senso and eagle core. By using autoguiding software such as phd2 guiding, our computer can communicate with the telescope mount. Phd2 is a telescope autoguiding software that automates the process of tracking a guide star. The most popular autoguiding software is phd2 available for windows, mac, linux. Metaguide can control the guide port directly without relying on ascom but you may want to have an ascom connection to the mount anyway, to read information such as declination and autoguide rates that are. The image on the right is essentially the software side of autoguiding the program phd guiding locked on to a star visible near the imaging target and constantly monitoring its movement. The included phd guiding software requires no previous knowledge of autoguiding. Instead of using a separate ccd chip, star 2000 uses software to make adjustments to a telescopes mount. A mate of mine wanted to also use auto guiding and bought just the zwo asi 120mc planetary camera which he was assured by retailer could be used for guiding with phd and has coupled it with a finder scope. Often, new features or bug fixes can be found in the prerelease section.
Article first published on the stargazers lounge forum pleas for help with phd guiding seem to come up more often than almost other longexposure imaging topic. I will make an effort to correct bugs found in the code, but dont have the time or resources to troubleshoot problems with various mounts, and cameras. This guide does not apply to the older gemini i system or nonlosmandy mounts. Smart autoguiding other automation tools have attempted to imitate acps adaptive guider startup some call it predictive autoguiding. Phd2 for tips on how to ask for help with a guiding problem or to report an issue with phd2. It does jump around occasionally, maybe every few minutes, but it does not appear to be synced with the graph jumping around. Setup, troubleshooting, and tips star stuff video series.
Connect your mount, your camera, select a star, and start guiding. Phd stands for push here dummy, and it very easy to use, once everything is set up properly. Im new to the autoguiding world and dont want to blow up my celestron motherboard or anything by connecting something wrong. Just select your star and hit phd guide and let the software take care of it. Phd guiding basic use and troubleshooting imaging tips, tricks. These settings generally apply to any losmandy mount with a gemini ii goto system, including g8, g11g, g11gt, and titan. Celestron avx mount autoguiding issues shoestring astronomy. It may very well work for you, but then again it may not.
An autoguider is a small camera that sends commands to your star tracker, drastically increasing the tracking accuracy. I am satisfied that control signals are getting to the mount since i can slew the mount using software such as apt, eqalign, alignmaster and indeed phd manual guide. Sgpro and phd2 guiding problem main sequence software. Felt sad to waste the excellent clear sky on experimenting with phdguiding, but thats okay i need the experience, and the good news is i ironed it out in the end, but still some questions remain.
All of these references are available on the web site. Celestron mount connection openphdguidingphd2 wiki github. If you are using another linux distro, you can build phd2 from source. Star 2000 is a novel approach to the problems of ccd autoguiding of a telescope mount. Phd stands for push here dummy, a humorous, selfdeprecating name for the highly regarded autoguiding program originally written by craig stark available to download at. But acps guiding controls still provide the most reliable and robust guider startup, recovery from guiding loss, and monitoring of guide errors.
The drift align tool in phd2 can be used to quickly obtain a precise polar alignment of your equatorial mount. Autoguiding a telescope for deep sky astrophotography. I have it attached to an orion st80 on adm rings and rails, piggybacked on my lx200. Phd guiding phd guiding is designed to be push here dummy simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent autoguiding of your telescope for both pcs and macs. Camera works fine and i can get it focused and a clear picture on the screen. I have tried connecting the ssag via the apm, and also ascom via the pc and handbox. Phd guiding is designed to be push here dummy simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent autoguiding of your telescope for both pcs and macs. I am sure you have heard this story before, i dont seem to be able to get the autoguiding function to work on the celestron avx mount, using the orion g3 to do the autoguiding and phd2 as the guiding software.
Phd guiding basic use and troubleshooting imaging tips. Ive read a few forums that now has me somewhat scared about going forward. Configuring phd2 scroll down to see more content in an ideal world, wed set up our telescopes, on our very accurate mounts, that are accurately polar aligned and no matter where we pointed our telescope and camera, wed be able to lock in on a target for hours on end to capture those faint dsos without a. Autoguiding software such as guidedog or k3ccdtools can correct for deviations in both ra and dec. Sophisticated guiding and analysis tools for experienced users extensive support for commonlyused equipment. Question about phd2 guiding with celestron avx mount.
Open phd guiding welcome to the discussion forum for open phd guiding phd2, a telescope guiding software application for astrophotographers. Beginners guide to setting up your losmandy equatorial mount. It is best to use the latest version of the ascom driver for your mount because older. The program works good on the west side of the pier imaging towards the east, guides great but when it does the meridian flip to the east side of the pier camera pointing to the west, guide camera gets the star and starts to guide and then loses the star, the star just.
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