This is just another "note to self" entry as I'm working out some bugs in using SGP with the Atik One. There seems to be a problem with the drivers getting confused with two ATIK cameras.
I'm shooting with the ATIK One CCD, but the guide camera on the OAG is a ATIK GP camera.
For some stupid reason, when SGP automates the sequence, there is some kind of driver conflict with the GP guide camera.
Either the guide camera doesn't show images in PHD2 (which results in the warning that it's been over 15 seconds) or it throws up an error message about temperature control. The latter is ridiculous because the GP camera is NOT a cooled camera. I had this problem years ago and apparently, ATIK hasn't fixed it.
So, my solution has been to start PHD2 first, getting the loop from the images going, THEN firing up SGP. This seems to be a viable, but stupid work-around. This work-around creates a weird situation where I have to go back and forth with the plate solve and sync.
Oh, the other inane issue I've been having is that when SGP is trying to slew to the target (M16), it starts to move the scope so it points to the ground; or the mount tries to head for a collision with the pier. What a crock. The problem seems to be correlated with having BOTH the keypad and SGP connected to the mount at the same time.
In a related vein, I was having a weird newbie problem of not being to sync the mount AFTER
a plate solve. By the way, I'm getting better at plate solving with the Planewave software as well the the easier Astrometry.net solve. I was desperately searching, "How to sync in SGP with Astro-Physics mount," to no avail. It's in one of the control panel menus for the mount/telescope.
Right now, I'm running a 20 min. test on M16 with O3 filters. Who knows if it will work out.
Later... Need to replace the focuser. There's so much focus creep with the ES80 scope.
I probably spent two hours tonight just getting focus to be decent -- only to have it
go out when I accidentally touch the camera. :/
Later, later... Also, there's problems with the Televue reducer which keeps partially slipping out of the focuser because the focuser tightening ring can't quite grasp the grooves in the reducer.
Also, looking at the first 20 min O3 exposures, I'm disappointed as the stars are very large.
I added a space between the OAG and the reducer which adds about 8-10 mm of distance.
I did this because the specs on the reducer called for about 56mm. Now, I'm not sure what
spacers (if any) I used at Kentucky camp. I wonder if I should try it to remove the spacer
and compare the stars. Hm...
Later, later, later... Just realized my spacer takes up too much distance. I need like 5 mm which is about 3/16 of an inch. I currently have something like a 3/8 of an inch. >sigh< This is the reason the stars are goofy.
[Next day...]
Okay, so I tried to connect the 3mm spacer, but the threaded "neck" coming out of the TV reducer is so long that it always maintains about 7 mm of space regardless. So I was trying to reconstruct what I was using at Kentucky camp and I think it was this spacing. I found a Baader 7.5mm spacer that had written on it something like 'To connect Atik One to reducer'. When I put on the 7.5mm spacer, it took up the same amount of space as the 3mm spacer! So there is not really an easy way to create the 56mm ideal spacing between the reducer and the sensor. The threaed "neck" looks like it takes up 5mm by itself. What I would need is basically an adapter which would look like a 6-6.5mm tube and then a male-female adapter for t-thread. That's too complicated.
Basically I need a different reducer OR a custom-made ($$$$) OAG which takes up less space.
A different reducer is much cheaper.
I'm going to push through the O3 data tonight and see if it's worth continuing. The data looks disappointing in general. That's ANOTHER thing: I'm shooting 20 min subs at -15 deg. Since it's so warm outside, the camera is having a hard time maintaining that temp. But the subs look sorta noisy and not so sharp even the though the guiding has been fine.
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