Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

Wow that would be nice (your seeing). I have the Orion, but have been wondering if I should move to something better. I'm wondering if some of these are overkill? Lodestar, QHY5III178, etc. what camera are you using now?

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

If you mean which guide cam, it depends, I use my SSAG for wide field. So with my refractor, since it's only 420mm regularly and 380mm with the TV85 reducer. When using my RCs, I use an OAG, and here the SSAG performs horribly, and I was having to utilize the rotator to find a star, which messed up my framing, so I went with an older lodestar. The lodestar is able to pick up much fainter stars.

If you meant imaging cameras I use CCDs with either the 8050 or 8300 chips, I also am in the process of modifying my D800e to remove the hot filter and CFA. I have yet to make first light with it yet, since I've been swamped at work lately.

Matthew

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

I find my tracking numbers ​get better the further I get away from the Polaris Star.
Craig

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

I also find but I like to calibrate my guiding close to the object I am Imaging

Matthew

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

I meant guiding, I agree with you, most ppl talk about the need for better cameras for OAG, but for a dedicated guider, it seems like anything works. I think my struggles are somewhere else, just need to find my problem. I've looked back at photos I did without autoguiding, and they fracked very well, I've not had such luck with autoguiding...I may be down to needing maintanace performed on the mount, just trying not to admit it, plus the fact of shipping 150lb part away to have it serviced.

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

I had much better results with my avx after I stripped it down and used Super lube to regrease everything. I don't know if this is your issue or maybe your settings may need tweaking. Do you know if you main tracking errors are in RA or Dec. If it's in the Dec axis, I would try tracking in only a single direction, so you aren't fighting yourself. If it's in the RA I would first make sure my polar axis is close, perform and use PEC and verify the balance is weighted to be heaviest towards the east, to keep the gears meshed. If your comfortable taking your mount apart, I would check to make sure the gears are properly meshed, and not binding.

One positive is that you are imaging at such a short focal length too. I'm not sure what FL your guide scope is but, I haven't noticed any tracking issues in any of your images.

Matthew

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

I'm of the opinion that a Guide Scope/Camera has but one function, grab a star, then track that star feeding minute corrections to the mount.
And with PHD2, I almost always let it pick the star to guide with.

For months I shunned Auto Guiding because of the basic settings in PHD1, and later 2. It is NOT "Push Here Dummy" simple. It requires basic settings to begin with.
Until those are found, and tweaked in, guiding for me was spastic. Then, little changes until the best guiding I could get became more consistent. I bet I haven't changed any of my PHD2 settings in Months, if not years now.
I've gotten ~.25 pixel guiding (1/2 pixel swing max) fairly consistently. (If it workx, don't 'fix' it. )
And this is working with a 'lowly' AVX.

Thinking logically, I can't help but wonder if your light pollution might be fighting you being able to get better results tracking. No matter what camera, you could put a light pollution filter in its nose for a quick test. Then, if you see any improvement, leave it there. (I think Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is near you). Maybe bounce the idea off of them?

It is possible that now that you've had your Pro mount for a bit, the backlash is beginning to show, loosened up. Adjusting that, while still in warranty is not something I would advise. I would bite the bullet and have Celestron (down in Torrance) do a 'tune up'. Citing that you have given them a lot of business, but are unhappy with your high end equipment from them. A call could get a free check out of the mount. That would quell those doubts.
The second, and last time, my AVX was there, the tech also did a backlash adjustment and a through function test. (I didn't ask for it. They put their best tech on my mount, and he was willing to go the extra mile.)
I usually get movement in two to three button taps when changing direction from one to the other (at Speed 5), during alignments. In other words, there is very little in the way of backlash to contend with.

So if my butt end AVX can do the guiding it can, I would expect your top tier mount should be outstanding.
I know the images I've seen from you have been most excellent.
Why not give Celestron a call?

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

Mostly my tracking looks ok because I'm doing quick exposures. My DEC does well, RA basically bounces from left to right on the target screen of PHD, so I'm you look at your target screenshot, I have a pretty flat line of dots going across the plot. Even tho PHD says I'm polar aligned. I do run PEC and keep it heavy balanced to the east. I called Woodland Hills about LPR for the guide scope, they said no need, won't have much affect on stars.

I'm probably coming down to it being a mount issue.

I'll probably try it without the PEC, maybe guiding and PEC are fighting each other.

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

Just a thought what is your exposure time for your guide camera, if it's low, around 2-1s you could be chasing your seeing. Where PHD has an issue determining the centroid of the star. It might even be that the focus has shifted.

As a side note when I worked on my AVX it was under warranty and did not void it, as it was their engineer who advised checking the gear mesh. YMMV

Matthew

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

On the Target Screenshot mine kinda boings around, but stays in the bulls-eye most of the time. Last night it was a bit erratic, but I finally remembered to turn on PEC playback. Maybe you have a point there about PEC and Guiding conflicting. But I can't say it does conflict. PEC is supposed to work in harmony with Guiding, anticipating the gear lash as it occurs.

Good to get that second opinion about LPR for the guide scope. I've never tried it for myself, but thought I throw it out there. Since you live in a pink zone.

How do you "heavy balanced to the East"? I've never understood the term. My rig is tail heavy to some degree. Short of adding lead to the dew shield, or getting a foot-long Vixen bar, I'm as pushed forward as I can get. But I can't complain about my guiding. But if it is heavy to one side, that would be the West when pointed North (Polaris)
I haven't done a Polar Alignment run for a while now. I'd have to drag the laptop out for a display to tweak the hand screws. And basically, I'm too lazy. I haven't seen reason to go to the trouble. (Maybe I should. So the screws don't rust. J/K )

Celestron needs some field Techs to come out and set the mounts right. Bed Stores deliver and set up a new bed, what the heck is wrong with Celestron?

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

East side heavy means that when balancing the RA axis if you have the counter weights pointing east and the scope on the west side it will be slightly off balance with the weights pulling just a bit more than the scope. This is when imaging east of the Meridian, when you flip the meridian you adjust your weights so it swings the other way. This way you have more weight always on the east side of the mount so the RA gears is always meshed together. With my AVX I used a small tether looping around the RA clutch which is on the west side of the mount, then slung the tether over the rounded base of the mount so it hung down past the tripod spreader, and attached a 3-5lbs weight. This always kept tension on the Eastern side of the mount no matter what direction it was pointed.

I have read both sides about whether PEC should be on or off during guiding, personally I have better results when I remember to turn it on. This being with my AVX, I haven't even bothered training my Mach1 as it doesn't seem to need it. More than likely it's something simple, although honestly I don't think you really need to worry too much until you begin imaging with a much longer focal length.

HTH,
Matthew

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Thanks Matthew.

Now, imagine some Celestron field Tech pulling in the driveway in North Dakota...
Hybrid car, covered with road grime, back seat full of old pizza boxes and burger stand bags, passenger floor full of empty drink cups, and higher than a kite on energy drinks....

Oh, and a pocket protector full of mechanical pencils and some tiny screw drivers...

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

Lol not a chance, when my parents came to visit I had to meet them out at the road as I live about a mile off the "highway" which is a simple step up from a farmer's two track, which is what my driveway looks like. It's comical, a 1.5 lane dirt road is a state highway. I do have a concrete apron in front of my garage. Mostly to keep the soil from eroding way from the foundation though. We built our house so you cannot even see it from the road, which is how I like it, as I have hermit like tendencies.

Lol only in ND,
Matthew

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

I never lived quite that remotely.
But my Mom once said, "Sonny, no matter where you live, you always seem to be as far away as you can get. And it always looks like a post card."

Certainly not anymore... But in 5 minutes I can be out of the thick of it.
(Along with 49,000 other butt-holes....)
Grandma is my anchor. In more ways than figuratively.
I plan to die at home, and before I run out of ammo.

Time to set up for me. Going back to get my Johnson.

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

Normally guiding at 1.5 seconds. I'll get out again tomorrow night and try without the PEC. Had my camera torn apart to clean, my pre-processed photos were starting to look like a bowl of Cheerios. Took a while to get the cover off, as the decided to glue it on.