My setup will be: FLT91 with all accessories coming in at just <30 lbs. Using an EQ6 tripod and ZWO 200mm pier extension with a center point ballast weight of 11 lbs. sitting 8 inches AGL. Running NINA. What do I need to look for or do, i.e.: updates, settings, crashes, etc.? Replacing an AM5 mount.
Watch out for trailing cables. The Azimuth knobs are wonderful, but they will catch wires. I would sleeve power and usb cables with a nylon woven cable tidy.
Set your meridian limits and slew limits too before doing anything unattended. This mount has a lot of torque.
When I had a Rainbow 135, I worked with other users and wrote a user manual for it that captured our experiences and it was later adopted by Rainbow. The WD manual is much better, but I think there is possibly a need for a practical user manual too.
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Yep! Got cable management down. So when I set the mount up in house for dry runs and it is imaging (taking darks as if imaging a target) while running a sequence using NINA, the mount will periodically rock back and forth (the mount slews about 10 degrees and then returns to the previous position, repeatedly for several attempts) then stops rocking and resumes. It does this while shooting an image. Is there some conflict? I have set NINA to stop guiding 3 minutes before meridian and flip between 5 and 10 minutes after meridian. Is there some certain things I should look at and where do I look at the particulars? Do I have to set the mount up using the hand controller (gee, I hope not as I hate hand controllers and especially this one)?
I spent a day playing with limits. I have long refractors with filter wheels, so I don’t want to go much past the counterweight bar being horizontal.
I set up the meridian limits in the ASCOM properties to +5 degrees E and W, which is about 20 minutes (time) past the meridian.
In Nina, I set the min and max meridian settings to 5 and 12 minutes (time). It works for both South and North transits on my rig.
Thanks for looking at this, buzz. In ASCOM Device Hub, what should the settings be: variable or fixed. Rate-16x/64x/2 deg per sec. Tracking on or off.
The OnStep ASCOM driver is already a hub, so no requirement for an additional hub. Set the tracking rate in the ASCOM properties and check the sync time on connection, otherwise the mount will not move from cold.
OK! I’m lost. Where is this OnStep hub? Am I missing some software? I’ve gone back and reread the manual. I think we are talking about the same thing and calling it two different things. ASCOM has a device hub and it looks exactly like what the manual shows.
Some ASCOM drivers can only connect to one application, others can connect to multiple apps. Historically these were called hubs. Most telescope drivers are also hubs at the same time, permitting multiple connections from apps. The OnStep ASCOM driver can accept multiple connections (i.e. Nina, planetarium and PHD2).