YahooGroup Posted May 19, 2013 Report Share Posted May 19, 2013 This is a transfered topic from the ASA Yahoo Group. Posted By: philipp_keller Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:05 am maybe somebody wants to be first to try this method I thought about ? SuperfastPA.pdfSuper fast Polar Alignment with DDM mountsThis manual describes how to use the homefind and 1 star to quickly polar alignthe DDM mount which will be very interesting for mobile observatories.How it is done now 1. Use the Laser to roughly setup the mount2. Make a 4 star pointing file on one pier side, let Autoslew move the staraccording to the calculated error and re-center it with Azimuth and Altitudescrews3. Make one more pointing file containing both sides and use that for thefollowing session New Super Fast PA 1. Setup the mount roughly north aligned (+-4 degree)2. If you are at another location compared to your last setup then set the rightmount location in Autoslew (Mount/Location).3. Make a home find4. Slew to a star in the south between 20 and 50 degree above horizon5. Center the star not with the gamepad or motors but only with the Azimuth andAltitude screws or of this is not enough by moving the tripod/pier.6. Use the old pointing file from last time, it will do for most purposes. Itwill definitely be good enough to work with the new MLPT method. Requirements and understanding the new methodHomefind gives a very good repeatability usually better than 0.5 arc minutes.When the only thing that changed is the position and angle of the mount (if youhave a mobile setup) then you should of course be able to get into the samestatus as last time by simply making this homefind (Ra and Dec is OK now) andthen pointing the mount to the selected star by using Azimuth and Altitudealignment. Its sounds incredibly easy.Of course to successfully apply this method you must have set your homepositionduring your last session and you need a decent MASTER pointingfile. So here ishow to end the last session if you want to start your next sessions with theSuper Fast PA: 1. Be polar aligned as good as you can because you will COPY this polaralignment error from now on to the next sessions. So try to be below 5 arc mins. 2. Make a homefind (if not done anyway on start)3. Make a nice pointing file, calculate Configuration and select Use and Savefor next start. 4. Point to a star near south (roughly the same place AND PIER SIDE you willtake next day for your Super Fast PA), center it and synch 5. Set new home position (Mount / Set new Homepositon). The steps 4 and 5 ensurethat your offset (error) is minimized at the place where you will select a starfor PA the next day Of course the accuracy of this method depends on how the repeatability of fixingthe telescope on the mount is. So try to keep this the same every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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