Synchronising UTC across my system.

[MikePaling]

In the next week or so I am hoping to start the initial set up my new DDM60 Pro. I have never used a computerised system before this and I am treading into uncharted waters here! After studying the manuals extensively I "think" that I know what to do for the most part .... but I have already hit a hurdle involving understanding the synchronisation of UTC across the whole system!

 

I am planning to control my DDM60 Pro with a dedicated stand alone laptop along with Carte Du Ceil planetarium software and of course Autoslew.

 

So ... a couple of very basic questions:

 

(1) Am I correct in thinking that the whole system (ie: laptop, mount & all software) the time is synchronised from the clock on the laptop?

 

(2) Is it best to set my laptop clock to UTC .... or can it stay on British Standard Time? If I leave my laptop on BST will Autoslew and Carte du Ceil convert my PC clock setting to UTC as required?

 

(3) I know that accurate UTC time can be obtained from a USB GPS receiver or can be re-set manually on my laptop. However, on the internet I have just come across a free configuration utility called "Atomic Clock Sync" which appears to enable me to set my laptop very accurately to UTC time. Does anybody know if this works? Is it worth downloading?

 

Any help on any of this would be very much appreciated.

 

Regards Mike

 

 

[RamaSpaceShip]

Yes, the PC clock is updated. But is it used by Autoslew during tracking? Not sure, but I would not take such a risk, as it can cause steps of several pixels that can kill your image.

 

But mainly, I do not see any benefit of such frequent updates, as the PC clock is precise enough. And if your PC clock is broken, I would suggest to quickly fix it, as using frequent GPS updates may not even be an effective workaround.

 

Bernard