Hardware:
Guider: Orion Starshoot Autoguider
Mount: EQ-6/Atlas, Controlled using EQMOD (Pulse Guided)
Software: Maxim DL 5.08, Latest SSAG drivers installed
Well after two weeks of use, I have everything operational within ACP except the autoguider. Here is a summary of what I am experiencing:
1) When the camera/mount is calibrated using Maxim, the guiding is typically quite good in both RA and DEC. There is no systematic time dependent drifting, and stars are reasonably round. If I calibrate and guide using ACP, the guider exhibits severe instabilities in both RA and DEC.
2) This problem is common on both sides of the meridian and is characterized by a gradual increase in guiding errors over the coarse of an exposure. The rate of the tracking errors increases over time eventually driving the guide star off of the chip.
3) The problem seems to be related to an improper calibration, however the ACP calibrate autoguider script completes successfully. ACP seems to properly identify the correct side of pier.
My Maxim Settings Are as Follows:
Observatory:
ACP Telescope Hub (ASCOM)
Mount Type: GEM
Side of Pier: ASCOM Normal
Maxim Guider Settings:
Autoguider Output Control: Via Telescope
On Pier Flip: Do Nothing
Maxim: Camera Control Tab:
Pier Flip: Pier Flip Box Unchecked
Are these settings correct? If I calibrate directly in Maxim and then guide using ACP should I expect identical guiding performance. In other words, are the resulting guider parameters generated by Maxim consistent with those produced using the ACP calibrate guiser script?
Thanks,
Peter