That program is the brains of the outfit, and that is what phd2 is, autoguiding software. I dont think i will need very accurate guiding with the widefield rig. But i also hate having a laptop in the field, which is required for most autoguiding. I got myself a ftdi eqdir cable to do some pulse guiding with ascom.
The st4 cable between the camera and mount is not used at all and can be removed. Phd2 has been fully vetted as the best all around auto guiding software. Turn a raspberry pi into an astrophotography autoguider. I just recently purchased an sbig st7e camera and im looking for autoguiding software other than phd2 since i have never gotten it to work. If the socket on the handcontroller is a miniusb instead of an rj11 telephone type, you can run a usb cable directly from the computer to the hand. Either way, the phd2 guide logs are the best source of data, and using them is far better than trying to look at the guiding graph in realtime. Periodic error correction pec and autoguiding in telescope.
The meade skycapture software does not contain autoguiding software. This program can be used in conjunction with many atrophotography programs, such as sequence generator pro. Connect your mount, your camera, select a star, and start guiding. With this single camera, you can perform any type of celestial imaging you wish. Phd2 guide on a star and let the software calculate how much the speed differ from the star and offset the guiding speed online. Phd2 will also get pointing information declination from the ascom driver. Following is a description of the problems that may affect guiding operations slewing and guiding commands. Phd2 is an open source guiding program for beginners or advanced users. East and west movement commands reversed in at least one firmware version 1. We tested the performance of ph2 guiding with the star adventurer using a william optics gt71 apo refractor. The orion starshoot is an easytouse, affordable autoguider for longexposure astrophotography. This will allow the starshoot autoguider to be selected from the camera drop down menu within phd2 software. Several people were complaining that their canon and nikons for byen cameras werent connecting, that phd2 guiding wouldnt work, and that the orion star shoot autoguider wasnt being recognized at all after the operating system was upgraded to windows 10. This software can also do other useful astrophotography tasks such as drift alignment, which is helpful for those who cannot use polaris for polar alignment.
The lpig series cameras work in a number of freeware autoguiding programs, such as phd2 guiding available from. Celestron mount connection openphdguidingphd2 wiki github. To keep my telescope fixed on an object during long exposures, i needed an autoguider. Phd2 is a telescope autoguiding software that automates the process of tracking a guide star. Often, new features or bug fixes can be found in the prerelease section. We also welcome ideas and suggestions for improving phd2, and discussions about phd2 development. The best starting point is to set your guiding rate to 1x, which means that when guiding east the mount will stop completely, and when guiding west it will move at 2x sidereal rate. Tweaking phd2 is easily done and the settings vary from each equipment setup. Dylan odonnell gives an overview of phd2 guiding software, what it is and how to use it properly. I tried having sgp start phd2 from scratch, start phd2 and then begin the sequence so at least phd2 was active, and all became perpetual so i reset sgp to think no guiding is involved and launched phd2. Now i would like to use longer exposures and not get star trailing. Using ssag with phd2 guiding software phd2 guiding software should have already been installed prior to installation of the driver. That said, phd2 is the new king of guiding software and makes the process as easy as it can be.
Beyond its stellar map features, kstars is also equipped to drive a telescope in a goto mode through the indi library installed on the raspberry pi. Question about phd2 guiding with celestron avx mount my personal opinion is that if you dont use your pc to control the mount already, the easiest way to guide is to connect the st4 cable looks like a phone cable from the camera to the autoguide port on the mount. Analyzing phd2 guiding results a basic tutorial introduction. Losmandy equatorial mount for use with phd2 guiding. This is an important aspect of deep sky astrophotography because. Phd2 users can post questions here about troubleshooting guiding problems or problems with phd2. Beginners guide to setting up your losmandy equatorial. I know there are two ways of guiding software or st4 cable and guide ports on the guide camera and mount. Phd2 guiding is the successor to phd guiding, which i used for several years before upgrading to phd2.
Page 1 of 2 autoguiding alternatives to phd2 posted in beginning and intermediate imaging. How to choose the right guiding setup there are three basic methods of guiding with various pros and cons. Php guiding is a handy and reliable autoguiding application worth having when you want to calibrate your telescope through a special camera. This is an important aspect of deep sky astrophotography because it allows you to focus on capturing successful long exposure images and get the most out of your telescope mount. I know this was discussed a bit somewhere else on the forum, but i cant seem to find it. This tutorial will help you get phd2 setup and running with the default settings. The gt71 was fitted with a wo field flattener 6a2 creating an effective focal length of 336 mm, with a focal ratio of f4. In this configuration guide pulse signals are sent through ascom. The builtin help file inside phd2 contains a wealth of information, or you can download the instruction manual here. You can barely see the crab nebula drifting through the frame because i didnt align my mount well. Hello, i am posting about the protocol between sgp and phd2.
A guide camera is used to watch that guide star, but most guide cameras cannot guide the telescope mount without the help of a laptop computer and an autoguiding program. Phd2 is an open source guiding program for beginners or advanced. Phd2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deepsky imaging or spectroscopy. Autoguiding a telescope for deep sky astrophotography. The latter is useful as a quick check on how things are going, but any serious problem diagnosis or tuning requires a longer time window than what is available in the realtime graph. In this tutorial we will explain how to set up this software using an atik titan camera but the same steps can also be made using other autoguiding cameras. Phd guiding basic use and troubleshooting imaging tips. Phd2 is free of cost, open source, and communitydeveloped and supported. Phd guiding is designed to be push here dummy simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent autoguiding of your telescope for both pcs and macs. Phd2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deepsky imaging or. A second, cheap telescope or finder and a cheapish guide camera is mounted piggyback on top of the imaging scope, or sidebyside using a dual bar.
Its a rather rough outline of the software, as i only a few basic features on a regular basis. I have been using the synguider 2 for autoguiding but since the st7e has a second ccd sensor for autoguiding, i. Open phd guiding welcome to the discussion forum for open phd guiding phd2, a telescope guiding software application for astrophotographers. Sophisticated guiding and analysis tools for experienced users extensive support for commonlyused equipment. There are nearly as many different astronomical setups as astronomers.
Lots of devices are required in a setup, and many of each type exist. Connected to a secondary telescope in parallel to the main one, or to an offaxis guider. Our antivirus scan shows that this download is malware free. He wrote scripts to automate the software so he could just use the touchscreen, without a mouse or keyboard. To use the the lpig or lpig advanced camera as an autoguiders, you must install the lpig ascom driver. Plug it into an autoguider port on your mount and let it do the work for you. Acquisition software generally have to handle highend cameras, dlsr and. It comes with the software and cables needed to work right out of the box. Phd2 works well with eqascom, but youll need to ensure you have the proper eqascom settings. In addition to phd2, astropibox integrates in its current version the open source software products kstars and ccdciel which can be easily launched from an intuitive gui.
Imaging deep sky objects with a complete astrophotography setup astrophotography tutorial duration. Phd2 for mac, phd2 is telescope guiding software for mac. The last time i used guiding was with windows software and phd with oag. This is not a tutorial on how to use phd2 as there are plenty of. Phd2 guiding software it is assumed your camera is in focus, is attached to your scopemount and ready to be used as a a guide scope pointing along the length of where your imaging scope and camera is pointing i try to ensure this is as accurate in view and as parallel as possible to the main imaging scopes view albeit, most likely a much. Phd guiding basic use and troubleshooting blackwater skies. Phd guiding is a free software among the most used for autoguiding since its very easy to use. Question about phd2 guiding with celestron avx mount.
I said this article was mainly aimed at people experienced with phd, but that doesnt mean you shouldnt start out with phd2 instead of phd. The best equatorial mount will have some mechanical imperfections, resulting in tracking errors that lead to slightly elongated star images. Phd guiding, free software for autoguide astronomy academy. Astrophotography autoguider project showcase the magpi.
This is accomplished by using a great piece of free software developed by stark labs. Ive received a lot of requests from people that have asked if i could show what my settings are in the phd2 autoguiding software. Getting started with phd2 guiding setup, troubleshooting. Its best to have the software automatically choose a guide star by press altoptions or choose autoselect star from the tools menu. Astronomy tutorial off axis auto guiding on comets, page i. Enable ascom pulse guiding and verify that sideofpier is pointing ascom once you have connected the mount and before you calibrate or guide in phd2, update your eqascom settings. Phd stands for push here dummy, and it very easy to use, once everything is set up properly. Phd2 is guiding software inspired by stark labs phd guiding. Celestron handcontrollers made after 42016 are reported to have a builtin usb to serial adapter. I could show what my settings are in the phd2 autoguiding software. My autoguiding graph in phd2 using the skywatcher eq6r pro telescope mount phd2 guiding settings for astrophotography. The guide scope is a small telescope, sometimes as small as a finder, which the camera uses to see the stars. The imaging camera used was the one shot colour cmos asi 294 mc pro. In summary, if the mount is well made, pec reduces the strain on the autoguiding and ultimately produces better snr, but if the pe is unpredictable, or the guiding system poor flexure, seeing etc then the two will fight and cause a problem.
Phd2 orion star shoot autoguider windows 10 otelescope. Guiding will take declination and side of pier into account. I am quite new to guiding but i have been doing some guiding with phd2 using the on camera st4 cable, it was ok but not great. Easytouse, push here dummy guiding for beginners sophisticated guiding and analysis tools for experienced usersu0003 extensive support for commonlyused equipment. I wrote the software to control my 10 lx200, but made a conscious decision to try and make the software as generic as possible. I also used the video for windows interface for camera control.
Phd guiding phd guiding is designed to be push here dummy simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent autoguiding of your telescope for both pcs and macs. By using autoguiding software such as phd2 guiding, our computer can communicate with the telescope mount. This is an important aspect of deep sky astrophotography because it allows you to focus on capturing successful long exposure images and get the most out of your telescope mount phd2 is easy enough for a beginner to use right away, yet also. Best autoguider and guide scope for 2020 astronomy online. In a session sgp seemed to go through the perpetual starting autoguider no matter what i did. If youre running an orion autoguider and youve not upgraded their drivers for. By writing the code to use the ascom standard for telescopes, i didnt lock myself into a particular mount or telescope.
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