Hello,
I am new to the forum.
I have just purchased SG Pro and I am in the process of reconfiguring my Paramount ME/TEC 140/Atik 16200/Lakeside Focuser/Lodestar set up so it can be moved next month to a remote observatory. (I’m just fed up with cloudy nights in my damp corner of the UK!) and I have been advised to use SG Pro. So far, I am very impressed with it.
Until now I have used a Lodestar guide camera running on PHD2 using a standard ST4 cable to the mount. I am trying to reduce/ tidy up the cables. I have already got all my equipment (including the mount via the Sky X Pro Ascom driver) happily connecting to SG Pro and PHD2 running alongside. So far so good, although I have only be able to briefly try things under the sky due to the weather.
Does anyone with a similar set up run the Paramount Direct Guide with SG Pro? Is it even possible?
It would be good to do away with the guide cable. If so, could you please explain how to get it to work.
I am a novice on this because, although I have had the Paramount ME a few years, I never got round to trying Direct Guide. I was just comfortable with the ST4 connection which always worked perfectly.
However, as I am having to change lots of other things in software and hardware I think I should try to bite the bullet to help cable management.
I know Ascom pulse guiding is an option but I never learned how to set that up. So, again I would very much welcome some guidance on that as an option from anyone with relevant experience.
There is not much involved in doing pulse guiding. Just ditch the ST4 cable and configure Phd2 to use a connection to your mount. Phd2 will use the mount information to adjust guiding depending on where the mount is pointed, and it will send pulse guiding commands directly to the mount. I’m assuming the Paramount supports pulse guiding.
On the dialog where you tell Phd2 about the guide camera is where you also connect the mount.
I don’t know the answer to your question but guiding is controlled by Phd2 and not SGP so your question needs to be directed to Phd2.
Based on this description, http://www.bisque.com/help/paramountme/index.htm#t=directguide_.htm
their “Direct Drive” may just be another name for pulse guiding. So, if the Paramount ASCOM driver translates pulse guide command to Direct Drive then you are good to go. This appears to be their ASCOM driver http://www.bisque.com/sc/media/p/112531.aspx It says it requires Sky X but if it is really an ASCOM driver that should not be necessary.
Nothing hard here, been using it for years with my ME. Just need to be sure the ASCOM telescope driver for TheSky is installed and selected both in SGP and in PhD - then just check the directguide box in the ASCOM telescope driver for TheSky setup dialog as shown.
