I searched the archives and nothing really completely matches my issue so I am reporting it here, I will also be putting a similar report to Software Bisque because I suspect part of the issue may need to be fixed by them. There are really two related problems. My configuration is this: SGP 3.1.0.429, SkyX Professional 10.5.0 build 12439, NexDome 3.0.1.0, the SkyX ASCOM driver is 6.1.5813.27525. So here is the issue, if I run the NexDome from within The SkyX everything works perfectly via the ASCOM driver to SGP, commanding slews from SGP moves the ME-II mount and the dome tracks the telescope and the slit is aligned perfectly with the telescope aperture. If I run the NexDome from SGP (my preferred configuration) the dome slit does not align with the center of the telescope - the dome was installed so that the center of rotation is aligned with the center of rotation of the mount - the dome radius is 40 inches and the aperture center to gem center of rotation is 20 inches - these settings work perfectly in The SkyX and do not work in SGP - I think this definitively confirms that there is a math problem in the way SGP is computing the slit location - the other issue is related to plate solving, during the plate solving process SGP will sometimes put the dome slit on the wrong side of the pier, take a picture of the inside of the dome, and then (eventually after the plate solve fails) re-position the dome correctly - this is probably because The SkyX does not report the pier side to the ASCOM driver but does know this internally - but SGP does sometimes guess correctly. There is a note in the SGP help that talks to this and concludes with "For this reason it is beneficial to set your mount driver to disallow slewing to the same side of the meridian that the scope is currently on. " the NexDome driver does not have such a setting and I suspect it could not if The SkyX does not report pier side… I can run successfully with the dome controlled by The Skyx but this obviously limits my integration with safety devices etc… If the slit positioning was working in SGP I could probably live with the wasted time of plate solving an interior dome image
Try 80 as the radius in SGP. Also I’d recommend using some amount of allowable error or SGP will be moving your dome every 10 seconds as your mount moves.
Thanks,
Jared
I tried 80 for dome radius and it made it much worse - however I have observed that 40 does seem to be pretty good when the telescope is on the west side of the pier (telescope pointing north, vertical, or south) and off when on the east side of the pier (again telescope pointing north , vertical, or south) and when I mean it is off I mean the slit of the dome is blocking a good 6" of the aperture. I wrote my own dome alignment code a while ago and I remember that there are quadrant specific rules and pier side sign changes that are necessary to observe. I have a high update on the dome because I do photometry and am trying to avoid the edge of the slit blocking the aperture - I can actually see the drop in star intensity as the edge of the dome slit creeps in to view
Hm, it actually looks like the position may be correct for sgp if your mount we’re on the other side of the meridian? Can you attach a SGP log where the scope is on the west and east side of the meridian with the dome slaved?
Thank you,
Jared
it won’t let me attach anything but an image - but I do have a log file with various slews to east and west side pier objects and I have one slewed to the sun so you could see the slit shadow on the telescope lens cover - one of the issues is that I am using a large aperture scope in the NexDome, so what might work fine for a 10" scope is having issues with the 14"
Here is more info on how to get us logs:
More information here How to Submit Logs in SGPro - SGPro Support - Main Sequence Software
Support requests go in this category #sequence-generator:sgpro-support
Bonjour,
I would like to use SGP to drive my Nexdom
I got similar difficulties (open close shutter is ok, dome turn with the mount but never at the good place in front of instruments)
So do you find a solution ?
Merci
Djp