SharpCap Forums

I posted this in the How Do I section when I think it should be here.........(Using latest Sharpcap Version, ZWO ASI294MC Camera, Pegasus Focus Controller, Windows 11 and Skywatcher EQ8)

I am going through the process and once my camera connects to Sharpcap, It appears to have connected the Ascom GS Server mount (My EQ8) but will not move it or accept any commands?
If I open the GS interface, I can move the scope as expected, but it just wont do it in Sharpcap? (It was doing it a few nights ago......I haven't changed anything in my set up?
I have disconnected and reconnected several times and even repaired the Sharpcap Installation (Just in case) but still no luck.

Cold and fed up now........

Attached are the log files...hope someone can tell me whats wrong.

UPDATE

I set up my stuff this morning and disovered that if I set the rate (In Scope Controls) to any of the degrees per second options, it works! But if set to any of the 1x, 2x, 4x etc......it doesnt? (I can hear an electrical buzz when on those options as if tits trying but not got enough power?) Very weird.

The sidereal rate in GS Server is 15.0410671787 (Ascom standard |I believe) Changed it to 15 (In case it couldnt cope with funny numbers) but no change,still doesnt work on the 1x, 2x etc but does on the degrees per second.

Curious as to why this has suddenly started happening?

Hi Carl,

the '1x', '2x', etc rates are measured in multiples of sidereal rate, so they are quite slow - you might struggle to see the mount move physically but you should definitely notice stars in the image moving in response the those rates. You can get an idea of how fast the movement would be by turning off tracking, which will let the stars drift across the image at the equivalent of 1x rate. You should also be able to see the co-ordinates changing in SharpCap and in GSS at these low rates.

The things to check are if the mount is moving slowly at these speeds. If not then check the movement at speeds 1 and 2 in GSS itself (those are in the same sort of range as 1x to 32x in SharpCap). If GSS also fails to move the mount at slow speeds then something very weird is going on...

I did just check this on my setup - I use GSS with an EQ6 - and it all seemed to work fine, but maybe the EQ8 is slightly different. Do you have the latest GSS?

cheers,

Robin

Hi Robin, I may have traced this issue.............To user error!

I am sure (Well 85%) that when I connected my mount to Sharpcap a few days ago, I could slew the scope and it moved at a decent rate and I could "Hear" it moving (And see it) - (I have never actually used Sharpcap to do a whole imaging session, I am slowly learning it and have only achieved a Polar Alignment thus far (With Excellent Results I might add) And Ive been trying to get everything connected and working before embarking Hence my connecting the scope and moving it about.

Following my earlier Post in How To forum "Slew to Target After Polar Align" I tried again last night to do an actual imaging session....
I got "Good Polar Alignment" and then tried to slew to Jupiter (As it was visible to the west of my destination) and the scope ended up pointing about 90 degrees in the opposite direction (I implemented the corrections you suggested, Back to Home, counter weights and scope pointing North etc) Scope ended up pointing Easterly - Which is a whole new subject I will be posting questions on later ) so I decided to slew to Jupiter "Manually". In the scope controls (Sharpcap) I set the Rate to 3 degrees and managed to find my target. I then set the Rate to 1x.
I noticed that Sharpcap WAS actually tracking my target (I did click the Tracking button) and when I un clicked it I could see the starts etc drifting

Even though the Rate was set to 1x, when I tried to slew to a GoTo target (From the Sharpcap Catalogue part - Jupiter in this instance) the Scope moved at what I considered a normal rate (I could see and hear it slewing)
(Which kinda proved to me that Sharpcap was behaving as it should and it was almost definitely me that was doing something wrong!)
I think that I was expecting the Scope to manually slew faster or slower if I clicked on the Rate and increased the 1x number to say 4x - Which I now believe is incorrect.

I guess its back to the drawing board (Well You Tube) to gain a little more knowledge before the next Clear night so I can try it all again.

Thanks for your help

Hi,

good to hear that it wasn't an issue in SharpCap - the slow movement rates (up to 32x or so) are pretty slow, so can be hard to spot when just watching the mount.

If you are having problems with GOTO movements going to the wrong place after polar alignment then you should consider using the handset to do a 1/2/3 star align once the polar alignment is complete - that should help make sure the mount is really pointing in the direction that it thinks it is pointing and avoid that sort of error. As you have read elsewhere, one key thing is to put the mount back to the original position once alignment is complete (this is essential if you have unlocked the RA clutch to move the mount in RA).

cheers,

Robin

admin wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 12:56 pm Hi,

good to hear that it wasn't an issue in SharpCap - the slow movement rates (up to 32x or so) are pretty slow, so can be hard to spot when just watching the mount.

If you are having problems with GOTO movements going to the wrong place after polar alignment then you should consider using the handset to do a 1/2/3 star align once the polar alignment is complete - that should help make sure the mount is really pointing in the direction that it thinks it is pointing and avoid that sort of error. As you have read elsewhere, one key thing is to put the mount back to the original position once alignment is complete (this is essential if you have unlocked the RA clutch to move the mount in RA).

cheers,

Robin

Hi Robin, I think this is merging into my other Post (How do I achieve a Target after getting Polar Alignment) in the How do I forum.......I have sent a reply to your post there.....Thanks