JeremyBrookfield

Hi Robert, Thank you for the interesting suggestion. It's raining tonight in the observatory but will try an autotune tomorrow. Are the relevant logs in C:\ProgramData\ASA\Autoslew\ClServoLogs? Jeremy

Hi Luis, Thank you for your response. The total weight on the OTA side after adding 25kg of steel is approximately 38 kg. (25kg steel + 8kg telescope+ 5 kg focuser/camera/PC). That is 38% of the theoretical maximum payload. Surely that is within an acceptable range? For a test, I added a further 5kg to the plate on the top of the scope. The system was in rough balance with the counterweight now at 25 cm from the top of the shaft. I still had the same problem. It would be difficult to add more weight without exchanging the telescope or adding a second one. That is not something I wish to do in the hope that it fixes the Autoslew - Servosetup- Balance issue. Is there a way to log what the Balance software is doing and why it is complaining?

I have a new DDM100 that I am trying (and failing) to balance in RA. The Autoslew>Servo-Setup>Balance routine works correctly in DEC but fails in RA. The graphical display shows the upper, vertical, red line and, briefly, the yellow bar. The vertical line then moves back to the left. There are no error messages, the RA motor is then switched off and I am forced to restart Autoslew in order to try again. Is it possible that the total load on the system is too small? My scope (an RH200) is light and audibly "chattered" before I added 25kg of additional weight on the OTA side. Now the system is quiet and vibrates gently. The single counterweight is 12cm from the top of the shaft - so quite close to the DDM100. It feels balanced. I have tried moving the counterweight incrementally to various positions that are then clearly out of balance. Nothing seems to help. I can't find any logs that help in diagnosing balance issues. What is the minimum OTA-side load for a DDM100? Or do I have some other issue, not forgetting that am I new to the ASA world and might be doing something stupid? All ideas gratefully received. Jeremy