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destrehandave

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About destrehandave

  • Birthday 03/07/1958

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Destrehan, LA (USA)
  • Interests
    Astronomy, Philosophy, Theology, New Orleans Saints Football

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    destrehandave@yahoo.com

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  1. Waldemar I have a TEC 160, so I'm very interested in your setup. Would you please post a few more images, espectially your custom azimuth adjuster, the devices you have mounted atop your OTA, cabling, and your imaging train - cameras, guiders, FW, etc? Very, very impressive.. Thanks for sharing Thanks Destrehan Dave
  2. Very nice image; thanks for posting. I see you have a lodestar... was this stack unguided? How long were the subs? Thanks DD
  3. Martin You bring up some very interesting points. First of all, "Even I" want to look under the covers to see what's happening with the mount at a low level... sometimes. Specifically, when I am fine tuning my mount for an anticipated multi-object imaging session, or when attempting to perfect my process. As a computer programmer by trade, I think of it as reading the outputs of a run-time log file, or running the program in the debugger. This is an invaluable, critical tool to have at your disposal. However, the ASA is an 'astro-imaging' mount first and foremost, and that comes with a price and/or engineering tradeoff in its current implementation. My current AP900 'ancient' drive technology mount, is incapable of taking unguided 10 minute exposures.. pretty much, period. Perhaps I should say if there is any chance at all that it could do so, it would be with the aid of the as-of-yet unreleased APCC software package. Personally, if you want a dedicated astro-imaging mount and did not wish to guide, you would avoid this mount. In like manner, if you want a mount that is simplest to setup for visual observation, you should steer away from the ASA. I consider myself both an imager and visual guy, so my choice isn't quite as clear. For the sake of argument, let's say the AP900 is 'incapable' of doing 10 minute unguided subs. It is, however, a complete joy to setup and use as a visual mount. Align the polar scope to the iPhone app's depiction of the polar scope reticle, go to a star, sync and BINGO! You are done. Slew just about anywhere in the sky, and your pointing will be good enough to place the object in a low or medium power eyepiece. So it can do both visual and imaging very well, but the limitation is you have to guide to get 10 minute subs. PROS - Awesome quick setup for visual, very good guided imaging performance. CONS - Can't do 10 minute unguided subs. On the other hand, let's look at the ASA: Obviously, this is an imaging mount, if not an imager's dream. Break it out, align, execute the startup tasks on your laptop, and from what I gather, nothing can beat it for unguided 10 minute subs. But if you want to use the mount for visual, you have to go through your normal imaging startup procedure, then add the eyepiece and rebalance the mount. For the 'Visual / Imaging hybrid' type of observer: PROS - awesome, unguided imaging, fabulous, efficient drive technology, no PEC, and no worm gears to adjust. CONS - Visual setup is much more complicated than it needs to be. The 'remediation' for the APs weakness is to use guided imaging; the remediation for doing visual on the ASA is to setup like imaging, then do further tweaking. Just having to have a computer with the ASA might eliminate a lot of hybrid Visual / Imaging observers. APs constraint of having to use auto-guiding technology seems to be a more reasonable answer to address its primary weaknesses, in my opinion. I have several emails from leading software authors and bloggers who only care that a mount has a smooth, repeatable periodic error that can be corrected out, and a means to accurately track (with or without guiding). A very famous astro-coder expressed his sentiment like this: "If it produces the desired results, I don't care if it's constructed with popsicle sticks." The question is whether a hybrid Visual / Imaging observer could, would, or should purchase a mount that is the absolute best imaging mount on the planet, but whose use as a visual device suffers from the consequences of having to do a full-blown imaging setup with a laptop computer. And let's not forget that the 10Micron GM1000HPS claims a somewhat less sexy but effective drive mechanism, but can be fully used as a visual setup without a computer in the field. My hope is that ASA will hasten to develop and produce a workable iPad wireless solution optimized for visual observing. Give me a little window showing how the laser should be aimed given my current observing location and time, and a polar alignment procedure requiring you center objects by using your eyeballs at the ocular. Help me manage my observing lists and logs, and perform my slews. In my opinion, that would a reasonable, radical, intuitive, and visionary competitive move to help us Visual / Imaging hybrid observers to the ASA corner. It's just a matter of time before Software Bisque releases TheSkyX Pro for iOS.. why not create a little plug-in box between the mount and the USB port to allow it to use that product for visual use? That would make the ASA THE mount to beat for hybrid observers, in this person's opinion. Thanks for listening... clear skies.
  4. Re-thinking, I guess if the software evolved to simply eliminate the mouse and enable 'Touch screen', that'd be terriffic. I use SplashTop, and my big gripe is the miserable mouse. It'd be nice to transmit the screen to the iPad, and type when you need to (like for a discrete value), but be able to tap the "OK"s and "Cancel"s by hand. I remember when I transferred my old XP telescope control programs to Win 7, literally _nothing_ worked. Seems that MS had changed the rules that no program could access ports directly, so I almost lost my mind until some post guided me to "XP Compatability Mode". Astro-imaging is challenging enough without having to worry about platform issues. On one hand, I don't expect ASA to be a "Microsoft Certified Gold Partner," but I'd hate to say, "Well, I can't upgrade to Windows 10 because Autoslew isn't compatible.". That's the beauty of the black box. Keep all the software entrails - the deep implementation; the weeds - localized. Keep the GUI lightweight. Software is never finished; only published. DD
  5. Look into the crystal ball.. What comments will there be on this forum 1 year from now? In the moment, ASA's direct drive / encoder mount technology has bested the competition, but how much long-term value does it bring to its owners? Are direct drive motors, encoders, and outstandingly useful software programs the high point in mount technology? What else must one consider besides the technology and implementation? I'm assuming that most Astro-imagers have been around the block a few times, have had experience with multiple mounts, and are wondering what lies ahead. I've moved from a photo-tripod to an alt-az, to a fork, to a go-to, to a 'clock driven' goto, to a GEM, to a better GEM... and now I want my ultimate mount. Coming from an AP900 owner, that's a pretty lofty goal. Where is the intersection of Innovation, Value, and Usability? What is the ASA competitive position, or more precisely, what things do ASA mounts do better than the rest, and where could it improve? As a Software Engineer by trade, I have analyzed and coded hundreds of systems, and found the following factors critical in long-term system viability: 1) The implementors must have a deep understanding of the domain; e.g, Astronomy and Imaging. No questions here. 2) The solution must automate and/or significantly simplify the most difficult and challenging aspects of the system. In this case, this would translate into a simple, near flawless polar alignment, and the creation, execution, and application of a model applied to both pointing and tracking. Again, from what I gather, A+ for ASA here. 3) The users should be assured of a constant evolution of the system - a committment from the vendor - to protect the investment by offering incremental improvements to the system as technology progresses. Nothing comes free; other vendors charge a yearly subscription... I thnk it would be a win-win. Some significant non-functional requirements would be things like convenience, flexibility, quality, and 'robustness'. Since most of the bases seem to be addressed by ASA in spades, I'd like to discuss convenience. If I were anointed "King for the Day at ASA", I would ask my engineers to produce a 'black box' interface to plug into the mount. This box might even look suspiciously like the one that "other" European mount-maker produces. It could be differentiated by not only containing the physical interfaces (focuser, power, ethernet, USB, etc), but also CPU, network capabilites, and secondary storage. In essence, a computer without a monitor. No ugly arrows here... It would contain all of the 'backend' programs contained in Autoslew, Maxim, and Sequence, but the 'inteface' would be via bluetooth to an iPad! Essentially, it would be the 'server' that the iPad 'client' would use to communicate with the mount. The iPad client app might have big buttons with captions like "Polar Align", "Tune Mount", "Take Image", "Configure Black Box", "Diagnostics", "Balance Mount", "GoTo Object", "Maintain Observing List", etc. Again, all of the logic, even secondary storage such as flash drives, stored images, program logic ... Bluetooth, WiFi, etc... all on the black box, except for the Graphical interface. I sent an email to ASA and was told that, at the very minimum, a tablet implementation was 'in the plans.' I have also seen posts stating that Dr. Keller expends a significant amount of time and effort in a labor of love to keep his software relevant, correct, and up to date... so maybe this post is unnecessary. I'm sure ASA and Dr. Keller have thought about this a few times. While the 'other guys' are busy creating bulky hand-held, wired devices to allow non-laptop use, ASA could again 'hop' ahead of the competition; perhaps leaving them so far behind the war would be over! Think of it!.. 1) Setup mount physically 2) Plug in the black box, enable blue-tooth. 3) Click your iPad Icon to connect. 4) Click "Polar Align", "Tune Mount", then "Create Model" and you are ready to go. You might even be able to have a "Quick Visual Setup" mode, where you use an illuminated reticle eyepiece to quickly create your configuration for the night. I don't have a crystal ball, but wouldn't it be fun if next year, everyone would be griping about "When will the Android version of the Software be released?" Am I just "moonstruck?" Am I mad? Do I have a new disease called 'equatorial fever?" What do you think? Thanks for listening... Destrehan Dave
  6. I am a road warrior... I go to remote sites, set up, and take my images. But I always spend a few minutes doing visual first. With my AP900, I use the polar finder, balance for visual use, goto 15 or 20 I objects visually, then re-balance using the camera, etc. I'm now in Astro-imaging mode. It would be nice to plug-in the comupter, quickly and accurately balance the tube for visual use, reasonably polar align with an illuminated reticle eyepiece, disconnect the computer, plug in Southern Stars http://southernstars.com , and slew to a few nice visual objects prior to my imaging sessions. There is nothing like an eye-to-eyepiece view of a bight cluster, galaxy, or and nebula. Even Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon are very pleasant visual objects. I don't get out much, and it's a great feeling to catch a quick glimpse of these gems before getting down to serious, imaging business. Once I'm done with my little visual excursion, I'd like to disconnect Southern Stars, re-plug the computer, hook up the camera, and refine everything to imaging standards. Even more amazing would be to use the wireless Southern Stars adapter and do the whole thing on both devices wirelessly. Thanks for listening! Call me a dreamer DD
  7. Thanks, everyone for your input. My mind is reasonably settled on this mount... Does anyone have any feedback concerning the Software Development Kit (SDK)? I know that the software seems very functional, and once you understand the perspective of providing tools to help with all of the processes involved. But software is a living being. Windows 7 has a 32 bit and a 64 bit; Windows 8 is now 8.1 and Tablets and mobile devices are trending upwards. The way I see it, this mount reasaonably competes with the Paramount MX (which has no encoders, but very good software), and the AP900 or 1100 (with or without encoders). The Paramount has a good following, very mature software, and a very good software support staff. There is a guarantee that their software will be supported in future OS upgrades, and one day, maybe even an adroid/iPad app since it, too, requires a computer. The APs have a very powerful hand controller, so they 'win' the battle of not having to have a computer. The DDM60 is optimized for Astro-imaging, and from what I've gathered, is the superior device. My only concern is how quickly it can be somewhat utilized in non-AP environments, such as public star parties, where the 'go-to objects' functionality without a full laptop would place it aeons ahead of the competiion. It would match AP, and best Software Bisque.. And as I mentioned before, what happens when Windows 8.2, 8.3... 9xx is released on incresingly powerul mobile devices? Are there enough programmers and/or even an ASA user community to keep up, at least keep Autoslew, etc, viable on the 'latest' platform? Nothing's perfect... just providing feedback on how ASA can further their competitive positions. Thanks again.. Destrehan Dave
  8. Thanks, Gentlemen Because there isn't quite as much information available, being a new technology, may I also ask what is the difference between the encoders used on the DDM60 and the DDM85? It seems I've found a document that states there is an extra step in setting up the mount with the DDM60, because "the encoder resolution isn't know; it just knows tolerances." It was also interpreted by another post that the DDM60 had magnetic encoders which were less precise than the optical encoders on the DDM85. Do the encoders on the DDM60 have less precision than the DDM85?
  9. Thanks, Jeffrey Would you know if there would be any possibility that one could substitute TheSkyX camera add-in for Maxim DL? I know that Maxim DL uses Pinpoint and TheSkyX uses TPoint; perhaps thats the deal breaker. Clear Skies DD
  10. Hello Is the software assisted balance routine documented somewhere in the downloadable manuals? How easy and effective is this feature? Thank you David A Diaz
  11. Good Day, Gentlemen It is now about 6 months since this original post. May I ask the other participants if the problem is resolved? Is the resolution basically just to not worry about this? I was wondering if the cables were taking a beating, if they are the reason for the additional drag. Thanks
  12. Thanks for the report. May I ask what other mounts you have set up remotely in the field... Astro Physics, Paramount, Celestron, Meade? Can you please discuss the experience of accurately polar aligning; what steps you take, and how long it actually takes to perform each operation? Thanks in Advance! Clear Skies Destrehan Dave
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