RamaSpaceShip

Hi Ian, With my DDM85, I had initially the same feeling. Examining it carefully showed that the braking screw was tightened. Loosing it resolved the problem. May-be it's also the case for your DDM60. Regards. Bernard

Hi Nigel, Forget about the money, it's not the problem because: - it's already gone, - you didn't miss it for fundamental purposes, - money which is not used is by definition useless. Now you are an artist, and it does not matter how you build these sets of pixels which make so beautiful images, you make them. It's your vision. Full stop. Best regards. Bernard

Hi Ian, I also use Cartes du Ciel (aka SkyChart, http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/). It is fine as a planetarium software to pilot an ASA mount. The main question is: what would you do next? The answer may lead you to other software combining the different functions you need. In am currently setting up my observatory (I will get my new 16" OTA next week!!), and it is the question to which I will have to answer before the end of this year to go further with my equipment. And some other questions too.... I noticed that many ASA mount users chose MaximDL, as it is mandatory to use Sequence (ASA tool to automate the build of pointing files). For this reason, I will probably do eventually the same choice. Bernard

Even if it is better than nothing, I am not convinced that putting interesting Yahoo posts in a forum is the best solution. It lacks the capability of edition (fixes and additions) to be kept up-to-date, and as such, can be misleading if you don't read the full (set of) thread(s). Could it be possible that ASA set up a wiki (like Wikipedia does, for those who don't know what a wiki is) for this purpose? It's far more appropriate for this kind of things,as it allows to fully treat a subject in a single web page, with edition capabilities to maintain it up to date. Regards. Bernard

Hi all, As Bernd said on ASA Yahoo, there is a lot of very useful material about ASA mounts on the ASA Yahoo forum, but unfortunately it is quite difficult to find when you need it, because most of the time (and particularly for newcomers) you just dont know that it exists. I wonder if this forum is the right place to import such material or if a dedicated forum would be preferable, probably in the "ASA Direct Drive Mounts" section. Anyway, it would be very helpful to all users of ASA mounts to have such a forum (or better, a wiki), where this material can be put and updated. What do you think? Best regards. Bernard