Paramount MyT + TheSky + Nina

Hi Nick -

I do all of my imaging on my MyT with TheSky. To be honest, would love to find another option that would automate some things, like meridian flips, but I don't have an option for that yet. There are some sites out there that have people using NINA with the MyT successfully. I wish SB would release some type of automation interface. 

As for the homing, my MyT homes to a CW down position just west of Polaris. There might be an option for you to reset it.

Jim

Ron:
My typical startup routine is to start with TSX to get polar aligned by running TPoint.  I then disconnect everything from TSX except "telescope" and start NINA.  I connect all the equipment and have no issues.

I tried this last night. I assume you use the X2 driver that is available? 

I kept running into issues with the both PHD2 and Nina unable to send the mount commands consistently. (might need more investigation)

Is Voyager an option? I hear good things about that one as well

Nick,

I have not gotten PhD2 to work to my satisfaction with the MYT.  I get better star shapes without guiding than with and so at this point I run unguided, adjusting my exposure lengths as needed to keep stars reasonably round.  BlurXterminator takes care of the small amount of egginess that might exist.

As for the driver, I suspect I use the X2 drivers as that is my preference given the choice between ASCOM and X2, but I am away from my setup for the next 10 days or so, so I can't verify that for you.  Remind me in a couple of weeks if I forget to get back to you.

Finally, I tend to get good advice from Bisque's support forums, but they are hard to search IMHO.  Other sources like Cloudy Nights and others can also provide good assistance as long as your questions are fully understood.  I see many times responses that do not really address the question, aloong the lines of "I would ditch XXX and go with YYY instead."

Ron

Ron:
I have not gotten PhD2 to work to my satisfaction with the MYT.

so you generally go unguided? I assume that is possible because you have a significant Tpoint model? (and have PE corrected)

Can I ask what sort of exposure duration and focal length you run typically ? (without elongation) 

checking out their forums too (all new to me)

I can't help with NINA, apologies, but I can tell you that Voyager integrates with TSX much better than NINA.  I use Voyager to automate sessions with my MyT.  Voyager allows you to use TSX for everything - plate solving, planetarium, and guiding (if you want, or you can use PHD2, which is what I do).  No connectivity issues. I'm pretty sure that the author of Voyager uses TSX himself and so the integration is very tight.  A lot of folks with Paramounts go with the Voyager/TSX combo - it works really well.

Hi Nick,
Congrats on the MyT. It's an awesome mount! I have been using my MyT for several years with The SkyX, Voyager, and PHD2 software combo. I am another fan of this combination and it has worked perfectly for me. It is a very stable well integrated combo. Yes there is a lot to learn setting it up for sure. Happy to help where I can if you have any questions as you learn.

As far as homing position goes. The Series 6 MyT homing position is supposed to be Hour Angle 0, DEC 0. This would have the CW's roughly horizontal and scope pointing south at the place in the sky that the celestial equator crosses the meridian. If your MyT is Series 5 like mine, then the position should be Hour Angle +2.0, DEC 0. Also roughly horizontal with scope pointing slightly southwest. 

This homing position is very different than the iOptron zero position which is north toward Polaris if that's what you are used to. You can drive the MyT to whatever position you prefer after homing and then set that as it's Park position in the SkyX. I personally set my Park position pointing north just like the iOptron mounts zero position but something different my be preferred depending on your setup.

The MyT altitude adjustment bar can be a pain! This takes a bit of getting used to to move it between the different saddles for proper setting. Make sure the ends of the bar are actually in saddles and not between them. And both locking knobs are loosened, one on each side of the MyT. I found that I had to turn the altitude adjusting knob in clockwise about 1/2 to 3/4 full travel and lift slightly on the front of the versa-plate to be able to easily move the altitude adjustment bar in and out of the different saddles. It's easy to get it stuck as you learn what works for you but a little wiggling the bar around while lifting slightly on the front of the versa plate should free it up. You should have the worm gears disengaged in the balance position with the locking pins engaged doing this. 

CS,
Jeff

Hi Nick,

 I run my remote observatory using a MtY mount, TSX and N.I.N.A. I had “teething” problems in the beginning, however, it’s all working well now.

I don’t remember exactly where I found the solution to my problems, but here’s how I start imagining.

1. Connect to the observatory computer.
2. Open TSX and put in the target you want and press “Find” and then minimize TSX. (Do not connect any equipment)
3. Start N.I.N.A. and connect all of your equipment.
4. In N.I.N.A. select Equipment - Telescope and “Home” the scope.
5. Park the scope.

This establishes the “Park” position.

In my case I also have to use the “key FOB” to open and then close my ROR as it would contact the scope during the homing procedure.

After # 5 above you can then use all of the features of N.I.N.A., in my case, usually the Advanced Sequencer.

If I remember correctly, initially I could not get my chosen “Park” position to register. Anyway, the above procedure works well for my and I hope this post might help you as well. 

Hank

Now I remember. (I think 🤔)

The “Home” position has to set up in TSX initially and only once. In N,I,N,A,, I then use the procedure in my previous post.

Hank

I think you mean 'Park', not Home.  The home position is hard wired and not changeable (there are physical homing sensors)

Another user of SB MyT with TSX + NINA here, no issues. I use the ASCOM driver for ThySkyX and connect to that from NINA (ThySkyX connected to the mount before, although I think NINA can also start TSX when connecting directly). I use it both unguided as well as guided with PHD2, no issues and it works great. I run most of my sequences fully unattended and this rig is going to a remote location soon. My Paramount is the series 5, I have had it for a few years now and it has been a very solid performer

Hi Nick, 
Couple thoughts although I have never seen that specific error. Did you do any T-Point Model? Have you changed slew limits in Bisque TCS settings? Have you imposed additional slew limits with a Custom Horizon in the SkyX? I will list my normal start up routine as best I can and see if you get any help from that. 

1. Set up and rough Polar Align mount. I use Polemaster for this but even just eyeballing the mount to Polaris would be ok at this step. 
2. Power on and home the mount. Have the mount and imaging camera connected to only the SkyX at this point.
3. Slew to an area without overly bright stars and focus with @Focus3
4. Run a small T-Point Model. I typically get 20-30 points unless I plan to image unguided or I am setting up on a pier for months at a time. Then it is 60-80 points or more. What you need here for unguided imaging mainly depends on the focal length you are imaging with. 
5. Perform Accurate Polar Align after the T-Point Run. This is also part of the SkyX T-Point module. 
6. Connect mount and guide cam to PHD2
7. Slew to something close to the Celestial Equator and Meridian to focus and calibrate the guiding system in PHD2. This is best done at that location in the sky. Not at Zenith in my opinion. Somewhere it is talked about in PHD2 documentation as well.
8. Disconnect and/or connect equipment from the SkyX and your imaging programs as needed. In your case it would probably be just disconnect the imaging camera from the SkyX so NINA can control it. 
9. Start imaging

A couple extra notes:
All the steps above only apply to a first night imaging in a new location. If you stay setup in the same place for a few nights you can just startup and home the mount then start your imaging after the first night.

All that initial setup sounds like a lot. After you get proficient with the programs you are really only talking about 10-15min of time that can be done well before it is dark enough to start imaging.

Take the time to do a PEC run sometime. Until you have a good PEC curve stored in the mount I would recommend using the PPEC algorithm in PHD2 for the RA axis and Resist Switch for the DEC. Lowpass 2 for DEC also works well. The MyT Worm Period is 269.26 for Series 5. I am not sure if that changed with Series 6. PPEC can also calculate worm period but it is better/faster if a known value is entered. I try to maintain a good PEC curve so I usually run Lowpass 2 for both RA and DEC on my setup. I revert to settings I mentioned after greasing the mount or adjusting worm plunger tension until I get a new PEC curve done. I only allow T-Point (ProTrack) to apply pointing corrections. I allow it to apply tracking corrections only if I am imaging unguided or for visual. I let PHD2 take care of the tracking corrections otherwise. Bisque mounts really don't like or need too many control inputs for tracking corrections to work best. When using the PPEC algorithm I also have PEC corrections disabled on the mount for this same reason. 

Get familiar with settings in the Bisque TCS. This is where you will set slew limits, slew speeds, and PEC for your mount mainly. All mount settings stored on the mount are found here so don't change anything you are not sure of. 

CS,
Jeff

Though I have two Paramounts (an ME II and an MyT) I don't think I can really help, except for some general remarks.

1. I've used TheSkyX since May 2009 when it was introduced. The forums, especially the TSX one, can be very helpful though sometimes it's obvious that the person replying hasn't read your post very carefully. Try not to get annoyed by this – they're probably trying to help but didn't take time to understand.

2. From 2009 until this year I've used TSX as my imaging platform. Though it improved to the point it's possible to take a series of images with different filters and throw in regular focusing, it's a long way from a true automation solution. Software Bisque is a relatively small company and I think pretty well all their resources have gone into the series 6 mounts. Now that these are in production maybe they'll have some more effort to spare on improving their software.

3. Actually my preference is macOS, not Windows, but I was obliged to use TSX on Windows for almost 5 years from Jan 2019, because my camera (FLI Kepler) wasn't supported on macOS.

4. In about January this year I got a new camera (Moravian C5A-100M) and tried to use NINA on the Windows machine connected to the camera while TSX on a Mac was controlling the mount. This was because I wanted to use Hocus-Focus to understand any sensor tilt. It didn't go well – constant crashes of NINA. Finally somebody on CloudyNights pointed out that KStars/Ekos had just introduced an equivalent sensor tilt function.

5. This was the trigger to switch over to KStars/Ekos. It has all of the automation features that TSX lacks. I love it, though it does crash on macOS occasionally (apparently it's rock-solid on Linux). It can be made to work on Windows, I've heard, but is not very comfortable there.

6. To connect to the mount with KStars/Ekos you need to set up TSX in TCP/IP listening mode (under the tools menu). Then you connect to it from Ekos and it all works great. I imagine it's probably similar in NINA.

7. So, since the start of the year I only use TSX for the link to the mount – it's running T-Point and ProTrack, PEC etc. Everything else is done under Ekos. The only time I have to switch over to TSX with the camera etc is when I need to do a T-Point run, but that is rare.

Good luck !

Nick,

Getting back to you - I connect NINA to TSX using the ASCOM driver.  Hopefully, that is what you were asking.  

I follow essentially the same start up sequence as Jeff outlines, with only minor differences.  As mentioned, I recently stopped guiding, so I don't connect to PHD2 at all.  (But given Jeff's outline, I may give it another shot based more or less on his settings.)

I also maintain a large T-Point model (200-300 points) that I refresh about once a year, usually after I regrease the mount.  I keep a model for each of my three setups and load the appropriate model when needed.  Once set up and roughly polar aligned, I run about 25 points followed by the accurate polar alignment routine.  I will repeat this until no further corrections are needed.  I also keep an accurate PEC curve loaded in the mount.  Similar to Jeff, I start with just TSX running, connected to the mount, camera, and autofocuser to do the above.  Once polar aligned, I disconnect the autofocuser and the camera only, I keep TSX running and connected to the mount.  After starting NINA, I connect to all the equipment and I'm good to go.

Ron