MGP Box at Remote Site

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Jerry Gerber avatar
Hi!

 

I have the MGP Box connected to the 10Micron GM1000 mount at a remote site.  It very rarely connects to GPS satellites.  It correctly displays temperature, humidity, dewpoint and pressure but not GPS.  The mount of course isn't getting GPS data from the MGP Box, even though I have the box checked to send GPS data to the mount.

Since the mount is on a permanent pier, properly polar aligned and a good model has been created and stored, my unguided 3' and 5' exposures are good,  I'm not having an issue with the mount guiding.  But I spent $250 for the MGP Box and all it's good for is turning the mount off and on.  I contacted Martin at astromi.ch and he sent me a new MGP Box but the new one is like the old one, it rarely connects to GPS.

The tech at the observatory has told me the box is located with a clear view of the sky–at an altitude of 7500 feet and Bortle 1 skies.  

I have the latest software and firmware installed and the FTDI drivers are showing in the Windows Device Manager under the USB serial controllers.

Anyone know how I can get this box to do what it's supposed to do?  

 

Thanks!

Jerry
Well Written
TiffsAndAstro avatar
Jerry Gerber:
Hi!

 

I have the MGP Box connected to the 10Micron GM1000 mount at a remote site.  It very rarely connects to GPS satellites.  It correctly displays temperature, humidity, dewpoint and pressure but not GPS.  The mount of course isn't getting GPS data from the MGP Box, even though I have the box checked to send GPS data to the mount.

Since the mount is on a permanent pier, properly polar aligned and a good model has been created and stored, my unguided 3' and 5' exposures are good,  I'm not having an issue with the mount guiding.  But I spent $250 for the MGP Box and all it's good for is turning the mount off and on.  I contacted Martin at astromi.ch and he sent me a new MGP Box but the new one is like the old one, it rarely connects to GPS.

The tech at the observatory has told me the box is located with a clear view of the sky--at an altitude of 7500 feet and Bortle 1 skies.  

I have the latest software and firmware installed and the FTDI drivers are showing in the Windows Device Manager under the USB serial controllers.

Anyone know how I can get this box to do what it's supposed to do?  

 

Thanks!

Jerry

have you asked retailer same question?
Jerry Gerber avatar
Yep.  The MGP Box is very susceptible to Wi-FI and electrical noise and it needs to be located away from any of those sources of interference.
Well Written Concise
andrea tasselli avatar
So you got your answer, don't you? RF noise is the culprit.
Ruediger avatar

Hello Jerry,
I think, you already got excellent answers from us in the 10M forum this morning.

https://www.10micron.com/forum/yviewtopic.php?f=2&p=19517#p19517

Cross-postings do not return better results by default.

CS
Rüdiger

Tony Gondola avatar

Being remote hosted it’s no wonder it’s having issues. With all those computers the place it’s loaded with HF RF noise. Just out of curiosity, since it is a fixed location, what will you do with GPS?

Ruediger avatar

It is less a topic of location, but of precise time. GPS is stratum 0 and most precise.

Tony Gondola avatar

Ruediger · Sep 8, 2025, 08:34 PM

It is less a topic of location, but of precise time. GPS is stratum 0 and most precise.

ah, so I can guess that the mount model needs that.

Jerry Gerber avatar
Ruediger:
Hello Jerry,
I think, you already got excellent answers from us in the 10M forum this morning.

https://www.10micron.com/forum/yviewtopic.php?f=2&p=19517#p19517

Cross-postings do not return better results by default.

CS
Rüdiger

Sometimes posting the same question on different sites yields new information. 

It's not like I'm posting in several places on the same site.
Well Written
Ruediger avatar

Tony Gondola · Sep 8, 2025 at 09:44 PM

Ruediger · Sep 8, 2025, 08:34 PM

It is less a topic of location, but of precise time. GPS is stratum 0 and most precise.

ah, so I can guess that the mount model needs that.

No, for DS or model such a precision is not required. But for satellite tracking a delta of a few milliseconds is a clear miss.

Luka Poropat avatar

Hi Jerry,

This issue isn’t necessarily specific to your MGP Box, it’s common with many GPS devices in observatories. I personally use an EAGLE5S with its built-in antenna in a RoR, and it initially struggled to receive a reliable GPS signal. Through experience with high-precision imaging in the bigger observatory, mainly NEO observations, I found that adding ferrite beads to reduce interference and connecting a longer 10+ m SMA antenna positioned farther from telescope electronics and the server rack resolved my issue.

In the bigger observatory we use dual GPS NTP network time servers TIMEMACHINES TM1000A. They cross-check each other to maintain accurate timing. Similar problems can occur when additional IT equipment is installed, but with proper refinement, these systems operate reliably.

Accurate timing is crucial for precision imaging, so ensuring a stable GPS or network time source is essential. I hope this helps.

CS,
Luka

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