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Meridian Flip

ZWO ASIAIR Plus Meridian Flip
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Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
MF happened exactly at the correct time but failed to slew to the target.

It took the scope to a part of the sky that was quite a ways distant from the target. 

Anybody know what causes this?

Thanks,
Jerry
Alex avatar
Alex avatar
How long did you wait after MF? I have never had an issue after the MF to go back on target and continue the autorun. I have mine set to wait until 5 mins after MF to resume autorun. It also runs the EAF on the ACL200 telescope.
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
Alex:
How long did you wait after MF? I have never had an issue after the MF to go back on target and continue the autorun. I have mine set to wait until 5 mins after MF to resume autorun. It also runs the EAF on the ACL200 telescope.

I had mine set to 3 minutes after the flip. Mount began to slew to the target right on time but didn't get even close to the target and then stopped.
wsg avatar
wsg avatar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok9UOe9l7OI

best 8 minutes you should spend right now
Alex avatar
Alex avatar
Without a doubt Peter Zelinka has the best youtubes and howtubes. His howtube is way worth the money.
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok9UOe9l7OI

best 8 minutes you should spend right now

I've watched that video 3 times.  It doesn't address the problem I am having with the MF going to the wrong part of the sky...
wsg avatar
wsg avatar
Jerry. 

The ASIAIR Plus is the worlds easiest astro photo device and I can tell you and anyone else that it works pretty much flawlessly every time.  
I do not own one, and an operational bug is a remote possibility, but I am sure that the AM5 mount is made made to work pretty much flawlessly with the ASIAIR, so there is probably a 95% chance that you have something set wrong in one or both of the devices.

The point is none of us know what your current problem is but most of us have learned from reading manuals and studying videos and by trial and error. 
If the video in the link I gave you did not cover the problem you are having, I am sure you can find one that does. 
His set of videos are precise and easy to follow.

He also has the exact same gear as you except for a different model ZWO camera that works the same way as yours.

Try these other videos, watch for differences in his set up compared to yours. 

Watch his and other videos regarding set up and use of the AM5 and ASIAIR
Don't take short cuts.
You need to learn everything you can about your gear to stop having problems.


scott

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h_DZMwqX0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjaM-qakjRs
Nick Grundy avatar
Nick Grundy avatar
Jerry Gerber:
ving with the MF going to the wrong part of the sky...


jerry, this is a longshot, but maybe the lat long is set incorrectly?
Alex avatar
Alex avatar
lat/long topic question. Do you guys that use AISAir Plus (both 32G and 256G) and AM5 notice that when the ASIAir app starts the lat/long is off? This happens to me so frequently that the first thing I have to do is check and make sure the lat/long is correct and fix it. I do not know where the ASIAir app thinks it is getting the lat/long from and why it is always off in the same place. I need to write it down next time to try and figure out where that location is. Just super annoying that lat/long resets to a different place than where I'm at.
Engaging
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
Alex:
lat/long topic question. Do you guys that use AISAir Plus (both 32G and 256G) and AM5 notice that when the ASIAir app starts the lat/long is off? This happens to me so frequently that the first thing I have to do is check and make sure the lat/long is correct and fix it. I do not know where the ASIAir app thinks it is getting the lat/long from and why it is always off in the same place. I need to write it down next time to try and figure out where that location is. Just super annoying that lat/long resets to a different place than where I'm at.

 
Jerry. 

The ASIAIR Plus is the worlds easiest astro photo device and I can tell you and anyone else that it works pretty much flawlessly every time.  
I do not own one, and an operational bug is a remote possibility, but I am sure that the AM5 mount is made made to work pretty much flawlessly with the ASIAIR, so there is probably a 95% chance that you have something set wrong in one or both of the devices.

The point is none of us know what your current problem is but most of us have learned from reading manuals and studying videos and by trial and error. 
If the video in the link I gave you did not cover the problem you are having, I am sure you can find one that does. 
His set of videos are precise and easy to follow.

He also has the exact same gear as you except for a different model ZWO camera that works the same way as yours.

Try these other videos, watch for differences in his set up compared to yours. 

Watch his and other videos regarding set up and use of the AM5 and ASIAIR
Don't take short cuts.
You need to learn everything you can about your gear to stop having problems.


scott

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h_DZMwqX0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjaM-qakjRs

Scott,

Thank you for the videos! I will check them out.  Peter Zelinka's videos are very easy to watch, his voice is clear and concise, he's a born teacher. 

You know, I am sure, that even the "world's easiest astro photo device" can have bugs.  I  own two of them and though they work great most of the time, like any digital device or software, there's bugs.  Go to the ZWO forum and you'll immediately know what I am saying is true.  I don't take short cuts, particularly when doing something as complex as astrophotography. 

One possibility is cable snag.  I had trouble that night on the same object with auto guiding, which I usually never have.  There may have been a cable that was sending intermittent data to the mount that was causing both the guiding problems and the after-MF go-to problems...

Best,
Jerry
Helpful Respectful Engaging Supportive
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
Nick Grundy:
Jerry Gerber:
ving with the MF going to the wrong part of the sky...


jerry, this is a longshot, but maybe the lat long is set incorrectly?

Hi Nick,  Nope, checked that before starting to PA routine.  Both Lat & Long spot on.
Brian Puhl avatar
Brian Puhl avatar
If slews point to the wrong location, it's usually either location or time settings are incorrect.
Well Written
Jerry Gerber avatar
Jerry Gerber avatar
If slews point to the wrong location, it's usually either location or time settings are incorrect.

Yeah, that's what I think too.  But in this case date, time and location were accurate.  After PA, mount slewed to exact location of Arcturus for final focusing, exact location of the guide star I chose for guiding calibration and it slewed precisely to M13, the object I was imaging.  I would think that if the date, time, latitude or longitude were incorrect the mount wouldn't have worked for the above objects. 

I am guessing now a cable snag caused inconsistent data transmission after the flip....