Re: [APML] 80mm refractor as a guide scope? (was: ETX as Guide-scope)

[Wil Milan <wmilan@airdigital.com>]

Forgive me, Mike, but I'm not sure which problem you are trying to solve with
CCDTrack and the laptop.

If you're trying to use external programmatic inputs to correct for mirror
flop, the problem is you have no accurate data on exactly how the main scope
and guide scope are diverging, so you cannot correct for it.

Wil Milan / Astrophotographer.com
http://www.astrophotographer.com/
"The heavens praise your wonders,
O Lord..." Psalm 89:5

Michael Gregory wrote:
> Wil,
> 
>      I use the ST-4 with CCDTrack.  The tracking program doesn't seem
> to "learn" from the past tracking history.  The correction times (effectively
> the control system gain) can be set by the user.  If they are wrong,  say  
> the system overshoots prior to the next correction, the program does not
> adjust them for optimal tracking.  It seems like regression analysis or some
> other curve fitting / tracking algorithm could be used to adjust system 
> parameters based on tracking error history.  After one periodic error
> cycle time passed, the program could start learning how to adjust for that
> error as well.  Using this type of algorithm would allow the tracking
> program to
> issue correction commands to the mount during the camera exposure.  If
> the tracking requirements changed during a long exposure, the program
> would adapt based on recent history.
> 
>      Does this seem reasonable?  Modern laptops have lots of 
> processing power.
> 
> Mike Gregory
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >eventually *will* get you where you want to go. In this case, a short guide
> >scope atop an SCT is *not* going to get you well-guided photos, the 201XT
> >is never going to guide as accurately as an ST4, and it will never guide
> on any
> >but the very brightest stars (particulary with the LX50, which needs very
> short
> >autoguiding cycle times). 
> 
> >Wil Milan / Astrophotographer.com
> >http://www.astrophotographer.com/
> >
> 
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