50
● Let your mount run for 5–10 minutes then go back and precisely center the object on the screen (or reticle if you are
using an eyepiece).
● Press “1” as soon as you have the object centered again.
● The Keypad display will now show 5 signicant numbers on it.
○ RM: – The amount in arc seconds the mount has moved in R.A.
○ DM: – The amount in arc seconds the mount has moved in Dec.
○ Time: – In seconds that you recorded your measurement
○ RS: – The amount of RA drift per second in arc seconds RM/Time
○ DS: – The amount of DEC drift per second in arc seconds DM/Time
● These are the values that SmartGuide will now use to compute the button on time, in milliseconds, to track the object
at the chosen tracking rate.
● Hit GoTo to start SmartGuide running.
● The Keypad display will now show the following. The asterisks will blink as the pulses are delivered.
○ R: – The movement direction in R.A.
○ D: – The movement direction in Dec.
○ S: – Speed
○ RM: – Length of pulse in milliseconds sent to the R.A. axis
○ DM: – Length of pulse in milliseconds sent to the Dec. axis
○ PE: – The length of wait time between pulses
● Setup your CCD or camera and image away.
Is SmartGuiding better than Auto Guiding?
Auto guiding is always more accurate than matching drift rates with SmartGuide. It would always be the preferred method
except in circumstances where a guide star is not available (ltered shots, star-poor regions, H-alpha imaging etc.).
Matching drift rates with SmartGuide is akin to setting your car’s speed on cruise control and trying to match exactly the car
in front of you who also has his set on cruise. If you don’t adjust your speed from time to time (i.e. guiding), eventually you
will either hit him, or drift farther apart. It’s even more difcult if the car in front is slowly increasing or decreasing his speed.
If you plan to use your computer to control your mount, consider using PulseGuide™, by Ray Gralak of Sirius Imaging.
This program will simulate all functions of your Keypad for remote control of your telescope, including PulseGuide, which is
similar to SmartGuide in its function. PulseGuide is available as a free download from the Astro-Physics website.
Status
If your mount stops functioning, you can get an idea of possible causes by checking the status. Information pertaining to
the program code level and database level is also displayed here.
When you press “0=Status” in the tools menu, the screen will display “Press North Key to check mount status.” When you
do this, the Keypad probes the motors at 64x (please note that your button rate will then change to 64x). These are the
possible messages you may see when you check the status:
● Code level version # (refers to the actual program)
● DB level version # (refers to the database)
● All Systems Go
● Motor Stalled – This may be due to a stalled motor, mount cable not connected properly, broken wire connection in a
mount cable or motor box, worm gear jammed too tightly against worm or foreign particle in gearbox, which jammed
the teeth of a gear. Please call Astro-Physics for help correcting this error.
● Low Battery – When your 12V power source dips below 11V, this message will appear. At this point, the battery has
approximately 5% of its energy, which is not enough to power the mount.
RM: 15 RS: 0.02825
DM: 16 DS: 0.03013
Time: 531 Seconds
Press GoTo Now
Auto SmartGuide Data Screen
1=R: EST 4/5=RM: 50*
2=D: NOR 9/0:=DM: 50*
SP: .25x PE: 3635*
Hold STOP to Exit
SmartGuide Run Screen
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