AUTOSTAR SUITE USER FEEDBACK Last updated: 30 June 2008

This page is for user comments and information specific to the Meade AutoStar Suite. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or answers to questions posed here, e-mail them to me and I'll post them. Please use an appropriate Subject Line on your message. Thanks. (The Lunar Planetary Imager, LPI, and Deep Sky Imager, DSI, are covered in the Helpful Information - Astrophotography area.)

Subject:	manual for autostar envisage version 4.0
Sent:	Saturday, June 28, 2008 03:25:15
From:	Peter Davies (peter_davies31@hotmail.com)
Recently purchased MEADE LPI for use with ETX125PE

Loaded software off disc that came with the LPI to computer and
downloaded a hard copy of the operating manual from the same disc.

The problem is that the manual is for 'Meade LPI'  but the actual
software on the disc is  'Autostar Envisage' (Version 4.0)

Looking at the software and the manual there are significant differences
between the two, for example the 'magic eye focus' does not appear to
work on envisage. Can you tell me where I can get either the MEADE LPI
software as per the downloaded manual or get a copy of the manual for
the above version of envisage.

Thanks

Peter Davies

Subject:	Re: autostar suite guiding and other things
Sent:	Tuesday, June 17, 2008 07:25:32
From:	Dave Arnold (d3arnold@yahoo.com)
Thanks Mike and Dick.

The ds is the newer type, a ds2130AT but not the newest one with the
clock.  I did not find cord wrap as an option in the utilities menu so I
assumed it only worked for etx(90-125), lx90 and ldx mounts.  ds mounts
don't normally have a wrap issue as everything rotates with the mount
and there is no external power plug.

Reversing up/down definitely made a difference but what I'm confused
about is one night I got a "guide here" button and the other, when it
actually seemed to be guiding, I got a "track here" button.  I assume
that the response to the ack, P vs A, would change that behavior not
reversing the up/down buttons.

I'll do some more testing after I get back from vacation early in July.

Thanks again to both of you!

--Dave Arnold

And an update:

I was wrong, sorry Dick, cord wrap does show up in the utilities menu
for ds mounts.  With Dick's patch applied it now defaults to on instead
of off.  Thanks Mr. Seymour!!!!!

--Dave Arnold

Subject:	autostar suite guiding and other things
Sent:	Monday, June 16, 2008 10:51:27
From:	Dave Arnold (d3arnold@yahoo.com)
I had been having terrible luck trying to get autostar suite to guide my
etx 125.  I noticed the patch by Mr. Seymour. He mentions that autostar
suite wont guide unless the reply to the ACK(6) is P.  I applied the
patch and when I connected to the telescope Guide here showed up! 
However it would always drift up or down 'till the object went off the
screen.  I gave up that night.  In the middle of the night I woke up
remembering that one "might" need to reverse the up and down keys on the
hand box.  The next night I tried again reversing the up and down keys. 
No matter how many times I connected the 'scope I never got the guide
here button, only the track here button.  When I applied that it guided
the scope fine.  My first question is what is going on? My second
question is for Mr. Seymour.  I also have a ds mount with a home made
power cord.  It would sure be nice if the "cord wrap" option be turned
on for ds mounts.  Depending on the order of what one looks at, the
power cord can wrap around the 'scope many times.  Just a request if
possible for future patches.  I just received a new 8" lx200 acf from
opt.  I ordered it last wed. and it arrived on fri!  I looked at Mr
Seymour's patch for autostar II and don't see the P for ack option. 
Will autostar suite guide it in alt/as mode?  BTW the scope arrived in
pristine condition with the only problem being that the aizmuth lock had
no affect and needed to be adjusted.

Thanks again for the wonderful site.
--Dave Arnold

And:

From:	Richard Seymour (rseymour@wolfenet.com)
I'm not at home (for another 6 hours) to check some of the details,
but i'll answer the last chunk first:

>>  I just received a new 8" lx200 acf from opt.  I  
>> ordered it last wed. and it arrived on fri!  I looked at Mr  
>> Seymour's patch for autostar II and don't see the P for ack option.   
>> Will autostar suite guide it in alt/as mode? 

Yes... the Autostar II does not require my patch (for that). 
It is natively willing to be guided in both Polar -and- Alt/Az configurations.

Be aware that the Alt/Az guiding will move in *RA/DEC* vectors,
not Alt/Az... so the "up" signal will really guide it "North"
(which would be "up and right" if you're pointed West,
and "up and left" if you're pointed East).

Field rotation would thus cause you to need to -recalibrate- your
guiding program for different areas of the sky (if you're trying
to Guide in Alt/Az).

have fun
--dick

And more:

I'm not at all sure whether the "reverse keys" affects guiding.
(there have been LX200gps firmwares where it did, then the next release
didn't, and i don't know where the 497 Autostar sits these days).
In theory, Envisage's "Cal" button should tell it to experiment with
the scope at the start of the next Guide operation, so that it can learn
which command goes where.  The LPI image program had a tick-box to
tell it that a diagonal was in place (the flip mirror in the ETX125),
and that affects how it deals with up/down.

What i've done in the past, when reversals don't work, is to simply
-invert- the camera in the eyepiece holder.

 >> My second question is for Mr. Seymour.  I also have a ds
>> mount with a home made power cord.  It would sure be nice if the "cord 
>> wrap" option be turned on for ds mounts. 

Isn't Cord Wrap under the utilities menu?  Once you set it, i think
the setting is remembered across power cycles. (which flavor of DS?).

My "cord wrap" patch is actually to -override- the "must be ON"
nature of Cord Wrap in an ETX.

have fun
--dick

Subject:	Autostar Suite Scroll Bar Problem
Sent:	Tuesday, June 10, 2008 23:36:05
From:	mhogansr@comcast.net (mhogansr@comcast.net)
I was using Autostar Suite over a network tonight to control my ETX125
PE and came across an odd anomaly that I don't recall being reported on
your site.

I used the vertical scroll bar to move the starmap in the display to a
different area of the sky, then selected an object and "slew telescope"
in the dialog box. The tracking circles moved to a completely different
area of the sky and began tracking. I went outside to check the scope
and sure enough, it wasn't pointed anywhere near the selected object.

I tried it several times with the same results. It seems that using the
scroll bars completely changes the relationship of the coordinates to
the objects in the display. The only way I found to correct it was to
change the field of view and then reselect the object without using the
scroll bars.

My setup was: Laptop connected to Autostar/scope and running Net Scope;
Desktop running Autostar Suite using Network Protocol.

Anyway, this probably isn't something most folks will run into but it
might be something for the Meade software people to check out.

Regards,
Mike Hogan

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