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INDI Library v2.0.7 is Released (01 Apr 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Polar Alignment Module+Caveats - Does Polemaster work in Ekos?

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Has anyone used the QHY Polemaster as a camera for polar alignment in Ekos instead of the main camera or guide camera and does that work?

Reason for asking is that I compared the alignment error using the polar alignment module with my polar scope the other night. I took great care of aligning my mount using the polar scope and verified perfect (+/- 1 arc min) alignment by rotating the mount around the RA axis while watching Polaris draw a perfect circle along the line it is supposed to be on in my polar scope. I estimate the intrinsic error of that method to be +/- 1 arc min based on the reticle markings. I then determined the alignment error using the polar alignment module and my main telescope (ES102 - FL 714 mm). According to that, I was 5 arcmin out of alignment.

I suspect that the discrepancy comes from flexure of the OTA. I therefore would prefer to use the Polemaster, which is mounted directly on the RA axis and would not be subject to flexure.

Note that I usually align exclusively using a polar scope and I have had absolutely no problem so far with exposures up to 7 min. Pinpoint stars every time. But I have a smaller travel mount and that is not nearly that accurate, so I am looking for a simple alternative that works on a Pi3 and for which I do not have to lug an extra Windows computer around with me.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

Jo
Last edit: 5 years 7 months ago by Jose Corazon.
5 years 7 months ago #28987

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The following user(s) said Thank You: Jose Corazon
5 years 7 months ago #28988

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The following user(s) said Thank You: Jose Corazon
5 years 7 months ago #28989

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Yes, thanks! I saw your post, but was not sure whether you tried it with the polar alignment module and whether it worked with it.
5 years 7 months ago #28992

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That's great! Thanks, Wouter. I had not found this.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Wouter van Reeven
5 years 7 months ago #28993

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Never tried it for polar alignment in indi, yet!
5 years 7 months ago #28994

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