Thank you for reply - makes sense to me!
Yeah, proper polar alignment is sure thing Also, I organized my process in a way when I don't need to touch mount after polar alignment is done.

I would suggest considering this mount instead of the SkyGuider Pro:

www.ioptron.com/product-p/3200.htm

It has full GoTo capability, can be guided in both axes, dithering can be used, Meridian flip and Scheduler work fine, etc. In all respects, it is a full--fledged mount with all the capabilities of an EQMod mount at almost the same price as a SkyGuider Pro.

Like the SkyGuider Pro, though, it is a low end mount, which means that its mechanical tolerances are not the best, but one can overcome that by using aggressive guiding parameters. For wide field up to 400 mm focal length it is perfectly fine. It also can be operated on internal batteries, so power requirements are minimal when you want to go out camping in the field for one night.




I forgot to mention: It costs very little more than a SkyGuider Pro, but can do 10x as much.

Guiding is not always perfect, but it works for wide field.



Fore anyone getting into astrophotography, this is definitely the least expensive way to explore the full range of what Kstars has to offer.

But depending on the coordinates, it can be pretty good:

Did you do the polar alignment with Ekos in this setup, or just using your eyes? I am wondering if Ekos polar alignment will work with non-motorized aligning.

It works. You need to select the telescope simulator as mount and rotate the mount by hand between the consecutive images taken for plate solving but apart from that it works fully automatic.


Wouter

I’m getting the Skyguider pro and has Stellarmate. Your posts are very helpful, thx. Do you have tips on plate solving to center an object using Ekos on this mount without GOTO capability.


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I have a tip. Use the solved frame on the sky map to guide you as you push the scope closer to your target and desired rotation. Solving again after each movement.

Is it possible to use Ekos to slew to the object’s RA coordinate then rotate DEC manually?

No, this is not possible with the SkyGuider Pro. But you can do a plate solve and then manually adjust the pointing.

Please help!

I have two of the iOptron mounts: Skyguider Pro and CEM40.

Still can’t properly guide despite precise polar alignment. My SGP mount, guiding in RA, seems to over correct, is that right? I keep getting the “Delta RMS threshold exceeded” error message.

How do you set to wide field guiding? I am using Orion mini scope on qhy 5-II-m for guiding my main scope Radian Raptor with focal length of 274 mm on Canon 60Da DSLR.

It looks like your guiding in RA is fine, with RA RMS = 1.39 in that screenshot. The total RMS is degrading, because deviations in DEC are increasing (DEC RMS = 4.27). That suggests that your polar alignment is off. How do you know that your polar alignment is precise?

Jo

Appreciate the insight.
You are probably correct. I do the polar alignment with the polar scope at the beginning of the session. What is your recommendation with respect to polar alignment just prior to guiding? Use the Stellarmate polar alignment or Sharp Cap routine? Look at Polaris again through the polariscope?

How do you know your polar scope is aligned properly? Have you tested whether the crosshairs are indeed centered on the RA axis?

You can do this indoors or outdoors for that matter during the day. Pick a point on a wall (like a dot on a piece of paper pinned to a wall or something similar, point the polar scope to it and then rotate the RA axis. If the crosshairs remain centered right on that dot, then your polar scope is aligned properly with the RA axis. If the crosshairs move away from that point, as you rotate the mount then you need to first align the polar scope, otherwise you will never be able to get accurate polar alignment.

Have you ever done that?

Jo