10
11
Figure 12b.
Select
START
to begin autoguiding.
The tracking error graph will display during
autoguiding.
At times the guide star may be lost (1 beep per second and
STAR LOST
). This
can be due to a number of different reasons, e.g. because the sky has clouded
over, the optics have dewed up, or the star has been thrown off the field of view
by a wind gust or even because the telescope has been touched. If the star
remains invisible for up to 30 seconds, the camera will still be able to resume
autoguiding; otherwise, the current session is aborted and the execution flow
goes back to the
MENU BASIC
screen to search for a new guide star.
Adjusting the Aggressiveness
The default settings in the Solitaire should provide good results with most
imaging setups. However, you can optionally adjust the aggressiveness set-
tings to optimize your particular setup, if needed.
1. Select
ADVAN
when in the
STATUS READY
screen, and you will be
prompted with the
MENU ADVANCED
screen (Figure 13)
Figure 13.
2. Select
AGGRESS X
to come to the first
AGGRESSIVENESS
screen for
X
(Figure 14a).
Figure 14a.
The
AGGRESSIVENESS
screen
for
X
.
Select the corresponding up/down buttons that match the screen to adjust the
X value aggressiveness.
3. Now select
AGGRESS Y
to come to the second
AGGRESSIVENESS
screen for
Y
(Figure 14b). Select the corresponding up/down buttons that
match the screen to adjust the X value aggressiveness.
Figure 14b.
The
AGGRESSIVENESS
screen
for
Y
.
The aggressiveness in both axes can range from 1 to 6 (1-2=LOW, 3-4=MILD,
5-6=HIGH) and expresses the degree of reactivity of corrections. A high value
will urge the camera to immediately correct for the slightest displacement,
whereas a low value will yield a much smoother behavior. Please see Section
4. “Tips and Tricks – Mount Calibration” for more information.
3. troubleshooting
The StarShoot Solitaire is very simple and intuitive to use. However, as with
any imaging setup, you may encounter difficulty while autoguiding and taking
long exposure astro-images. The following are some error messages which
could potentially occur during setup or while autoguiding.
Error Messages
> STAR LOST!
– This message is also accompanied with an audible beep
once per second, for up to 30 seconds until the star is found again. This mes-
sage may occur if:
• Clouds are rolling in (during
AUTOGUIDING READY
and
GUIDING
).
• Dew forms on the guidescope objective (during
AUTOGUIDING
READY
and
GUIDING
).
• The guiding speed is too fast (during
MOVING MOTORS…
).
• The mount does not move (during
MOVING MOTORS…
).
If the mount is not moving, check the autoguider cable connection to your
mount. If the autoguiding corrections appear to be too large, decrease the
autoguide speed in your mount’s settings.
> STAR NOT FOUND!
– This message may occur when the StarShoot Solitaire
camera cannot find a suitable star after
STAR SEARCH…
command.
> COMMUNICATION ERROR!
– The following message is displayed if the
cable connecting the CPU and the camera head gets accidentally discon-
nected, or in case of problems with the electrical connections or the power
supply.
