Ultrastar C handbook Issue 1, August 2015
sluggish, try reducing the ‘Rate’ setting in the guider settings, or increase it if the guiding oscillates
from one side of the guide star to the other.
Guiding with ‘PHD2’
A very simple-to-use guiding program is Stark Labs ‘PHD2’ (http://openphdguiding.org/). I
recommend this as a good and simple way to guide with the Ultrastar C and I use it myself on most
occasions.
To guide with PHD2, first press the ‘camera’ icon and select the ‘Starlight SXV’ option for the camera.
If you have more than one SX camera connected, then choose ‘Ultrastar C’ or ‘SX-825’ from the list.
Next, press the ‘Mount’ button and select ‘On camera’ (this uses the RJ12 cable to feed corrections to
the mount). You can also set these as the default by using the ‘Manage Profiles’ selection at the top of
the box. Close the settings window when finished.
Now press the ‘Loop’ icon and you should see a continuously updating star field. Focus and select the
best exposure time, then press ‘Stop’.
