correct.
If the red knobs are lightly locked, the drive rollers may slip which eventually
may damage them. To avoid this either open the red knobs completely (1,5
turns left from locked position) or lock them fully, until you hear the click.
The slewing speed depends on the load you have on the G53F. With a
medium sized telescope (10” SC) you can use 999. For larger loads
experiment with speed, Umod sp limit and ramp to get a reliable result
(reduce speed, Umod sp limit and ramp if necessary).
Run the Red Autoset routine (Mount Parameters menu) if the ambient
temperature has changed more than 15 deg C. This ensures the precise
tracking rate without real time correction (with encoders).
Before you look for other reasons of goto pointing errors check your polar
alignment. If a 15 min unguided image above +60 deg declination shows no
drift (less than 5 arcsec) you are ok.
Astrophotography with the G53F
There are a few things to remember for successful imaging.
1) use the correct guide speed for your pixel scale. E.g. Speed 1-2 for high resolution
(up tp 1.5”/pixel), speed 3-4 for medium and 5 for telephoto imaging.
2) Have stop current set close to track current to avoid jumps in declination
3) Do not let any cables hang off the telescope or camera. Route them all via the
center of the declination head, thru the supplied cable guide ring.
4) Balance the mount as precisely as possible. If you have a Newtonian orient the
focuser exactly facing or opposing the telescope platform. All other positions will
imbalance the telescope in some sky position. If you have a guidescope on the
main tube the same is valid for that.
5) If you have to flip meridian (User parameters/Goto mode/Pulsar2 logic) make sure
to select the correct direction in Setup(6)/User parameters/Pole crossing/Tube
rotation. For Newtonians select North, for all other telescopes that have the camera
at the lower end select South. This will prevent cable problems if you have routed
G53F manual ver 2.7
p13 June 2017
www.geminitelescope.com
Cable guide ring
standard acc.
