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Monday: Today I had no problem starting ASCOM-AWR from Cartes-du-Ciel. Though it took a while to work out how to tell the software that some blithering idiot had put the telescope on the cradle upside down! It slewed to find Polaris somewhere under the observatory floor! Which was a bit nerve wracking as I sat there [on my shiny, new, observatory chair] wondering it it would ever stop slewing. I find Cartes-du-Ciel too visually complex and rather opaque from a complete and utter lack of practice. i.e. Raw beginner class with only a few minutes under my belt. Here's a couple of videos I made of my earlier attempts at Goto with just the bare stepper motors. [Sorry about the lack of kittens!]
That said, Cartes-du-Ciel does what it says on the 'Telescope' tin. Since it has been kind enough to let me use my Goto drives, as intended, I shall now invest some of my valuable time in climbing the steep learning curve. I'll leave Stellarium on the back burner until I have more practice at Gotos and everything else is working properly.
I even managed to Set Park on the IH2 handset pointing at Polaris. Which was a first. It usually says "Not Calibrated." Then I wished I hadn't as I walked into both the counterweights AND the OTA as I tidied up for the night. An East-West [horizontal] OTA parking is far safer for bumbling observatory owners, like me. Then there are only the weights to avoid. If I paint them white I may even avoid having to wear my builder's safety helmet! My tinfoil helmet offers too little protection from reality.🙆
Click on any image for an enlargement.
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