Fullerscopes Telescope Mountings: 11.07.2021 Endless problems! AR12842

Sunday 11th 68F, bright sunshine but becoming steadily more cloudy.

Yesterday was beset with problems. Apart from the dense cloud.

ASCOM[AWR] couldn't find the server. COM3 does not exist! So I had to use the AWR IH2 for the drives without planetarium support.

The AWR[Technology] Simple Handset has lost the use of its down button. Or is intermittent. It does nothing while the IH2 paddle's down button works normally. Then the button suddenly works again. Hopeless when I am trying to centre an area of interest through a short gap in the clouds!

The backlash on the drives is getting worse. I keep adjusting the worms but the motors constantly stall during slews. I have repeatedly balanced the telescope system without obvious effect.

My home PC lost the will to live, after 6 years, so I have to carry the laptop back and forth. I don't want to stuff the laptop with hundreds of normal pictures. So I haven't downloaded my cameras for days.

It looks like today is going to allow hours of imaging. Or not!

9.00 All ready to start. ASCOM[AWR] tells me that COM3 still does not exist. Reloaded the driver. COM3 Does not Exist! Can't use Cartes du Ciel/Skycharts. Perhaps the USB to Serial cable has died?

Reloaded the ASCOM[AWR]driver and repaired the ASCOM platform. NO change. Tim Long at Tigra Astronomy seems not to exist any more. Facebook no updates for ages. URL: Website does not exist.

09.43. Sun came out. First and only capture. Etalon tuning is slack. Dismantle etalon housing and tighten. Cloud arrived. Half a sky cloud! Moving too slowly to sense direction. Possible from SE?

PST Etalon + Lunt B2000S2 BF produces a barred sweet spot. I am going to have to "clock" [rotate the BF and etalon relative to each other] every time now. Just to get smooth field brightness.

09.53. The [previously unused] "Skywatcher" motor control paddle died yesterday. It would only focus in one direction regardless of button pressing. The 9V battery measures fine.

So, today, I used the cloud watching time today to attach the HitecAstro V2 drive box. This is connected to the new 12V PS for USB motor focuser control. It works, but I haven't tried the on-screen controls yet. Using the tiny [uncomfortable] push buttons on the box instead. Still cloudy. Slow moving. Two layers.

I have the HitecAstro DC focus control box on the screen now. It works perfectly. In steps or continuously. Variable speed to taste. The 12V drive provides more power than the 9V battery on the cheap Skywatcher focuser paddle.

10.05. Another half hour of cloud to wait for! I am getting cold [and bored] in my T-shirt at 68F!

10.10 Changed to 2.6x GPC in hope of seeing the sun some time today.

10.25 Still solid cloud.

10.50. 63/70F. Trying to smooth out the field brightness by BF rotation when the cloud thins [with increased gain.] No point in imaging though changeable cloud. Soft and fuzzy!

11.08. Brief view of the sun with horrendous thermal agitation: Boiling, simmering and shaking. All images so far are a fuzzy mess.

11.36. More sun but the seeing is awful.

I am doing some homework about OnStep mounting control software. I don't do electronics, nor modern software, so wonder if there is a ready-made solution?

12.15 Finally! A half-decent image!

14.27 Back after lunch. Still cloudy with a few gaps.