User`s Guide - Software Bisque
Contents
1. Description Part Qty P Number kg 1A 5x20mm fast acting fuse 270 1049 4 2A 5x20mm fast acting fuse 270 1052 4 5A 5x20mm fast acting fuse 270 1056 4 5 5mm 2 1mm I D DC power 274 1569 2 plug 3 5mm phono plug mono 214 286 RJ12 modular phone plug 279 421 10 D B9P male 276 1537 1 D 95 female 276 1538 1 D B9 hood used with D 276 1539 1 D 95 D B9 female to female cable 6 ft 26 152 1 D B25 male to male cable 6 ft 26 249 1 D B9P D 255 adaptor 26 287 12. The First Night You should already be very familiar with the operation of TheSky Astronomy Software and the TPoint Modeling software before attempting to use these two applications under the stars If you are not familiar with these applications please refer to their documentation for further information Selecting the GT 1100S from TheSky The Paramount 11005 uses the MK S 3000 control system from Software Bisque Make sure you do not select Paramount G T 1100 from the list of telescopes as the prior version of the Paramount used a different control system 26 Paramount User s Guide Telescope Setup i x Control System Settings Software Options Confirm slews Confirm syncs Confirm mapping Impose slew limits destination coordinates only Attempt to stop slews in progress through slew limits Switch to Night Vision Mode upon link Show the number of packets retries and failures Close Object Infomation dialog box upon slew Enable telescope modeling Always keep telescope cross hairs on screen COM Pott un E Cross hair update period ms 500 Figure 11 Telescope Setup and Settings Dialog Boxes Connecting the Paramount to your Computer The Paramount communicates through a serial port on your computer Make sure the MK S 3000 is configured for the correct computer port From TheSky click Settings on the Telescope Setup dialog
3. PARAMOUNT 67 1100 5 ROBOTIC TELESCOPE MOUNT User s Guide Revision 0 96 Copyright 2000 Software Bisque Inc All rights reserved August 2000 page 2 Paramount User s Guide Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Software Bisque The software products described in this document are furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement They may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the agreement It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license or nondisclosure agreement The purchaser may make one copy of the software for backup purposes No part of this manual and or databases may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including but not limited to photocopying recording or information storage and retrieval systems for any purpose other than the purchaser s personal use without the express written permission of Software Bisque This document was produced using Microsoft Word 1997 1998 1999 2000 TPoint Software and Software Bisque All rights reserved D Soft CCD A stronomy Software and TheSky A stronomy Software are trademarks of Software T Point TPOINT and TPOIN T PC are trademarks of TPoint Software T Point software is sold by Software Bisque under a licensing agreement with Patrick Wallace Abingdon O
4. Aux Serial 1 Serial data Auxiliary communications pass input output through Aux Serial 2 Serial data Auxiliary communications pass input output through Jumper JF 1 on the piggyback Adaptor Board may be used to select 5VDC 12VDC operation of the focus motor Variable resistor R1 on the same board may be used to fine tune the speed of the focus motor Aux Serial 1 has pins 1 9 wired straight through which may be useful for non communications applications that do not exceed 1 amp per conductor The other serial connector 3 wire has only pins 2 3 and 5 wired DC Power CCD Camera ST 4 ST 5 ST 6 PixCel 255 The A ux Power 1 5A jack can be used to power the CPU and head A cable will need to be made to adapt to the CPU s power connector Construct two 5 5mm 2 1mm I D DC power plug to D B9 adaptor cables wiring the sleeve to pin 4 GND and tip to pin 9 12 15VD C Use a D B9P male for the BASE PANEL cable and a D B9S female for the INSTRUMENT PANEL cable ST 7 ST 8 The Camera Power jack can be used to power one of these cameras Plug the camera s power supply into the BASE PANEL s Camera Power jack and a 5 pin DIN 180 male to male cable wired straight through between the INSTRUMENT PANEL s Camera Power jack and the camera D o not useless than 22 AWG wire for this cable or the camera may not be able to draw enough current for thermal regulation 24 AWG wire may be used if two conductors are
5. 2 Insert a New TPoint model into TheSky Edit gt Insert gt TPoint Model 3 Synchronize the telescope on a bright star When performing a TPoint run synchronize the telescope once for each mapping run Synchronizing more that once will require new TPoint model 4 After accurately synchronizing the telescope slew to a nearby star by identifying the star in TheSky and clicking the Slew T o button center the actual star in the eyepiece and then click the Map button on the O bject Information dialog box This constitutes one data point 5 When you have mapped six data points that are close together in the sky TPoint can begin correcting for errors in the mount and the pointing will improve Now you re ready to begin mapping stars over a larger portion of the actual night sky 6 After 15 20 data points are collected add more terms to the TPoint model so that the RMS value is as small as possible Consult the TPoint User s Manual for instructions on adding terms to a TPoint model 7 From TPoint determine the current polar alignment of the telescope by clicking Model Polar Alignment Information 8 Adjust the mount according to the TPoint polar alignment information Delete the TPoint model and start over from Step 2 To remove the red Reference Lines that are created for each mapping run from TheSky click Data Add User Data Remove All In practice using at least 20 stars distributed over half of the sky will provide enou
6. Bisque The plate also contains 3 countersunk holes that can accept a 1 2 inch mounting bolts and nut The center hole allows the Paramount electronic cable to be directed through the bottom of the wedge and into the pier The large holes in the diagram accept the mounting bolts and the countersink is used to keep the nuts below the top mounting surface Since the wedge slides on this plate when azimuth adjustments are made the j bolts must not protrude above the plate top Figure 20 Universal Mounting Adapter 42 Paramount User s Guide Universol Mounting Plote j bolt hole pattern 7 12500 2 7500 6 5000 4 0000 0 5000 5 5000 O r 8 0000 Figure 21 Mounting hole pattem for the mounting adapter The above drawing shows the dimensions of the mounting holes that are present on the Universal Mounting Adapter The plate is machined out of 0 75 inch thick aluminum If mounting into a concrete pier the best method of mounting the adapter is to attach the mounting bolts probably j bolts directly to it then push them into the concrete while holding the adapter The mounting bolts should not protrude from the concrete surface more than 0 75 inches the thickness of the adapter plate The center holes on the pier and wedge plates are provided as an option to route the electronics cable down into the pier In situations where the wedge is attached to existing piers
7. Screw results in about 16 arc minutes of motion One rotation of the A zimuth A djustment Screws results in about 18 arc minutes of motion These calibrated amounts can be used to fine tune the polar alignment When the telescope and counterweights are in place it is necessary to reduce the pressure on the altitude adjustment screw by lifting up on the declination housing Using one hand to apply upward pressure and the other to turn the knob works well in practice Polar Elevation Adjustments page 28 Paramount User s Guide Step 1 Make sure adjustment bar nuts are securely tightened Step 2 Loosen 4 RA housing nuts S two each side before making ye ON elevation adjustments t E Step 3 Make adjustments using the elevation adjustment screw Figure 13 Paramount Elevation Adjustment Screws Important N ote Before loosening the four right ascension housing nuts be certain that the two nuts on the altitude adjustment bar are securely tightened If they are not the entire assembly including the telescope is free to move and will fall to the bottom of the wedge slot This could cause damage to the Paramount the OTA or the operator Polar Azimuth Adjustments For a complete closed loop polar alignment adjustment system attach a video camera to the telescope and point the telescope near the celestial equator The video output gives real time feedback of any adjustments made If you have ca
8. click the Sync button in the Telescope Tab Once this sync occurs the telescope s control system is aligned approximately with the celestial sphere Even though this initial synchronization is never perfect due to imperfections in the system it establishes the angles in the Paramount control system that all subsequent mapped stars will use Important N ote D uring a mapping session do not re sync your telescope control system by click ing the Sync button If you synchronize on a star after the mapping session has begun you must start over The sync star can also be your model s first mapped point Click the Map button to record this point and to begin gathering your pointing data TheSky communicates continuously with TPoint as each map point is added page 36 Paramount User s Guide From this point on you should just have to slew center and map stars to continue building the model It is usually easiest to choose stars that are not far away from the Sync star until the first six points are mapped Once you have mapped the initial six stars T Point automatically begins compensating for systematic errors and you should notice an improvement in pointing accuracy Finding the stars in the video or other feedback system becomes easier The most efficient means of mapping points is to use a low light video camera coupled to the telescope With a video camera stars to eighth magnitude are usually detectable and provide a large number of
9. eliminating the danger of disconnecting or even breaking wires during mount movements Before making any connections to either the BASE PANEL or INSTRUMENT PANEL the following information should be read and understood Failure to observe stated procedures and limitations may result in damage to the Paramount s control electronics and or any attached auxiliary devices Panel Connector Descriptions Connector Type Notes BASE PANEL Mount Power DC power input 48 VDC tip positive 1 2A fused Power supply is intended for indoor use only 12VDC 2A 12VDC 1A 5VDC 1A Camera Power DC power input Aux Power 1 DC power input 5 125VDC 5A fused Aux Power 2 DC power input 5 125VDC 2A fused Parallel Parallel data Host PC to Mount input output communications Serial Serial data Host PC to Mount input output communications Aux Serial 1 Serial data Auxiliary communications pass input output through Aux Serial 2 Serial data Auxiliary communications pass input output through INSTRUMENT PANEL 12VDC 2A 12VDC 1A 5VDC 1A Camera Power DC power output Aux Power 1 DC power output 5 125VDC 5A fused Aux Power 2 DC power output 5 125VDC 2A fused Focus DC power output 12VDC 1A fused Guider Dual axis input Four open collector TTL logic inputs Parallel Parallel data Mount to device communications input output Serial Serial data Mount to device communications input output page 46 Paramount User s Guide
10. ganged for the GND line Focuser A low amperage 250mA motorized focuser may be software controlled through the INSTRUMENT PANEL s Fouse jack This jack accepts the industry standard 3 5mm phono plug The power applied to this jack is reversing D C of user selectable voltage Communications Paramount Serial Connect a D B9 female to female cable included between the Serial connector on the BASE PANEL and a serial port on the host computer Instrument mounted Device e g CCD camera closed loop focuser etc Direct serial Connect the serial communications cable from the device to one of the A ux Serial connectors on the INSTRUMENT PANEL Connect a D B9 female to female cable between the corresponding A ux Serial connector on the BASE PANEL and a serial port on the host computer Paramount User s Guide page 47 page 48 Paramount User s Guide Guider The C uider jack accepts an RJ12 modular plug and provides external access to the directional switching RJ2 pin Color Description SBIG DB15 pin 1 BLU X RA East 10 2 YEL Y Dec North 13 3 GRN Y Dec South 7 4 RED X West 4 5 BLK GND common 58 11 14 6 WHT N C no connection Note The actual wire colors may differ depending upon their 123456 ES placement within the RJ12 plug iThis information may be used with ST 4 ST 5 and ST 6 cameras Radio Shack Cross Reference
11. home it This will cause the link between TheSky and the mount to be lost When you re establish the link with the mount you will see the crosshairs appear on the sky display at the current location of the home position Now slew the mount to the star you synced on and it should fall in nearly the same place in the eyepiece video or CCD that you are using In practice there are small movements due to mirror flop or slight time differences so the star may not be in exactly the same position but it should be very close Polar Alignment Before the Paramount can accurately track objects an accurate polar alignment is necessary The question may be asked how accurate Subjectively if the altitude and azimuth are each within 2 arc minutes of the pole images of a few minutes can be taken maintaining round stars at focal lengths of 2000mm or so At greater image scales and longer exposures guiding will become necessary where adjustments in both altitude and azimuth are made Once an axis is within one arc minute of the pole it becomes difficult to improve since making the adjustments requires altering the mount from a fixed state to a free state then back to a fixed state again Adjusting the Altitude and Azimuth The Paramount is equipped with precise altitude and azimuth adjustments The 28 pitch adjustment screws are specially designed so that one complete rotation translates to a small angular motion One rotation of the A Ititude A djustment
12. of the encoder positioning vs desired encoder position The MKS Advanced Dialog Parade Conectin staus Air Right Decineton Teste 72100000 m ande esae a Reto fic Vect high Farm Ue iB 1000 DE meri s 192 fis pa F F Iron FP F Les gun version 0992 Lx cm Figure 8 The Advanced Tab of the MKS 3000 Dialog Box TheSky This dialog is normally hidden and does not appear by default The values present on this tab of the dialog are critical to proper operation of the mount and should never be altered unless the reason for making the change is perfectly understood Paramount User s Guide page 25 Camera power Paramount Instrument Panel Parallel 25 line Aux serial 3 line Aux power 2 Guider Stepper focus Aux serial 9 line C Aux power 1 Focus Figure 9 The Paramount Instrument Panel r Mount Operation _ Paramount Base Panel 48V power Serial to PC Aux serial 9 line C Aux power 1 Aux power 2 Figure 10 The Paramount Base Panel Parallel 25 line Aux serial 3 line
13. sense 1100 Home mode required Joystick In out in 1111 Home Index Offset 0 PEC cutoff speed 40375560 Max Voltage 15 Max Gain 150 REESE REESE I Cosbtrol versioni 0 9 92 Mount Type 0 Motor dependent Base rate 0 Max speed 900000000 Acceleration 300 Non sidereal rate 0 Minimum Position Limit 3500000 Maximum Position Limit 630000 HA Dec 29 9825 Guide 189260 Tics per rev 4320000 PEC ratio 10 Maximum position error 1000 Unit ID 100 EMF Constant 96 Index angle 673 Home velocity high 500000000 Home velocity med 90000000 Home velocity low 3000000 Home dir sense 1100 Home mode required Joystick In out in 2111 Home Index Offset 0 cutoff speed 0 Max Voltage 15 Max Gain 150 yours may be different KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK yours may be different Paramount User s Guide page 23 Training PEC This function is run when a CCD autoguider is making guiding adjustments to the system The PEC training period takes about four minutes to complete D uring the PEC training the graph will be updated showing the progress and adjustments Sep Conection aw T Ap 122490 Dian Olti cre Difsete OO nrc 2 Rlecorded labie Copy Paste 9 Cares Figure 6 Periodic Error Correction Tab on the MKS 3000 Dialog Box TheSky Th
14. that do not provide a central pathway for the cables the cables turn inside the wedge and exit through the front North side of the wedge The drawing to the left shows a slightly overhead view of the Paramount The top plate is used to attach optical tube assemblies The dimensions of this aluminum plate are 9 x 16 x inches This plate can easily be modified to accept many different optical tube assemblies Figure 22 Paramount side view showing OTA Paramount User s Guide page 43 Appendix B Paramount Dimensions This section provides dimensions of the Paramount in the many possible positions used for pointing a telescope erman Equatorial telescope mountings are very stable by design yet the requirement of counterweights increases the clearance space required surrounding the telescope and mount Figure 10 shows the approximate dimensions in inches of the Paramount The 14 inch dimension from the base of the mount to the center of the right ascension axis represents the approximate height of the OTA center when the telescope is pointed near the Meridian For various latitudes the height in inches and can be computed from the following formula Fiaure 23 Approximate Paramount Dimensions OTA Center height at M eridian see figure 12 bdow Metric Height 4 45 cm sin latitude 32 deg x 34 8 cm Imperial Height 1 75 in sin latitude 32 deg x 13 7 in This dimension is i
15. 0 x Setup Perinde Enci Conection 13 Adverced Dedinafioa 356073 Gema Equatond 2 Limi 3500000 _ Motip Limi 00000 _5 spaad 32 05 0 Treck ite tdm xo 00 Non exited tate aictocz pP o Sensa Dec 2290254 Siga uem Bash Home Delodts Pains page 20 Paramount User s Guide Figure 4 Setup Tab s on the Object Information Dialog Box The Setup Tab allows you to change some of the default options of the Paramount s control system It is recommended that you do not make changes to any of the values unless you have a clear understanding of how the change will effect the mount s operation For example if you set the Minimum Limit to 4 000 000 instead of 3 250 000 the mount may collide with the right ascension stop if the mount is under joystick control or PC control Note that the two dialogs boxes pictured above show the Right Ascension and D eclination default settings Mount Type The Paramount is a German Equatorial telescope so this option should be set to G erman Equatorial not Fork Mount ID This information is for reference purposes only Maximum Speed The motors are capable of moving the Paramount at approximately 8 degrees per second in declination and 6 degrees per second in right ascension To move at the fastest rate enter a value of 100
16. 96 on this input For large telescopes these slew speeds are quite fast and values of 50 80 are suggested to minimize wear on components Track rate This input allows you to alter the tracking speed from the sidereal speed A value of 100 will rotate the mount at the sidereal rate Non sidereal rate If you wish for the mount to slew at a rate that is separate from the sidereal rate but cumulative to it you can enter a value here in arc seconds per second If you choose a minor planet and select Set Tracking Rate from the Telescope tab the non sidereal rate will be set in both right ascension and declination To set the tracking rates back to normal sidereal simply click on a star and choose Set tracking rates Berard 2272 o Mince Marat Magia Fight toome Ih ede Dedra IS Paramount User s Guide page 21 Figure 5 Click the Set Tracking Rates button to track on minor planets planets and comets Minimum Limit Maximum Limit You can set the software limits for each axis to insure the telescope does not attempt to slew through a hard stop The right ascension limits are visible by looking at the South side of the mount The declination hard stops are set at 90 declination or 90 declination for those down under When set properly it is impossible to run the mount into a stop as the motor will decelerate to internal limit Guider Speed This option adjusts th
17. FAULTS SINGLE AXIS 21 COPY PARAMETERS 22 TRAINING PEC 23 MKS STATUS DIALOG 24 page 4 Paramount User s Guide THE MKS ADVANCED DIALOG 24 THE FIRST NIGHT 25 SELECTING THE GT 1100S FROM THESKY 25 CONNECTING THE PARAMOUNT TO YOUR COMPUTER 26 SYNCING ON A STAR 26 POLAR ALIGNMENT 27 POLAR ELEVATION ADJUSTMENTS 27 POLAR AZIMUTH ADJUSTMENTS 28 POLAR ALIGNMENT USING TPOINT 28 GETTING STARTED USING TPOINT 29 TELESCOPE MAPPING AND POLAR ALIGNMENT PROCEDURE 29 POLAR ALIGNMENT THE DRIFT METHOD 30 PARAMOUNT INITIALIZATION 31 HOMING 32 WHY ISACCURATE TIME IMPORTANT 32 SETTING THE COMPUTER CLOCK 33 PARKING THE PARAMOUNT GT 1100S 33 SETTING THE PARK POSITION 33 PARKING THE 11005 33 SYNCING THE TELESCOPE 33 STEPS FOR PERFORMING A TELESCOPE SYNCHRONIZATION 34 THE MEANING OF SYNC 34 TELESCOPE MAPPING OVERVIEW 35 TROUBLESHOOTING 36 APPENDIX A PREPARING THE PARAMOUNT PIER 39 Paramount User s Guide page 5 REQUIRED HOLE PATTERN FOR ATTACHING THE WEDGE TO THE PIER 40 PARAMOUNT PIER FROM SOFTWARE BISQUE 41 THE UNIVERSAL MOUNTING ADAPTER 41 APPENDIX B PARAMOUNT DIMENSIONS 43 APPENDIX C PARAMOUNT GT 1100S CABLING 45 CONNECTOR 45 TYPE 45 NOTES 45 PART NUMBER 48 page 6 Paramount User s Guide Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Paramount 11005 Robotic Telescope Mount The Paramount is a high precision instrument designed to deliver unmatched telescope performance to the amateur or pr
18. and subsequent mapping or short mapping run Changes to polar alignment requires a full T Point mapping run Changing the optical tube assembly Telescope Setup Control System Confirm syncs Confirm mapping Impose slew limits destination coordinates only Attempt to stop slews in progress through slew limits Switch to Night Vision Mode upon link Show the number of packets retries and failures Close Object Information dialog box upon slew v Enable telescope modeling Always keep telescope cross hairs on screen Cross hair update period ms 500 Figure 16 Telescope Setup Dialog Box TheSky Telescope Mapping Overview Telescope mapping is the process of slewing to a known object manually centering that object in the eyepiece then recording the angular differences between the slewed to coordinates and the manually centered coordinates Mapping a number of known targets allows the TPoint Telescope Modeling Software to analyze systematic errors in your telescope system and create a model to compensate for these errors To begin a mapping session accurately set your computer s clock and establish a link to the telescope O nce connected slew the telescope to a known star and center it in the eyepiece Using Find or Identify in TheSky display the O bject Identification dialog for the star When the star information is presented on the O bject Identification dialog box
19. box Syncing on a Star Gens hanada Umi Telescope Type Magitude 1 44 Right Ascension D hSm d 121 Dednaln 164300 147 EOTIT SMSO AS Figure 12 The Telescope on the Object Information Dialog Box TheSky Once the mount is up and running and you have estimated the polar alignment you can Sync on a star to initialize the mount The Sync button can be found in the Object Information dialog on the Telescope tab While you are aligning the mount to the pole you will be syncing the mount several times Once the mount is aligned with the pole you will not have to sync again unless you change optical tube assemblies or somehow alter your setup otherwise in a significant manner Following is a short overview of what transpires when Sync is clicked The mount was homed before the sync so the angles are computed between the home position and the current position of the mount when the sync occurs Using these angles the hour angle and the declination of the home position is computed and stored inside the Paramount s flash memory Paramount User s Guide page 27 By accessing the stored hour angle and declination of the mount and using the computed Local Sidereal Time TheSky can compute the current pointing location of the telescope In fact it should point identically on subsequent sessions as it does on this session As a quick test turn of the mount then turn it back on and
20. ded to accomplish this Once you have been through the entire process a couple of times Paramount initialization will not seem as confusing as it might the first time Homing The mount is homed at startup so that the mount is initialized in exactly the same position each time it is used The homing function of the Paramount provides many benefits to the CCD imager Homing permits soft limits so the mount never crashes into itself even if an improper star synchronization occurs Oncea mapping run has been completed it will continue to provide excellent pointing with ever having to perform a star synchronization Even if power is lost to the Paramount the homing function can return the telescope to its previous state A reality check is performed when the star synchronization is performed to be sure the time entered in TheSky is reasonable Once the mount is homed and a TPoint model is present subsequent sessions only require accurate time to achieve excellent pointing In the table below each of the operations that are required for performing an initialization are listed along with the time needed to accomplish the operation Please note that the time estimates listed for mapping are for an experienced user The very first time you perform a mapping run might take considerably longer As you can see the mapping operation is the most time consuming The short mapping run is identical to a normal mapping run except that only 6 12
21. e following steps are necessary to successfully train PEC 1 Display the PEC dialog by choosing Telescope O ptions More settings 2 Switch to CCD Soft and start guiding 3 Switch back to TheSky and choose Start Recording 4 Wait until the red status line has cross the entire graph about 4 minutes and the Abort Recording button switches back to Start Recording It is important to note that the recording phase of the training only records the values It does not automatically store them in the flash or activate PEC adjustments Unless the seeing is very good and the autoguiding settings are optimal the recorded PEC values will contain a considerable amount of noise and must be smoothed before the Upload command is used to transfer the recorded table into the PEC memory on the Paramount 24 Paramount User s Guide MKS Status Dialog 000 1 Selup Eno Sox Adverced RA Dec Posho 452955 355073 Caren Encoder 250838 3558373 Tracking Rats non sideted n 0 Status 1200 1200 Motor Status 4000 Comhol state 4 4 Servo state 14 14 Figure 7 Advanced Tab of the MKS 3000 Dialog Box TheSky This dialog is provided simply for diagnostic purposes The encoders position in encoder tics is shown for each axis Other status values are shown that indicate the state of the motors and control system The graph near the bottom of the dialog is a very small sampling
22. e socket head cap screw on the T 1100S Polar height 1 75 7 75 sine Latitude Latitude Height of SHCS Height of SHCS degrees center inches center cm 20 4 40 11 2 22 11 8 24 12 5 26 13 1 28 13 7 30 14 3 32 14 9 34 15 5 36 16 0 38 16 6 40 17 1 42 17 6 44 18 1 46 18 6 48 19 1 50 7 69 19 5 Polarheight N ESI Step 4 Add the Counterweights While the right ascension gear and worm are still not in contact the counterweights should be placed on the counterweight bar Note that each counterweight has a brass insert that is used to apply pressure between the counterweight and the declination shaft This insert 12 Paramount User s Guide does not turn while pressure is applied by turning in the knob protecting the counterweight bar from scratches Add the estimated amount of counterweight before attaching the optical tube assembly The amount of counterweight depends on the weight of the optical tube assembly Try to make a close estimate to how much counterweight is required and add this to the declination counterweight bar O nce added the right ascension axis will be bottom heavy yet will be in a safe state since the axis is free to hang downward due to gravity Adding the optical tube assembly will now result in a system that is close to balance After the counterweights are added firmly tighten each of the counterweight knobs to insure the weig
23. e speed at which guider corrections move the motors The units are fraction of sidereal rate so 0 50 is half of the sidereal rate Compute This button simply computes the integer sidereal rate and displays it on the setup dialog for diagnostic purposes Sensor Hour Angle and Sensor Declination When the Sync command is performed the hour angle and declination of the Home Position are computed and stored in the flash memory of the control system For the Paramount T 11008 these values are approximately hour angle 1 2 hours and declination 30 degrees for a mount that is leveled and polar aligned If for example you choose the Sync command from the Telescope tab when the telescope is actually pointed to a star other than the one shown in the O bject Information dialog then these values will be incorrect Note that the following three options work on a single axis basis If you change the maximum slew rate percentage for right ascension and then choose Save In Flash only the right ascension axis is changed and stored Save in Flash single axis When changes are made to the values on the Setup screen they will remain active until the mount is powered down unless Save in Flash is chosen It is important to note that while the values are saved into flash memory the motors are stopped This does not mean that position information is lost just that the telescope will stop tracking at the sidereal rate momentarily Home single axis Se
24. ectly North An optional hole can be placed in the center of the plate center 3 625 inches to the North of the rotation hole for routing the Paramount electronic cable down into the pier The hole diameter is one inch to allow passing of the Paramount cable and end connector Paramount User s Guide page 41 Paramount Pier from Software Bisque The following information pertains to the steel piers manufactured by Software Bisque Note the bottom plate of the Software Bisque pier contains 4 slotted holes with a radius of 6 25 inches This design allows the use of four 0 50 inch foundation bolts such as j bolts placed in a concrete base O ne edge of the base plate must be aligned with true North The slotted holes allow for a few degrees of adjustment of the entire pier in addition to the 2 degrees of adjustment available on the wedge using the fine adjust screws of the Paramount e 11 0000 The pier base plate has a 6 25 inch ct radius for the mounting holes and an 11x11 inch footprint Software Bisque piers use the same plate for the top and bottom of the pier On the top of the pier the slotted holes provide a convenient place to hang hoe various items 11 0000 1 7500 10 0000 R6 2500 5 5000 Figure 19 Top and Bottom Plate of Paramount Pier The Universal Mounting Adapter A Universal Mounting Adapter pre drilled with the Paramount Wedge hole pattern is available from Software
25. extremely accurate pointing by simply homing then using the Paramount under control of TheSky After homing the mount knows where the limits are and the mount cannot be driven into itself The right ascension limits are just past the Meridian in each direction east and west and in declination the limit is at approximately 90 degrees declination In right ascension this is about 1 2 hours away from the Meridian with the telescope pointing to the West hour angle 1 3 In declination the homing position is at approximately 30 degrees declination The PEC function uses this information to calibrate the internal PEC table with the orientation of the worm You can quickly recover from power loss to the mount or other personal computer malfunctions using the homing feature Homing the mount using the Joystick To home the mount using the joystick double click the button on top of the joystick It is very important that you do not move the joystick while clicking As a safety feature you can abort the home in either axis by moving the joystick from the center position It is easy to stop the homing process by accidentally moving the joystick during a home Homing the mount using TheSky software Upon establishing a link with the Paramount G T 1100S TheSky will prompt as to whether or not the mount should be homed if it detects that the mount has not already been homed Paramount User s Guide The Joystick page 19 In addition to ho
26. f arc for the nearest index on the encoders We recommended additional devices through the Base Panel to Instrument Panel cable routing system remain unattached until you are comfortable that the mount is connected to the computer and operates as expected with the joystick and under computer control First Slews Once you have assembled the mount and connected all the electronic wiring verify that all the electronic and mechanical components function by slewing the mount 18 Paramount User s Guide Note The Paramount GT 11005 will not slew or begin tracking until it is homed What Is Homing Homing involves rotating the each axis of the Paramount until the homing index is located Each axis has an infrared sensor that is used to detect the home position The home position is at approximately hour angle 1 2 and declination 30 degrees This position cannot be changed as it depends on the physical position of the gears Each time the mount homes it returns to the exact position and sets the position registers to zero When synchronization is performed the hour angle and declination of the home indexes are stored in the internal flash of the Paramount Subsequent sessions simply use the Local Sidereal Time to determine the pointing direction of the mount The homing function of the Paramount 11005 provides the following benefits to the astronomer including the following Once a mount is polar aligned you can achieve
27. gh information for the first iteration Note that TPoint generates a statistical model and the values it generates for each of the terms is not an exact value and the correctness of each term is dependent on the entire model If for example there is a large non perpendicularity of the declination axis and the telescope axis and the CH term is not turned on the entire model will suffer The polar misalignment errors are reported on the Polar Alignment Information Dialog in TPoint Choose Model Polar Alignment Information to display the dialog The fine pitch adjustment screws on the elevation and azimuth result in about 15 arc minutes 300 arc seconds per full turn The above information can also be extracted from the Fit Dialog as explained below 30 Paramount User s Guide Polar Aligrmuni inleenatian Hm The poty mes is East ofthe pole move towards wiest 448 records 75 09210 The polar bebo celeslial pole d shodd bs raised 1029 records 117 2 mines Sia eet 830 Figure 14 Sample Polar Alignment Information Dialog Box T Point The Polar axis elevation value ME and the Polar axis EW value MA provide an estimation of the polar misalignment in arc seconds TPoint Fit Dialog Meaning Action ME positive Axis is below celestial pole ME negative Axis is above celestial Lower elevation pole ive pole and loose
28. he telescope could be damaged or you could be seriously injured whenever the worm gear is disengaged from the main gear on an unbalanced system The Paramount comes with two 9 kg 20 Ib counterweights to balance the optical tube assembly To balance the right ascension axis slide the counterweights up or down the counterweight bar until the system has no tendency to fall in either direction If you use multiple devices such as a video camera to map and a CCD to image after mapping the difference in weight might be enough to cause slewing problems when the instruments are interchanged By marking various positions of counterweights on the shaft for different configurations you can quickly rebalance a system without disengaging the worm and gear It is very important not to change the system after mapping has been completed and a model is created for the mount OTA The worm blocks on the GT 1100S provide a mechanism for disengaging the worm from the gear and holding this configuration while balancing Though it is always a good idea to have a second person available for aid in holding the OTA during balancing this mechanism allows for single person balancing To access the worm blocks the worm block covers must be removed Each worm block has the following threaded items A spring plunger to provide engagement between the worm and gear A safety screw that prevents the worm and gear from disengaging A disengagement retaining screw for hold
29. he telescope involves pointing the telescope system at a known object usually a star then pressing Sync from the Telescope Tab on the Object Information dialog box The date time and location in the Site Information dialog in TheSky must be entered correctly before telescope synchronization is performed page 34 Paramount User s Guide 7 Lem Medea Uy Telexcae Uti 20 Tre Sie 076 Type Sty 076 Rigt acenscn 198504558 2075158231 Fig 19 50 45 558 Decinaliorr CE 5 58301 Axmih 2215203 520908 Aer 2215505 520806 Stat up Shadows M ae Set Park Pest 1222 5969 zm 5 Xo xke HP 57043 168779 HD 187642 Set Lisching Raes are Data from Hopscos Catalog Updete Rates AA 596 B2 Dec 35654 per moon eg duce 248 1 0 355 Lmao s 425 BS e 8 SRE FG Sar Figure 15 Sample Object Information dialog box and Telescope Tab TheSky Steps for performing a telescope synchronization 1 Choose a bright star in the sky that you definitely can identify partial clouds or twilight can make this more difficult than it seems Make sure the star is on the correct side of the Meridian The counter weights should never be higher than the telescope when a Sync is performed 2 Use the preferred method for mapping video reticle e
30. hey can also provide a more robust system for mounting the primary optical tube assembly than dovetail systems 14 Paramount User s Guide Caution Do not put the Paramount in the above configuration with the worm gear engaged Note The Paramount as pictured above is in an unstable configuration that puts extreme forces on the right ascension gear teeth The counterweight shaft should remain in the vertical position during the time when the Paramount is loaded with counterweights but the OTA has not been attached This minimizes the force on the right ascension gear teeth and insures the mount is in a stable position at all times Paramount User s Guide page 15 Step 6 Balance the system Attach your CCD camera and all other equipment focuser dew heater etc to the optical tube assembly while balancing the mount The telescope will track and slew best when properly balanced An unbalanced system can cause numerous problems such as stalling or gear chattering during slews There is no clutching mechanism on the Paramount This means that balance is achieved by disengaging the worm from the gear in each axis Caution Use extreme care when balancing the telescope Make note of the weight distribution on the telescope before pulling the worm block assemblies away from the gears Always grab hold of the OTA or counterweight arm before disengaging the worm and gear so that you maintain control of the telescope T
31. hts do not slip Also make sure you add the counterweight safety stop on the bottom of the counterweight bar Be very careful when handling the oounterweights so that you do not accidentally drop them T hey are heavy enough to make a dent in concrete so imagine what they could do to your foot Step 5 Attach the Optical Tube Assembly Because the Paramount can accept a wide range of optical tube assemblies not all of the options are discussed here The Losmandy D ove tail system is one popular system for attaching optical tube assemblies Waming Please note the difference between the Paramount adapter plate and other dovetail systems Some dovetails such as those supplied with Celestron telescopes are not captive when placed in the Paramount dovetail plate until the angular contact setscrews are tightened Celestron Dove Paramount adapter plate Captive only when set sc ews are tightened against dovetail Celestron Dovetail Paramount adapter plate Paramount User s Guide page 13 Once attached remember that the right ascension axis is free to rotate and if top heavy that is the OTA is heavier than the counterweights the mount is in a dangerous and possibly destructive state Continue to hold the assembly and spin it using caution to determine the balance By holding on to the counterweight bar you can make adjustments to the weight distribution and also prevent the OTA from fa
32. ing the worm block away from the gear 16 Paramount User s Guide B Safety screw 4 gt fee Mae p anger P 4 owe No adjustment Disengagement retaining 5 rev Spring Plunger The spring plunger assures full contact of the worm and gear Though the motors on the mount can slew with this plunger set to a wide range of pressures the optimal pressure can be achieved by rotating the spring plunger clockwise until it is in hard contact then rotating counterclockwise one and one half full turns Safety Screw To fully disengage the worm from the worm block for balancing purposes the safety screw must be rotated counterclockwise about two full turns To properly reengage the safety screw turn it clockwise until it stops and then rotate counterclockwise about 1 8 of a turn Verify the safety screw is properly adjusted by pulling the worm away from the gear It should move slightly but not disengage Disengagement Retaining Screw This screw is used only while balancing a system To hold the worm away from the gear while balancing tighten this screw while holding the worm block away from the gear Once tightened you can release the worm block and it will not spring back into mesh with the gear If two persons are available for balancing it is not necessary to use this screw to hold the worm block away from the gear as one person can do this N ote N ow is the best time t
33. ion assembly does not fall Altitude adjustment nuts three each side RA housing nuts 2 per side Altitude adj bar nut 1 per side Figure 1 Make sure the two shoulder bolts in the slotted holes to the N orth are in place before raising the Paramount to its highest altitude position as it will have a tendency to fall towards the South in this configuration Rotate the right ascension housing to the highest elevation and re tighten the altitude adjustment bolts When the right ascension housing is in this position accessing the rear pier mounting bolt is much easier Caution When lifting the housing to attach the right ascension wedge assembly to the pier make sure the right ascension housing nuts are secure or the wedge will be unstable during the lift Insert the three pier mounting bolts into the wedge to pier attachment holes shown below and hand tighten Wedge to pier attachment hole Figure 2 Pier Attachment H oles Next rotate the right ascension assembly to its highest position to make the pivot shoulder bolt more accessible Now tighten the rear shoulder bolt until it is snug When making azimuth adjustments you do not have to loosen this rear shoulder bolt Paramount User s Guide page 9 Rotate RA housing to highest position Figure 3 Preparing the Paramount Wedge for Mounting Paramount User s Guide Note the azimuth adjust
34. lect this command to home a single axis Defaults single axis Selecting this command sets all of the values for the control system to the defaults values for the T 11008 22 Copy Parameters Paramount User s Guide Choosing this option will copy all of the settings for the control system to the clipboard You can then paste them into a word processor or the windows notepad application for viewing Y ou may be asked to email this information to Software Bisque if there is an issue with the control system Following is a sample of the information that is copied to the clipboard when this command is used The comments after the on the right were added MKS 3000 Telescope Control System Copyright c Mount ID axis Mount Type 0 Base rate 20187780 Max speed 900000000 Acceleration 300 Non sidereal rate 0 Paramount GT 1100S Axis 0 Control version 020292 2000 Software Bisque right ascension This may be different for your mount This may be different for your mount This is altered each time a sync occurs Motor dependent Minimum Position Limit 3320000 Maximum Position Limit 390000 HA Dec 1 2000 Guide 315434 Tics per rev 7200000 ratio 10 Maximum position error 1000 Unit ID 100 EMF Constant 96 Index angle 684 Home velocity high 500000000 Home velocity med 90000000 Home velocity low 3000000 Home dir
35. librated the video output display i e arc minutes in the x and y directions you can determine precisely how much the telescope moves during adjustments and rapidly achieve polar alignment Note When making adjustments for polar alignment using video feedback make sure the OTA is pointing close to zero degrees declination Along this line the units of angular distance match the units of right ascension As the telescope moves closer to the poles the angular distance swept by the telescope becomes smaller for a given change in right ascension Polar Alignment Using TPoint Once you have successfully performed a mapping session and developed a T Point model you can use T Point to determine the mount s polar alignment Use the values computed by TPoint for the Polar A xis E levation and Polar A xis azimuth E W to make the necessary adjustments to the Paramount s Altitude and Azimuth Adjustment screws Usually two iterations can get each axis within two arc minutes Paramount User s Guide page 29 Getting Started Using TPoint Once you are familiar with the technique of telescope mapping as described in the TPoint User s Manual you are ready to begin a telescope mapping run If the Paramount s polar alignment is way off even short star hopping slews may require the destination star to be re centered in the eyepiece Telescope mapping and polar alignment procedure 1 Setyour time as accurately as possible each night before observing
36. lling and colliding with the mount Continue to make adjustments to the position of the counterweights until you can release the declination axis and it remains at rest or rotates very slowly Attaching the Optical Tube Assembly D epending on the size and weight of your optical tube assembly you might want to solicit a friend or two to help lift and attach this component The Losmandy dovetail mounting brackets provide a stable mounting interface for most off the shelf OTAs Be sure to sufficiently tighten all mounting screws To limit the amount of stress placed on the right ascension gear teeth while attaching the OTA to the declination plate the right ascension axis should be rotated so that the counterweight bar is vertical as shown on the diagram Then estimate the amount of counterweight that is required and place it on the counterweight bar In this manner the out of balance system is in a static state and the gear teeth are not supporting the entire load of the counterweights O nce the counterweights are in place the OTA can be attached Care should be taken to center the mass of the OTA near the center of the declination axis D epending on the type of hardware used to attach the OTA to the declination axis this adjustment can be made during attachment or by moving mounting rings prior to lifting the OTA to the declination plate Tube Rings Tube rings provide a means of adding a second optic on top of the primary optic T
37. ment screws on the East and West sides of the mount These screws are fine pitch and require a lot of turning to tighten i e 28 turns per inch of movement Continue to screw in the azimuth adjustment screws until they have contacted the shoulder bolts the ends of these azimuth adjustment screws become visible in the slotted holes shortly after they have passed through wedge side plate Azimuth adjustment screws Step 3 Attach Counterweight Bar to Declination Housing Locate the counter weight bar and screw the threaded end into the base of the declination housing Although this increases the weight of the assembly before it is lifted for attachment to the right ascension housing it provides a solid handle for lifting the declination axis WARNING If the right ascension worm is not engaged with the right ascension gear the declination assembly is top heavy and could cause damage when it falls See picture on the left If a counterweight is added the mount bottom heavy and is in a stable configuration See picture at right Paramount User s Guide page 11 Approximating Polar Elevation The following table can help you estimate the height right ascension housing measured from the bottom of the wedge assembly Here is the equation for determining the height of the center of th
38. ming the mount the joystick is used to manually move the Paramount GT 11008 It also has a built in LED flash light for use at the telescope Moving the Paramount with the Joystick Left and right motion moves the telescope in Right Ascension and up and down motion moves the telescope it in declination The speed of the mount will increase the further the joystick is moved from the center position A total of 16 different speeds are traversed as you move the joystick from center all the way to the edge The first two are slower than sidereal rate and they increase up to the maximum speed as entered in the MK S 3000 Setup Dialog Software Bisque s MKS 3000 Control System The MKS 3000 Control System Dialog Box The factory defaults for the Paramount s control system allow operation right out of the box and typically there is no need to make changes to these settings However the control system is very powerful and offers many options so the default setting of many functions can be altered Setup Periodic Enoi Conection Stats Sdverced 6 B tt Ascanio Dedinatica 55355 Mount hpe Gaman Mio Limi 29950 0 _ Paseos GTATMEIS Limi 02000 _5 spaad 2 fastest 22 Gude sped 5 0 Treck ite S ideat O fio Non cried tate icto c2 ec NEN Serecr 1 20000 Senso Dec 2290254 E Home Pains MES 200
39. mportant if there are walls around the observatory building An unobstructed view at the horizon requires the pier top be high enough so that does not point through the walls when pointing in the North or South directions Approx OTA Center height at Meridian inches Paramount User s Guide The widest dimension of the Paramount i e looking North South is 12 inches the width of the right ascension gear cover when the declination assembly is vertical Figure 24 Width of the Paramount Figure 26 Approximate width is 47 inches with a C 14 tube attached Paramount User s Guide page 45 Appendix C Paramount GT 1100S Cabling The Paramount 11005 has been designed to simplify the process of routing cables to many common electrical devices such as CCD cameras filter wheels and focusing motors For most applications it is possible to pass all electrical connections through the Paramount s internal wiring
40. n East Axis is West of celestial Move axis East tighten East pole and loosen West For example if the Polar axis elevation ME value is 600 arc seconds the polar axis should be lowered about ten arc minutes Ten arc minutes corresponds to about two full turns of the elevation adjustment screw Similarly when adjusting the polar axis azimuth look at the Polar Axis EW value reported on the Fit Dialog If this value is greater than zero the pole of the mounting is to the night of North so the azimuth adjustment screw on the West should be tightened to move the pole towards the West For most U S latitudes the actual polar elevation target is not the North Celestial Pole but rather a point about one arc minute above it to minimize the effects of refraction on longer exposures Polar Alignment The Drift Method The drift method is an alternative method to achieve polar alignment Using this procedure you can achieve very good polar alignment in each axis though it will probably require considerably more time than using T Point Drift Method Azimuth Adjustment Locate a star near the meridian star should be gt 15 degrees altitude and lt 85 degrees altitude Determine if the star drifts north or south If the star drifts north the polar axis is too far west Paramount User s Guide page 31 If the star drifts south the polar axis is too far east Make the appropriate adjustment and repeat the above procedu
41. nd with it under the night sky Upon receiving the shipping packages please inspect all boxes for damage of any kind If you notice anything peculiar make detailed notes before opening the packages we recommend photographing or video taping the unopened packages if there is any apparent damage Remove all components from the packing boxes and check to make sure they are in good order Also compare the pieces with the following Packing List Packing List wei 11 x18 inch counter weight bar 9 kg 20 Ib ergonomic counter weights Joystick For assembly at least the following are required included 1 16 1 8 3 16 and inch Allen or hex wrenches Paramount GT 1100S Assembly and Setup Once you have thoroughly inspected all components of the mount you are ready to assemble the Paramount Software Bisque pre assembles and tests each mount individually so the final assembly should go smoothly Follow the steps below to assemble the mount Step 2 Attach Mount to Pier Loosen the six altitude adjustment nuts two right ascension housing nuts and one adjustment bar nut on each side Caution When all 6 of these have been loosened the 8 Paramount User s Guide right ascension housing is free to pivot in the wedge As shipped the right ascension housing is in the lowest position and therefore has no tendency to fall O nce raised make sure that at least two of the nuts are tight to insure the right ascens
42. o mark the various positions the oounterweights will be for different instrument configurations Paramount User s Guide page 17 Counterweights for the Paramount GT 1100S with Sure Grip TM counterweights for GT 1100S have the following features 9 kg 20 Ib all stainless steel Sure G rip technology The central bore has a unique profile that provides much more locking friction than a simple straight through bore Hand tightening provides enough torque to insure zero slippage Ergonomic feel with smooth radius corners Stainless locking handle has a very low profile that is protected in a recessed bore Counterweight can be tightened by hand or using a hex wrench The brass locking plunger is spring loaded to make adding and removing counterweights easy Step 7 Connecting the Electronics and Power L Connect the Joystick to the round din connector on the East side of the Paramount right ascension box N ever plug or unplug the joystick while the Paramount is powered Plug the serial cable into the appropriate connector on the Base Panel Serial This connection permits communication between the Paramount and the computer Plug the 48 volt power supply into the jack labeled Mount on the Base Panel This supplies power to the Paramount Turn on the Paramount using the rocker switch above the Joystick connection on the East side of the mount On power up you will hear the motors seeking up to six minutes o
43. ofessional astronomer We recommend that you become familiar with all the components of the Paramount before attempting to assemble and use the instrument Although we have taken many steps to ensure ease of use you will learn that there are many critical steps you must follow to obtain optimal telescope performance Please familiarize yourself with the parts and components diagrams before unpacking your new mount A series of instructional videos in MPG format is provided on the Paramount CD RO M They can be viewed nonstop from the Installation program for more control of the playback double click on the file from Windows Explorer so you can easily stop rewind and re play each instructional video We strongly recommend that you study these videos as a first step toward learning how to use the Paramount List of MPEG files located in the BIN folder on the Paramount CD ROM File name Contents Unpacking mpg Unpacking the Paramount GT 11005 Mountingl mpg Attaching the Paramount to the pier Pier mpg Software Bisque pier overview Baseinstr mpg Base Instrument Panel overview Dec balance mpg Balancing the declination axis Ra balance mpg Balancing the right ascension axis Homing mpg Homing the mount Polar altitude mpg Adjusting altitude during polar alignment Polar azimuth mpg Adjusting azimuth during polar alignment What Makes Paramount Different The Paramount 11005 is designed from the gr
44. olts The Paramount is attached to a pier using three 5 16 inch shoulder bolts These bolts form a triangular pattern The wedge and entire telescope pivot around the hole that lies on the South side of the pier Two slots at the front of the Paramount wedge assembly allow azimuth adjustment to the polar axis The amount of adjustment is approximately two degrees on either side of center Therefore when the pier is installed true North must be known accurately The North side of the pier must be free of obstructions to allow for movement of the counter weight bar approximately 30 cm 12 inches AQ QA N NNN N NNN NN NN N NN N AAAS Figure 17 Bottom View of the Wedge Mounting H oles Figure 2 shows the bottom of the Paramount wedge Note the slotted holes in the bottom plate that allow for making azimuth adjustments Very fine thread adjustment knobs not shown are used to make adjustments accurately 40 Paramount User s Guide Required Hole Pattern for Attaching the Wedge to the Pier Hole Pattern for Wedge Bose Connection 6 625 6 966 36 0000 North R0 5000 3 6250 953 Notes holes to accept 5 16 237 18 thread per inch shoulder bolt Figure 18 Pier hole pattem to accept the Paramount Wedge Figure 3 shows the hole pattern required for mounting the Paramount Wedge Each hole is 18 degrees from a centerline that points dir
45. ot use the dial up Time Service feature of TheSky you can set the time manually Remember each second of time translates to 15 arc seconds of motion near the celestial equator If the night to night time base is not set accurately pointing will be compromised The time error will be cause objects to fall a consistent amount in right ascension ahead or behind the target There are also many web based programs that accurately set the computer s clock Parking the Paramount GT 1100S Before parking the Paramount you need to set the preferred park position for your telescope This position in altitude azimuth coordinates is stored to a file named paramnt cfg For example if you have a roll off roof observatory and the roof can only close when the telescope is in a particular orientation the Set Park Position command is used to define that orientation Then each time a Park command is issued the mount will slew to the park position Setting the Park Position With a telescope link established first slew the telescope to the desired position Next from TheSky click Telescope Options Set Park Position We recommended that the telescope be parked as close to the home position as practical Since the Paramount must be homed at power up the time required to find the home position is reduced when the park position is near the home position Parking the GT 1100S Click Telescope gt Options gt Park Syncing the Telescope Syncing t
46. ound up to be a sturdy reliable mount for instruments up to 45 kg 100 lb The following features insure increased productivity for astronomer using the GT 1100S Research grade right ascension gears with less than 5 arc seconds of periodic error peak to peak TheSky Astronomy Software to easily locate your target objects CCD Soft CCD Astronomy Software for controlling CCD cameras Orchestrate scripting program for running unattended data acquisition sessions TPoint Telescope Error Modeling Software to provide unmatched pointing capabilities Software Bisque s MK S 3000 Telescope D rive System for precise tracking periodic error correction and slewing Accurate homing for quick startup Paramount User s Guide page 7 Unpacking and Assembling the Paramount GT 1100S The order of the assembly is important and the steps are listed here A more detailed description follows Unpack and inspect Attach the mount to the pier Attach the counterweight bar to the declination assembly Add the counterweights Attach the optical tube assembly Balance the system Connecting the electronics and power Turn on and test the mount Step 1 Unpacking the Paramount GT 1100S Software Bisque has made every effort to ensure that your new mount arrives just the way it left our facilities ready to run We want your first experience with our product to be as enjoyable as the many hours you will spe
47. pensated for when re tightening occurs This small amount of motion usually within a couple of arc minutes is not a problem when making course adjustments but becomes important when trying to achieve a polar alignment of less than three to four arc minutes When using video feedback for making polar alignment adjustments pick a star near the celestial equator within an hour of the Meridian Paramount Initialization This section describes the steps necessary to initialize the Paramount T 11008 on the first night of operation and on subsequent nights Tip The discussions related to TPoint modeling mount initialization parking and so on may seem daunting at first and leave you with the feeling the Paramount is a complicated system to use These steps are necessary to achieve consistent accurate pointing from night to night In turn accurate pointing allows enhanced functionality such as scripted operation and imaging without the burden of centering objects Remember if you wish to simply dead reckon for an evening without mapping simply Sync the telescope and go Paramount s pointing will continue to be better than most commercially available robotic telescopes page 32 Paramount User s Guide For the Paramount to point accurately from night to night there are a number of requirements that must be met The amount of time saved when target objects consistently fall into the field of view warrants the additional steps nee
48. personal computer and hardware device requires that the software and hardware be properly configured you cannot establish a link to the telescope we recommend trying the following 1 Checkthe cables to the serial communications port CO M They must be securely plugged in at both ends Paramount User s Guide page 37 2 Checkthe communications port with a different device For example connect a different serial device to the port and insure it is working 3 Make sure the software settings are correct for the communications device Telescope Setup Dialog Problem The Paramount is having difficulty slewing Check the mount balance in both axes If the Paramount stalls or sounds very labored as it is slewing check to make sure both axes are balanced The heavier the load the more critical the balance becomes Even though the control system has sufficient torque for moving heavy loads tracking and slewing may suffer if the system is slewed greatly out of balance Appendix A Preparing the Paramount Pier There are a number of options for attaching the Paramount to the pier Use a pier from Software Bisque which is attached to the ground with 4 bolts Use an existing pier and attach an aluminum Universal Mounting A dapter Use an existing pier and attach a steel mounting adapter from Software Bisque Modify an existing pier to attach the Paramount Wedge by drilling and tapping the required pattern to accept the shoulder b
49. potential mapping targets Also the process of centering and mapping takes seconds allowing you to perform a complete mapping session in under an hour To Prepare For a Mapping Session 1 Usethe TheSky s Time Service or similar application to accurately set your computer s clock 2 Power up the Paramount 3 Make settings to TheSky to aid mapping For example Display only stars to sixth magnitude limiting screen clutter Tum on the constellation lines for easy identification and turn on the Meridian line to stay on one side of the sky while mapping this is most useful for G erman equatorial mounts that must flip when going from the east to west and vice versa To Map an Object 1 Identify a bright stellar object in TheSky 2 Instruct the telescope to slew to the above object by clicking the Slew button on the Object Identification dialog box Make sure the correct object is highlighted in the Object Identification dialog box 3 Usingthe telescope s joystick center the object in your field of view 4 Click the Map button in the Object Identification dialog box Repeat the above procedure for each mapped point For the best pointing results map at least thirty to fifty objects distributed evenly across the entire night sky If you are still working on the polar alignment 20 30 stars with wide distribution should be sufficient Troubleshooting Problem cannot communicate with the P aramount Communication between a
50. re until the star does not drift for several minutes Drift Method Elevation Adjustment Locate a star near the eastern or western horizon about 15 degrees altitude at an hour angle of about 6H If the star is in the east drift to the north means that the polar axis elevation is too high while drift to the south means that polar axis elevation is too low If the star is in the west reverse these Continue making adjustments until the star does not drift for 10 20 minutes Once you are familiar with T Point it provides the best analytical method for determining polar alignment However until a TPoint model is established with all of the terms necessary to achieve good pointing the polar misalignment terms provided by T Point are sometimes misleading A gain using 20 or more stars distributed over at least half of the sky should provide good estimates of the actual polar alignment Using a Calibrated Video Screen Although the adjustment screws on the Paramount wedge provide a reasonably accurate means of making adjustments to the polar axis there are advantages to watching a calibrated video monitor while making small adjustments less than 5 arc minutes The process of loosening the two shoulder bolts for azimuth adjustment or the right ascension housing nuts for altitude adjustment will usually cause a bit of motion of the entire Paramount With video feedback the magnitude and direction of this motion can be noted and then com
51. stars are must be mapped Time required for an experienced user Setting the computer clock Performing a mapping run 20 to 120 minutes using video Performing a short mapping 5to 15 minutes run 2 minutes Why is accurate time important You can achieve very accurate pointing during a single session without having an accurate time base i e within a couple of minutes However TheSky makes decisions on how to slew to various positions in the sky based on the local time O bjects that are to the East of the Meridian require the telescope to be on the West and vice versa except in the below the pole case Always do a quick reality check of the computer s time by comparing the simulated sky to the night sky Paramount User s Guide page 33 A very accurate time base is required when initializing Paramount TheSky uses the computer time to compute accurate Local Sidereal Time LST When a link is established between TheSky and the Paramount that has been homed the LST is used to re establish the synchronization between the Paramount electronic setting circles and the celestial sphere to within a few arc seconds Being able to simply power up and start imaging makes each evening more productive Setting the Computer Clock From TheSky click Data Site Information and select the D ate and Time tab to access the Time Service function of TheSky This is the best method for setting the computer s clock accurately If you cann
52. xfordshire United Kingdom W indows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation M icrosoft W ord is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation All other product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used solely for identification Paramount User s Guide page 3 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 6 LIST OF MPEG FILES LOCATED IN THE BIN FOLDER ON THE PARAMOUNT CD ROM 6 WHAT MAKES PARAMOUNT DIFFERENT 6 UN PACKING AN D ASSEMBLING THE PARAMOUNT GT 1100S 7 STEP 1 UNPACKING THE PARAMOUNT GT 1100S 7 PACKING LIST 7 PARAMOUNT GT 1100S ASSEMBLY AND SETUP 7 STEP 2 ATTACH MOUNT TO PIER 7 STEP 3 ATTACH COUNTERWEIGHT BAR TO DECLINATION HOUSING 10 APPROXIMATING POLAR ELEVATION 11 STEP 4 ADD THE COUNTERWEIGHTS 11 STEP 5 ATTACH THE OPTICAL TUBE ASSEMBLY D ATTACHING THE OPTICAL TUBE ASSEMBLY 13 TUBE RINGS 13 STEP 6 BALANCE THE SYSTEM 15 COUNTERWEIGHTS FOR THE PARAMOUNT GT 1100S WITH SURE GRIPTM 17 STEP 7 CONNECTING THE ELECTRONICS AND POWER 17 FIRST SLEWS 17 WHAT ISHOMING 18 HOMING THE MOUNT USING THE JOYSTICK 18 HOMING THE MOUNT USING THESKY SOFTWARE 18 THE JOYSTICK 19 SOFTWARE BISQUE S MKS 3000 CONTROL SYSTEM 19 THE MKS 3000 CONTROL SYSTEM DIALOG BOX 19 MOUNT TYPE 20 MOUNT ID 20 MAXIMUM SPEED 20 TRACK RATE 20 NON SIDEREAL RATE 20 MINIMUM LIMIT MAXIMUM LIMIT 21 GUIDER SPEED 21 COMPUTE 21 SENSOR HOUR ANGLE AND SENSOR DECLINATION 21 SAVE IN FLASH SINGLE AXIS 21 HOME SINGLE AXIS 21 DE
53. yepiece or CCD to center the object 3 From TheSky click Edit gt Find or click on the object to display the O bject Information dialog for the bright star 4 Click Sync on the Telescope tab of the O bject Information dialog box When the confirmation dialog appears click O K N ote if the Confirm Syncs option on the T elescope Setup dialog is dear you will not be prompted to confirm the synchronization W e strongly recommended that the Confirm Syncs option is always mark ed since accidentally dick ing Sync instead of Map during a mapping run is easy especially at 3 00 a m The Meaning of Sync Once you have synced the telescope TheSky now knows the orientation of the telescope and can ascertain how to correctly slew the telescope to reach any position in the sky without wrapping up cables or running the telescope into the mount This of course also requires the site information is properly entered in TheSky When the Sync is performed the relevant information needed by TheSky to automatically startup on subsequent sessions is stored in the flash memory of the Paramount If a different computer is to be used on subsequent nights you must copy the SKY file to the folder containing the file named SKY EXE Paramount User s Guide page 35 In theory the Paramount is synced once and never again In practice you will be syncing the system from time to time Following are a few examples of changes that will require a Sync
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