ASI120MM and Autoguiding Setup

astrohound24

I have an older Celestron CI700 with an ST4 port in the hand controller. I want to use my 120mm to autoguide but I cant seem to get any of the drivers to download. They keep giving an error message of failing to download due to needing ASCOM 6.0. I just simply want to be able to use PHD2 with the 120mm and guide via my ST4 port. Please help. Thanks!

Greg

Sam@ZWO

Hi Greg

it's very easy to use with PHD2

just select "ZWO ASI Cameras" on camera menu

and "on camera" on mount menu

no ASCOM driver needed

bigol

Hello, Sam.

Why you did not react?

"One more bug.

If you use ascom driver, pixel size in FITS header is correct - 3.75mic.

But if you use Video DS mode (in Maxim DL) - pixel size in FITS header is not correct - 5.59...microns.

So, when you use ASI120mm as a guide camera in Video DS mode - it doesn't work correct, because pixel size is not correct and calibration is not correct, so you guiding will be bad.

Sam, please, correct pixel size in video driver ASI120mm and may be other cameras too."

And Sam, will your ASCOM driver work in bin 2x2 mode for guiding? Why this mode doesn't support now?

Sam@ZWO

bigol wrote:
Hello, Sam.

Why you did not react?

"One more bug.

If you use ascom driver, pixel size in FITS header is correct - 3.75mic.

But if you use Video DS mode (in Maxim DL) - pixel size in FITS header is not correct - 5.59...microns.

So, when you use ASI120mm as a guide camera in Video DS mode - it doesn't work correct, because pixel size is not correct and calibration is not correct, so you guiding will be bad.

Sam, please, correct pixel size in video driver ASI120mm and may be other cameras too."

And Sam, will your ASCOM driver work in bin 2x2 mode for guiding? Why this mode doesn't support now?

sorry, did not see this

the pixel size is not correct if you run the camera in video driver mode

because there is not such interface

but guide should still works well even it don't know the pixel size

Admin

Hey Sam and everyone, sorry been away a little while. I got it to work just as you indicated. I do have one question though. In PHD2, my "Camera Dialog" box is disabled. I can adjust gain in the brain icon and the exposure duration on the regular PHD2 screen, but I can't access any other camera controls. I realize that may be a question for PHD2 but I just wanted to see what all of you thought on that, and if anyone else out here has encountered this? Maybe as long as I can access the gain. If I connect as a WDM camera it lets me access that dialog box but then it won't let me connect to my mount so I need to use the "ASI setting" for sure, but still with that option it doesn't give me camera dialog access :(

Thanks for all of your help and info. I am going to make this work somehow. I am real close.

Sam@ZWO

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kmmathews

I used PHD2 and set up just as indicated by ZWO. I was successful in adjusting the search reagion size and star mass to get through the calibration. The software performed great. I didn't not have the Cam Dialog ability but used the brain to adjust the gain. The program showed a significant backlash or hysteresis in the Declination axis, which I will try and fix. I'm using Wndows 10, ASI174MC, on a MSI G72 Quad Core with USB 3 connection

Thanks for this post it helped

Kevin

ncwolfie

Weird because I can't even get through a calibration with a 120mm-s in PHD2 because the SNR will not go above 4 for more than a second. Utter crap.