One of the RA limits that have been set in EQMOD has probably been reached.
Solutions:
The .ini file is typically stored in directory (folder):
\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\EQMOD
USERNAME is your windows login username). The Application Data folder has hidden attributes . This means you might not be able to see the folder. Set your explorer options to show hidden files.
You can also just enter
%appdata%\eqmod
in a windows explorer address bar, or
%appdata%\eqmod_sim
for the simulator ini's.
There are several .ini files.
ALIGN.in
EQMOD.ini
EQMOSAIC.ini
EQTOUR.ini
JOYSTICK.ini
The DxSA/DxSB data fields
Both EQMOD and HC use the same method of parking.
In HC mode, the mount initializes the ring counter values and assumes the home position (the same position manually pointed by the user to NCP upon power up). EQMOD also uses the same position as the home position. User also has to manually point the mount to the home position which is also NCP. The only condition for the usage to be interchangeable (EQMOD vs HC) is to position the worm gear to the same spot where it was found at power up prior to shutting down and this is through the park to home position found both on the HC and the EQMOD driver.
However, if you use EQMOD's user-defined park position (the HC doesn't have this feature in some versions), and then attempt to use the HC after, user will have to disengage the clutch and manually point by hand the mount back to the home position. This disengaging the clutch alone will invalidate any alignment/PEC data on the EQMOD side.
In short, to be able to use both method (HC and EQMOD) interchangeably and at the same time preserve the alignment data, you need to use only the park-to-home feature and not EQMOD's custom park-to-user-define-position.
You can use EQMOD's custom park-to-user-define-position only if you use EQMOD entirely for all mount operations.
Unclamping will not move the ring counters. However you will lose alignment if you loosen the RA/DEC clutches. This can be fixed by:
Alignment does not alter the home or park position as the driver uses hard coded park positions which is not affected by any alignment/sync data. This applies to all the park positions including user defined park positions.
When you unpark you can choose to return to a position (see the unpark options). The position is a fixed position in the sky not an object's current location. Even if you parked and unparked within a short period of time, you would find that the object will have moved from the park position that you defined.
If you have a mount setup with invalid park data, you can get a fresh start by the following procedure:
(You will know that you have invalid RA/DEC park ring counter values if you execute a “Park to Home” and mount does not end up at the home position)
As long as the mount is still powered, you can re-connect EQMOD and the ring counter data will remain intact. The ring counters are being maintained by the stepper board. You will lose the ring counter data only if you remove power from the mount without parking it.
Assuming that the mount is polar aligned and there is minimal cone error, choose any star from eastern or western side at least 45 degrees from the ground.
No, it will not lose alignment. Position computation is time based. If you stop tracking and re-initiate tracking 30mins later, the driver will simply compute the new position and apply the GOTO.
FAQs
No, it will not lose alignment. (see the reference to the [Stop] button above). Simply move the mount away from the limit using slew controls and restart tracking.
Q: If I start an alignment and goto a star and accept (without any adjustment) the position, the DEC offset is always 0 (as expected) but the RA offset is not 0.
Mon: That is the difference in microsteps from the computed ra/dec ring counter values of the alignment star goto using the ra/dec equatorial catalog coordinates and the ring counters that is read on the simulator. Ideally the discrepancy should be less than 50 if you are using the physical mount (crystal based counter) than the simulator (pc based sidereal counter).
Q: When I try connecting my planetarium program to EQMOD the connection fails. If I attempt to connect to a non-existent serial port (say, COM9), the EQMOD config window pops up very briefly and disappears. When I attempt to connect to the correct port (verified through Windows XP's HW manager), the window pops up, but only displays its outline… hangs there for some time and then disappears. What's happening.
A: When you see the EQASCOM “ghost” interface appearing, it means that EQASCOM has found a valid COM port and is trying (in vain) to contact the mount. When you try with an invalid com port EQASCOM quickly detects this so can close much quicker (no comms timeouts or retries etc). So, it would appear that you do not have a com connection to the mount or you have not used the correct port settings… typically 9600, 8-1-N, no flow control.
Drift compensation is needed for the motor control boards V1.06 or later. For some reason these boards do not track accurately when issued the same commands as earlier boards and so this additional parameter was introduced. There is a “driftmeter” application
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/EQMOD/files/A EQMOD Release/EQASCOM/RA Drift Meter/
that allows you to measure any tracking drift but others have found that for V1.06 boards a figure of 3 is required, for earlier & later boards set the compensation to 0.
The tracking must be stopped and restarted for the compensation value to take effect. This is because the compensation is applied directly to the message used to start tracking.
The Auto RA Sync check box (located in the “Drift Compensation” panel)is actually rather important . If checked then EQASCOM will periodically resynch its position based upon a poll of the the motor position. If Left unchecked then such a resynch only occurs on slew completion ant whilst the mount is tracking EQASCOM calculates its own 'emulated' position.
If you want to test for RA drift then you must have the Auto RA Sync check box checked. You are advised to always leave the Auto RA Sync box checked.
There was once a theory that polling the mount for motor position could itself lead to a tracking error and this why the option to remove polling by via the checkbox was added. In fact this polling/tracking problem is likely just a red herring with the real problem being the drift associated with V1.06 boards. This option has to do with how EQASCOM determines the stepper motor positions while tracking. If it is unchecked EQASCOM simply estimates the position based upon the last known position (as read following a slew or goto) and the elapsed time. With the option checked EQASCOM will regularly poll the mount for the current position and between polls estimate the position.
Once EQMOD has been connected to the mount click the [Display +] button located just below the ASCOM logo. The message centre will appear. Clicking the [Display +] button repeatedly cycles through several displays but you want the message centre for the version information.
The information displayed may be something like
EQ Modded Mount found at COM1: 9600
Mount Version : 000601 DLL Version: 000204
The mount version is displayed in reversed order. In the above example the mount version is 1.06.00