Sky Sim, PHD2 Guiding with a Real Mount
Sky simulator for Ascom using an artificial sky or online DSS images.
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I havejust started using SkySim with NINA and PHD2 guiding and my real Wave 150i mount. Since most of the guiding errors are due to the characertistics of the mount, is guiding with Sky Sim and my mount accurate to let me make mount adjustments in PHD2 that would translate to improved guiding when I use the mount under real imaging conditions?
Unfortunately it would not match. The unrest of the mechanical drive movement is not in the loop. You can get very familiar with the tuning, but once you image the real sky it will behave differently. So tuning factors achieved in simulation will be different then what you will need in a real session.
For a real mount you will need setting, something like 3 to 4 seconds exposure, gain 50 to 70%, hysteresis 50%. But every mount will be different. Most important is to limit gain such that it doesn't start to oscillate. Keep an eye on the pulses to the mount. They should fade away after a disturbance.
If RMS error in guiding is around 1" then your good.
Well, I may have been too optimistic. In NINA, selected an object in Sky Atlas , imaged and plate solved OK. Started PHD2 guiding and I thought everything was working I went to lunch. I came back and realized the mount didnt seem to have moved and when I checked the Sky Sim log, it shows that SkySim was giving NINA/PHD2 the exact same image for almost 90 minutes. NINA said tracking was on the whole time. How does SkySim find out how the mount moved during tracking? How can I determine whether the problem is?
Here is the log snapshot.