PlaneWave Ascension 200HR User manual

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Ascension200HRGermanEquatorialMount
InstructionManual
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Revisiondate:March11,2013
1

Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................4
UnpackingandCrating...................................................................................................................................................5
InstallingthePier...........................................................................................................................................................6
InstallingtheMountonthePierorTripod....................................................................................................................8
InstallingtheTelescopeontheMount........................................................................................................................15
BalancingtheTelescope..........................................................................................................................................17
NoteonusingtheClutches .....................................................................................................................................18
InstallingtheElectronicsandPoweringuptheTelescope ..........................................................................................19
InstallingtheSTIControlSoftware ..............................................................................................................................20
ConfiguringtheSTIControlSoftware ..........................................................................................................................23
TelescopeInfoTab ..................................................................................................................................................24
MiscellaneousTab...................................................................................................................................................25
MountInfoTab .......................................................................................................................................................26
ScopeEncodersTab ................................................................................................................................................26
PolarAlignment,FirstMountModelandSettingtheHomeSwitches........................................................................27
Stepsbeforemakingyourfirstmountmodel .........................................................................................................27
CreatingaMountModelusingPlateSolveXP..........................................................................................................27
MountModel...............................................................................................................................................................36
ThingsThatMayInvalidatetheMountModel........................................................................................................37
CreatingaMountModel .........................................................................................................................................38
UsingtheTelescopeAfterCreatingaMountModel ...................................................................................................44
StartupandshutdownoftheMount ......................................................................................................................44
Controlviaexternalsoftware..................................................................................................................................44
Autoguiding.............................................................................................................................................................44
AppendixA–Dimensions ............................................................................................................................................47
AppendixB–Notesonthehighresolutionaxisencoders ..........................................................................................48
EncoderAdjustment................................................................................................................................................48
AppendixC–RunningCablesThroughtheMount......................................................................................................49
AppendixD–Convertingsexagesimaltodegreesandarcminutes.............................................................................53
AppendixE–GlossaryofTerms ..................................................................................................................................53
AppendixF‐PowerRequirements ..............................................................................................................................54
AppendixG‐ControllingthemountwithTheSky6orTheSkyX..................................................................................55
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ConnectingtoSTIfromTheSkyX .............................................................................................................................55
ConnectingtoSTIfromTheSky6 .............................................................................................................................58
AppendixH‐ConfiguringtheA200forsetupintheSouthernHemisphere ...............................................................60
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3

Introduction
ThankyouforyourpurchaseofthePlaneWaveInstrumentsAscension200(A200)GermanEquatorialMount.The
A200mountisdesignedtogiveoutstandingperformancewithupto275poundsofpayload.Ituses360‐tooth,
12.1inchdiameterRAandDECgears,hasbuilt‐inhomingsensorsoneachaxis,andissuppliedwithhighresolution
encodersdirectlycoupledtoeachaxis.Thehigh‐resolutionencoderscorrectforresidualmechanicalerrors
includingperiodicerroranddeclinationbacklash,therebyenablinglong,unguidedexposures.Thestabletracking
andpreciseoffsettingsupportedbytheencodersalsoallowforverylongguidedexposures.
TheAscension200isintendedforpermanentobservatoriesbutcanalsobeusedforportableapplications.The
mountbreaksdownintothreecomponents,makingthemounttransportableforfieldwork.Theheaviest
componentis96pounds.
ThePlaneWaveInstrumentsAscension200mountsarebeautifullymachinedandfinished,featuringblack
anodizedaluminumwithstainlesssteelcomplementsandfasteners.
EachA200purchaseincludes:
•RightAscensionandDeclinationaxisassemblies
•ControlelectronicsbasedontheSiderealTechnologycontrolsystem
•ControlsoftwareandASCOMdriver
•PlaneWave7.65inchSaddle‐or‐PlaneWavetilt‐inEZSaddleforLosmandystyle3‐inchdovetailplates
•Counter‐weightshaft
•Shippingcrate
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TheUnpackingandCratingsectioncontainsafulllistofeverythingthatcomeswiththemount.
4

UnpackingandCrating
TheAscension200comesinonecrateasshowninFigure1.Alloftheitemsincludedinthecrateareshownin
Figure2.Theseitemsarelistedbelow:
•RAAxisandtheMountBase
•DeclinationAxis
•CounterweightShaft
•CounterweightSafetyStop(A200‐148)
•RABasetoPierBolts(4X3/8‐24x1‐1/2SHC)
•DectoRABolts(4X1/2‐13x1‐1/4BHC)
•4CommunicationCables,2X4pinand2X8pin(graycableswithyellowtips),oneofeachperaxis.
•PlaneWaveSaddle(200919)orEZSaddle(600182)
•SaddlePlateMountingHardware,5x¼‐20x1‐1/8flatheadorEZSaddleMountingHardware,Mounting
Bolts,4X¼‐20x7/8
•24VDCPowerSupply(#2099286)withACpowercord
•4PintoBarrelPowerConnector(adaptsthepowersupplytothemount’spowerinput)
•ElectronicsBoxandUSBCable
•MountingHardwareforelectronicsbox(2X¼‐20x3/8SHCwithplasticthumbscrewand4xplastic
washers)
•HandPaddleandCable
•USBdrivewithSoftware
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Figure1‐ThecratedA200mount
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Figure2‐AllofthemajorcomponentsthatcomewiththeA200mount
InstallingthePier
Wheninstallingthepier,takecaretoensurethattheboltholesonthetopplateofthepierarealignedtowithina
fewdegreesofTrueNorth.ThepolaraxisofthemountwilleventuallyneedtobepreciselyalignedtopointNorth.
ThebaseoftheA200mountcanbeadjustedinazimuthbyupto+/‐7.5degrees,sothepieralignmentwillneedto
bewithinthatrange.
Onetechniqueforaligningthepieristosimplyuseacompass.However,beawarethatMagneticNorthcanbe
offsetquiteabitfromTrueNorthdependingonyourlocation.Themagneticpolealsodriftsovertime.Asofthis
writing,inthecontinentalUnitedStatestheoffsetrangesfromabout+16degreesinWashingtonState,to0
degreesintheMidwest,toabout‐16degreesinMaine.TheoffsetbetweenMagneticNorthandTrueNorth,called
theMagneticDeclination,canbecalculatedusingaserviceontheNOAAwebsite:
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag‐web/#declination
AnothertechniquefordeterminingthedirectionofTrueNorthistohangaplumb‐bobandmarktheshadowthat
iscastbythestringwhentheSunisatitshighestpointinthesky.Thistimeisknownasthetransittimeor"local
noon".ThetransittimeforaparticularlocationanddatecanbecalculatedusingaserviceontheUSNOwebsite:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php
6

ThebaseoftheAscension200has4mountingholesusedtoboltthebaseofthemountontoapierplate.Please
seeFigure3andnotetheorientationofNorthrelativetothemountingholepattern.
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North
Figure3‐ThebaseoftheA200mount.The4cornerholesareusedtoattachthemountto
thepier.Themountingholesareclearanceholesfor3/8"socketheadcapscrews.
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7

InstallingtheMountonthePierorTripod
Themountisratherheavysoitisbesttodotheinstallationinparts.Ittakesatleasttwostrongpeopletoliftthe
Base/RAandtheDeclinationassemblies.Toinstallthemountonthepier:
1. Verifythatthelatitudeadjustmentbarisinstalledinthecorrectpositionforyourcurrentlocation.Refer
toTable1andFigure4.ThisisnormallypresetforyoursitelatitudebyPlaneWaveInstruments,butmay
beadjustedasneeded.
LatitudePosition
0‐20degrees(Requireslowlatitudekit)
20‐35degreesPosition1
35‐50degreesPosition2
50‐65degreesPosition3
65‐80degreesPosition4
80‐90degreesPosition5
Table1‐Latitudeadjustmentbarpositionsforvarioussitelatitudes
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Latitude
adjustment
bar
1
2
3
4
5
Positions
Latitude
lockingknob
Figure4‐Latitudeadjustmentcomponents
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Ifnecessary,thelatitudeadjustmentbarmayberepositionedusingthefollowingprocedure:
a. Loosenthebluelatitudelockingknobsontheeithersideofthemount'ssideplates.
b. RotatetheRAaxisupwardinaltitudesoitisoutoftheway,andtightenthebluealtitudelocking
knobs.MakesuretheknobsarefairlytightsotheRAaxisdoesnotslipdownduringthisprocess.
c. Removethe4socketheadscrews(2oneachside)thatholdthelatitudeadjustmentbarinplace
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d. Slidethelatitudeadjustmentbartotheappropriatepositionforyourlatitude.SeeTable1and
Figure4tofindthecorrectposition.
e. Securethelatitudeadjustmentbarwiththe4socketheadscrews
f. HoldtheRAaxisfirmlywhilelooseningthebluelatitudelockingknobsoneithersideofthe
mount'ssideplates.GentlylowertheRAaxisinaltitudeuntilthereartopsurfacerestsagainst
thebottomofthelatitudeadjustmentscrew.
2. PlacethemountbaseontopofthepiermountingplateasshowninFigure5.NOTE:Besuretotighten
thebluelatitudelockingknobstokeeptheRAaxisfrommovingwhenyouliftit.Itiseasytosmash
yourfingers!
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Latitudelockingknob
Figure5‐Placingthemountbaseontothepier
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3. Usethe4x3/8‐24socketheadcapscrews(provided)tosecurethebaseoftheA200tothemounting
plateofthepier.UseanAllenwrenchtomakesurethesearetight.
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4. Adjustthemountlatitude(i.e.polaraltitude)toapproximatelymatchyoursitelatitude.Tomeasurethe
approximatealtitudeangleofthemount,placeaninclinometeralongthetopoftheRAaxis,asshownin
Figure6.Ifyoudonothaveaninclinometeronhand,therearemanyinclinometer/bubblelevelappsfor
iPhoneandAndroidphonesthatcanmeasureinclinationwithreasonableaccuracy.
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Inclinometer
Latitudeadjustment
knob
Latitudelockingknob
Figure6‐Refiningthemountlatitudeadjustment
TheangleofinclinationoftheRAaxisshouldroughlyequalyoursitelatitude.Toadjusttheinclination:
a. Loosenthelatitudelockingknobs(oneoneachsideofthemount)
b. Usingalargewrench,turnthelatitudeadjustmentknobclockwiseorcounterclockwisetoraise
orlowerthepolaraxisofthemount.
c. Oncethemeasuredmountlatitudenearlyequalsthesitelatitude,tightenbothlatitudelocking
knobs.
ThelatitudeadjustmentwillberefinedfurtherinthePolarAlignmentstep.Notethatthisadjustmentwill
besomewhatmoredifficultoncethemountisfullyloaded.SeeFigure9foranillustrationofhowtolift
uponthecounterweightbartoeasetheloadwhilemakingfutureadjustments.
10

5. LoosentheRightAscensionclutchknobsandrotatetherightascensionaxissothatthealignmentpinsare
roughlyhorizontal.SeeFigure7.Tightentheclutchknobswhenfinished,orelsetheaxismayslipduring
installationoftheDeclinationAxis!Youonlyneedtohandtightentheseknobs.
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RightAscensionclutchknobs
Alignmentpins
Figure7‐LocationoftheRightAscensionclutchknobsandalignmentpins
6. InstalltheDeclinationaxis,afterverifyingthattheRAclutchknobsareatleasthandtight.Liftthe
declinationaxiswithatleasttwopeople,asitissomewhatawkwardtohandle.YoucanseeinFigure8
howtwopeoplecanliftit.TherearetwostainlesssteelalignmentpinsonthefaceoftheRAaxis,as
showninFigure7,whichwillguidetheDeclinationaxisintopositionandholdtheaxisinplacewhileyou
gettheboltstosecureit.Oncemounted,securetheaxiswith4x1/2"‐13buttonheadcapscrews
(provided).

11


Figure8‐TypicalinstallationoftheDeclinationaxis


Figure9‐Ifyouhavetoadjustthelatitudewithafullyloadedmount,youcanhaveonepersonliftthe
counterweightbarwhileyouareadjustingthelatitudeknob.Thismakestheadjustmentmucheasier.

7. InstallthecounterweightshaftasshowninFigure10.Itisthe20”longstainlesssteelshaftanditthreads
intothebottomoftheDeclinationaxis.Alsoinstallthe8”extensionshaftifyouhaveit.SeeTable2
belowtodetermineifyouneedthe8”extensionbar.
12


Figure10‐Installingthecounterweightshaft
8. InstallthecounterweightsasshowninFigure11.Ifyouhaveacombinationof18lband40lb
counterweights,youshouldputthelighter18lbcounterweightonfirst.RefertoTable2todeterminethe
numberofcounterweightsneededtobalanceselecttelescopes.

IMPORTANT:CounterweightsshouldalwaysbeinstalledonamountBEFOREputtingthetelescopeon
themount.YouneverwantthemounttobetopheavybecausetheRAAxiscansuddenlyrotatedueto
gravity.Thiscanresultinpersonalinjuryaswellasdamagetothemount,telescope,andimaging
equipment.
TelescopeCounterweights8"extensionbar?
CDK247X40lbscounterweightsYes
CDK203X40lbscounterweightsYes
CDK172x40lbscounterweightsand1x18lbsNo
CDK12.51x40lbscounterweightYes
Table2‐ListofthecounterweightsrequiredforvariousCDKtelescopes.
13


Figure11‐Installingthecounterweights
9. InstallthecounterweightsafetystopasshowninFigure12.Thispreventsthecounterweightsfrom
accidentallyslidingoffthecounterweightshaftandcausinginjury.

Figure12‐Installingthecounterweightsafetystop
14

InstallingtheTelescopeontheMount
1. Runmotorandsensorcablesthroughthemount.SeeAppendixC
2. Runtheaccessorycablesyouwillbeusingthroughthemount.SeeAppendixC.Thisneedstobedone
priortoinstallingthePlaneWaveSaddlePlateortheEZSaddle.Examplesofcablesyoumaywanttorun
include:USBcables,powersupplycables,andserialcables.YoumightalsowishtorunanACextension
cordtosupplypowertocameras,filterwheels,andtheEFAkit.Finally,youmightfinditconvenientto
installaUSBhubonthebackofthetelescope.
3. InstallthePlaneWaveSaddlePlate(Figure13)ortheEZSaddle(Figure14)dependingonwhichoneyou
ordered.

Figure13‐PlaneWave7.6"saddleinstalledFigure14‐PlaneWaveEZSaddleinstalled


4. InstalltheCDKtelescopeontothemountasfollows.
a) TightentheRAandDecclutchknobs
b) Loosenthesaddleboltsgenerouslytoeasilyallowthetelescopetoslidein
c) Settheleadingedgeofthedovetailintothesaddle
d) Slidethetelescopeintothesaddleandtightenthesaddlebolts.SeeFigure15.
e) Installstopscrew(s)ifavailable.SeeFigure16.
15



Figure15‐InstallationofaCDK17ontoanA200mountusingaPlaneWave7.6"Saddle


Figure16‐Oncethetelescopeisinstalled,youcanplacea¼‐20SHCscrewintheholeattheendofthedovetail
clampasasafetystop.Dependingonthebalanceofthetelescope,thisholemaynotalwaysbeexposed.
16

BalancingtheTelescope
Afterthetelescopeisinstalled,youwillneedtobalancethesystem.
ThefirststepistobalancetheDeclinationaxis.
1. Startwiththetelescope/mountsystemintheconfigurationwherethecounterweightsarepointeddown
andtheopticaltubeispointedalongthepolaraxis,asshowninFigure17.Loosenthetwoblueclutch
knobsonthedeclinationaxis,asindicatedinFigure17.Besuretoholdthetelescopeincaseitisgrossly
outofbalance!Withtheclutchloosened,rotatethetelescopetowardthehorizon.
2. Inthisposition,notewhenyoureleasetheopticaltubewhetherthefrontrotatesdownorup.Ifthefront
rotatesdownthenthetelescopeisfrontheavy.Ifthefrontofthetelescoperotatesup,thenitisback
heavy.Ifthetelescopeisfrontheavythenitneedstobemovedbackinthesaddleplate.Ifthetelescope
isbackheavythenitneedstomoveforwardinthesaddleplate.
3. Tomovethetelescopeinthesaddleplate:
a. PutthetelescopebackinthepositionshowninFigure17
b. Havetwopeopleholdthebackofthetelescope
c. Loosenthesaddleplateknobstoreleasethetelescope
d. Slowlyallowthetelescopetoslidebackorpushthetelescopeforwarddependingwhichwayyou
needtomoveit
e. Tightenthesaddleplateknobs.
4. Repeatsteps1,2,and3untilthedeclinationaxisisbalanced.

Declination
clutchknob
RAclutch
knob
Figure17‐TheAscension200mountinthestartingpositionfortestingbalance
17

NowtheRAaxisneedstobebalanced.
BEFOREPROCEEDING,VERIFYTHATTHECOUNTERWEIGHTSHAVEBEENPROPERLYINSTALLED!
1. Whileholdingthecounterweightshaft,loosentheRAclutchknobs.Thecounterweightshaftislongand
givesyoualotofleveragetoeasilyhandleminorimbalances.Holdontoitincasethetelescopeistop
heavyandwantstofall.RotatetheRAAxissothecounterweightshaftispointedtowardthehorizon.
2. Noticewhetherthemountwantstorotatesothatthetelescopegoesdownorup.Ifthetelescopeside
goesdownthenthetelescopesideisheavyandthecounterweightsneedtobemovedoutordownon
thecounterweightshaft.Ifthetelescoperotatesup,thenthecounterweightsneedtobemovedupon
thecounterweightshaft.
3. Whenthecounterweightshaftisinthehorizontalpositionlikethis,youcanloosenthecounterweight
knobsandnothavetoworryaboutthemslidingduetogravityandsmashingyourfingers.Thatreally
hurts,sowerecommendavoidingit.Whileinthehorizontalposition,loosenthecounterweightlock
knobsandslidetheweightsintheappropriatedirectiontobalancethetelescopesystem.Whenthe
telescopeisbalanced,themountwillnotrotatewiththeclutchesdisengaged,butshouldglidesmoothly
ineitherdirectionwhenyoulightlypushorpullontheendofthecounterweightbar.
NoteonusingtheClutches
Clutchesareconvenientforbalancingthetelescopesystemandquicklypushingthetelescopetoaparticular
orientationformaintenance.Clutchesarealsonicebecausetheyallowthedrivetoslipharmlesslyintheeventof
hittinganobstruction.Theclutchknobsshouldonlybefingertightened.Donotuseatooltotightenthe
clutches.Whentheclutchknobsarefingertight,theywillnotslipduringnormalslewing,buttheywillstillbe
allowedtoslipshouldthetelescoperunintoanobstruction.
18

InstallingtheElectronicsandPoweringuptheTelescope
TheAscension200mountusesa
SiderealTechnologyServoIIDualAxis
Telescopecontroller.Wepackagethe
electronicswithacustomcaseand
cover,andweusehigh‐quality
connectorsandcabling.
TheelectronicsboxasseeninFigure18
hasmotorandencoderconnectorsfor
boththeRAandDecaxes,aUSBport,a
serialport,ahandpaddleport,a24VDC
powerinputport,alimitswitchinput
port,andanautoguiderrelayport.
Theelectronicsboardattachestoa
bracketmountedundertheazimuth
polaralignmentadjustmentonthebase
ofthemount,asseeninFigure19.The
electronicscaseisattachedwithtwo¼‐
20x3/8”SHCscrewswiththumbknobs.Donotuseboltslongerthan3/8”astheycanhittheelectronicsinside
thecase.Therearealso4nylonwashers.Oneachside,onewashergoesbetweenthecaseandthebracketwhile
theotherwashergoesbetweentheboltheadandthebracket.
Figure18‐A200mountelectronicsbox

Figure19‐BracketformountingtheelectronicscaseFigure20‐Attachingtheelectronics

19

InstallingtheSTIControlSoftware
TheA200mountisoperatedviatheSTI(SiTechInterface)controlsoftware.TheUSBflashdrivethatcomeswith
themountincludesthismanualandthesoftwareneededtocontroltheA200mountorothermountsthatusethe
PlaneWavecontroller.Figure21showsthecontentsoftheUSBflashdrive.

Figure21‐ContentsoftheUSBmemorystick
Hereisanoverviewofthestepsthatneedtobedonefortheinstallation.
1. Install.NETFramework3.5SP1(ifnotalreadyinstalledonyourcomputer)
2. InstalltheSTIcontrolsoftware
3. InstalltheAPMcatalogforPlateSolve
4. InstalltheASCOMPlatform(ifnotalreadyinstalled)
5. IfusingTheSky,loadtheASCOMpluginforTheSky(ifnotalreadyinstalled)

1‐Install.NETFramework3.5SP1(ifnotalreadyinstalled)

BoththeSTIcontrolsoftwareandtheASCOMPlatform6requirethe.NETFrameworkversion3.5tobeinstalledin
ordertooperate.

NOTE‐Windows7includes.NET3.5bydefault,sothisstepisunnecessaryoncomputersrunningWindows7or
later.Additionally,manycomputersrunningWindowsXPorWindowsVistawillalreadyhave.NETinstalled.Ifyou
believethat.NETmayalreadybeinstalled,simplyproceedtostep2.TheSTIinstallerwillalertyouif.NET3.5isnot
properlyinstalled,andwilloffertodirectyoutotheMicrosoftwebsitewhereyoucandownloadtheinstaller.

Thefull.NET3.5SP1installerisincludedontheUSBdiskthatisdistributedwiththeA200mount.Youmayalso
download.NET3.5from:

http://www.microsoft.com/en‐us/download/details.aspx?id=22


2‐InstalltheSTIcontrolsoftware

TheinstallerfortheSTIcontrolsoftwareisincludedontheUSBdiskthatisdistributedwiththeA200mountunder
thename"Setup_STI_1.x.x"



20