PHD2 Guiding - Setup, Troubleshooting & Tips

[@ikbenvoetbal]

My father studied for more than a decade to get his PhD. Never knew what it stood for till today. Thanks Dylan!

[@cryptojihadi265]

I never understood why people make such a big deal out of getting their PHD either. I downloaded mine and had it installed in mere minutes!

[@WilliamSmith-gf3nt]

Every once in a while I will find a video that provides really good information that is presented slow enough to understand. This video is just one of the very few that do that. I received my ASI220MM-Mini 18-days ago. In the past 18-days, tonight will be the second night without clouds, rain, etc. Setting up PHD2 has been quite a problem for me; but, your video is extremely helpful. I was very weary over what to do with that ST4 cable. Now, I must tell you that I will not torch it, but I will put it back in the box and leave it. Thank you for a very clear and informative video presented at an appropriate pace for mortals to understand.

[@DylanODonnell]

Thx Will!

[@Roymac01]

Finally! Someone explains PHD2 guiding in an easily understandable fashion! Thanks Dylan!

[@frl8031]

Awesome! PLEASE do some tutorials on the actual workings of PHD2. It's sorely needed on youtube. I haven't seen an adequate one at all. Tutes on aggression, MinMo etc would be very useful for a lot of us

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks Bumpkin! I may do a deeper dive on the finer details at some point!

[@hairballusa]

As usual, well done, and I love your humorous cut-aways! So sorry to hear about the loss of marketing status. Yes, the corporations don't care about status, so much as "What have you done for us lately?"

[@russ8001]

Thanks. Very informative. I feel dumb asking this but am sort of overwhelmed. I have a Celestron 8 inch telescope (Schmidt-Cassegrain) and it came with a beefy tripod and the CGEM DX Computerized mount. I built a permanent mount and have my telescope using this mount without tripod and it is fairly well-polar aligned. I tried PHD before version 2 and noticed that I got about the same quality prime focus photos with or without it...not trying to criticize PHD either because I really didn't know what I was doing ( I am not even convinced that signals were even being sent to the mount.) Anyway, the way I had it set up was the guide camera (CCD), in the guide scope, was connected to my laptop via a USB cable directly. Then a cable (4 pin phone-looking cable much like the one you exploded) is connected from bottom of Nextar hand-controller to a serial-to-USB cable then to my laptop. To shorten previous sentence, the hand controller was connected to my laptop. If I understand correctly, you are advising against this in first part of your video, right? I understand that you are saying that there is no need for the mount to talk directly to the guide scope. In that case, how do I get the mount to talk directly to my computer? Specifically, what physical connection should I use? Is the correct way to physically send the mount ASCOM information to my computer via the hand controller, as I was doing it previously? Or, is there a way to connect the mount directly to my computer? The mount has two unused ports (look like phone cable female ports); one labeled AUX, the other labeled AUTO GUIDE. If you have time, I sure would appreciate any insight you have, assuming I wasn't too long-winded.

[@jabonet]

There are uses for an st4 port. I am programing an arduino to move the telescope in an spiral way to help my locate objects when the go-to leaves me almost but not quite there. The nice thing is that there is no software or connection to the computer. Just push a button to start the spiral and push it again when you see what you are looking for.

[@frankbraker]

This was very helpful. When in doubt, swap cables, I just learned.

[@martynh5410]

I’m just about to figure all of this out, having now wedged my Evolution 8 EdgeHD, added a guidescope and cam, loaded PHD2 and ASCOM. Lots to go wrong but if it all goes right, I’ll be getting some longer exposure images soon! Thanks Dylan!

[@paulwilson8367]

This newbie only considered guiding after the Aussie dude said it was necessary for dithering. Until today, I had heard of PHD but didn't know it was specifically for guiding. Hopefully now, I will be "locked on". This was a helpful video.

[@timothylindley1530]

Very helpful, I'm brand new to guiding and understand how it works, I need help with getting setup and using the software. Glad I watched because I would have been hooking my guide camera right to the mount lol. Thanks again!

[@SHAMUS991]

Thanks for doing this. I like the way you have taken time to structure your session and used the 13 minutes to share a lot of tips to get me going.

[@DylanODonnell]

Hey thanks Sean I'm glad it helped!

[@sebrofseven]

Just watched your video. Brand new here, williams optics zenithstar73 doublet, asi120mm mini guide camera, zwo 30 x 130 guide scope, exos 2 pmc-eight mount. Zwo asi 294mc-pro dedicated camera. All brand new. Your video was extremely easy to follow, and I thank you immensely for providing it! Cant wait to experiment tonight with PHD2. Nice logo by the way!

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks mike!

[@DonGoddardAllAboutPaint]

I've bee avoiding PHD2 for a while now. But I just got it all working, thanks to you! No more trying to keep my target in the center of the shot. Thank you and I'll tag you in my pics when I get them finished.

[@tomthumb2057]

Sawwwweeeet! you would believe how many videos I sat through that didn't cover this method! Thank you and Cheers! From Kansas in the US...

[@larrypatterson3957]

Thanks greatly! I have a Meade w/ Starlock scope. I have had nothing but guiding issues. Mount is polar aligned with Sharcap and scope is balanced in any position. Taking Starlock off tomorrow and trying PhD2. I am interested in seeing if it makes a difference. I was going to build an ST-4 cable so thanks for that tip! Enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing!

[@JoeBob79569]

I just got my guide scope and camera a few days ago, and I'm really glad I didn't burn my ST4 cable because I was constantly getting all sorts of different errors when just using the USB, I was getting pulseguiding errors, timeout, conversation, telling me my cables were faulty, and whoknowswhat, with the mount jumping all over the place. And when I connected on-camera with the ST4 cable it all worked reasonably well. I'm sure it was just me doing something stupid, but I'll probably wait a while before burning my ST4 cable.

[@DylanODonnell]

Maybe a traffic problem on the usb? Common when using a hub with a camera on it. Make sure your cameras are plugged direct to pc.

[@JoeBob79569]

@@DylanODonnell I don't use a hub, but now that you mention it, I think one of the USB ports on my laptop is shared with the internal Wi-Fi adapter because the Wi-Fi totally disappeared a few times after I installed USB drivers on that port. And I had to totally uninstall them to get the wifi back. And I'm controlling the mount wirelessly with the Synscan app so it might actually be an "internal" hub. The laptop is kind of crappy though, only a single USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 port, but I have a mini pc on the way so I'll see how it goes when that arrives, and then I can get a bonfire setup for that ST4 cable..

[@DarkEnergyStudios]

I figured if I came back and watched this you'd explain my "classic mistake" of thinking "Yeah, total RMS error of 0.01! Amazing!" Guiding on a hot pixel! Excellent video Dylan.

[@DylanODonnell]

Haha we’ve all been there! Thanks!

[@dingdong1009]

Maaaaate!! I've been using PHD since about August 2018. Wish I seen this video then! I'm about to go and burn a guide cable - just as soon as I've finished imaging Rho Ophiuchi - cheers

[@nancyricigliano19]

Dylan, I'm finally ready to follow you on my journey of deep sky objects.. This video looks awesome. I just need clean skies. I can't wait

[@DylanODonnell]

Nancy Ricigliano thanks for watching a few of my videos Astromom!

[@DennisCarmody]

Thanks for the video. Every guide I find is either too simple or too complicated. Yours seems right down the middle. I’ve gotten it working before, but with your help I think I actually understand what it’s doing now. Side note: don’t destroy that ST4 cable! It’s great for tracking a planet using Firecapture. Seems to work much better in that application than ASCOM guiding. At least for me!

[@DylanODonnell]

Dennis C hehe cheers Dennis! It might have been a little theatrical .. heh. Probably good to have a cable spare in case of emergencies or for planet tracking as you suggest!

[@felipemacauliffe1528]

Great presentation ... Thank you so much for your time and spirit to share your experience and knowledge with everyone around. All the best, clear skies and shine on from Chile.

[@chidoripillow]

Sweet video loving the cuts and added comedy bits you're getting so much better at making these videos

[@DylanODonnell]

Eddy D'silva hehe thanks cuz .. little more effort but also a good dose of quick and dirty just using iMovie because I’m still very time poor 😆

[@mike64646]

So if I do not connect to the mount via the camera, then how do i connect the laptop directly to the mount? Unless i missed it, you skipped that part. I was looking for it around 4:35- 4:40? Celestron AVX.....

[@ryanhogg6556]

The cam is connected to the laptop and the mount is connected to laptop so you shouldn't need to connect the cam to the mount then you open PhD open connect the first one to connect is your cam then connect mount with you ascom drivers done m8

[@mike64646]

@@ryanhogg6556 You missed the point of the question, which is HOW to connect the laptop to the mount? Physically.

[@ryanhogg6556]

@@mike64646 your AVX hand controller his a post for RS232 usb leads if you don't have the lead order one from eBay or Amazon .but you need to download ascom drivers and EQMOD

[@ryanhogg6556]

@@mike64646 if you bought you mount buy it should come with the phone to VGA lead so all you need to buy is the VGA to usb from eBay

[@mike64646]

@@ryanhogg6556 my hand controller does not have an RS232 connection block. It has a connection port similar to that which is used for a telephone connection, but a standard phone cord does not and will not work because to wiring is not the same as that for a phone.

[@alcopa1fan]

Dylan, I would love to get rid of the telephone cable from my camera to the mount, but my mount just does not want to work with Ascom software. My mount is a CEM 40 from Ioptron and even the manufacturer can't help, can you? Bill

[@jonathanshinn4755]

Thanks, this was very useful, despite using PHD2 for a couple of years I hadn’t upgraded to the latest version and I’ve had the ST4 cable plugged in. I also aligned the guidescope with the OTA which seemed to improve things.

[@DylanODonnell]

Yeh to be honest I unlearned a few things while putting the video together heh.

[@doccortex1203]

Might be an idea to update with the multi-star guiding function - I'm still getting into guiding, but wow, what a difference

[@tommccrorie8022]

This is great to know, About to take delivery of a little QHY5 guide cam, so this has been priceless, D-dawg!

[@DylanODonnell]

Good luck!

[@tommccrorie8022]

@@DylanODonnell What could possibly go wrong, LOL!

[@jimmydingo4752]

Apologies for what may be old news, but I've been looking for minimum, or recommended computer specs for use specifically with the Star Adventure and unable to locate. Appreciate what you do and enjoying my hobby as never before. Thank you.

[@chappy6817]

Very refreshing to see an Aussie making such high quality tutorials. I have found your videos to be some of the most informative and entertaining on this subject so far. Can I ask where you got your observatory dome from?

[@DylanODonnell]

Hey thanks Jarred! 🇦🇺 I was lucky to get a second hand one by asking the authorised vendor here in aus (link below). I got an email from them recently saying they have one unclaimed from a recent shipment which might be going cheap, not sure. Otherwise it's a 3-4 month wait between shipments (they aren't small!) from Canada. I'm thinking of changing the top dome to something more automated but can reuse the walls which is good. www.telescopes-astronomy.com.au/skyshed_pod_astronomical_observatory.htm

[@chappy6817]

Thanks for the reply mate.

[@TheButzkrieg]

Dylan, great Video. Just ordered a ASI120mm and going to start auto guiding. Great information, it was very helpful!

[@DylanODonnell]

TheButzkrieg that’s great to hear ! Let me know how you go :)

[@JustJamie-h3l]

the north south tab in phd is for declination direction control , it has nothing to do with hemisphere , it makes phd use the dec motor more like ra tracking, so if you choose north it will only move the dec motor in that direction, this eliminates the backlash issues a lot of people have ..

[@kenn7915]

Thanks for the video, I recently bought a Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 tracker. I am looking forward to playing with it. This will help me with long exposures at 600mm.

[@jonrobinson1026]

Great tutorial. Thanks. So, i want to look at the Orion Nebula(complete beginner with new gear and no idea) Find Orion first and then lock onto a star near Orion with PHD. 2. Thanks v much

[@danno1374]

Thanks for clearing this issue up for me! Was wondering why I shouldn’t just connect straight to the mount. Finally found it in this video. New subscriber!

[@DylanODonnell]

Oh good! Glad it helped :)

[@trainingwithlions]

I wish you explained how to connect the computer / mount / camera. You said destroy the ST4 cable, but surely the auto-guider is connected to something (mount, computer, ?) Which one and how / what cable. Thanks. Good video.

[@dankahraman354]

I really appreciated this video. I have ES EXOS2Goto mount and I was ready to use the ST4 cable, with the "on camera option" the guiding part with PhD2. However since there is already a "bridge" between the mount and the USB port on the computer and since in the set-up you are selecting the guide camera and the mount in PhD2 there is no reason to use the ST4 cable. Thank you very much for clarifying this topic.

[@scalemodelenthusiast1633]

Hey Dylan, Do you thing you could do a quick video that explains the setup of Dithering in PHD2 and what I should know so that I can set it up correctly ? I'm a newbie and trying to set up a new rig. Thanks!

[@jero184]

Finally a real tutorial video for starters thank you

[@DylanODonnell]

Glad you liked it!

[@OptiquevideoFPV]

Impressive how you helped design this app!! Quick question, Im new to this, I have a normal star tracker (star adventurer), so I'm using that St4 cable. Once I selecte my star in phd2, my autoguiding button doesn't turn green and can't press it. Any idea why? Thanks

[@gavinlynch1048]

Hi Dylan, thanks for all your videos. I’m new to the hobby and they’ve been a huge help. I just bought a CGX Mount and a ASI071MC camera, I’m waiting on a ZWO 30F4 guide scope and ASI174MM guide camera to arrive which I’m hoping will be this week. I’ve never tried guiding before and I just want to make sure I’m on the right track. To connect it all up do I connect the main camera and guide camera direct to the laptop via USB and then connect the mount to the laptop via USB also? So just 3 USB cables all straight into the laptop?

[@GeraldGrech]

Thanks for the info. I will give the ASCOM driver a go rather than ST4 and see how I go. Great video!!

[@DylanODonnell]

G Grech glad it helped !

[@hovlandbound]

Hi Dylan and thanks for the video. Can you point me in the correct direction, I'm looking to get my Celestron AVX mount hooked up to my laptop through ASCOM? What do I need for software and hardware? Do I need a comport and cable for a start and also do I need to download software (driver) to handle the ASCOM hookup for PHD2? It's all very new to me. Thanks! Pete

[@DylanODonnell]

You need the celestron mount driver from their website and a usb cable from the hand controller to the USB port.. I hope that helps!

[@hovlandbound]

I got the driver and the cable and it works! Can't wait to test it out. Thanks!

[@spookydonkey2195]

Man, thank you so much. I was fighting seeing with corrections much less than 1 second. This should really help, I appreciate it! I will think of you every time I press the button now 😉

[@YTMegiddo]

Good to come back and re-watch this video. Mental note (2 second exposures... I had 1.5)

[@DylanODonnell]

I’m using 3s these days :)

[@perry3928]

Thanks Dylan. Great info Much appreciated. Soon upgrading to automate.

[@jonyoder2356]

How doe you connect the autoguider to the computer? I have a Lodestar. It has a power jack and the phone cord looking one. I have it plugged into the side of the mount that says “autoguide”. No idea how to connect it to computer though.

[@OlliesSpace]

Great tips I'm getting my guide cam today, good to know to go straight to the PC! Cheers

[@easy56wedge]

I don’t use a telescope, rather I’m going to use PHD2 with my, as yet to be delivered, ZWO guide scope and mini camera with my iOptron SkyGuider pro to track for astrophotography with my Nikon D810 and 600mm lens. Whew! What a sentence! Since I don’t yet have the scope and mini camera, I’m manually finding Polaris and using the SkyGuider pro to allow me to track for 1-2 minute exposures. My hope is the scope and mini camera along with PHD2 will help me dial in for better tracking and more quality photos. I am unclear about initial aligning. Do I focus the guide scope and mini camera on Polaris and run PHD2 or do I polar align manually, find my subject target, then use guide scope/mini camera and PHD2 to keep me aligned with the subject? Thanks!

[@woldsweather]

Presumably you start PHD and guide star selecting after you have got your main scope set up on your target? I can't get beyond a message which says its disconnected the camera at the moment.

[@denispol79]

Thanks, very informative! Updated my PHD2 to latest version to take care of that PEC issue.

[@DylanODonnell]

Good to hear!

[@spacedogsbackyardastronomy8274]

I have a new version of phd2 and it doesn't have our mount in it. I want to connect my guide scope to the mount like you have yours. Can you help me with this?

[@bigmd1343]

But what do you do when your mount isnt in the list but is new ? do you have a full setup video starting from scratch?

[@Wolfie6020]

Thanks again Dylan. Another very helpful video as I am about to try guiding for the first time.

[@DylanODonnell]

I hope it goes well for you!

[@Wolfie6020]

@@DylanODonnell Cheers thanks it worked a treat on the Moon all night. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZK6mYGtjtJnpck

[@aapablaz]

Hi, great video and explanation.....one question, Will PHD2 work with an AZ Mounting?

[@johnstephan8684]

Dylan, Please comment as to the correct cable connections / management. I am new to this astrophotography world. Switching from on camera via ST4 setup to a camera direct to PC should be accomplished with what cabling? I blew up my new ST4 as you have suggested. Thank you.

[@selwol2]

hi Dylan, you say the best way is to connect the camera directly to the pc, but i can not find a st4 to usb Adapter for this purpose! am i missing something here? i would be grateful for your help. Cheers Mark

[@bobhuerbsch]

selwol2 the auto guide camera should only have two outputs on it: ST4 and USB. With pulse guiding via ASCOM, You connect just the USB to the laptop, and the laptop is connected with another USB/serial adapter directly to the mount, sending the corrections via ASCOM.

[@selwol2]

Thank you very much for your time. Cheers

[@milesvanyperen3539]

I'm stuck with the ST-4 cable for now with my QHY 5-ll and don't have access to explosives. Can you tell me what 'mount' selection I should pick in PHD2? I have a Celestron AVX mount. I have ordered the QHY 5-lll (USB lll) but as you know getting equipment is very slow right now.

[@georgepistikoudis]

Thanks Dylan. Simple and great explanation of PHD2. I want to start imaging with following setup: iEQ30 Pro mount, and the FS102 Takahashi APO refractor. Because i currently don't have a guide scope, i am thinking to use my finder scope a Stellarvue F50M2 (fl: 200mm, Apert.: 50mm, f/4) with a Bresser guide camera for guiding. Do you think that will be enough for correcting any mount errors?

[@eplumer]

Great job. Good tip on remembering not to use ST4

[@filipgloria]

PHD2 refused to start guidning when I wanted to photograph M81/82, because it said it was too high up and asked me to calibrate something under 20 degrees? Did I miss something?

[@davidaylsworth8964]

ASCOM question. I use a similar configuration to what you’ve shown here. Is it possible to connect the mount to PHD2 and planetarium software at the same time? As usual, a great overview.

[@alekseyovchinnikov6564]

Need help! There is an iOptron Sky-Guider Pro tracker, svbony 190mm guide scope, QHY 5-II camera guide. I'm trying to set up guiding for shooting at 500mm focal length, but it doesn't work. The camera driver is installed without problems - the camera works in SharpCap and in PHD2 Guiding without problems - I see the picture, DEC guiding is disabled, the mount set On Camera. I checked the laptop on Windows 11 and 10. I changed the ST-4 guide cable, ordered connectors and re-wired on a new wire. I tried different USB wires, no longer than 1.5 meters. The problem is this - in PHD2, before starting guiding, the program must go through calibration, that is, drive the star in different directions, tune in. In my case, the star stands motionless in the crosshairs during the entire calibration (of course, I set the polar) and then the program gives a calibration error - the star has not moved a sufficient distance. There was a feeling that the commands to the tracker do not come via the ST-4 wire. Changed the OS, wires - did not work. DEC guiding disabled. I don't know what to do now...

[@Microtonal_Cats]

So I'm using PhD, and it's working. But I can't figure out if it Dithers automatically, or not. Or if I check the "use server" will it just start dithering then? Autistically, MWD

[@JPograsPhotography]

is there a particular cable needed to plug the camera in to the computer? Or does a basic ST4 to USB work? I know on amazon, some of those cheap cables can cause a lot of issues, or not even be real.

[@rjackson5191]

Dylan, I have noticed you have a relatively large guide scope on your RASA 11 and a smaller one on your RASA 8. Beside the size matters joke how critical is the size of the guider. I would think the light gathering ability is more important than focal length aligning with your comment on camera sensitivity. Lastly, how does this change if at all if your in a metro area with a lot of light pollution. Thanks for your thoughts.

[@amranackerman9656]

I have a question Do I need to recalibrate-- for each target-- or am I only doing this once on the PHD2 program each time I set up ?

[@JohnS916]

If you eliminate the ST4 cable, the one that goes from the guide camera to the mount's ST4 guide port, aren't you supposed to utilize a serial usb adaptor with one end plugged into your laptop and the other into your mount? My iOptron mount has an RS232 port as well as a guide port (ST4). I'm thinking of plugging in the serial adaptor cable into the RS232 port, thus eliminating the ST4 cable. I'm still a little confused about steps to convert to ASCOM pulse driving.

[@Shadowboy347]

Hay, Just an AstroNoob here. I just upgraded from a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTI to their HEQ5 Pro mount. I having trouble connecting my mount to NINA and PHD2. I'm also using a Guide Scope. Any help in Lamens terms or dumming it down info would be greatly appreciated

[@damian8051]

Hey Dylan, so do you start autoguiding immediately after your star alignment? as I understand it, the process is to 1. Perform polar alignment, 2. Perform star alignment (in my case using NexStar hand controller) so this could be 1 or 2 star alignment, 3. Slew to object of interest using hand control, then 4. Start autoguiding using PHD2 as shown in video? (then I guess 5. take photos from astro camera) Thanks

[@solamanproductions]

Dylan, could you be kind enough to write here the 2 additional apps that you mentioned/recommeneded in the video? Couldnt quite understand...many thanks..

[@mr.harris8185]

Thank you thank you. I have everything working but I have one problem that I hope you can help me with. I have a good camera image but it is like I'm looking down a paper towel tube, just a round image in the center. Not certain what I am doing wrong.

[@jamesw5713]

So if you use this set up you don't need to connect the camera to the mount, just the camera to the laptop? I've done guiding twice recently through ASCOM controlling the mount, but I still used an ST4 cable to connect the mount to the camera.

[@Mike-mr8ui]

So a MS Surface with one USB port won't work? I've been trying to connect to the mount through my SSAG, but neither CPWI or PHD2 recognize it. It says there are port issues.

[@stevef7699]

Thanks for the vids - great practical advise for a newbie like me. I've been PHD2 guiding using the 'on camera' option and I'm trying to get it working in the way that you describe with the 'Celestron Telescope Driver (ASCOM)' (I've got a CGX mount). I have been running PHD2 natively in MacOS X but when I try the the ASCOM way I don't get the option of connecting via ASCOM in the PHD2 menu I'm assuming as there is no ASCOM driver for MacOS X - I believe? So, I'm running a Windoze 7 guest on VirtualBox for all of the other astro stuff that only runs on Windoze (sigh!), BUT my ZWO ASI guide camera is USB 3 and won't connect to the Windoze 7 guest, so I'm stuffed both ways. I'm guessing that I'll need to shell out for a later Windoze version. What version of Windoze are you using as your VM guest? I loved your mozzie slapping on the Polar Align vid. I lived in Oz for a year and it brought back memories :-)

[@lpg8l]

Thanks Dylan a really good explanation. It is good to have an Aussie!

[@danml550]

So are ascom and EQMOD more programs that I need to download to make all of this work? I just got a ZWO 120mm mini and hoped it was just as easy as plugging it in the phd2 and “push here”.

[@will2see]

I have a question about dithering: I am using MaximDL to acquire images (DSLR) and PHD2 for guiding. In which program should I enable dithering, since both of the programs have such function. If I enable it in PHD2, how will it know, that I just finished a sub-exposure and I am downloading the image? And if I enable it in MaximDL and MaximDL will slightly move the mount between exposure, then I presume that PHD2 will go crazy! What do you recommend?

[@TylerMillhouse]

Tip: Shift + Guide button forces recalibration. No menu hopping required.

[@frankbraker]

I am hoping to figure out how to do polar alignment with PHD2 that doesn't rely on the time-consuming drift-alignment method. It seems like PHD2 has a way of doing this, but I haven't found any video showing someone do it. It seems like you could just point in any direction, depending on margin of error, and slew and PHD should know how far a given star should move and let you know how to compensate your mount for the error. Right?...

[@quirkyastronomy8287]

Since I have a Meade lx 200 emc classic, does this mean I should plug my cam to mount? This scope is over a decade old but has what it needs to guide. Do i use rs232?

[@garypearce1097]

Hi yes I don’t think you can use one cable I have the same problem with my LX 200 GPS I plug the St4 cable into my mount and it works fine clear skies

[@TwoPancakes]

your astrophotography telescope has a astrophotography telescope which just guides your astrophotography mount so that you get awesome astrophotos

[@refetastro]

Excellent advice What cable do I use to connect to pc for my older eq6 pro !???

[@Adventuring-irl]

silly question but are you connecting both the camera and the mount via usb to the PC/laptop so 2 usb cable to the in my case laptop ?

[@jcinaz]

Kudos to you for using a Mac - or two. So are you using Macs exclusively for astrophotography? I know PHD2 runs on a Mac, but when I use PHD2 on the Mac, it doesn’t talk to N.I.N.A. in Windows. Why is that? I’m running Windows 10 Pro on the Mac under Parallels (Big Sur, now, of course). KSTARS runs on a Mac, but I haven’t been able to get it all working yet. I love being able to do plate solving and centering and autofocus for my images. But dithering? There’s enough drift between exposures that I think dithering isn’t really needed. And when the mount has to stop guiding to do another focus, there’s plenty of time for my sloppy mount to drift some more. When I run Blink in PixInsight on my subs, no two images are ever on top of each other.

[@JPograsPhotography]

Awesome vid bro!!! Thank you very much for the info

[@jimngugk4741]

Hi is it possible to use my azgti mount for this phd2 auto hiding too ? And how and where to connect it on the mount ? Thanks

[@deonster1]

This video has a good ratio of helpful info vs useless stuff.

[@sidfrede7324]

What are the physical connections from guide cam to photo cam to hub to PC to hand controller to mount, since you are not going from guide cam to St4 connection on mount? Do you publish a schematic. I have seen videos going from guide cam ST4 to mount, guide cam to image cam via usb, image cam to usb hub, hub to ST4 etc. what is your recommendation.

[@thatonetimeatbandcamp]

So if we arent supposed to be using the ST4 cable, and using ASCOM, does this include the SkyWater Sky Adventurer 2I? I see on their site they have ASCOM drivers, so I install these, plug the mount into my PC and which would be my option under that drop down, Generic Hub?

[@Inserico]

Hey Dylan, loving and learning lots from you channel so far, thanks! One problem I'm having is not knowing how to connect my computer to HEQ5 Pro (to avoid ST4 guiding). In some forums I see ASCOM Driver (HEQ5/6) as an option in the "Equipment Connection" for mount, which sounds like what I need, but I'm not even seeing that option, nor can I find where to download the ASCOM drivers for my HEQ5 Pro. I plan to get the shoestring bluetooth module for the mount, is this the right choice? How can I get PHD2 to talk to my mount (without HC)? Thanks!

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks Brendan! I think there are a couple of ways to do it but the best way is with EQMOD .. which is software I actually miss having now that I don't use a skywatcher mount. Check this thread for clues : stargazerslounge.com/topic/304963-ascom-driver-for-heq5-pro-synscan/

[@Inserico]

Thanks for replying Dylan, I had little expectation that you would, so much thanks!! Ah perfect! That's the clarification I need! Because when I looked at the list of drivers, it only has SW SynScan drivers, and I intend to use the bluetooth module instead of HC (removing HC all together), but no obvious driver was listed on ascom. Just ordered the BT-EQDir from Bintel, can't wait to try it out!

[@DylanODonnell]

Oh cool! I think I saw that order go through today :) QLD? I look after their website :) Hopefully you can get it worked out!

[@Inserico]

Yea mate, oh nice! I'm all new to this, so my first bintel purchase. Cheers!

[@followthetrawler]

Interesting comment re Ascom - I dont believe the SkyWatcher Star Adventurer supports Ascom so I think I still have to use 'on camera'. Am I wrong?

[@gregkushner9214]

How does the Mount (in my case a CGEMII) connect to my laptop when my laptop is only connected to my ZWO MC183 pro camera? I connect my ZWO 120mini guide camera to my 183. I am asking because my guide camera keeps disconnecting. When I somehow manage to achieve guiding the guiding is all over the place. When I use my ZWO ASIair plus guiding it is perfect. I like to use SharpCap but I am limited to 30 second exposures without good guiding.

[@freeandcriticalthinker4431]

Love your style of backyard Barbecuing

[@DylanODonnell]

Nothing like snags at 1000 degrees.

[@noreaction1]

I need help, I don’t know where to start to compare different guiding systems. I want to buy what I need to guide a celestron edge hd 14 inch with a 2x barlow, and I don’t even know if it’s worth it to consider a 3x or a 4x barlow to couple with this lense, I want very precise and narrow field of view imaging because I plan to mosaic everything. Send help plz what are my options I’m very new to astrophotography

[@Broccoli_32]

How often should I collimate my telescope? When I focus with a batinov mask it looks in good focus but I’m having a lot of trouble making out the cloud bands on Jupiter even with relatively good seeing. Thanks

[@teacherleonardodegani2352]

Thanks for the awesome tips! I have a question.... Is it possible to polar align with eq3 mount? I'm using a manual mount, not motorized!

[@victortellez7045]

Dylan, thanks a lot, the best PHD2 reference video!! I'm just missing something, you say we should use the ascom driver directly to the mount instead of "on camera". For the cgem II what cable would that be and where I may find it? In the cgem manual says the auto-guide port is a RJ-12 connector, and I don't find anywhere that particular cable so it connects to the computer USB port, thanks !!

[@DylanODonnell]

Thanks! Check the handcontroller .. some of them have a mini USB port at the bottom

[@victortellez7045]

@@DylanODonnell Woww, it worked !! So easy, sorry! I'm a newbie. I'm so grateful. :)

[@sandrarepash8343]

Hi and thanks for the vid. Do you have a portable air conditioner in you sky pod? I'll be it works, I use them in my apartment.

[@vitale1914]

Hi Dylan, A quick question. I have the same mount that you do, CGX. Have you ever had to readjust the 'worm gear mesh adjustments' because you started getting bad guiding? That seem the case with my mount. No matter what I do , I can't get the total rms down below 150, in fact it goes over 200. It didn't use to do this. The mount is just under a year old. I notice a lot wiggle in the RA when I wiggle the counter weight shaft and just a little in the dec. I have tightened them up so they mesh much better, but haven't had a clear night to see if it made a difference. It should be clear in a few nights. Thanks in advance for your comments. Dan Viale

[@DylanODonnell]

Can't say I have! Have got great guiding from day one and haven't touched a thing (besides the alignment knobs!)

[@vitale1914]

Thanks Dylan, I should be able to get out tonight and see if my adjustment did the trick. I think it will, RA was pretty loose. Thanks again for your reply... DV