John:

I attempted my first meridian flip with version 3 last evening. It was a rip roaring success. A significant improvement over CCDAP version 2.

I have a suggestion to make to improve the efficiency of the flip. Typcically, I perform a focus after the flip. I noticed that one of the items that CCDAP peforms as part of the flip is centering of the selected guide star. Is this necessary? Because after the completion of the flip, CCDAP points the telescope to a focus star, returns to the target and tben centers the guide star again.

Again, just a suggestion as I really do not know how much more perfect this program could get other than providing us with a graph to monitor tracking performance.

Don

Hi Don,

Glad you are up and running. I will put your suggestion on the list. I need to do a bit of testing before I can incorporate it.

BTW, if you are using CCDSoft, there is a wonderful free plug-in called DriftError2.dll available on the CCDSoft5 Yahoo group. It develops a scatter plot, which is more useful than a line graph, for showing tracking errors. Maxium of course has line graphs built-in.

Hi John:

Thank you for the suggestion of DriftError2--I was not aware of it. I had been using a different freeware tracking program.

Don

Hi Don,

I have your suggestion coded and need to test it before I turn it loose. If only the winter storms/ice/etc. would stop...

Isn't the position adjust, sync and guider test after the meridian flip necessary to ensure that the scope is pointing where CCDAP thinks it is pointing before any slews to focus stars are done?

I believe CCDAP3 also does a sync at the focus star so the initial sync at the target after the flip is redundant. And the guider will get tested when returned to the target after focusing.

No it doesn't. If you have center focus star it will do a plate solve and correction. I don't use center focus star because my mount will put the focus star near the center of the chip. I don't need the mount doing slews near the meridian unless it knows exactly where it is.