I'm trying to optimize my max/min settings in CCDSoft and I keep running into calculations I can't explain in my autoguider log file. I have been using the autoguider calculator on this website to determine the min/max move settings.

Here are the facts:

Xplus and Xminus speeds are roughly the same at 6.06 and 6.34 pix/sec respectively (Image scale about 1.25). I have aggressiveness set at 6. Min move is set at .06 and max move is .27.

But here's what I get in the autoguider log file:

For an X error of -0.5564 pixels, the X relay pulse is 18.

So I do some math as follows:

I divide the pixel error by the rate the scope moves in order to get the time to move the scope to make 100% of the correction as follows:

.5564 / 6 = .0927 second correction multiply .0927 by 100 to get in the same format as the pulse designation in the autoguider log yields 9.27.

This value has to be multiplied by 60% to implement the aggresiveness factor which yields 5.56.

1. Why is the X relay pulse 18 instead of 5.56?

2. In fact, 5.56 is below the Min Move Value, why didn't the autoguider forego making the move?

The only thing I can think of is that I am binning the autoguider chip 3X3, but the CCDsoft manual says it takes binning into account when calculating the autoguider moves. Do I need to multiply the suggested min/max move by 3 if I am binning 3X3. Does the ccdware calculator assume no binning when it suggests the min/max moves?

3. Is the Min Move logic applied before or after the aggressiveness calculation? In other words, after calculating the correction move
necessary, but before applying the aggresiveness factor, does CCDsoft stop to check the Min Move setting?

Thanks for any help clarifying this. I just can't get the autoguider to make the appropriate corrections - they are too
frequent and aggressive which seems to be causing oscillation. I am using the CCDware autoguider calculator.

Thanks very much for any insight into this.
Ken