Re: guiding relays vs scope controls

On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:28:19 GMT, "Roger Hamlett"
<rogerspamignored@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

How 'good' software guiding is, depends largely on your mount controller.
'Relay' guiding (actually only a real 'relay' on the ST4, and similar
guiders, while on the SBIG cameras a 'pull down' transistor), gives less
'latency' (the mount is being controlled almost immediately, instead of
having to wait for a longer serial command)...

I don't think latency is a significant factor, for two reasons. First,
the latency shouldn't be significantly different for a relay controller
versus direct telescope control, since the relay controller itself is
receiving a command string itself before it can interpret and act on it.
But more important is the fact that the latencies are small compared
with the guide camera integration and readout time. The former is on the
order of milliseconds, the latter on the order of seconds.

Precisely _when_ you issue your correction command is less important
than its _duration_; a few milliseconds error in duration is much more
significant than a few milliseconds of latency.

I have moderate latency in my guiding because the commands are sent via
Ethernet, and can be delayed by the protocol (which may delay
transmission somewhat in an effort to construct a more efficient
packet). Back when I used a start/stop guider protocol, guiding over the
network caused me all sorts of problems. Once I switched to a
guide-by-time protocol, all the problems disappeared, in spite of the
fact that the latency is still there.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
.

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