Your First Observing Session After a Keypad Upgrade to v4.11

Choose the appropriate situation:

With a Mount that Already Had "C" (or later) Chip and You Just Upgraded the Keypad Firmware

These instructions are for people who have been using their GTO mount with the "C" (or later) chip for a while, but recently upgraded to the new 3.x version of the keypad firmware.

Follow the procedures in the previous "Getting Started" section to be sure that your location, date and time settings have been retained. This area of memory is not overwritten in the upgrade process, so you should not see any changes. However, since the daylight savings entry location has changed to the date/time display, you will have to make changes if you observe daylight savings time.

When you plug in the cable of your keypad controller and the power cable, the word Astro-Physics will appear briefly.

  • If Auto-start is set to "no", the Site Menu will appear. Refer to the section entitled: "Normal Startup Sequence - For Mounts that are Set Up in the Field." You can use any of the startup sequences you prefer, including Resume from Park since the chip of your mount remembers your prior park position.

    • If you are permanently polar-aligned and your scope is not moved between sessions, we suggest that you change Auto-start to "yes" before you finish this session. Then next session, you can avoid the startup sequence all together and go directly to the Main Menu. Please refer to the "Auto-start Sequence - For Permanent, Polar-aligned Mounts" for additional information.

  • If Auto-start is set to "yes", the Main Menu will appear. Refer to the section "Auto-start Sequence - For Permanent, Polar-aligned Mounts." Since you had the "C" chip installed already with "Auto-park" feature, it remembers the last position of your mount before the power was disconnected. Assuming you have not moved your telescope, you are ready to go directly to the Objects Menu.

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    After a Chip Replacement and Keypad Upgrade

    Follow these procedures only if you meet BOTH of these criteria:

  • Put a new ROM chip in the GTO control box.
  • Upgraded the keypad from version 2.x to 3.x

    • Since the new chip in your mount does not know the site location, date, time, daylight savings status or where your telescope is pointing, this is the procedure that you must follow for your first session only. Even if you parked your mount in your last session with the old chip, the new chip does not know that you parked. It does not have that information in its memory.

    PEM data is stored also on the ROM chip in the control box. If you used the PEM training procedure with the previous chip, you will need to repeat the process to store the information on the new one. It is not necessary to do this immediately, but can be done during any session, at your convenience.

    The Main Menu will display when you first plug in your keypad. We recommend that you check your location data entries and also your date, time and daylight savings to be sure that they are correct. Note that the daylight savings entry screen has now moved to the date/time display, where it belongs. It may not be set correctly because of this change. All other information (except PEM adjustments) should be preserved from your previous settings. This area of memory is not overwritten.

    DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SLEW TO ANY OBJECTS AT THIS POINT. You must first follow the startup routine as described below.

    1. Press Setup and go the last menu - Mount Auto-Start. Press "1" to toggle to "no."
    2. Turn the power off and wait 10-15 seconds, then turn the power on again. The familiar Site Menu will appear.
    3. Select your location. The new Start Menu will display.

    Very Important: You must point to stars in the west when your telescope is on the east side of the mount and stars in the east when your scope is on the west side. When the stars are high and close to the zenith, this can be tricky. However, you can tell which side the star is on by looking at the "z" number in the upper right corner of the Choose Star screen, then comparing that number with the RA number of the star you choose. If the RA number is larger, the star is in the east. If your scope is not on the correct side, the mount will not slew properly and the telescope could strike the pier/tripod.

    These are your choices:

    • STAR SYNC. If you are polar-aligned, choose Star Sync. Aim the scope at a known object on the star list, which now includes solar system objects (at the end of the star list). You can press the +- key to change your button-centering rate, if needed. Scroll through the list to find the object, enter the object number, press the GOTO button (the mount will not actually go anywhere) and you are synchronized. The Main Menu will appear. You are now ready to enter any object from the Object Menu or go to the Setup Menu to make changes, as needed.

    • POLAR ALIGNMENT. If you are not fully polar aligned yet, choose Polar Alignment; then choose N. Polar Calibrate or 2 Star Calibrate. These routines function the same as version 2.3 or above. Note, although the solar system objects display in the star list, you cannot use them in these calibration routines. Since the RA/Dec positions of these objects change with time, they are not suitable for slewing back and forth in multiple iterations. Do not use the solar system objects for calibration. When you have completed the routine, the main menu will appear and you will proceed as usual.

    • RESUME FROM PARK. Do not select this item for this first session. The GTO control chip is new and does not know the last park position. Your telescope may slew to a dangerous position if you try this one.

    Please refer to manual for a list of all the new features and instructions for their use. The procedures for using the Objects Menu are the same, however you may want to learn about auto-start, auto-park, auto-link, sync, meridian swap delay, status and more. We strongly encourage you to read your manual to get the most from your GTO mount.

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    End the Session

    When you have finished your observing in this and all subsequent sessions, you have several options:

    Mounts that will be disassembled and will lose polar alignment.
    Leave the Mount Auto-start set to "no." The next time you set up, you will chose your location, date, etc as you are accustomed to doing. Read the manual pages regarding Normal Startup Sequence, if you need a refresher.

    Mounts that will remain polar-aligned and the telescope will not be moved from its present position.
    Go to Setup, then to the last Mount Auto-Start Menu. Toggle to "yes." Now, you have several more choices:

    • Use park positions 1, 2, or 3 and simply remove the power. When you start up next time, the Main Menu will appear and you are ready to go. The mount will remember where you were parked. You do not have go through any other startup routine or use Resume from Park. Refer to "Auto-Start Sequence" of the manual for additional information.

      However, if you did leave the Mount Auto-Start set to "no," you can use resume from park in the startup routine as you have done in the past.

    • If you don't care what position the telescope is in, simply disconnect the power. The mount will remember where was when the power was removed. Refer to "Auto-Start Sequence" of the manual for additional information. Please do not park the mount with the counterweights higher than the telescope. It is not a recommended park position.

    PLEASE READ YOUR MANUAL!

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    This page was last modified: September 8, 2001

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    Phone: 815-282-1513   Fax: 815-282-9847