Saturday, Oct 05
AstroPi3 Part 05 - PhD2 Configuration

AstroPi3 Part 05 - PhD2 Configuration

AstroPi3 Part 01 - Raspberry Pi 3 as guiding computer
AstroPi3 Part 02 - Creation of the Installation disk image
AstroPi3 Part 03 - Ubuntu Mate Installation
AstroPi3 Part 04 - AstroPI3 Installation
AstroPi3 Part 05 - PhD2 Configuration
AstroPi3 Part 6 - DSLR/Guide Camera Setup and Control
AstroPi3 Part 07 – Controlling the Raspberry from a tablet/phone
AstroPi3 Apendix A – Index of possible problems, causes and solutions

This article is only intended to verify that the guidance camera works and is detected correctly by the Raspberry Pi 3. It is not the purpose of this article to provide an intensive tutorial on the use of PhD guidance.
In this example we will use the ZWO ASI120MM-S camera.

1. Connect your camera to Raspberry.

 

2. Double click on the PhD2 icon.

3. When you start for the first time, the process of setting up and creating a profile will begin. Press "Next" to continue.
4. In the next screen select your camera model and specify the focal length of your guide telescope. Press Next to continue. When a dialog appears asking if the camera is connected, click on the Yes button.

5. In the next dialog, you will be asked to specify the connection to the mount. In this example, since it is the camera that is connected to it, we select On-Camera.

6. A dialog may appear prompting you to choose an auxiliary connection. For the moment, since this is a test, select None and click Next to continue.

7. The dialog for completing the profile creation process will be displayed.
a) Write a descriptive name
b) Uncheck the box "Build dark library".
c) Click on Finish.

8. Click on the "loop" icon at the bottom of the screen.

The camera connection dialog will be displayed. If the camera and the mount are already connected, the buttons on the right side will be displayed as "Disconnect". If they are green and labeled "Connect", click on them to connect to the devices.

10. The Phd will show a image of what camera is capturing.

You have to consider that these cameras are highly sensitive to the dark and we are doing this test in an environment with artificial lights such as the lights of our house. If all you see is a blank screen, turn off the surrounding lights and drastically reduce the exposure time at the bottom of the screen.

Next article: AstroPi3 Part 6 - DSLR/Guide Camera Setup and Control

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n o m a d i c - a s t r o p h o g r a p h y