PWI Telescope Control Software Manual

If you have not yet calibrated the StarSense camera, you can click “Calibrate” in the StarSense Automatic window. Otherwise, click

“Ready”, and the following options will appear:

Select “Use Default 4 Points,” and the StarSense Auto Alignment process will begin. The mount will then automatically slew around

the sky. The StarSense camera will capture 4 images in different areas of the sky to complete the alignment. This takes two to three

minutes. If there are parts of the sky where the StarSense camera’s view is obstructed (i.e. by nearby objects like buildings or trees),

StarSense will continue to slew around the sky until it can capture at least 4 images of clear sky. Once completed, you will receive an

“Alignment Complete!” message, and you are now aligned and ready to observe using CPWI.

If you want to choose where in the sky the mount will slew

to obtain alignment references, select “Custom Points”.

This also allows more than 4 alignment points to be used

in the Auto-Alignment. Once selected, the StarSense User

Auto Alignment Creator window will appear.

Use this window to select regions of sky that have a clear

view from your location. 0° denotes the horizon, while 90° is

zenith. Select at least 4 points. You can choose more than

4 points; this will add additional alignment references to

the mount model. More reference points will provide better

pointing (and tracking) accuracy across the entire sky but

will take more time to complete. There will generally be little

beneﬁ t from selecting more than 10 alignment points. After

you have selected the alignment points, select “Complete.”

A pop-up window will appear and ask if you want to save

your user auto-alignment references points. Select “Yes” if

you want to use the chosen alignment points for future use,

and you’ll be prompted for a ﬁ le location on your computer

to save the ﬁ le. You can use this ﬁ le later by selecting “Load

Custom Points” from the StarSense Automatic window.

StarSense Manual Alignment

StarSense Auto Alignment is about as hands-off as it gets, but it also has its limitations. Depending on your location, sections of the

sky may be blocked by a tree, building, or mountaintop. StarSense is unaware of these natural limitations and may slew to sections of

the sky that are obstructed from the StarSense camera’s ﬁ eld of view. This is OK because StarSense will automatically keep scanning

the sky until it ﬁnds a clear view, but it causes the alignment to take longer. To speed up the process, consider using StarSense

Manual Alignment if your observing location has many areas of obstructed sky.

You can perform a StarSense Manual Alignment by selecting “Perform Alignment” from the Alignment section of the Menu, and then

selecting “StarSense Manual Alignment” from the Select an Alignment Method window. If the mount has home switches or sensors,

CPWI will automatically move the mount to the home position. Otherwise, make sure you have the mount homed or at index marks.

Alt/Az mounts should be pointing roughly north with the optical tube level, and EQ mounts should be roughly polar aligned. If you have

not yet calibrated the StarSense camera, you can click “Calibrate” in the StarSense Automatic window. Otherwise, click “Ready,” and

the Select Capture Point window will appear along with the Slew Controls window. Now, use the slew controls to manually slew the

mount to a region of sky that has a clear view from your location. Then, click “Solve Here” from the Select Capture Point window. The

StarSense camera will take an image and plate-solve it to create an alignment point. Repeat this process at least 3 additional times to

obtain at least 4 alignment points. The telescope is now aligned and ready to be used with CPWI. You can repeat this process more

than 4 times to obtain even greater pointing accuracy. For best results across the entire sky, use alignment points that are widely

spaced apart.