4°) The Gemini system :

The Gemini Goto system is the computer heart of the TITAN. The Gemini system, It is 2 servo motors with 2 cables, a CPU (Computer Processing Unit) box with all the connections we can need, a hand controller with 16 character LED display connected to the CPU box with a serial cable.

5°) The power supply :

I have had a few problems with the power supply of my TITAN. I used a car battery of 12v 43Ah. With my 4.3" APO refractor no problem for the Goto and the selfguiding. But the problems were there when I used my Meade 12" UHTC OTA + my CCD material on my TITAN. The Gemini motors stalled, poor selfguiding........etc.

So, I decided to change my power supply for a regulated 220v/18VDC 3.5A . With this new power supply I resolved all my problems.

I modified the end of the TITAN cable and of the power supply for an efficient and quick connection.

6°) The Perriodic Error :

The PE of my TITAN has been measured at 4.5 arcsecond pic to pic (+/-2.25 arcsecond) by my dealer. I did not realize a test to confirm this data. The following images are the results obtained by my dealer.

The left image represents one period of 5 minutes. The right image represents 2 periods with 10 minutes of exposure. The pictures have been taken with a SBIG ST-10XME in binning 1x1 with a Vixen 106 f/8.7 APO refractor (1.5 arcsecond/pixel).

I found, by the images, the PE was smooth with a few pics. My dealer has used a star at 0° of declination. I will put more information after my own test.

Since my first images with this mount, I never used the PPEC correction.

7°) In conclusion :

My impressions are very good. I tested this mount with my CCD camera, for imaging, at several focal lengths : 715mm, 1922mm and 3048mm (only for a test).

The tracking is very good with no PPEC enabled. At 1922mm, the max error in RA was of +/-0.7 pixels and +/-1.5 pixels at 3048mm. no comment at 715mm, the tracking was so good.

About the Gemini GOTO system. It is a good system but I prefer my old Meade LX200 GOTO for the keypad with the HPP.
With the Gemini, I point a bright star and after that an easy object on the ST-10XME CCD chip. After this procedure all the objects, when I use the GOTO, are in the field of my CCD camera. No problem.
The SBIG selfguiding works very well with the Gemini Autoguider plug and I've seen It was better when I used 17sec in X & Y for the "Calibration Times" in MaxIm DL CCD.

I used a 0.5x guide speed with my TITAN to have an accurate selfguiding.

- The TITAN mount / Meade 12" UHTC SCT OTA / SBIG ST-10XME setup :

The TITAN mount / WO FLT-110 APO / SBIG ST-10XME refractor setup :

Back