Morning all, I received a couple of reports that the Trident mount controller won't connect to a certain computer via WiFi but can connect to others. This is a minor issue on the computer's side of things. The first thing is to check for any pending Windows updates and restart the computer. If this doesn't work, perform the following and you'll be up and running. I'll also put this to the manual. Hit the windows key Type 'cmd' and press enter Type 'ipconfig /renew' and press enter Done, close the command window Greetings Mark

Here's the manual for the Trident. It's the first version so feedback is very much welcome. I tried to keep it specific to the mount itself but please let me know if anything could be added to improve it. Mark

This is a common request. Here's a 3D model of the Trident P75 that the makers among us can use to plan their observatories. Mark

HI Mark, just a question: is the addon fort he SHC already present on the OnStep ? If not, how can I load this addon Sorry, I am not familiar with the handling of OnStep ☹ Greetings, Stefan Von: jtw-astronomy-users@groups.io <jtw-astronomy-users@groups.io> Im Auftrag von Mark Woodward Gesendet: Donnerstag, 12. Januar 2023 21:44 An: jtw-astronomy-users@groups.io Betreff: [jtw-astronomy-users] Trident/JTW OnStep PCB Firmware This is the final version of the firmware for the Trident. Anyone wishing to change settings that aren't accessible in the Smart Web Server can edit the config.h file and flash their board. This firmware is for high speed slewing (up to 15 deg/s), you can change the microsteps from 16 to 32 (or 64) on AXIS1_DRIVER_MICROSTEPS_GOTO & AXIS2_DRIVER_MICROSTEPS_GOTO for extra smooth and silent slewing at lower speeds (8 deg/s or less). To flash the board you can use the Arduino IDE (or Visual Studio with the appropriate plug-in). Requirements * 'RTC by Makuna' library installed * STM32 Cores board manager * STM32CubeProgrammer installed - STM32CubeProg - STM32CubeProgrammer software for all STM32 - STMicroelectronics <https://www.st.com/en/development-tools/stm32cubeprog.html> Upload settings * Board - Generic STM32F4 series * Board part number - BlackPill F411CE * Upload method - STM32CubeProgrammer (DFU) Instructions * Remove the WiFi module * Connect computer to USB port on BlackPill, not the PCB itself * Apply 12v power to the PCB (there is additional hardware on the PCB that isn't powered from the BlackPill) * On the Blackpill hold the BOOT button, press NRST for one second, computer will detect the board, then release the BOOT button get into DFU mode * In the Arduino IDE click 'Upload' and wait for process to complete * Remove power & put the WiFi module back in Mark

Hi Everyone, Some questions are being asked frequently so I thought I'd make a public thread with the answers. I'll add to this thread as time goes on. Q. What is direct friction drive, how is it different to other friction drives? A. The Trident is unique in that it's drive has no need to use reduction rollers to give it the high resolution required for astrophotography, etc. The mount natively has enough resolution without extra rollers in the system that can contribute to errors in the drive. This system requires fewer moving parts and costs less to produce. Q. Why did you downgrade from servo motors to stepper motors? A. This is not a downgrade, technology has moved on. The advanced electronics use the motor's own coils as an encoder of sorts which allows for detection and correction of missed steps at 25x the resolution of a typical servo motor and add a host of other features such as high-speed slewing and silent running. Q. Why are the motors so small? They don't look big enough. A. The motors are physically small but have plenty of power. They have 5x the torque of a typical stepper of this size. A telescope mount is balanced so the motors don't require a huge amount of power anyway. Q. What's taking so long with the encoders? Why aren't they for retail yet? A. Off-the-shelf encoders are plug and play with most 3rd party controllers. Due to the price constraint of both the controller and encoders in the Trident this isn't trivial. The functionality had to be added from scratch. The Trident was engineered to bring a high-quality, heavy-duty mount to market at a low price point, this must always be taken into account as it was very challenging & took some time. Q. Will the mount carry xxx? Insert some huge telescope at the very limit of the payload. A. The maximum payload is 75 kg excluding counterweights, this is assuming a typical telescope like an SCT or RC. Physically large systems like refractors or Newtonians have a much bigger moment of inertia and also are more affected by wind. Common sense should also be applied but please contact us if you are unsure. Q. Does the mount work with xxx? A. The mount has both an ASCOM and INDI driver and is compatible with any system that is also compatible with ASCOM/INDI. Q. Does the mount have a polar scope/place for a PoleMaster? A. The mount doesn't have a polar scope. It does have a mounting point for a PoleMaster. For polar alignment we recommend N.I.N.A. and the 3-point polar alignment plug-in. Q. How critical is balance with friction drive? A. Balancing is very important. Every drive system has pros and cons, with FD it's imbalance. Please take a look at the sticky posts in the group as it's all addressed there. Feel free to ask further questions. Mark

Hi Everyone, I have a guide graph that I believe shows almost every possible tuning factor in one image so I decided to write a quick article on it. Just to be clear this guide graph is not what you want to see during typical operation, it's to demonstrate each cause/effect and to give a solution for it. Imaging parameters were 1.33" per pixel, the seeing was >3" *Guide parameters for a friction drive * * 3 to 7 second exposures * Low aggression * 3 to 5 second delay between guide exposures in bad seeing * Pay attention to your platescale on the guide camera (over/undersampling) *Aggressiveness * The first thing you will notice with this graph is that it's quite jagged. This is due to excessive aggressiveness in the guiding. A friction drive needs lower aggression than a gear driven mount. It's a more gentle drive. The guiding should be smoother and slower than a gear driven mount. *Motor ticks per degree * You can see that the RA (blue) is below y=0, this is very typical of a mount where the motor ticks are very close, but not quite right. I.e. the difference between the factory set 25600 and say, for example - a hypothetically perfect 25724 ticks per degree *Polar alignment * The DE axis also has an offset from y=0. This is a bit more complex as the DE axis can be influenced by the RA motor ticks but this also indicates improper polar alignment. *DE axis * It should be noted that the DE axis is not only influenced by motion along the DE axis but it also reacts to errors of the RA axis. You can see in the graph that the DE axis makes the opposite motion to the RA axis. Therefore you should prioritise tuning the RA axis, get the RA axis as perfect as possible and the DE axis will follow! Any questions are welcome and as always, clear skies! Mark