Hi all,

I hope this question isn't totally obvious. I am using Cloudmakers latest (excellent) Server, Control Panel, and AstroTelescope builds to control a dome by writing the desired dome position to a file (other software takes it from there). These builds use the regular INDI library for calculating the position. One thing is unclear to me: Do I need to manually set the flag indicating whether the telescope is East or West of the Meridian, or does the INDI library determine this from the Dec/RA and Alt/AZ reported by the mount?

Thanks,

Scott

Hi,

East/West flag is relevant for german like mounts only.

When pointing near the meridian german mounts can be in either side of the column, and this affects the dome position. So only with RA/Dec Alt/Az is not sufficient and must be informed.

If your mount is a fork like this flag doesn't change anything.

Regards,
Ferran

Hi Ferran,

I think I understand what you are saying. Let me try to phrase it in my own words. Because my CGEM DX can travel somewhat beyond the meridian, it is possible for the AZ reading to indicate the SAME side of the pier as the scope. They aren't always opposite from each other.

Is that about right?

However, I would think that you could test for this by seeing if the target location is on the same side of the pier as the AZ. I am not quite sure how you would check this though.

Thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott,

Yes, you are right. For a given AZ near meridian you can point your telescope from both sides of the pier.
Some mounts have a lot of travel beyond meridian, especially for low declinations, where the tube don't interfere with the pier.

Target AZ don't change after a meridian flip, so in general you can't know which side the telescope is.

Regards,
Ferran