Mount Setup

[Graeme1858]

When I set up last night, I noticed the mount pointed the telescope about 15° away from the first alignment star. I messed about checking the clock, the daylight savings settings and even the location. It went on to align and polar align ok after slewing into position. Then it just occurred to me after seeing the US daylight saving time notice on the portal here that maybe my CGX thinks in US time. The clocks in the UK went back last week.

Has anyone else, non US I suppose, had this problem? If my suspicion is correct, the problem will go away after the US clocks go back.

It would be good if we stuck to GMT (+ or -) all year!

Regards

Graeme

[Lowjiber]

It would be good if we stuck to GMT (+ or -) all year!

I agree. However, 99% of the people that I know US have zero-idea what GMT is... Let alone the + or -.

[Greenman]

Ah, I have been controlling through CPWI, but my AVX was out last time I used it. I wonder if the handset is truly overridden?

On the AVX menu I get down to daylight saving, but pressing enter doesn't do anything, it just drops you back to the menu with the time unchanged?

[Graeme1858]

Ah, I have been controlling through CPWI, but my AVX was out last time I used it. I wonder if the handset is truly overridden?

On the AVX menu I get down to daylight saving, but pressing enter doesn't do anything, it just drops you back to the menu with the time unchanged?

Yes, my CGX is the same. Through CPWI, no problem, pc clock is used and alignment is ok. For visual with the hand controller, daylight saving or not is a choice of two options from the up and down. The clock remains the same.

Regards

Graeme

[Graeme1858]

It would be good if we stuck to GMT (+ or -) all year!

I agree. However, 99% of the people that I know US have zero-idea what GMT is... Let alone the + or -.

Sorry, a bit old school that. Does UT + or - work for your young friends?

Regards

Graeme

[Greenman]

It would be good if we stuck to GMT (+ or -) all year!

I agree. However, 99% of the people that I know US have zero-idea what GMT is... Let alone the + or -.

Sorry, a but old school that. Does UT + or - work for your young friends?

Regards

Graeme

GMT is time 0, genuinely we are the Time Lords. Before Greenwich, there was no time.

[Greenman]

Ah, I have been controlling through CPWI, but my AVX was out last time I used it. I wonder if the handset is truly overridden?

On the AVX menu I get down to daylight saving, but pressing enter doesn't do anything, it just drops you back to the menu with the time unchanged?

Yes, my CGX is the same. Through CPWI, no problem, pc clock is used and alignment is ok. For visual with the hand controller, daylight saving or not is a choice of two options from the up and down. The clock remains the same.

Regards

Graeme

Well, you can't criticise Celestron too much, at least they have consistentcy over the range

[JayTee]

GMT is time 0, genuinely we are the Time Lords. Before Greenwich, there was no time.

Not exactly true.

Throughout early Maritime map making history many prime meridians have been used. Paris was used, Beijing was used, and many other prime meridians based on that country's capital were also used.

It wasn't until 1884 when American president Chester A Arthur called for an international convention that finally agreed that Greenwich should be the only prime meridian for navigation. That international convention decided that Greenwich is the prime meridian. Most likely because Britain was the maritime superpower at the time.

Cheers,
JT

[bobharmony]

It would be good if we stuck to GMT (+ or -) all year!

I agree. However, 99% of the people that I know US have zero-idea what GMT is... Let alone the + or -.

Back in my days as a working stiff we ran all our network devices on Zulu time to make all the nationwide device logs be in sync all year long. Zulu time has the advantage of ignoring DST, staying on GMT Standard time all year round. It was amazing how much trouble newbies had figuring out how to deal with it

Bob

[KathyNS]

It would be good if we stuck to GMT (+ or -) all year!

I know quite a few people who do exactly that. Tell your mount that your time zone is UTC+0, DST=No. Then use UTC for the date/time input, and you are good to go. Remember to have your lat/long set correctly to your location, so it can compute just how far you are from the centre of "your time zone".

That international convention decided that Greenwich is the prime meridian. Most likely because Britain was the maritime superpower at the time.

...And because using Greenwich as the Prime Meridian conveniently parks the International Date Line in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where it causes minimal inconvenience.

Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the problems the date line would cause if it were on dry land. It is set on a colonized Mars, and there is a city that straddles the date line. It causes problems for a thief who forgot about it and assumed his target would be vacant because it was a holiday. Except it wasn't.

[Lowjiber]

Sorry, a bit old school that. Does UT + or - work for your young friends?

Only one... My next-door neighbor is an environmental biologist. The rest probably think UT is what time it is in the universe.

In my little office the clock on the wall runs when it wants too. Rather than replace the clock, I put a sign beside it that says, "Notice! Time is what this stupid clock says (Sometimes)."

[Graeme1858]

I know quite a few people who do exactly that. Tell your mount that your time zone is UTC+0, DST=No. Then use UTC for the date/time input, and you are good to go. Remember to have your lat/long set correctly to your location, so it can compute just how far you are from the centre of "your time zone".

Good shout! That sounds like the way forward.

Thanks

Regards

Graeme

[bobharmony]

For my mount, I configured it to Eastern time and set it to a 24 hour clock. I did the same thing with my PC, so all I do at startup is display the time on the PC, and set the hand controller to the same time. The only thing I have to remember on the HC is whether I am in DST or not. So far, so good.

I'd chuck it all and go to UT on both devices, but that would make my better half cranky, and there is no fixing that.

Bob

Bob

[Graeme1858]

Some great suggestions here but from Sunday I'll be on GMT for 6 months as will all of my clocks!

Come next Summer, the telescope will stay that way!

Regards

Graeme

[turboscrew]

Sorry, a bit old school that. Does UT + or - work for your young friends?

Only one... My next-door neighbor is an environmental biologist. The rest probably think UT is what time it is in the universe.

In my little office the clock on the wall runs when it wants too. Rather than replace the clock, I put a sign beside it that says, "Notice! Time is what this stupid clock says (Sometimes)."

Well, even a stopped 12 hour clock shows the right time twice a day. ;-)

[turboscrew]

Some great suggestions here but from Sunday I'll be on GMT for 6 months as will all of my clocks!

Come next Summer, the telescope will stay that way!

Regards

Graeme

I wonder if a second cheapish clock that is always running GMT time would be a good idea?
I've always been against the DST. Changing the clocks is stupid as well as the change of the day-rhythm. Also, the winter time is closer to solar time.