EQ6-R PPEC Training
The original write-up was in a forum on cloudynights.com.
"I'm reviving this thread because I've had several requests for more information about how to do this and decided I wanted to document this in a post. Keep in mind that using EQASCOM for inputting a PEC curve into an EQ6R Pro mount is the only experience I have. I cannot attest to this procedure for other mounts."
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Use AutoPEC in EQASCOM to record a PE curve. Here is a video that is a few years old now, but explains the process for doing this very well. You can also find help on the EQMOD Yahoo Group.
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Once you complete your AutoPEC curve (I use 5 worm cycles which takes about 45 minutes. You can use up to 9 worm cycles). Once the recording is complete, AutoPEC will automatically begin to run on the mount. The tracking will the be Sidereal + PEC. One advantage of the EQ6R Pro is its ability to permanently store a PEC curve in the mount itself. The next steps show how to do this.
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Click on the Setup button (the one with the wrench and three red arrows). This will expand the page.
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On the far right of the expanded page, notice the development area. This is not shown on the EQASCOM Simulator, only the actual EQASCOM application.
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Click on the record PPEC button. You will notice the LED on the mount now flashes, signifying the mount is waiting for the index to move to the point where it can sync the mount to the AutoPEC. This can take up to 16 minutes 2 worm cycles (about 16 minutes), though mine only took a minute or two. It all depends on where your worm is position within its cycle. Once the recording begins, you will get an indicator in EQASCOM. Once the recording is complete, you click on Enable PPEC and your mount LED now flashes in a series of 3 flashes indicating the mount is now using its PPEC (using the AutoPEC curve now permanently stored in the mounts motor control board). You can click on, "Refresh to see Status" in EQASCOM to see the mount is using PPEC and your mount LED will be flashing in a series of 3 flashes to see you are using PPEC.
Now, anytime you start up EQASCOM, simply enable PPEC and click on "Refresh to see Status" to see you are using PPEC. Don't forget, it can take up to several minutes for the worms index to sync and start the PEC recording.
I haven't tried it, but there is no reason why you could not use EQASCOM to create and load an AutoPEC curve into your mount and then use your mount in the field without a computer, enabling PPEC from the hand controller.
One last point. I also created a curve using PECPrep and loaded that into EQMOD. You can create a very well-smoothed curved doing this and then follow the above instructions for recording that into the EQ6 R Pro PPEC. The PE on my mount is very smooth as is, so I found no advantage doing this over using EQASCOMs AutoPEC, which is much easier to do.
I hope this helps other EQ6R Pro users get the most out of using PPEC via EQMOD.
