Setup Workflow

I found this helpful to create when I was starting out. I found myself missing steps, and having to go backwards time and again. I don’t need checklist every time I go out anymore, but creating something similar yourself will definitely save you some time when your just getting going. It will also help you work out the most efficient way to get through your setup. Here are the steps, in order, that I perform every time I setup for an imaging session. This would be considered a top-level workflow, as each of these steps have steps underneath them. Click on the linked steps to see more detail about each step.

1. Point Mount and Tripod North
2. Level mount
3. Perform Polar Alignment with Polar Scope
4. Mount counterweight, then scope
5. Connect all cables to scope and PC
6. Insert imaging camera
7. Balance the Rig
8. Turn on Mount and program date and time
9. Start Stellarium Scope, Stellarium, BackyardEOS and PHD2
10. Slew to south near meridian using the handset
11. Perform AZ drift alignment with PHD2
12. Slew to east, as low as possible with the handset
13. Perform ALT drift alignment with PHD2
14. Use Stellarium to slew to target
15. Focus DSLR with Bahtinov mask
16. Launch Astrotortilla and connect scope and BackyardEOS
17. Take image with Astrotortilla and let it plate solve and reslew
18. Set imaging session and take lights
19. Take darks
20. Take flats and bias

After you run through your workflow a few times, you won’t need this, but it’s good to keep around on those nights when nothing seems to be working.

Pointing North
This is easy enough if Polaris is right there for you. The object isn’t to be perfectly aligned yet, but to be within a couple degrees. If it’s still light out, or your view of Polaris is obscured, use a phone or tablet compass app that has a True North option and set your altitude to your location. you’ll be too far off using Magnetic North.
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Level Mount
This is actually not essential (within reason), but will make polar alignment adjustments easier. Level the top of the tripod
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Polar Scope Alignment
I keep this quick and rough. Unless your mount is stationary on a pier, moving it in and out of the house will cause the polar scope to lose collimation. I’m not any more precise that throwing Polaris near the middle. The fine tuning is handled during the Polar Drift Alignment in PHD2, and time is better spent on the Drift Alignment that with the polar scope. The exception to this is if you’re just using the mount’s tracking rather than active guiding with a guide camera.
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Counterweight, then Scope
This one seems very trivial, and it is, until you mount your scope without the counterweight on and you forgot to tighten your RA clutch. Mount the counterweight(s) first to keep the balance below the center of gravity. It won’t be so trivial when your scope crashes into a tripod leg.
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Connecting Cables
I’ have everything strapped to the mount and really only plug in power and the USB to the PC. Connecting cables feels pretty straight forward, with two quick hits. One: always connect to the same USB port on the PC to avoid having to change configurations. Plugging your mount into a different port will change the COM port in Windows and you’ll have to adjust. Two: Cold weather is brutal on cables. I was out two nights ago and the temperature was -4F. Even the insulation of expensive cables gets very brittle at those temperatures. I do two things to ensure I’m not buying new cables every time out. First, I bring the cables from out of the house and connect them while they’re still warm, and second, I don’t wrap them up outside. I disconnect them outside and carry them inside to warm up for at least 20 minutes before I wrap them up neatly.
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Inserting Your Camera
I leave my camera in the scope, but if you do break down every time out, just check that your filters are in so you don’t have to remove and refocus, and that you balance the scope after putting in the camera.
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Balance RA and DEC
The better your balance, the more accurate your guiding will be. Be sure that everything is attached before you balance.
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Perform AZ/ALT Drift Alignment
If you can see Polaris from your location, use the Polar Drift Alignment in PHD2. Drift alignment is what takes the guess work out of whatever polar alignment method you’re using. The precision provided from drift aligning will let an inexpensive mount perform like a champ!
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Use Planetarium or Imaging Software to Slew to your Target and Focus
The order of these two are definitely not a hard and fast rule. If I’m shooting a target that doesn’t have any bright stars, I will go to a star first, focus, then hit the target. I use a Bahtinov mask, and I highly encourage the use of a focusing aide. You might be surprised at how much better your focus could be.
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Launch Astrotortilla and Plate Solve
If you’re target is out of the frame, or not centered in the frame, use Astrotortilla to get it centered for you. Click here for more information on this incredibly useful and FREE piece of software. I encourage the use of plate solving software fully integrated into imaging software rather than an independent
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Imaging Lights, Darks, Flats, and BIAS
Allow as much time as possible to get as many lights in as possible – then you absolutely need to get your calibration frames. Without darks, flats, and BIAS frames, you are wasting your time. You don’t have to take BAIS frames every time out and can build a library for them fairly quickly. If you’re not using a cooled camera, building a dark library is much more complicated because you’re bringing exposure time and sensor temperature into the mix. Flats are quick and easy, but must be done for each session with the camera exactly at the same angle and focus point as the lights.
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