[MossyRocks]

I suspect that the magnetization was caused by the magnetic buckle of my photo backpack.

I've had problems with the magnets in a pair of hunting mittens/gloves that have magnets in the flip open mitten part so that they can be held open. It took me a few tries before I realized that was the problem and no longer use them when doing astrophotography. Now I stick to my surplus wool swiss army shooting mittens.

[JensE]

In my case though, the camera itself has become magnetic ...

[Aaron28]

I've had problems with the magnets in a pair of hunting mittens/gloves that have magnets in the flip open mitten part so that they can be held open. It took me a few tries before I realized that was the problem and no longer use them when doing astrophotography. Now I stick to my surplus wool swiss army shooting mittens.

ah-ha! I may have had that problem before and never realized!!!

[jawats]

Well, I've had a few more nights to experiment, and have had no success at all with the astrotracer. Looks like I'll be sticking with my Skyguider Pro once the weather is warm enough, and clear enough, to stay outside for that long. :P

[MarkJerling]

Have you followed this user's procedure?

Here is my recommended K-1 GPS procedure:

1) Turn mode dial to B. Also set focus method to MF on both lens and camera. Last thing you want is your infinity focus changing during the exposure.

2) Press INFO button twice to bring up the Status screen then arrow over to the rightmost icon and hit OK. This turns on the Electronic Compass which will also turn on the GPS engine since EC uses the GPS to do its thing.

3) When the GPS acquires the necessary almanac and satellites, the satellite icon top right of the Electronic Compass screen will turn green.

4) Now press the MENU button and arrow over to the ASTROTRACER entry on the bottom of the 3rd screen. Turn on ASTROTRACER and then do the Precise Calilbration function. You cannot expect reliable performance from the Astrotracer if you do not successfully complete a Precise Calibration (p. 73 of K-1 Operating Manual).

5) Once you have successfully completed a precise calibration, return to the Electronic Compass screen. At the bottom of the screen, there will be three indicators for mode, aperture and ISO. The green button cycles between Astrotracer mode where a) the Astrotracer function controls the length of exposure (set by you using the front e-dial), and b) Bulb mode where Control of exposure time is under your control using either the usual camera controls or accessories such as a 3rd party intervalometer. In other words, you are no longer in Astrotracer mode but the usual Bulb mode. You can tell which mode you are in easily since it cycles between an exposure time readout or Bulb.

Where most people.go wrong is that they turn on the Astrotracer in the menu but forget to turn on the GPS engine on the side of the viewfinder. Both must be enabled for it to work. I recommend adding Astrotracer to the Control Panel (p. 20 of the K-1 Operating Manual). This allows you a quick way to turn the Astrotracer on without diving into the menu. But you will still need to access Precise Calibration via the menu. It would be great if Ricoh added Precise Calibration as a potential candidate for addition to the Control Panel. Then we would not need to menu dive at all.

- Jack

[jawats]

Have you followed this user's procedure?

To the letter.

[MarkJerling]

To the letter.

When I get mine back from Japan I'll have a go and let you know how I get on.

In this thread you will find my swedish manual for the AT. Copy the text into google translate and you will get a pretty good idea of what I am writing.

Astrotracker use question - PentaxForums.com

Note: The tripod I use is a sturdy made in aluminum so no need for anything wooden.
Note: The rear LCD needs to be in it´s home position when calibrating and taking the image.
Note: If using lenses that does not translate the focal length to the camera you need to manually input the correct focal length.