Read the Friendly Manual

Lawrence Harris Jul 18, 2003

Hi folks

Boy, do I feel stupid sometimes? I have recently been trying to process
some asteroid pictures using 'new' software. I normally use Charon, but
I have started a policy of three images per asteroid over a period of
time, and Charon is (sadly) somewhat too slow for larger numbers of
images. The new software (evaluation) required RA/Dec in decimal
degrees, so I used the Windows calculator each time to convert from
Guide's readings.

My other policy is to always go back a re-read a manual every few
months, to remind myself of the various ways to use the software. I
have been re-reading Guide-8 manual - only to discover that of course
the RA/Dec markings are fully changeable - so I have been wasting much
time re-calculating.

Regular users of Guide might like to learn from this experience. Spend
a pleasant hour with the manual, and re-discover what you may have
forgotten.

Lawrence Harris