Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

If by Wi-Fi you mean the skyq doggle, that would have to be run through nexremote with a virtual port assigned specifically for it.

Since I have replaced my old decrepid laptop my new laptop resides comfortably inside my grill on the deck with all of the cables coming out the hole in the bottom that I believe is designed to allow ashes to fall out of the grill. I communicate with the laptop through Team Viewer also via an AC band router that is tied in to my main server which is actually the brains of the whole outfit

Matthew

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

http://www.astronomyforum.net/astronomy-software-forum/135872-stellarium-extended-object-image-files.html

This is where I found a few plotted images, something like 100 or so. There is also a nebula plugin but I don't think I utilized it. My favorite plugin is the ocular plugin. Which is helpful in the planning phase since it knows the FOV based on the scope/CCD info you have to put in.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Dunno, Craig.
But between Steallarium, and the TV10 free use program (with an after nag screen), I can wirelessly work the mount and cameras from inside. ;-)

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Thank you Sonny.
Craig

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Thank you Matthew. I was wondering about the ocular plugin.
Craig

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Well, no, I have no intention of having dual, or triple programs trying to control the mount.
That sounds a bit like a living hell to me. :twisted: :lol:

As of yesterday, and so far today, I have 5 USB connections to the Toshiba 2 hole laptop. How? :shock: :?
The USB to serial adapter is in "USB 1". That is running the NexStar remote, and ultimately controlling the mount.
I have a Sabrent USB 4-port hub in "USB 2". (It is a powered hub via the USB port)
That busy little booger has a mouse dongle in it, The Main Camera, the Guide Scope Camera, and my Eyepiece Camera plugged into it.
Yesterday I connected all the cameras in, with the AVX cable alone, and got every thing working in harmony. So I proved to myself I can get all 3 cameras to work together.
I don't use the eyepiece camera much. It is limited in it's reach. (I can't imagine why. For $63, I'd expect it to suck in DSO's...)
So tonight it is clear, and lots of stars, so I'm setting up for a long one.
And the ice age is over, we are back to sweater nights. ;)

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

Well like I stated in the next comment if I want to guide I had to disconnect stellarium every time PhD needed access to the mount, that and once you get the hang of guiding, you will wonder how you lived without plate solving. It's great having a program like pinpoint take an image, solve it the review the mount to guarantee the DSO is perfectly centered. It claims that it is accurate to within 15 pixels. I have not yet perfected it yet but it looks extremely promising. Presently I'm wrapping my head around dithering, to help reduce noise.

Usually you would want your most data pushing device to be on the single port. Mine is the main CCD or DSLR, since the files are so large, if not I would get program hangs where everything would freeze up.the control of the mount takes the least data out of almost everything other than the mount.

At a guess I would say your auto guider needs the most data throughput, considering it is taking and evaluating an image every second or so the sending the correction commands back to adjust the mount. Yea it's been snowing here the last couple days. Soo not ready for winter, lol. Enjoy your night mine is still cloudy.

Matthew

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Oh there you go again, way over my head. :lol:
Dithering, oh yes, I dither a lot. I ran a 600s shot on the Helix Nebula tonight. So after 10 minutes of waiting (600 seconds), I get this really beautiful black screen capture.
I had forgotten to flip the mirror in the Imaging box up! :evil:
So... I go out and gently flip it up out of the way, come back in, watch what PHD is doing, tweak the RA and DEC aggressiveness to tighten the graph, and do another shot in the dark....
:shock: :mrgreen:
A bit of difference.... Look Ma! Round stars!
Encouraged, I ran an 800s before it sets.

PHD is ticking along with some settings I gleaned from the web to get me started. .5s exposures. And it is a breakthrough for my guiding, near flat trendlines.

And running PEC with the AVX.

I have a question:
Does anybody know if small changes can be put into Stellarium to fine tune aiming? (To center up the indication)
I think when the aiming is slightly low, I'm getting off center captures.
Or is that more a problem with PHD?

11-06-15 600s

(Download)

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

I think this is more of an issue between stellarium and the pointing model in your hand controller. This is exactly the problem plate solving corrects. It takes a short exposure then takes the image it has of the stars, compares it to a star catalog, notes how far the mount is actually off in its pointing model. It then will send commands to the mount it seems will center the subject, takes another short image to verify it is now centered. I have only played with it a couple times but it seems to work decently. Astrotortilla is a plate solving program that is freeware that many rave about.

Is far as Stellarium goes I tend to look at the image that I took then compare it to the sky map in Stellarium, and then try to click a star that I bill will be in the center of the frame, it's a bit rough but it works for the most part.

Matthew

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

BTW great capture of the helix. Nice and large in the frame.

Well done,
Matthew

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Astrotortilla... It's dangerous to give me words. I tend to run with them. :arrow:
Thanks Matthew!

I was kinda doing something like that last night. I would bring up the target, then pick stars to center Stellarium's aim so it would "nudge" the target in the cameras frame. Kentucky windage came to mind. ;)

I don't know why, but Orion's Nebula made the PHD guidance go nuts. I could capture better images unguided. I eventually moved on to other DSO targets. Maybe it was too bright in the Autoguider. I could not find guidance with it. :roll:

For the Helix Nebula (my first DSO target) I let PHD Auto-select star, and it settled in and tracked very well. I did little changes in the Graph settings just to observe what would happen. Mostly tweaking the aggressiveness. And I like the longer drawn out display of x400, but did drop back to the faster ones to observe the graph.
In PHD, for my set-up, Starshooter Mini-Autoguider, 0.5s worked good for the fainter DSO's. But the Rose Nebula was my undoing. Flustered with it, I packed it in and was in bed by 02:30 Hrs.

I'd say it was probably one of my best nights yet with the Autoguider. And it likes the DSO's that are faint and far, far way. I'm throwing away stuff better than the stuff I use to keep.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Thank You, Matthew.
That is pretty much as it comes from the camera. I don't think I even tweaked the Histogram any on that, I was pleased with what I saw.
I export it to jpg, then transfer it to the inside computer, and post it. %^)

The 800s attempt was... grainy? it was getting low towards the West, with bad light pollution from a streetlight out front, and the low angle looked misty or foggy to my eye.
So I'd like to try earlier and earlier attempts to catch it higher.
Maybe later towards the dead of winter it will be more vertical to me. :roll:

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Nice shot Sonny, I'd say your tracking is right-on.
Craig

stepping beyond Loc: usa eastcoast

SonnyE , You're hooked up buddy go ahead and enjoy . It sure is nice inside instead of out when it's nasty and in no time you'll be cruisin and not looking back. I was oldschool and Technology has saved me from having to suffer through it . Now to just figure everything else out, I'll get it together one day.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Thanks Craig!
I found these videos helped me a lot to get dialed in:

Part 1 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRY2jN3xTBQ 34 minutes.

Part 2 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--y1mk_ylSo 21 minutes.

Then I've just played with the settings to see what changes do with it.
But so far I'm really pleased with the results. I didn't think I'd ever get it tracking decent.