SharpCap Forums

Hi Sean, I think the problems are really the normal ones of any astro-imaging * focus * camera settings * pointing However, they are all made harder by the fact that you are operating at about f/20 to f/30 rather than f/5 to f/7. Smaller field of view, less distinct signal in the focus measurement, ...

Ooops, yes, the loss of adjustment in live stacking is my fault :( I was adding some code to allow more control over which parts of the image processing occur before and after the stretch, and somehow the colour adjustments got lost along with it :( Controls on the right hand side for white balance ...

Hi, yes, the procedure is very similar to the one described in the paper, although I use a slightly different approach for geometrical hashing that generates a code that is also invariant under mirroring. Speed comes from only having to check a small fraction of the sky (about 0.4% of the total sky)...

Hi John, I don't think the first approach will work - if SharpCap knows the focal length of the telescope (or thinks it does) and the pixel size of the camera (which it will know) then it does not do the 'second try' all scales attempt at plate solving. The second approach should be fine. cheers, Ro...

Hi, refocusing on stars will be much more reliable... Focusing on a planet works, but the signal is often quite small and other factors (variable wind strength, thin cloud/haze, etc) can also lead to fluctuations in the focus measurement that might be enough to hide the signal that the autofocus too...

Hi, SharpCap has a built-in plate solving algorithm for polar alignment that I designed to solve the specific problem of solving within a limited radius of the celestial pole and to give really fast performance. The key differences to a more general purpose plate solving tool like Astap are : * Shar...

Hi, I just tried this out (SharpCap 4.1 Beta), and it seems to be cleaning up the temporary image file and the temporary working folder used for Astap even on failure. It is leaving behind a zero byte .tmp file and a capture settings file in the temp folder, so I will try to clean those up. Can you ...

Hi, with the reducer and the 294, you will get a FOV of about 0.7x0.5 degrees, which is obviously a bit larger than without the reducer, so should have a better chance of plate solving. You can use the astronomy tools website to check out this sort of thing : https://astronomy.tools/calculators/fiel...

Hi, good to hear that CPWI fixes things for you. It's probably the best bet for newer Celestron kit, since the other ASCOM driver you were using is no longer updated. The version on the ASCOM 'legacy' download page is I think the newest - certainly the same version that I have been using. cheers, Ro...

Hi Tim, I remember programmable calculators - my Dad had a Hewlett Packard one back in the late 70s or very early 80s and it was great learning what you could do with it :) For anyone who is building the Uno/Shield version, I also added the STL files for a 3D printed case to the github release page....