Best plate solver for Cartes Du Ceil Sharopcap Pro

[Desbarry]

Hi there, hope someone can help. I have ASTAP currently installed but it hasn't worked even on the test deep sky M42 Is All Sky Plate Solver good to use? I control my mount EQ6R via Cartes Du Ceil with an EQDIR usb cable and EQMOD/ASCOM pulse guiding. Once I polar align I just want to be able to not use a finder scope for initial one star sync with CDC and just be able to align via my ZWO533 or Altair 183 via the plate solve button on Sharpcap Pro's mount control ie the one with the left right up down and spiral and bullseye buttons.

Please help as this is my last obstacle to imaging. Thankyou Derek

[admin]

Hi,

ASPS/AstroTortilla/AnSvr are all basically the same plate solving engine behind the scenes - just the installers differ. They will all work, just make sure to install the right index files too.

SharpCap 3.3 (https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap/sha ... s/3-3-beta) has a new 'test plate solving' feature in the plate solving settings page - it will send an image that is known to work to the selected plate solver - if that works then all is well. If not then it's very likely that you need to look into the plate solving installation (check the right index files are installed, etc).

Robin

[Desbarry]

Thanks Robin, am installing ASPS just now. I take it I enter the focal length that the 0.8 reducer makes my scope, NOT the native focal length without any reducer? Esprit 120 is 840mm or 672 with my reducer which I always use with it unless Im doing lunar or planetary.

Cheers Derek

[chongo228]

I've been using ASPS with CDC and a EQ6R for about 3 years now. It's worked every time.......very stable and easy.

[Desbarry]

Thanks Chonga. Can I ask you a question. Once I polar align I have to put an eyepioece in the scope and get CDC to slew to a target to do an initial sync. Because Im always having to set up and tear down after every session sometimes my home position is slightly out so CDC is never on target. At the moment I unlock the cluches and use my finder to manually get a star in the centr of the eyepiece and then hit SYNC After that most of the next couple of targets are in the camera field of view and I just centr them with my laptop and hit SYNC in CDU Im then good to go for the rest opf the night.

How will ASPS help me here??
Derek

[chongo228]

Thanks Chonga. Can I ask you a question. Once I polar align I have to put an eyepioece in the scope and get CDC to slew to a target to do an initial sync. Because Im always having to set up and tear down after every session sometimes my home position is slightly out so CDC is never on target. At the moment I unlock the cluches and use my finder to manually get a star in the centr of the eyepiece and then hit SYNC After that most of the next couple of targets are in the camera field of view and I just centr them with my laptop and hit SYNC in CDU Im then good to go for the rest opf the night.

How will ASPS help me here??
Derek

You can skip all of that with your eyepiece. ASPS will do it for you in about 10 seconds.

I've found 10 second exposures with medium gain work well in my Bortle 6 zone. Sometimes I can do less if I'm looking high in the sky or away from the light dome. 10 seconds works well even at twilight so I just leave it there. Yours might take longer if you don't have a cooled camera.

For some reason if I'm at or very near the home position (unparked) ASPS will say is solved and sync but EQmod won't update the coordinates. I've assumed it has to do with mount limits or something in EQmod and have not cared to investigate. Just slew a little bit away from home when you start.

And click the tracking button on the bottom right in the scope controls settings. EQmod won't let it solve if you don't have this turned on.

Hope that helps.

[Desbarry]

Thanks buddy I am planning on testing tonight but its gonna be cold lol I have set a reminder file to make sure I select tracking in the scope controls in Sharpcap Pro. Thanks for your help much appreciated
Des

[Desbarry]

Hi Chongo, plate solving worked tonight. I wasnt sure how when I used CDC to slew to my target and if it was off, so when it slewed it was off. I then hit plate solve buttom in the scope controls and it did slew to target, not sure what I did but it seemed to work. I heard that if your initial slew is too much off solving will fail but Im not sure about that.

So am I right in thinking that they way to do it is click on a target in Cartes Du Ceil then slew and when the mount stops hit the plate solve buttom it will then take an image and will then know how out it is and then slew to the chosen target???

ANyway I dont know what I did but it did work AM I correct in the above procedure?
Cheers Derek

[chongo228]

If the mount is off by 5 or more degrees it will prompt you before it moves the mount. If it's way off (I think more than 15 deg. but I can't remember). It won't sync but will give you an error message. The second one doesn't happen too often.

Normally I slew to target and then plate solve. If you keep getting errors that it's way off just slew to a target near home position and plate solve to sync the mount before slewing all over the place.

[Desbarry]

Thanks Chongo, I seem to have got my head around the communication with Cartes Du Ceil and so I just slew and then hit solve. Thanks for your help, very much appreciated.
Derek