DS Sequence Planner questions

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brisguy
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2021 4:08 am

DS Sequence Planner questions

#1

Post by brisguy »

I used the DSSP last night for the first time and ran into some issues:
1. Could not find a way to use the DSSP to schedule a solve and resync after a number of exposures. I am not guiding so need to do this. I DID find a way to use the editor for this purpose, but can't update the schedule file and have to save the edit as a sharpcap sequence, but then can't figure out how to load it or use it.
2. My initial schedule from the DSSP had a single solve and resync before imaging starts. I think it failed, but the imaging started anyway. Is that normal behavior?
3. The target coordinates when using the SC4 catalog, seem to be based on 'on date' rather than J2000. Is there a setting to change that?
4. After the solve failure, I tried to stop the sequence (by pressing the STOP button) and restart fresh, but it always came back to the same place (after the solve an sync). What is the proper way to exit a sequence?
5. Again after the solve failure, and before trying the sequence restart, I could not get plate solve to work. After spending about 20min on this (waiting and waiting to find out if it would solve or not). I finally noticed that it thought the mount was still at the home position. I did park the mount before trying to start the sequence again, but unparked before restarting and slewed near the target before restarting. Somehow SharpCap was no longer connected to the mount. After hitting the 'connected' button, SC figured out where the mount was and solve worked fine. Why did SC disconnect from the mount?
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Re: DS Sequence Planner questions

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

a good set of questions :)

1... There's no way to do this using the planner - normally you would expect to solve/sync then guide, which means further solve/sync would not be needed. The full editor allows you the extra flexibility for this sort of thing.

2...This is a bug - the solve and sync procedure will report the failure, but the sequencer currently ignores that - sorry :( Will fix for next week

3...The co-ordinates stored are J2000, and I think that these are sent direct to the mount (which could be wrong if - as is likely - the mount is operating JNOW). I can correct that, for now assuming all co-ordinates are J2000 in the sequencer.

4... Stop is the right thing to do - I would have to see the main SharpCap log to try to work out what happened here.

5... There are sequencer steps to disconnect, but I guess you are not using them. Again, maybe the log would reveal what is going on. Note that there are also steps to connect which you could put at the start of the sequence to guard against this. I will try to make sure the plate solving operation fails quickly in the case that there is no mount.

cheers,

Robin
brisguy
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2021 4:08 am

Re: DS Sequence Planner questions

#3

Post by brisguy »

Thanks for you prompt reply! Please see my further comments below.
admin wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:07 pm Hi,

a good set of questions :)

1... There's no way to do this using the planner - normally you would expect to solve/sync then guide, which means further solve/sync would not be needed. The full editor allows you the extra flexibility for this sort of thing.
[OK, but I am confused how to use the sequence editor. Is it completely separate from the DSSP and sequences saved by one are not used by the other? Based on the way you can launch the editor from the DSSP, I assumed I was editing an aspect of the DSSP schedule. I see from the manual that I can load and run a sequence from the editor, but this seems awkward. Also, isn't it normal to have to re-center the target if you are not guiding?]

2...This is a bug - the solve and sync procedure will report the failure, but the sequencer currently ignores that - sorry :( Will fix for next week

3...The co-ordinates stored are J2000, and I think that these are sent direct to the mount (which could be wrong if - as is likely - the mount is operating JNOW). I can correct that, for now assuming all co-ordinates are J2000 in the sequencer.
[Upon further review, I found that I got it backwards. As you say SC4 is using J2000, but apparently I want JNOW. I don't understand the difference between the two systems, but notice when I slew my intended target in Stellarium or later solve and sync to those coordinates, my target is perfectly centered on my sensor. I never noticed before, but apparently Stellarium is slewing to the JNOW - called 'on date'. When I slew using the SC4 coordinates, the target is off-center.]

4... Stop is the right thing to do - I would have to see the main SharpCap log to try to work out what happened here.
[Now attached although it is probably a mess. I did several things after the initial start of the procedure]

5... There are sequencer steps to disconnect, but I guess you are not using them. Again, maybe the log would reveal what is going on. Note that there are also steps to connect which you could put at the start of the sequence to guard against this. I will try to make sure the plate solving operation fails quickly in the case that there is no mount.

cheers,

Robin
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Log_2021-09-13T13_16_15-2400.zip
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Re: DS Sequence Planner questions

#4

Post by admin »

Hi,

thanks for the log - I think I can see why the cancellation of the plate solve failed - that will be fixed in the next version.

The sequence planner is an 'easy to use' way to generate a sequence. The sequence editor is a geeky way to generate a sequence (with a lot more options and flexibility). You can convert a sequence planner sequence into a sequence editor sequence by pressing the 'Advanced Edit' button in the planner - that launches the editor with a series of steps that are exactly equivalent to your plan. You can then edit the steps further in the editor, save and load them in the editor (not in the planner). You cannot go back from the editor to the planner though (that's something that will never be possible, rather than just being something that hasn't been done yet).

The planner saves/loads .SSP (SharpCap Sequence Planner) files, while the editor saves/loads SCS (SharpCap Sequencer) files. You cannot load SCS. You can only get SSP into the editor by loading in the planner and using the advanced edit button.

hope this helps

Robin
brisguy
Posts: 66
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2021 4:08 am

Re: DS Sequence Planner questions

#5

Post by brisguy »

Yes it does. I just needed to understand the intended operation, which I now (think I) do.

The DSSP and the Sequence Editor are very powerful and useful tools. Well worth the price of admission! Very happy to have these available.
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