ASTAP Failed in ASTAP and Astrotortilla

[DanK]

Robin:

I see another problem. Even though the mount/tracking symbols are bold engaging in any of the arrows doesn't elicit any response from the mount. My primary concern is the failure of Platesolve in Sharpcap. By contrast, APT solves in ASTAP blindingly fast.

I wouldn't be here if not for the troublesome Mallincamsky DS10c TEC. I would like to be able to use ONE application for all my imaging needs not have to jump all over the place to stitch together bits and pieces from several applications: 1) Plate Solve in APT 2) Imaging (maybe) in Sharpcap 3) Polar Alignment in Sharpcap although with a permanent observatory, II don't see the need each time I do imaging.

Is there a log file where plate solve attempts are stored? It just isn't working in ANY plate solving tools be it ASTAP or Astrotortilla.

Dan Kahraman

[DanK]

I re-installed the database. It insists on extracting to Astap folder. Not C:\Program Files\Astap
So I will have it in two locations: C:\Program Files\Astap and C:\Astap

I have not written down the error messages I am getting...something about exceeding the magnitude limit 700 times or 2000 times etc. I have no idea what that means.

Nonetheless Astrotortilla doesn't solve either even though it looks like it is making an effort.

I will stick to APT for my plate solving. Needless to say I am disappointed.

Dan Kahraman

[admin]

Hi,

whenever SharpCap run a plate solving application all of the information relevant to the plate solving ends up in the SharpCap log. In particular when using AstroTortilla the amount of information that ends up in the SharpCap log is quite significant and can be very useful at diagnosing any problems.

The only way to dig into this further would be for you to share the full logs showing a failed plate solving attempt and also share the captured image file that are attempting to plate solve (saved with the snapshot button). Then we could test plate solving the same image to see if it can be made to work and also investigate any differences between your logs at the logs we see when testing.

Cheers, Robin

[DanK]

Hi Robin:

That is encouraging. I can send you the log files I suppose Astrotortilla and ASTAP attempts will both be there.

I will look at them tonight. I will be in the observatory making my darks and bias frames. Flats were done. I did these in Mallincamsky then looked at the stretched flat (single frame-not stacked) in Pixinsight.

The idea is to re-do the old data with new darks, Bias and Flat frames. I can run all of them in Astro Pixel Processor and then through Star Tools.

If I can solve the plate solve problem I can use Sharpcap for all my imaging goals.

Dan Kahraman

[admin]

Hi,

I'll have a look at the log files when you get a chance to send them over.

Be cautious if you are collecting flat frames and then intending to use them with data captured at a different time. Normal best practices to capture flat frames at the same time as you capture the light frames as any adjustment to the optical system (removing and reattaching the camera, adjusting focus, rotating the camera, etc) can affect the flat frames. If you haven't been using flats before then you will see some benefits, but the best results will definitely come if you capture the flats in exactly the same circumstances as the capture of the light frames.

Cheers, Robin