Plate Solve not Re-Centering

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rac19
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:01 pm

Plate Solve not Re-Centering

#1

Post by rac19 »

Until recently, plate solve was correctly performing 'Sync mount and recentre target" but now it does not. I have checked everything carefully and cannot see why not.

Instead, it simply reports (accurately) where the OTA is pointing...

Solution : RA=13:26:06,Dec=11:14:08S (J2000)
Field of View : 0.89x0.68 degrees
Time : Thu, 13 May 2021 12:29:32 GMT
Orientation : up is 348.3 degrees E of N

Any suggestions?
rac19
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:01 pm

Re: Plate Solve not Re-Centering

#2

Post by rac19 »

This turns out to be a silly mistake on my part. I was running plate solving from the Tools menu, not the Plate Solve and Sync button in Scope Controls :o.

It might be an idea to pop up the Plate Solving properties sheet when starting plate solving from the Tools menu to provide an opportunity to review the settings before proceeding.
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admin
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Location: Vale of the White Horse, UK
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Re: Plate Solve not Re-Centering

#3

Post by admin »

Hi,

this has happened to a few people, so I have changed the menu item names for SharpCap 4.0 to make it clearer :
Capture.JPG
Capture.JPG (28.29 KiB) Viewed 762 times
cheers,

Robin
rac19
Posts: 142
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2021 2:01 pm

Re: Plate Solve not Re-Centering

#4

Post by rac19 »

Thanks Robin,

It was inattentive of me of me to make such a mistake but I did notice that I am not alone.

It set me off on a "a series of unfortunate events" attempting to reinstall Astrotortilla, which doesn't seem to install properly these days.

In the end, I found that there is no need to install it at all. All that is actually required is Astrometry.Net/ansvr. The failed Astrotortilla installations just seemed to create problems.

EDIT: I am becoming a fan of Sharpcap, by the way. I have a ZWO OSC camera and like your suggestion that stacked shorter exposures can at least approximate the traditional single long exposures. I like to use the Smart Histogram to get exposure recommendations, the focus tools and, of course, plate solving.
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admin
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Re: Plate Solve not Re-Centering

#5

Post by admin »

Hi,

yes, Ansvr, Astrotortilla and ASPS are all basically the same code with different installers. Once you have one working, no need to worry about the others. SharpCap 4.0 has more code to test installed plate solving applications in the settings and to run a test plate solve too as getting the application set up right can be a problem.

Glad you are enjoying using SharpCap!

cheers,

Robin
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