PHD2 lost star in sequencer

Questions, tips, information and discussions about using the SharpCap Sequencer and Sequence Planner tools
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MLM
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:11 pm
Location: Silver Sprimg MD US

PHD2 lost star in sequencer

#1

Post by MLM »

I recently ran an automated 3 hour session containing 5 blocks of 40 frames with camera rewinds and plate solves between each block (thank you Robin).

Thanks to the fantastic local viewing conditions :lol: PHD2 lost its guide star a couple of times and I had to manually intervene.
Any tips on how to get PHD2 to work without intervention when this happens? Not sure if this a PHD2 or SharpCap forum question.
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admin
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Re: PHD2 lost star in sequencer

#2

Post by admin »

Hi,

can you share the sequence you ran with me please?

If you are using the very latest SharpCap (4.0 version from the last week or two) then the 'capture still frames' step in the sequencer should automatically force PHD2 to re-find a star if one is missing when the step starts. Previous versions of SC 4.0 would do the find star if guiding was lost *during* a capture still frames step, but not if it was missing at the start of the step, which was incorrect behaviour.

cheers,

Robin
MLM
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:11 pm
Location: Silver Sprimg MD US

Re: PHD2 lost star in sequencer

#3

Post by MLM »

Hi Robin,

I missed your message and just saw. I manually intervened when stars were visible after guiding stopped due to clouds, and selected a new guide star and started guiding again.

Script follows:

SEQUENCE
SET CONTROL "Window Heater Power" TO On
COOL DOWN TO -10 RATE 8 TOLERANCE 1
SET OUTPUT FORMAT TO "FITS files (*.fits)"
SET COLOUR SPACE TO RAW16
LIVE MODE
SET GAIN TO 0
SET BINNING TO 1
SET EXPOSURE TO 60
ROTATOR CONNECT
PROMPT FOR TARGET
GUIDING CONNECT ABORT False
PRESERVE CAMERA SETTINGS
BEGIN GUIDING PAUSE
SET BINNING TO 2
SET GAIN TO 250
SET EXPOSURE TO 10
MOUNT SOLVEANDSYNC
DELAY 30
SAVE IMAGE ORIENTATION
DELAY 10
END GUIDING PAUSE
END PRESERVE
GUIDING START
CAPTURE 40 LIVE FRAMES
PRESERVE CAMERA SETTINGS
BEGIN GUIDING PAUSE
SET BINNING TO 2
SET GAIN TO 250
SET EXPOSURE TO 10
MOUNT SOLVEANDSYNC
DELAY 30
RESTORE IMAGE ORIENTATION
DELAY 15
END GUIDING PAUSE
END PRESERVE
GUIDING START
SHOW NOTIFICATION "Start Block 2" COLOUR Green DURATION 30
CAPTURE 40 LIVE FRAMES
PRESERVE CAMERA SETTINGS
BEGIN GUIDING PAUSE
SET BINNING TO 2
SET GAIN TO 250
SET EXPOSURE TO 10
MOUNT SOLVEANDSYNC
DELAY 30
RESTORE IMAGE ORIENTATION
DELAY 15
END GUIDING PAUSE
END PRESERVE
GUIDING START
SHOW NOTIFICATION "Start Block 3" COLOUR Green DURATION 30
CAPTURE 40 LIVE FRAMES
PRESERVE CAMERA SETTINGS
BEGIN GUIDING PAUSE
SET BINNING TO 2
SET GAIN TO 250
SET EXPOSURE TO 10
MOUNT SOLVEANDSYNC
DELAY 30
RESTORE IMAGE ORIENTATION
DELAY 15
END GUIDING PAUSE
END PRESERVE
GUIDING START
SHOW NOTIFICATION "Start Block 4" COLOUR Green DURATION 30
CAPTURE 40 LIVE FRAMES
PRESERVE CAMERA SETTINGS
BEGIN GUIDING PAUSE
SET BINNING TO 2
SET GAIN TO 250
SET EXPOSURE TO 10
MOUNT SOLVEANDSYNC
DELAY 30
RESTORE IMAGE ORIENTATION
DELAY 15
END GUIDING PAUSE
END PRESERVE
GUIDING START
SHOW NOTIFICATION "Start Block 5" COLOUR Green DURATION 30
CAPTURE 40 LIVE FRAMES
PRESERVE CAMERA SETTINGS
BEGIN GUIDING PAUSE
SET BINNING TO 2
SET GAIN TO 250
SET EXPOSURE TO 10
MOUNT SOLVEANDSYNC
DELAY 30
RESTORE IMAGE ORIENTATION
DELAY 15
END GUIDING PAUSE
END PRESERVE
GUIDING START
SHOW NOTIFICATION "Start Block 6" COLOUR Green DURATION 30
CAPTURE 40 LIVE FRAMES
END SEQUENCE
MLM
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:11 pm
Location: Silver Sprimg MD US

Re: PHD2 lost star in sequencer

#4

Post by MLM »

admin wrote: Thu May 19, 2022 8:08 pm If you are using the very latest SharpCap (4.0 version from the last week or two) then the 'capture still frames' step in the sequencer should automatically force PHD2 to re-find a star if one is missing when the step starts. Previous versions of SC 4.0 would do the find star if guiding was lost *during* a capture still frames step, but not if it was missing at the start of the step, which was incorrect behaviour.
Should I be using still mode and capture still frames, instead of live mode and capture live frames, to get PHD2 to re-find a star when the next frame is captured in a sequence of capture n frames?
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Re: PHD2 lost star in sequencer

#5

Post by admin »

Hi,

yes, in the sequencer you should use still mode to capture deep sky images, as it enables much better integration with PHD2 (dithering is possible, restarting guiding is handled, etc).

cheers,

Robin
MLM
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2021 11:11 pm
Location: Silver Sprimg MD US

Re: PHD2 lost star in sequencer

#6

Post by MLM »

Thanks - I'll change my scripts
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