Feature Tracking The Sun

[CarlGreen]

Morning All, I want to try creating some animations of prominences and sun spots.
I have tried the feature tracking tool but unfortunately I want to do exposures over a long period and the target moves too much using Sharpcap.
I am using a lunt60t Ha with a B1200 Blocking Filter, A Skywatceher EQ8 Mount, along with a Neptune M camera.
I have heard that PHD2 guiding (Or a variation of it) has a Solar Guiding facility that works well, however, Can one Camera share duties for Guiding and using Sharpcap at the same time?
My plan was to use the Neptune M Camera as a guide camera and also use it with Sharpcap (So I can use the Sequencer).
Is this possible?
Alternatively, Any other ideas to achieve the same result (i.e better tracking for longer/time lapse exposures)
Thanks

Carl

[admin]

Hi Carl,

unfortunately you can't use the same camera in two different applications at once - both will be trying to control the camera as if the other application wasn't there and the results range between random crashes to failure to open the camera to sort of half working then breaking - depending on the camera brand in use.

If you want to use PHD2 then a second camera would be required (perhaps a guide camera/guide scope - you would need a small solar filter for it though).

Maybe someone else has ideas?

cheers,

Robin

[CarlGreen]

Hi Carl,

unfortunately you can't use the same camera in two different applications at once - both will be trying to control the camera as if the other application wasn't there and the results range between random crashes to failure to open the camera to sort of half working then breaking - depending on the camera brand in use.

If you want to use PHD2 then a second camera would be required (perhaps a guide camera/guide scope - you would need a small solar filter for it though).

Maybe someone else has ideas?

cheers,

Robin

Thanks Robin,
Do you think that it is because I don't have my set up properly polar aligned that the feature tracking doesn't quite track as one would hope.....I Polar Align it as best I can in daylight but its not easy.
Carl

[Jean-Francois]

Hello Carl and Robin,

For the use of one camera with 2 different applications ... It is possible ... I can do it
But, I guess it is possible only with the QHY cameras and it depends on the software.

If you have a QHY camera, then you have the chance while SharpCap and PHD2 can both use the same camera at the same time.

The magic word is "Live Broadcast". When you have installed the QHY Broadcast driver, you can use it in SharpCap after enabling it.
What does the driver ? ... it generates a video stream that a different software can use.
That is for us the PHD2 software, where you can connect the Windows WDM-style Webcam camera.

Here an example 2 days ago:

I have 3 cameras with 3 SharpCap and 1 PHD2.
Here you can see the image of the science camera (QHY183 with the spectrum) and the guiding camera (QHY200 with the star centred on the slit).
All the camera settings are done in SharpCap.

Reticules_8.jpg (184.18 KiB) Viewed 1778 times

Here the guiding camera image in PHD2. Something is interesting ... the broadcast driver with PHD2 generates an average (or sum) image.
The star was Vega, so very bright.
The guiding camera exposure was only 3 or 4 ms. If you look at PHD2, then the guiding was done with 2 seconds integration, what was perfect to average the seeing.

Reticules_9.jpg (201.19 KiB) Viewed 1778 times

Best regards,
Jean-François

[admin]

Hi Jean-Francois,

ah yes, QHY broadcast mode - I had forgotten about that. It's a neat trick if you already have a QHY camera! I guess there might be software out there somewhere that makes part of the screen show as a webcam, sort of taking the image from SharpCap's display and passing it on, but I have never found anything just like that...

Carl,

see what sort of drift you are getting - if it is largely in declination then polar alignment is very likely the cause - it tends to cause significantly more dec drift than RA drift.

PA during the day without a permanent setup is an issue. I think this procedure ought to work to some extent though

1) Polar align the night before, then park mount and leave telescope on mount and put kit away 'set up' (if it can be moved like that)
2) Place outside again next day - ideally close to original position.
3) Unpark, tell mount to GOTO sun
4) bring the sun into view using the alt/az adjustments used for polar alignment

If your mount GOTO is accurate then the GOTO should put the telescope pointing at where the sun is - or would if the polar alignment was correct. So, by using the polar alignment adjustments to center the sun, you should be correcting your PA with the sun as the reference point. In theory...

cheers,

Robin

[turfpit]

A quick Google for 'PHD2 solar tracking' turns up

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/4197 ... with-phd2/

https://solarchatforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=43414

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2owORDXEP4E

PHD2-guiding-planet.JPG (108.11 KiB) Viewed 1736 times

Dave

[Jean-Francois]

Hello Dave,

Thanks for the PHD2 solar tracking links.
Very interesting.

Jean-Francois

[turfpit]

Jean- Francois

I don’t do solar (wallet not deep enough) but the info did look promising.

Dave

[CarlGreen]

I have 3 cameras with 3 SharpCap and 1 PHD2.
Here you can see the image of the science camera (QHY183 with the spectrum) and the guiding camera (QHY200 with the star centred on the slit).
All the camera settings are done in SharpCap.


Best regards,
Jean-François

Hi Jean-Francois
I finally got round to trying your suggestion yesterdaty, unfortunately with no joy
Here is my procedure......
I connected my QHY camera and opened Sharpcap. I could see the QHY Broadfcast camera in Sharpcap and connected to it.
I got a warning that opening the camera in direct show might reduce performance.......but went ahead and opened the camera.....
This is what my screen showed.....(See first image below as I do not know how to insert Images within text )

As you can see, I could not get the camera to display anything????
I then opened PHD2 and connected the QHY camera option in the connect equipment section........The screens locked and I could not operate either Sharpcap or PHD2.........
Obviously I am doing something very wrong.....I am pretty sure I have not connected the correct profiles for the camera in either Sharpcap, PHD2 or BOTH!

If possible I would appreciate your own workflow and connection procedure so I can try to follow in order to get Sharpcap and PHD2 working on the single QHY camera (I have a QHY5iii462C Camera)

Thanks for your help

Carl

[Jean-Francois]

Hello Carl,

I will have a look this evening at home (so in near 6 hours).

Jean-Francois