Fatal error : Solar/lunar framing Assistant

[stbkaiser]

HI Robin
( sharpcap pro v 4.1.10970 64 bit)
I put this in GENERAL forum thinking this version of sharpcap is Final-release. let me know if this belongs in Beta forum.
Hopefully the error report was sent to you properly.
I was trying to use the framing assistant for tracking the sun.
Equipment = RST135, AT92 refractor, ASI 174 camera, Herschel wedge

The mount interface seems to connect and work ok for jogging the mount position.
But when I tried to use the Framing assistant (twice) Sharpcap generated an exception , hopefully a report and closed out.
(One thing to note it did NOT close out the Hubo-i interface. I had to use task master to shut it down.)
Getting things ready for imaging the annular eclipse.
Thanks for help with this.
Let me know if you need any other information.
Steve

[admin]

Hi Steve,

from the bug reports, it looks like the ASCOM driver for the Hubo-i is not happy about the movement rate that SharpCap is sending in the request to move the mount.

Can you please give it a try with the very latest 4.1 (4.1.11069) - I don't think it will sove the problem, but I have added extra logging to try to track down this very type of error since the version you are using. If it fails again the log (and bug report) should contain details of the exact movement rate SharpCap is requesting, which I can then check against the rates that the mount claims it supports).

cheers,

Robin

[stbkaiser]

Thanks Robin
Sorry
I seem to be having a problem locating the very latest 4.1 (4.1.11069)
can you point me in the right direction.
Never mind - I found it.

After I find it and download it, it may be a few days before we see the sun again.
I will run it and report back.
Take care
Steve

[stbkaiser]

Hi Robin
I was able to test your v4.1.11069 with my setup.
Equipment = RST135, AT92 refractor, ASI 174 camera, Herschel wedge
Trying to have it track the sun.
Full frame = 3096x2080
Sun fits easily in 2080x2080 ROI
So FOV has plenty of dark sapce around it at full Frame.

The good news.
SC no longer crashes when I try to calibrate with the Solar/lunar tool.

Unfortunately , it fails to calibrate every time.
I recorded a video so I could see the msgs being displayed.
it was showing
Calibrating RA axis (0.0%)
Calibrating RA axis (2.7%)
Calibrating RA axis (55.3%)
Calibrating RA axis (93.1%)
Calibration failed -not enough click poiints

I tried clicking faster for more points. It did not help.

I attached a image of the sun on the screen.
Also The log file copy.
Any thing else I can try?
Thanks
Steve

[admin]

Hi Steve,

normally I'd suggest using a slower movement rate to give more time to do the calibration clicks, but I can see from the log that the 19.9x speed is the slowest that your mount will do I would tend to use about 2x or 4x rate when calibrating (but zoomed in rather more).

I will have to look to see how easy it would be to add something to adjust the calibration distance (how far the image has to move to get to 100% calibrated). That would do the trick if we could double or treble the distance I think.

cheers,

Robin

[stbkaiser]

Hi robin
Something to consider.
The image I sent is where the sun was in the FOV when it failed the calibration.
I started the sun out at the left side of the FOV so I would have more time to click data points as the image moved across the screen.
So the sun was only about 1/2 way across when the calibration failed.
Is your “tracking” calibration using the centroid of the suns image, or is it trying to track on a feature in the sun.
If it’s tracking the sun centroid , it should have a solid lock as it goes across the screen.
Maybe the tracking calculation isn’t keeping up with my clicks as it moves .
Does it require approximately 2 seconds between clicks to compute?
I guess I thought it was doing ok since it got to 93% when the sun was halfway.
Am I off about this?
Take care
Steve

[stbkaiser]

Hi Robin
I wanted to add some more observations about what I saw when it was trying to calibrate.
You mentioned trying to run the mount at a slower speed to give more time as the sun moves in the FOV.
In reviewing the video I took during the cal process.
I set the sun image so it starts at the left side of the FOV.
The cal fails after the sun is only about 1/2 across the FOV.
It seems it still has plenty of travel to acquire additional points.
Am I clicking too quickly and the sun's centroid has not moved enough for the software to calculate properly?
Do I need to time my sample points so they are spread out more across the FOV, ?

Another interesting observation.
I know I can jog the mount at a much slower speed via the hand control compared to the Sharpcap "low" speed.
I think from looking at your log file you query the mount for valid speed settings?
then you set those as valid user settings within sharpcap?
Maybe the ASCOm interface only allows a limited subset of speeds SC can use?

For your information , here are the snapshots of the sun's motion as I selectd cal points.
As you can see, using your white msg box as a fixed marker in the image, the sun has only moved about 1/2 way acress the FOV when the cal fails.

Thank you for working this with me.
Take care
Steve

[admin]

Hi,

you are right that the speeds that SharpCap can use are limited to those supported by the ASCOM driver. It's weird that it only supports such a small selection of movement rates (maybe that's something that the developers of the ASCOM driver could enhance in a future version).

Anyway, for the moment you have to work with the speeds you have.

SharpCap wants to get 4 valid points in the calibration of each axis, and 'valid' points means that they are after the image has moved at least 20% of the target movement distance from the starting point.

So, clicking faster might help, but if the axis is moving too fast then it still might be a struggle, which is why I might need to add a way to extend the movement distance used for calibration (currently it is 15% of the smaller of the width or height of the image).

cheers,

Robin

[stbkaiser]

Hi Robin

My camera = ASI 178MM , Pix count 3096 x 2080 ,

Do I understand this correctly.
the TARGET movement distance = 15% of smaller axis of camera
which in my case would be 15% of 2080 = 312 pixels
and
the minimum move for a VALID point = 20% of 312 = 63 pixels (rounded up)
So if I can click after traveling more than 63 pixels each time, the point should be valid?
Is there a Maximum allowed individual or combined travel distance?

Question:
Are you tryimg to calculate Movement distance of a feature (on the sun) or are you using the centroid of the sun as a whole.?
(It might be very hard to find a standout feature on the sun sometimes)

Thanks for working with me on this.
take care
Steve

[stbkaiser]

Hi Robin
Just been testing the tracking option some more.
I was letting the sun travel about 1/4 the screen width as I did each click.
Picking the center of the sun. No real feature there to see. (note: when I picked a bright feature , off center, the software gave me a error)
Anyway when I ran the tool
.
first click calibrating RA axis 0.0%
2nd click calibrating RA axis 82.6%
3rd click calibrating RA axis 218.5%
4th click Calibration failed. reset and try again.

Tried this a couple times with similar results.

Should it allow greater than 100%?
Take care
Steve