I have been working on a script that I would like to repeat for each of a list of alt/az coordinates however it seems like implicit in this sequence command is that it will execute a GOTO the coordinate before doing the other steps listed in the sequence.
I can appreciate that in most cases, if you specified a repeat for a list of coordinates you would want to do the GOTO as part of the sequence. In what I am trying to do, this is a problem in that I am using an alt/az list and for my mount, tracking cannot be "on" when doing an alt/az GOTO. So, turning off tracking using that command does work and the mount behaves correctly however I would prefer to be able to turn it back on in the repeat loop before the next GOTO. Practically, I may be able to live with the tracking off for the fill repeat sequence and then turn it back on when the repeat completes. I may try to use the repeat number of times sequence command and in a early program, modify the command programmatically to execute the desired number of repeats.
Bottom line, just wanted to confirm what I think I am seeing and not requesting any changes or additional sequence commands. All that said, through a combination of SC scripting, SC sequencing and a some simple Python programming it is looking good that I can implement a one button push "run alignment" sequence.
Repeat for list of Alt/Az coordinates in file...
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Re: Repeat for list of Alt/Az coordinates in file...
Hi,
yes, the expected behaviour is that the GOTO is performed before each time through the repeat loop. The 'Can't GOTO Alt/Az while tracking' is a mount specific thing as far as I know (although it makes sense in a way, since if the mount is tracking then it will start moving away from the alt/az co-ordinates as soon as it arrives at them).
I wonder if this would be a case of something that I could handle seamlessly - ie
* If tracking and performing an Alt-Az goto gives an error, retry without tracking?
Would have to make sure to re-enable tracking on GOTO completion to avoid surprising outcomes of the action.
cheers,
Robin
yes, the expected behaviour is that the GOTO is performed before each time through the repeat loop. The 'Can't GOTO Alt/Az while tracking' is a mount specific thing as far as I know (although it makes sense in a way, since if the mount is tracking then it will start moving away from the alt/az co-ordinates as soon as it arrives at them).
I wonder if this would be a case of something that I could handle seamlessly - ie
* If tracking and performing an Alt-Az goto gives an error, retry without tracking?
Would have to make sure to re-enable tracking on GOTO completion to avoid surprising outcomes of the action.
cheers,
Robin
Re: Repeat for list of Alt/Az coordinates in file...
Robin,
Thanks for you reply. While I need to do more testing, I think if I order the steps in the sequence in a somewhat non-intuitive way, having the GOTO for the repeats is not an issue. I am having lots of fun puzzling this out. It looks like I can test the alignment script in the daytime using Sky Simulator as the "camera" and either my real mount or the ASCOM simulator mount. Got to put in a good word for the Sky Simulator software. Getting it up and running was surprisingly easy.
Thanks for you reply. While I need to do more testing, I think if I order the steps in the sequence in a somewhat non-intuitive way, having the GOTO for the repeats is not an issue. I am having lots of fun puzzling this out. It looks like I can test the alignment script in the daytime using Sky Simulator as the "camera" and either my real mount or the ASCOM simulator mount. Got to put in a good word for the Sky Simulator software. Getting it up and running was surprisingly easy.
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Re: Repeat for list of Alt/Az coordinates in file...
Hi,
yes, SkySimulator is a really useful piece of software - I use it lots. I find that turning the gain up to 1000 in the 'Sky Simulator' camera and setting an exposure of 2-4s helps with the images being bright enough to plate solve. I wish it had the moon and sun represented in the simulated sky... I could find a use for that in testing various things
cheers,
Robin
yes, SkySimulator is a really useful piece of software - I use it lots. I find that turning the gain up to 1000 in the 'Sky Simulator' camera and setting an exposure of 2-4s helps with the images being bright enough to plate solve. I wish it had the moon and sun represented in the simulated sky... I could find a use for that in testing various things
cheers,
Robin