Sequencer question (as it relates to solar imaging)

[Moonstruck]

I am using the sequencer to program in a series of steps to capture a solar eclipse. I found that during the middle of the sequence my target (the sun) starts to stray from the middle of the screen, even though the tracking in EQMOD is set to solar. When I try to move the target back to the middle of the screen, I hear my scope slewing, but the image of the sun does not move on my screen. It seems like the image I am seeing on my screen is the image that the sequencer last took, not a live image.

Here is my question: How can I set up the sequencer so that I can move the target back to the center of the screen during a sequence, without stopping or disturbing the sequence?

[admin]

Hi,

so, the important question is whether the camera is in live mode or still mode when the problem happens...

If the camera is in still mode then what you are seeing is expected - the camera will only take frames when requested, and will otherwise sit idle. If you are using still mode delibrately as part of your sequence then the best thing to do may be to put the camera back into live mode while the sequence is idle (while a delay / wait is running) so that you can see what is going on. There is also a step 'Unlock SharpCap Camera controls while running these steps' that you can use to make the camera settings adjuatable during a wait or other sequencer actions.

On the other hand, if you were running the camera in live mode, the image should continue to update all the time (unless a long exposure is set - then it will update slowly depending on exposure). In this case, the most likely cause would seem to be that the camera glitched, so that the image is no longer updating - that would explain the image freezing and seeming not to respond to moving the telescope, even though you can hear the mount moving. The thing to do in this case is to keep an eye on the frame count at the bottom left - if that stops going up then you may have encounterd this sort of problem.

Finally - you say the tracking fails part way through ... It's not the mount reaching the meridian is it, at which point it would stop tracking and you would need to perform a meridian flip to continue? If you are using EQMOD then you can make adjustments to allow tracking past the meridian, but beware that if you go too far past you can end up with the telescope/camera hitting the pier/tripod.

cheers,

Robin

[Moonstruck]

Thanks - I think I see what I did wrong. In my sequence, I used "capture still frames" instead of "capture live view frames." If I change all of these entries to "capture live view frames" do you think I will be able to move the target to the center of the screen during the sequence, if I do it during a pause in capturing?

As for the question about the mount not tracking the sun very well in EQMOD's solar mode, I live in New England and the sun isn't that high in the sky this time of year (maybe 45 degrees?) so I don't think it would be a meridian (or zenith) related issue. I have an EQ6 mount which usually tracks very well in sidereal and lunar modes... not sure what happened here with solar.

[admin]

Hi,

yes, switch over to capture live frames - that will leave the camera in live view mode after capturing, so the image will continuously update. In that state you will be able to see the effects of adjusting the pointing of the mount. You will also get significantly higher frame rates, so captures will complete much more quickly.

The meridian issue occurs when the mount reaches due south during the tracking of any target (the sun included) across the sky, so it can happen at any time of year (you also get issues when the target passes through due north either above or below the pole, but that doesn't apply for the sun!). I would certainly expect an EQ6 to track the sun pretty well, providing the polar alignment is decent. If you are setting up on a tripod then the difficulty of polar aligning during the day could explain things (poor polar alignment largely leads to drift of the target in declination, so if that is what you are seeing then you may have found the cause).

cheers,

Robin

[Moonstruck]

Thanks Robin - I will run the sequence again today using the live view. And that makes perfect sense why my EQ6 wouldn't track the sun; as you said I didn't do a polar alignment since I set up in the daytime. Thanks again, I appreciate it!

[admin]

Hi,

daytime setup is hard - best bet is to align at night and then leave as much unchanged as possible for the next use during the day. If you can leave the tripod legs all set up and the mount head on the tripod, that's ideal. Then, if you have marked where the tripod legs were during the nighttime session you can put the legs back on the same spot in daytime and be pretty well aligned.

cheers,

Robin