×

INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Re:guiding calibration issues

  • Posts: 321
  • Thank you received: 19
Hi! I am using my setup like in the signature. I guide via the internal guider, what works quite "well" but could be a bit more accurate.
i am most of the time between 2 arcsecs but there are some "overshooters" that go up to 4 arcsecs.
Now my problem is the calibration. It happens that the system keeps losing the guidestar when calibrating. it looks like this happens because of a bit "diffuse" frames. there is a big gradient in the guideframes from left bottom to right top. And the system keeps using guidestars that are not so bright, don´t know why...
When i choose a guidingstar manually, i take a bright one, and then calibration ends OK. But when i let KStars choose, the stars runs out of the box quite often.
What could be the solution for that?
Please don´t refer to PHD, since this does not work ATM...
Sorry for the bad screens, they are made with my mobile, and the sun is shining.

cheers
Niki
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
Last edit: 4 years 11 months ago by the.cakemaker.
4 years 11 months ago #37143
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Try to use the Nightly KStars as it offers a less aggressive calibration when it detects backlash issues. Change # iterations to 3 (down from 5). You can try to change the detection algorithm and see if it helps at all.
4 years 11 months ago #37146

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 150
  • Thank you received: 15

Replied by Picard on topic guiding calibration issues

Hi niki,

in the third picture, i see that you guide thru the asi camera and not thru your mount. Is it normal ?
4 years 11 months ago #37161

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 321
  • Thank you received: 19
Hi!

Tried both, seems a bit better this way... But i do not know...
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
4 years 11 months ago #37170

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 321
  • Thank you received: 19
Hey Jasem.

Tried changing the iterations down to 3 with no effect. Decided to use this absolutely clear night to capture pictures and not to test around.
Maybe i can use the frames, also with not so good guiding...

Tried differend algorithms, but this made it not better too...
Tried PHD2 again, but this gives me peakes of 8+ arcsecs...
I´m a bit confused, what could be the problem...

One more thing that happenend today was that from one minute to the other, kstars crashed, and all my profiles where gone. I could not make new profiles.
I had this issue some time ago if you remember and was able to solve this issue with renaming the .indi folder and the .kstars folder in my home dir.

cheers
Niki
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
4 years 11 months ago #37172

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 321
  • Thank you received: 19
Yesterday things got worse.
Most of the frames are lost due to guiding loosingnthe guidestar.

What changed was the gain of the asi 120 to 28, because on the guideframes it was hard to see the guidestar due to strong noise. Maybe this was the wrong decision...
Should i try to raise the gain?

As you can see in the screenshot, the system keeps using very faint stars for guiding. I do not get why it does not choose a bright one...
Can i adjust this somewhere?

As mentoned above, is it better to guide through asi, or through mount?

You can see the last guidegraph from last night in the second picture.

I will post last nights log later, as i am in my work now...

I have to say that the kstars version i am using atm works GREAT! The only problem is my guiding.

No more camera issues since the short usb cables.
Offline-Platesolving runs within seconds.

Very satisfying system.

Cheers, Niki







Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
4 years 11 months ago #37181

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Right guiding is the biggest problem for most people. Does PHD2 solve this issue?
4 years 11 months ago #37182

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 321
  • Thank you received: 19
Unfortunately not. PHD2 DID work, what was a big step for me since it did NOT, the last time i tried.
But i initially got a failure about "Backlash Problem" right at calibration...

I think i will today:

Update to the latest nightly (if i not allready am running it)
correct my polar-alignment since i did not check that for quite some time
maybe run a polaralignment in Kstars or PHD2

And then try again.


cheers
Niki
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
4 years 11 months ago #37186

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 328
  • Thank you received: 53
I believe - ASI120 VIA ASI120 means ST4 port on the camera. and ASI120 via [your mount] is internal pulse guiding. I use the later.
PHD always liked a weak star. If I pick a weak star in the internal guider - it drops my selection and picks a BIG BRIGHT ONE?

The internal guide program likes big bright ones. PHD wants a weak start that has a nice pointed PEAK at the top and not a over exposed flat top.
I have good results with PHD (on windows my old setup) I tried PHD on the PI - as a server to the desktop (Kstars/ekos) in the house. It worked, but
not nearly as good as being on the local machine. I suspect it has to do with the PI 100 yards away running PHD and then sending the results to me
on the desktop in the house. IT FELT... LAGGY and guiding from (local at about .35 dropped on the PI to about .79. The internal guide code also
guides about .79. so I think it has to do with the REMOTE server delays.

I had problems too - but they just went away. We seemed to think it was due to lowering from 10 iterations to 3. It also complained I have backlash
but I have a high end mount and really doubt that.

The GUIDING code is the weakest link in the Kstars/Ekos software pack. Hopefully it gets a refit. PHD is open source why not combine it?
PHD has been combined into Asiair and works extraordinarily well with my cheap AVX mount I get around .5 total rms error. (with sighting down the tube to PA).

I'll attach - I have a PHD guiding on windows directly and I think I might have a cap of guiding with the internal Eko's guider.

PHD - typical direct from NUC PC in dome to mount.



Internal Kstars/Ekos guiding. Best I've achieved so far.

AP Mach1 / CP4 APCC & PEMpro.
EXP SCI - ED152cf APO - Celestron 11" RASA - Stellarvue 80mm
Baader F2 HS NB filters, Lodestar X2 guide camera / OAG - ZWO 290mm mini
ZWO ASI1600MM Pro / ASI174M (solar) / ASI094MC
NEXDome, CLoudwatcher, AVX mount/ASIair and Stellarmate

The following user(s) said Thank You: Jasem Mutlaq
4 years 11 months ago #37205
Attachments:

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Thanks Ron for the continued testing!

It is possible, but I haven't check, that the way RMS is calculated can be slightly off between the two programs. To compare apples to apples, you'd probably want to compare PHD2 running on StellarMate vs. the NUC, does that produce also around 0.6 RMS?

We considered using PHD2, but there is no PHD2 library to do that, you either use the full program or not. I'm not sure about ASIAir, they might be using PHD2 the same way we are (via connecting to the PHD2 server). Do you also use LX200 AP experimental on the ASIAir?
4 years 11 months ago #37222

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

  • Posts: 321
  • Thank you received: 19
Testing yesterday again.

Installed latest nightly.
Changed gain of the asi120 from 28 upto 80.
Iterations in settings to three like it is default on new version.
Checked Paralignment through polarscope which was abit off, and fixed that.

First calibration running flawless.
Rms still at max 2,0 but 70% about 1,2 or so

Next i will test with phd. Maybe tonight, weather looks good.

To Rob.

I am not on remote atm. All tests are on a linux laptop with direct connection to the hardware. This to except delay problems between two computers, which i definitally have due to week wifi.

Cheers
Niki


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk
Skywatcher EQ6-R | Lacerta 10" Carbon-Newton | Lacerta MFoc Motorfocus | Moravian G2 8300 Color | Canon EOS 5DMarkIIIa | Lodestar X2 guiding cam | KSTARS 3.4.3. on my outdoor-Laptop with KDE-Neon/Plasma | KSTARS 3.4.3. on Remote-IMac with Catalina | KSTARS 3.4.3 on Remote-Macbook Air with Catalina
4 years 11 months ago #37223

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

So I checked PHD2 code and it is indeed different way of calculating RMS from our method. So it could be the same performance, but the RMS is different.
4 years 11 months ago #37230

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.633 seconds