Can anyone suggest some help??

I'm struggling to get the AutoFocus script to work in ACP with
FocusMax.  I can usually get the AcquireStar feature of FM to work
when I invoke it from the FocusMax GUI, but when I run the AutoFocus
script from ACP everything locks up with FocusMax giving an error:

  "An action cannot be completed because a component (STOP) is not
responding..."

  (BTW "STOP" is the emergency stop GUI for the RCOS Professional
series controller.)

The only remedy is to Crtl-Alt-Del out of everything and restart.

Here are the relevant logs from ACP and FM when this happens

ACP Autofocus Log

ACP console log opened 01-Nov-2008 00:49:38 UTC
This is ACP version 5.1 (build 3, Maintenance release 5.1)
Licensed to Mark R Williams
00:49:39 Initializing AcquireSupport V5.1.7
00:49:40 Weather safe, server is WeatherWatcher Server
00:49:40 Telescope is ACP->RCOS Professional Series Alt Az, driver V2
00:49:40 Dome is ASCOM Proxy for Observa-Dome Dome Controller Library
00:49:40 Imager is Apogee USB/Net
00:49:40 Calculated unbinned plate scales (arcsec/pix): H = 0.38 V =
0.38
00:49:40 Calculated f

Corresponding FM Log

19:49:40   FocusMax Version 3.4.14
19:49:40   System is Apogee Alta U16M
19:49:41   RCOS TCC is connected
19:49:41   RCOS TCC is an Absolute Focuser
19:49:41   MaxIm DL/CCD V 5. 2. 0 is the Imaging Software
19:49:41   PinPoint is connected
19:49:41   NOVAS-COM Vector Astrometry Engine is connected
19:49:43
19:52:39   Acquire Star not completed

My system is FM (v3.4.14) connected via the ACP Telescope hub which
in turn is connected to the  RCOS Professional Series Controller.
ACP is v5.1 with all current hotfixes.  I'm also running MaximDL v
5.02 also connected to the ACP Telescope Hub.  Operating system is
WinXP sp2.

I'm also posting this on the ACP website to see if anyone there can
help.

Many thanks,

Mark Williams

I am looking for some guidance/training/expertise help into how to
optimize focusmax with my robofocus.
Earlier this week I ran focusmax and it worked perfectly. But last
night I ran focus max and after finding focus the focused star was
well out of focus.
Can anyone guide me through the process how to optimize this software
program and the initial settings etc...
   My goal is to completely automate the entire astrophotography process
Dan

I have run v-curves on my focuser, what is the best way to decipher
and analyze the data. I know we are looking for accurate repetition,
right?
dan

Sounds like either a driver or hardware problem.

Have you tried uninstalling/reinstalling the driver and swapping out
the cables?

John


--- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "williams1951" <mark@...> wrote:
>
> Can anyone suggest some help??
>
> I'm struggling to get the AutoFocus script to work in ACP with
> FocusMax.  I can usually get the AcquireStar feature of FM to work
> when I invoke it from the FocusMax GUI, but when I run the AutoFocus
> script from ACP everything locks up with FocusMax giving an error:
>
>  "An action cannot be completed because a component (STOP) is not
> responding..."
>
>  (BTW "STOP" is the emergency stop GUI for the RCOS Professional
> series controller.)
>
> The only remedy is to Crtl-Alt-Del out of everything and restart.
>
> Here are the relevant logs from ACP and FM when this happens
>
> ACP Autofocus Log
>
> ACP console log opened 01-Nov-2008 00:49:38 UTC
> This is ACP version 5.1 (build 3, Maintenance release 5.1)
> Licensed to Mark R Williams
> 00:49:39 Initializing AcquireSupport V5.1.7
> 00:49:40 Weather safe, server is WeatherWatcher Server
> 00:49:40 Telescope is ACP->RCOS Professional Series Alt Az, driver V2
> 00:49:40 Dome is ASCOM Proxy for Observa-Dome Dome Controller Library
> 00:49:40 Imager is Apogee USB/Net
> 00:49:40 Calculated unbinned plate scales (arcsec/pix): H = 0.38 V =
> 0.38
> 00:49:40 Calculated f
>
> Corresponding FM Log
>
> 19:49:40   FocusMax Version 3.4.14
> 19:49:40   System is Apogee Alta U16M
> 19:49:41   RCOS TCC is connected
> 19:49:41   RCOS TCC is an Absolute Focuser
> 19:49:41   MaxIm DL/CCD V 5. 2. 0 is the Imaging Software
> 19:49:41   PinPoint is connected
> 19:49:41   NOVAS-COM Vector Astrometry Engine is connected
> 19:49:43
> 19:52:39   Acquire Star not completed
>
> My system is FM (v3.4.14) connected via the ACP Telescope hub which
> in turn is connected to the  RCOS Professional Series Controller.
> ACP is v5.1 with all current hotfixes.  I'm also running MaximDL v
> 5.02 also connected to the ACP Telescope Hub.  Operating system is
> WinXP sp2.
>
> I'm also posting this on the ACP website to see if anyone there can
> help.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Mark Williams
>

Dan, the V-Curve process analyzes each Cycle for you as each within the
V-Curve process completes.  Have you gone through the FMx Documentation for
V-Curve?  This will help you setup the parameters and get you started.
Although documentation says you can 'get away' with as few as '6' V-Curve
Cycles, the more the better.  Take the time some night, the Full Moon is
ideal, to get at lease '12 good' Cycles.  Watch the PID Column as each Cycle
completes to grade that particular Cycle, if it falls outside the ranges of
the other Cycles you can check the left column to change it from a 'Y' to a
'N' and it will be excluded from the total number of Cycles.  The PID field
at the top of the V-Curve panel is an average of all Cycles, you want to get
this as low as possible.

Patience setting up FMx for your particular setup is required, no two setups
are identical.  Achieving a good V-Curve is the first, and most critical,
step of configuring FMx for your setup.  Once you have a good set of
V-Curves you'll find things go much easier.  Check out Neil Fleming's
Tutorial for FMx, he has some good tips...joe  :)

http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/focusmax.html


"May You Go Among The Imperishable Stars"
Joe Mize  www.cav-sfo.com
Chiefland Astronomy Village, Fla.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan" <danjanos@...>
To: <FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2008 9:24 PM
Subject: [FMaxUG] v-curves


>I have run v-curves on my focuser, what is the best way to decipher
> and analyze the data. I know we are looking for accurate repetition,
> right?
> dan
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

All,


Trying to get my portable setup configured and have run into a bit of a
snag in that FM's Acquire Star function seems to fail very predictably.
My setup is as follows:

STL11000M, FSQ106N, MaximDL, ACP 5.1 (full version of Pin Point), and
USNO catalog.

Images plate solve just fine in ACP and using Maxim Directly. But when I
try to test Acquire Star it always fails with a message along the lines
of "Image too large"

The paths are fine and I have tried 1x, 2x and 3x Binning and it makes
no difference. What is particularly annoying is that the Observatory
setup works fine but has an ST-10XME and a 10 inch RC (much smaller
image obviously)

Can anyone shed some light on this ?

Regards

Bill

William,

I don't know if this is applicable to your setup, but plate solve NEVER
works in CCDSoft when using wider than 1° field of view. This means that
with a short focal length scope like the FSQ106 and a large CCD chip
like STL11000, it cannot work using the full frame. The classical
workaround is to use the subframing capability of CCDSoft to take a 1/4
frame image which then plate solves easily.

If the same is true, probably both the ST10 on the FSQ106 and the
ST11000 on the 10" RC would work.

I don't know if this helps.

Clear skies

Antoine

William R. Mattil a ιcrit :
>
> All,
>
> Trying to get my portable setup configured and have run into a bit of a
> snag in that FM's Acquire Star function seems to fail very predictably.
> My setup is as follows:
>
> STL11000M, FSQ106N, MaximDL, ACP 5.1 (full version of Pin Point), and
> USNO catalog.
>
> Images plate solve just fine in ACP and using Maxim Directly. But when I
> try to test Acquire Star it always fails with a message along the lines
> of "Image too large"
>
> The paths are fine and I have tried 1x, 2x and 3x Binning and it makes
> no difference. What is particularly annoying is that the Observatory
> setup works fine but has an ST-10XME and a 10 inch RC (much smaller
> image obviously)
>
> Can anyone shed some light on this ?
>
> Regards
>
> Bill
>
>

Antoine PAVLIN wrote:
> William,
>
> I don't know if this is applicable to your setup, but plate solve NEVER
> works in CCDSoft when using wider than 1° field of view. This means that
> with a short focal length scope like the FSQ106 and a large CCD chip
> like STL11000, it cannot work using the full frame. The classical
> workaround is to use the subframing capability of CCDSoft to take a 1/4
> frame image which then plate solves easily.
>

This Subframe capability must exist within the imaging application ? I
didn't see any way for Focus Max to take a smaller subframe. MaximDL
supports doing so. The failure of the Plate Solve is a Focus Max issue
because both MaximDL *and* ACP can solve full size images using PinPoint ?

> If the same is true, probably both the ST10 on the FSQ106 and the
> ST11000 on the 10" RC would work.
>

<lol> Well it helps. But I'm not willing to waste the FOV and the lower
Q of the STL on the RC. So I guess I'm screwed.


Thanks !

Regards

Bill

Bill,

I had a similar problem when using much shorter focal lengths.  I
solved my problem by Enabling "CCD Central Region" in the Features
tab.  Setting this value to 10 percent has worked flawlessly for me.

Wade

twade35 wrote:
> Bill,
>
> I had a similar problem when using much shorter focal lengths.  I
> solved my problem by Enabling "CCD Central Region" in the Features
> tab.  Setting this value to 10 percent has worked flawlessly for me.
>
>
>
Hi Wade,

Thank you for this information. I misunderstood the function that this
value played and will try adjusting this down and see if I can improve
the situation.


Best Regards

Bill

twade35 wrote:
> Bill,
>
> I had a similar problem when using much shorter focal lengths.  I
> solved my problem by Enabling "CCD Central Region" in the Features
> tab.  Setting this value to 10 percent has worked flawlessly for me.
>
>
>
Hi Wade,

Tested this tonite - and it made absolutely no difference. I have tried
at least 100 different settings and nothing works. So ....

Are there any other alternatives for Focus Max/Acquire Star that works
with widefield instruments and the USNO catalog ?

Regards

Bill

Bill,

Make sure your images are unbinned.  Have you tried decreasing the
exposure?  If not keep decreasing the exposure until you have success.
  I'm not sure why it did not work for you.  I've imaged using a Pentax
67 105mm lens without any problem once I changed the "CCD Central
Region" to 10 percent.  I'm hoping that someone will be able to offer
a suggestion that leads to success.

Wade

Bill,

What's the exact error message you're getting?

John

--- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "William R. Mattil" <wrmattil@...> wrote:
>
> All,
>
>
> Trying to get my portable setup configured and have run into a bit of a
> snag in that FM's Acquire Star function seems to fail very predictably.
> My setup is as follows:
>
> STL11000M, FSQ106N, MaximDL, ACP 5.1 (full version of Pin Point), and
> USNO catalog.
>
> Images plate solve just fine in ACP and using Maxim Directly. But
when I
> try to test Acquire Star it always fails with a message along the lines
> of "Image too large"
>
> The paths are fine and I have tried 1x, 2x and 3x Binning and it makes
> no difference. What is particularly annoying is that the Observatory
> setup works fine but has an ST-10XME and a 10 inch RC (much smaller
> image obviously)
>
> Can anyone shed some light on this ?
>
> Regards
>
> Bill
>

Bill.

I agree with Steve - you should not be using the USNO catalog if you
have a wide-field image.  You'll have plenty of stars from the catalog
just using the GSC.  You didn't say, but it's quite possible that the
problem is that PinPoint ran out of time trying to solve the image with
an enormous number of catalog stars (and field stars).  If you have a
log file from one of the failures, it would be interesting to see it.

I'm sure this is a problem with a solution!

Dick
www.brightskies.us

William R. Mattil wrote:
>
> twade35 wrote:
> > Bill,
> >
> > I had a similar problem when using much shorter focal lengths. I
> > solved my problem by Enabling "CCD Central Region" in the Features
> > tab. Setting this value to 10 percent has worked flawlessly for me.
> >
> >
> >
> Hi Wade,
>
> Tested this tonite - and it made absolutely no difference. I have tried
> at least 100 different settings and nothing works. So ....
>
> Are there any other alternatives for Focus Max/Acquire Star that works
> with widefield instruments and the USNO catalog ?
>
> Regards
>
> Bill
>
>

John Winfield wrote:
> Bill,
>
> What's the exact error message you're getting?
>
>
>
>
>
John, Steve, and Dick,

Here is one of the error messages. The other one contains the message
about the FOV being too big.
-------------
0:04:06   System is FSQ106N-1
20:04:15   ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
20:04:15   Catalog: USNO-A2.0
20:04:15   Binning = 3
20:04:15   Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
20:04:32
20:04:32   PinPoint error modPinPoint sub ppSetup
20:04:32   Catalog = 5
20:04:32   Catalog path = C:\USNO
20:04:32   Minimum brightness = 200
20:04:32   Sigma above mean = 4
20:04:32   Catalog min mag = -2
20:04:32   Catalog max mag = 20
20:04:32   Max solve time = 60
20:04:32   Catalog expansion = 0.300000011920929
20:04:32   Min star size = 2
20:04:32    Exclusion border = 0
20:04:32    Min match stars = 0
20:04:32   Could not setup PinPoint
20:04:32   ** Plate solve test not completed **
------------------------------

What I find confusing is that none of this makes any sense. As an
example, the very same 10 sec image that Acquire Star barfs on, MaximDL
can solve it just fine.

Changing the Max Solve Time doesn't do anything <lol> so it's not a
timeout problem.

Notice the above message, (20:04:32   Catalog max mag = 20) That is
*not* the setting in Acquire Star. It was set to 12.

Exclusion Border is set to 4 in the software.... why does the log file
say 0 ?

Now - about the Catalog. Yes I understand that providing a smaller
catalog might be a good idea. But this mount is likely to carry longer
focal length instruments and changing the catalog would have to be done
all the time. Besides, the USNO is more accurate. And ..... I actually
was going to try that but it took 5 hours to copy the GSC11 catalog to a
thumb drive and I ran out of clear sky.

Steve: I tried Wades suggestion. It made absolutely no difference., I
limited the magnitude range to 10,12,14,16,18 and 20. No joy there. I
might not have tried setting the expansion to 0% So I can try that.
Focus Max version is 3.4.14 and the image size is big ... 3.5 arc sec
per pixel and the chip size is 4008x2672. Which I believe is roughly 3
degrees by 2.5 degrees ? No calculator handy at the moment. But again
...... why does this matter ? Doesn't Acquire Star use Pin Point ? If
MaximDL can use Pinpoint with that catalog (USNO) then why does Acquire
Star and Focus Max have a problem ??????

Is it possible that Focus Max doesn't recognize Pin Point correctly ?


Sorry guys - but I am frustrated with this because I have tried so many
different things and nothing seems to make much of a difference.


Regards

Bill

Just in case anyone else runs into PAM + Maxim + QHY8 not liking each
other, here is the issue and the solution for future reference:

PAM by default tries to image with 3x3 binning mode, but the QHY8
drivers do not support that mode (1/2/4 bin only). This causes PAM to
tell Maxim to take a 3x3 bin image, the QHY8 drivers return instantly,
and Maxim is unable to pass/save an image to the required location.

The solution is to open PAM, select the "plate solve" tab and change the
binning mode in bottom left of window. Click on "Change Scale & Binning"
button and select a valid bin mode for the camera and drivers.

Steve

Steve L wrote:
>
>
> Hi all
>
> I have a PAM problem that has me stumped, and as it stops me actually
> completing a PAM run, its kind of annoying :)
>
> Running XP Pro SP2 with admin rights, Maxim 4.62, PAM from the website
> plus the Yahoo update (2.0.46). I connect the scope, I centre and sync
> on star, PAM tries to fire off an image with Maxim, but it returns
> immediately and fails:
>
> 02:41:42 Start Alignment Run
> 02:41:42 Plate solve method is PinPoint
> 02:41:42 Selected catalog is GSC-ACT
> 02:41:42 Telescope Slew is 5 degrees
> 02:41:42 Exposure is 10 sec
> 02:41:42 Telescope at RA = 06:08:53 Dec = 21° 17' 40"
> 02:41:42 ***** Exposing Image 1 *****
> 02:41:42 Exposure Aborted
> 02:41:42 MaxIm DL 4 Error 65535: Image Not Available
> modUtilities Sub SaveImageToFile
> 02:41:42 Start Solving Plate 1
> 02:41:42 Could not attach to C:\Program Files\PoleAlignMax\SavedImage.fit
> 02:41:42 Failed to Solve Plate!!
> 02:41:42 Polar Align Aborted !!
>
> The file C:\Program Files\PoleAlignMax\SavedImage.fit is never created.
>
> Does PAM need to start up maxim, or is it OK to have an existing Maxim
> running already (but not doing anything at the time).
>
> Any help, tips, pointers or abuse for missing something really obvious
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Steve
>
>

Steve Brady wrote:
>
> Bill---
>
> I looked at the source code today and compared it to the Log you
> provided. The Log indicates that there is a parameter that PP does not
> like based on the Log sequence – it looks like it might be associated
> with the Vert & Horiz scale. I will need an image uploaded to the
> files section in order to dig any further. I will also need all of the
> setting from the PP Tab – maybe a screen shot might be the easiest.
> Also, please verify the X,Y arc-sec/pixel unbinned. I should be able
> to trouble shoot this for you.* *
>
>
>
>
> _
Hi Steve,

Thanks for taking the time to look into this. I really appreciate it. I
can tell you that the unbinned V/H Scale is 3.5 arc sec per pixel based
upon a FSQ106N, 527mm of focal length and an STL11000M which is
4008x2672 pixels. So that it is a pretty big chunk of sky.

The next clear night, and it might be a while, I will provide you with
an Image and perhaps a Screen Shot if that will help. One thing is that
I did bin the image 3x which works very well in Maxim and ACP (Pinpoint
- Full Version) and some have indicated that I should not bin this image
? - I'll forward all the settings since I can do that without having a
night suitable for imaging.

I also did load the GSC11 catalog on the system today in case that does
make a difference. I will also try and pin down the exact error message
when I get the Image too Large message. That might help too.

Best Regards

Bill

Steve Brady wrote:
>
> Bill---
>
> I looked at the source code today and compared it to the Log you
> provided. The Log indicates that there is a parameter that PP does not
> like based on the Log sequence – it looks like it might be associated
> with the Vert & Horiz scale. I will need an image uploaded to the
> files section in order to dig any further. I will also need all of the
> setting from the PP Tab – maybe a screen shot might be the easiest.
> Also, please verify the X,Y arc-sec/pixel unbinned. I should be able
> to trouble shoot this for you.* *
>
> Steve,
>


PP Parameters are as follows:

Star Detection:
Min Size (Pixels) 2
Min Brightness 100
Sigma Above Mean 4
Solve Time in Seconds 60 (Doesn't seem to matter what is placed here.
Fails before this time elapses anyway)

Plate Parameters:
3x Bin
X Scale 3.505
Y Scale 3.505
Border 4 ( Logfile says 0 ?!?!?!?)

Catalog:
Expansion (%) 256 (tried a bunch of different values here. from 10
through 256. No real change)
Use Stars from -2.00 to 10 (or 12,14,16,18,20) No change


--------------------------- Log File Snippet ----------------------------
8:29:08 Focus has converged
18:29:08 Best Focus is: 3538
18:29:15 3538 , 3.71 , 3538 , 2028 , 1320 , 1302753
18:29:15 Focusing Completed
18:29:16 Focus time = 86 sec
19:29:53 error: (0)
19:29:53 Could not create NOVAS Site, check observer site entry for
errors! <----------------- What is this ?
19:29:53 NOVAS Site not created
19:29:53 Telescope ACP->AstroPhysics is connected
19:29:53 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:29:53 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:29:53 Binning = 3
19:29:53 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:30:11 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big
that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:30:11
19:30:11 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:30:11 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:30:12 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:30:12 310 plate image stars found
19:30:12 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:30:12 ** Plate solve test not successful **
19:31:03 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:31:03 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:31:03 Binning = 3
19:31:03 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:31:22 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big
that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:31:22
19:31:22 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:31:22 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:31:22 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:31:22 330 plate image stars found
19:31:22 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:31:22 ** Plate solve test not successful **
19:32:20 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:32:20 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:32:20 Binning = 3
19:32:20 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:32:39 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big
that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:32:39
19:32:39 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:32:39 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:32:39 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:32:39 336 plate image stars found
19:32:39 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:32:39 ** Plate solve test not successful **
------------------------------------------------------------



Regards

Bill

"The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO catalog.This will occur if the image has more than 33,000 catalog stars in it. Change the Plate.CatalogMaxMagnitude and Plate.CatalogMinMagnitude properties to reduce the number of catalog stars to be used. 100 is plenty for typical solutions. "

Steve Brady wrote:

Bill---
I looked at the source code today and compared it to the Log you provided. The Log indicates that there is a parameter that PP does not like based on the Log sequence – it looks like it might be associated with the Vert & Horiz scale. I will need an image uploaded to the files section in order to dig any further. I will also need all of the setting from the PP Tab – maybe a screen shot might be the easiest. Also, please verify the X,Y arc-sec/pixel unbinned. I should be able to trouble shoot this for you.* *
Steve,

PP Parameters are as follows:
Star Detection:
Min Size (Pixels) 2
Min Brightness 100
Sigma Above Mean 4
Solve Time in Seconds 60 (Doesn't seem to matter what is placed here. Fails before this time elapses anyway)
Plate Parameters:
3x Bin
X Scale 3.505
Y Scale 3.505
Border 4 ( Logfile says 0 ?!?!?!?)
Catalog:
Expansion (%) 256 (tried a bunch of different values here. from 10 through 256. No real change)
Use Stars from -2.00 to 10 (or 12,14,16,18,20) No change
--------------------------- Log File Snippet ----------------------------
8:29:08 Focus has converged
18:29:08 Best Focus is: 3538
18:29:15 3538 , 3.71 , 3538 , 2028 , 1320 , 1302753
18:29:15 Focusing Completed
18:29:16 Focus time = 86 sec
19:29:53 error: (0)
19:29:53 Could not create NOVAS Site, check observer site entry for errors! <----------------- What is this ?
19:29:53 NOVAS Site not created
19:29:53 Telescope ACP->AstroPhysics is connected
19:29:53 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:29:53 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:29:53 Binning = 3
19:29:53 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:30:11 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:30:11
19:30:11 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:30:11 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:30:12 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:30:12 310 plate image stars found
19:30:12 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:30:12 ** Plate solve test not successful **
19:31:03 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:31:03 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:31:03 Binning = 3
19:31:03 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:31:22 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:31:22
19:31:22 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:31:22 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:31:22 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:31:22 330 plate image stars found
19:31:22 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:31:22 ** Plate solve test not successful **
19:32:20 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:32:20 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:32:20 Binning = 3
19:32:20 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:32:39 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:32:39
19:32:39 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:32:39 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:32:39 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:32:39 336 plate image stars found
19:32:39 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:32:39 ** Plate solve test not successful **
------------------------------------------------------------
Regards
Bill
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:FMaxUG-digest@yahoogroups.com mailto:FMaxUG-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
FMaxUG-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Steve Brady wrote:

Bill---
I looked at the source code today and compared it to the Log you provided. The Log indicates that there is a parameter that PP does not like based on the Log sequence – it looks like it might be associated with the Vert & Horiz scale. I will need an image uploaded to the files section in order to dig any further. I will also need all of the setting from the PP Tab – maybe a screen shot might be the easiest. Also, please verify the X,Y arc-sec/pixel unbinned. I should be able to trouble shoot this for you.* *
Steve,

PP Parameters are as follows:
Star Detection:
Min Size (Pixels) 2
Min Brightness 100
Sigma Above Mean 4
Solve Time in Seconds 60 (Doesn't seem to matter what is placed here. Fails before this time elapses anyway)
Plate Parameters:
3x Bin
X Scale 3.505
Y Scale 3.505
Border 4 ( Logfile says 0 ?!?!?!?)
Catalog:
Expansion (%) 256 (tried a bunch of different values here. from 10 through 256. No real change)
Use Stars from -2.00 to 10 (or 12,14,16,18,20) No change
--------------------------- Log File Snippet ----------------------------
8:29:08 Focus has converged
18:29:08 Best Focus is: 3538
18:29:15 3538 , 3.71 , 3538 , 2028 , 1320 , 1302753
18:29:15 Focusing Completed
18:29:16 Focus time = 86 sec
19:29:53 error: (0)
19:29:53 Could not create NOVAS Site, check observer site entry for errors! <----------------- What is this ?
19:29:53 NOVAS Site not created
19:29:53 Telescope ACP->AstroPhysics is connected
19:29:53 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:29:53 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:29:53 Binning = 3
19:29:53 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:30:11 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:30:11
19:30:11 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:30:11 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:30:12 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:30:12 310 plate image stars found
19:30:12 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:30:12 ** Plate solve test not successful **
19:31:03 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:31:03 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:31:03 Binning = 3
19:31:03 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:31:22 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:31:22
19:31:22 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:31:22 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:31:22 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:31:22 330 plate image stars found
19:31:22 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:31:22 ** Plate solve test not successful **
19:32:20 ** Take image & PinPoint plate solve **
19:32:20 Catalog: USNO-A2.0
19:32:20 Binning = 3
19:32:20 Taking 10 sec pointing exposure
19:32:39 PinPoint.Plate Error -2147220457: The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from the USNO A/SA catalog.
19:32:39
19:32:39 Plate not solved - starting spiral search
19:32:39 Doing a spiral search to solve this pointing exposure.
19:32:39 ** Begining Spiral search **
19:32:39 336 plate image stars found
19:32:39 SpiralSolve failed to solve the pointing exposure
19:32:39 ** Plate solve test not successful **
------------------------------------------------------------
Regards
Bill
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:FMaxUG-digest@yahoogroups.com mailto:FMaxUG-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
FMaxUG-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Dick Berg wrote:
> Bill,
>
> The message that pops out comes from the PinPoint application.  You
> can find it by looking the in ACP Scripting help, PinPoint
> Programmer's Reference, Error Messages:
>
>
>   "The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from
>   the USNO catalog.This will occur if the image has more than 33,000
>   catalog stars in it. Change the Plate.CatalogMaxMagnitude and
>   Plate.CatalogMinMagnitude properties to reduce the number of catalog
>   stars to be used. 100 is plenty for typical solutions. "
>
>
> This speaks to catalog stars not image stars.  So you need to ditch
> the USNO and use the GSC, which will still find plenty of catalog
> stars in your large FOV, but likely not 33,000.   If it's still too
> many,  keep the catalog minimum on the PP parameters up at the
> brighter end, like 10 or 12.  I am surprised that the USNO would still
> not work with the faint limit set to 10, but...
>
> NOVAS is a set of utilities with many scriptable tools ised for
> positional astronomy and astrometry, including conversion from J2000
> to local topocentric coordinates.  The error message tells me that
> somewhere (in the PinPoint setup?) you've got a munged character or
> some other error for your observatory location. You might want to
> check that out.  Could be something else, but this is what comes to mind.
>
> Hope these hints provide the solution.
>
>
>
Hi Dick,

I absolutely hate the idea of having to have two catalogs on this
computer ....... The FSQ will not be the only optical tube used.
Changing back and forth might be more of an effort. Bob did mention
today that the USNO is weak on Bright Stars <g>

As for the NOVAs thing ... The only thing I could see is that I entered
the longitude as -97 xx yy instead of -097. I fixed that. I am assuming
that you are referring to the ACP settings ?

Regards

Bill

Dick Berg wrote:

Bill,
The message that pops out comes from the PinPoint application. You can find it by looking the in ACP Scripting help, PinPoint Programmer's Reference, Error Messages:
"The image field is so big that we reached the limit of stars from
the USNO catalog.This will occur if the image has more than 33,000
catalog stars in it. Change the Plate.CatalogMaxMagnitude and
Plate.CatalogMinMagnitude properties to reduce the number of catalog
stars to be used. 100 is plenty for typical solutions. "
This speaks to catalog stars not image stars. So you need to ditch the USNO and use the GSC, which will still find plenty of catalog stars in your large FOV, but likely not 33,000. If it's still too many, keep the catalog minimum on the PP parameters up at the brighter end, like 10 or 12. I am surprised that the USNO would still not work with the faint limit set to 10, but...
NOVAS is a set of utilities with many scriptable tools ised for positional astronomy and astrometry, including conversion from J2000 to local topocentric coordinates. The error message tells me that somewhere (in the PinPoint setup?) you've got a munged character or some other error for your observatory location. You might want to check that out. Could be something else, but this is what comes to mind.
Hope these hints provide the solution.

Hi Dick,
I absolutely hate the idea of having to have two catalogs on this computer ....... The FSQ will not be the only optical tube used. Changing back and forth might be more of an effort. Bob did mention today that the USNO is weak on Bright Stars <g>
As for the NOVAs thing ... The only thing I could see is that I entered the longitude as -97 xx yy instead of -097. I fixed that. I am assuming that you are referring to the ACP settings ?
Regards
Bill
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FMaxUG/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:FMaxUG-digest@yahoogroups.com mailto:FMaxUG-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
FMaxUG-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hi

Im running WinXP, CCDsoft 5.00.186 and FocusMax3.2.1.
When I run the first light wizard I get the following error.
Any suggestions ?

23:04:53   FocusMax Version 3.2.1
23:04:53   System is MySystem
23:04:54   SiTech is connected
23:04:54   CCDSoft V 5.1.8.6 is the Imaging Software
23:05:02   FocusMax Error -2147319779: Automation error
Library not registered.
Module modComponents Property Let camLinkEnabled
23:05:05   Telescope Lac du Moulin is connected
23:05:06   PinPoint is not connected
23:05:06   NOVAS-COM Vector Astrometry Engine is connected
23:16:25   System is MySystem
23:16:25   Starting Auto V Curve Sequence
23:16:25   ** Beginning Auto Vcurve run **
23:16:27   Error 13: Type mismatch
frmVCurve Sub AutoVcurve3
23:16:27   Stopping Auto V Curve
23:16:27   First Light Sequence not complete


Thanks
Juan Herrero
http://pages.videotron.com/astrolo/

Juan,

I am not totally sure here but I think there is a setup you have to do
in CCDSoft to get it to have the automation events.

Enable Events in CCDSoft.

Run CCDSoft.

In the Camera Control window, on the Setup check to see if there is a
button called "Event Plug Ins..."

If not, you need to create a folder in your CCDSoft program directory.

Using Windows Explorer, go to this directory on your PC.
ex: "C:\Program Files\Software Bisque\CCDSoft Version 5"

Create a folder named "Camera Event Plug Ins".

Restart CCDSoft and check that the "Event Plug Ins..." button now shows.

I took this information from CCDCommander help file.

Robert

--- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "Juan" <herrerojuan@...> wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> Im running WinXP, CCDsoft 5.00.186 and FocusMax3.2.1.
> When I run the first light wizard I get the following error.
> Any suggestions ?
>
> 23:04:53   FocusMax Version 3.2.1
> 23:04:53   System is MySystem
> 23:04:54   SiTech is connected
> 23:04:54   CCDSoft V 5.1.8.6 is the Imaging Software
> 23:05:02   FocusMax Error -2147319779: Automation error
> Library not registered.
> Module modComponents Property Let camLinkEnabled
> 23:05:05   Telescope Lac du Moulin is connected
> 23:05:06   PinPoint is not connected
> 23:05:06   NOVAS-COM Vector Astrometry Engine is connected
> 23:16:25   System is MySystem
> 23:16:25   Starting Auto V Curve Sequence
> 23:16:25   ** Beginning Auto Vcurve run **
> 23:16:27   Error 13: Type mismatch
> frmVCurve Sub AutoVcurve3
> 23:16:27   Stopping Auto V Curve
> 23:16:27   First Light Sequence not complete
>
>
> Thanks
> Juan Herrero
> http://pages.videotron.com/astrolo/
>

And if that doesn't help, try Camera/Server Settings and check "Allow
remote connections and check all three sub choices.  Just another
idea.  Hope it helps.

Larry

--- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "Robert" <robt2112@...> wrote:
>
> Juan,
>
> I am not totally sure here but I think there is a setup you have to
do
> in CCDSoft to get it to have the automation events.
>
> Enable Events in CCDSoft.
>
> Run CCDSoft.
>
> In the Camera Control window, on the Setup check to see if there is
a
> button called "Event Plug Ins..."
>
> If not, you need to create a folder in your CCDSoft program
directory.
>
> Using Windows Explorer, go to this directory on your PC.
> ex: "C:\Program Files\Software Bisque\CCDSoft Version 5"
>
> Create a folder named "Camera Event Plug Ins".
>
> Restart CCDSoft and check that the "Event Plug Ins..." button now
shows.
>
> I took this information from CCDCommander help file.
>
> Robert
>
> --- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "Juan" <herrerojuan@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi
> >
> > Im running WinXP, CCDsoft 5.00.186 and FocusMax3.2.1.
> > When I run the first light wizard I get the following error.
> > Any suggestions ?
> >
> > 23:04:53   FocusMax Version 3.2.1
> > 23:04:53   System is MySystem
> > 23:04:54   SiTech is connected
> > 23:04:54   CCDSoft V 5.1.8.6 is the Imaging Software
> > 23:05:02   FocusMax Error -2147319779: Automation error
> > Library not registered.
> > Module modComponents Property Let camLinkEnabled
> > 23:05:05   Telescope Lac du Moulin is connected
> > 23:05:06   PinPoint is not connected
> > 23:05:06   NOVAS-COM Vector Astrometry Engine is connected
> > 23:16:25   System is MySystem
> > 23:16:25   Starting Auto V Curve Sequence
> > 23:16:25   ** Beginning Auto Vcurve run **
> > 23:16:27   Error 13: Type mismatch
> > frmVCurve Sub AutoVcurve3
> > 23:16:27   Stopping Auto V Curve
> > 23:16:27   First Light Sequence not complete
> >
> >
> > Thanks
> > Juan Herrero
> > http://pages.videotron.com/astrolo/
> >
>

I'm just starting to use FocusMax (3.4.14) with MaximDl (5.02) and I
can't seem to get FocusMax to find a star in the picture to focus on.
I've tried the first light wizard, but it always seems to pick a random
background spot even though there is a (or many) very obvious star(s)
centered in the frame.  I've tried stars of different magnitudes in
different positions of the frame.  I have a 20d and have also tried
different ISO settings, picture types, etc. to no avail.  Any thoughts?
Thanks,
   Holden

Holden,
Try a really bright star. Also take a look at Neil's tutorial.
http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/focusmax.html. Hopefully he
wont mind me passing on his link.

Robert

--- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "holdenharris1" <holdenhh@...> wrote:
>
> I'm just starting to use FocusMax (3.4.14) with MaximDl (5.02) and I
> can't seem to get FocusMax to find a star in the picture to focus on.
> I've tried the first light wizard, but it always seems to pick a random
> background spot even though there is a (or many) very obvious star(s)
> centered in the frame.  I've tried stars of different magnitudes in
> different positions of the frame.  I have a 20d and have also tried
> different ISO settings, picture types, etc. to no avail.  Any thoughts?
> Thanks,
>   Holden
>

Sorry forgot to add some other tips. Get the star centered in the FOV.
Also try using a quarter frame image. There is a setting for that in
the software. The DSLR has such a wide FOV it has trouble unless you
cut the frame size down.

Robert

--- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "Robert" <robt2112@...> wrote:
>
> Holden,
> Try a really bright star. Also take a look at Neil's tutorial.
> http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/focusmax.html. Hopefully he
> wont mind me passing on his link.
>
> Robert
>
> --- In FMaxUG@yahoogroups.com, "holdenharris1" <holdenhh@> wrote:
> >
> > I'm just starting to use FocusMax (3.4.14) with MaximDl (5.02) and I
> > can't seem to get FocusMax to find a star in the picture to focus
on.
> > I've tried the first light wizard, but it always seems to pick a
random
> > background spot even though there is a (or many) very obvious star(s)
> > centered in the frame.  I've tried stars of different magnitudes in
> > different positions of the frame.  I have a 20d and have also tried
> > different ISO settings, picture types, etc. to no avail.  Any
thoughts?
> > Thanks,
> >   Holden
> >
>