I have just started using FocusMax and have run the first light wizard and run several V curves. I tried a test focus by clicking the focus button and it runs...
Larry, The Return to Start Position option is selected by default. This is very useful if you get a bad autofocus and so the old Best Focus Position is much...
Thanks Larry that solved my problem. Larry ... is very useful if you get a bad autofocus and so the old Best Focus Position is much better that the new one...
Hi, I did my first runs with PAM last night and I'm very happy to see, how this tool can help. My compliments to Larry and Steve! After some exercises I took...
Hartmut, Thanks for sharing these very nice results on your first run with PAM. The small star drift that you observed after good alignment may be due to your...
Hi everyone, I made a variation of this for myself a few years ago but thought that you might enjoy using it as a tool for your own imaging (especially for...
Steve, Thanks for the spread sheet. This is a very nice idea. I would add one minor comment. Step 4 says: 4. To obtain the data needed to characterize your...
Larry, that's a great idea and will be easy to implement. I agree that the 100,000 flux target is a sweetspot for most. I've also received a few e-mails...
LarryW, backtracking to last week, you answered a question helping someone get started where you recommended setting the FMx Setup Tab, Near Focus HFD to "6"....
Hello Joe- I think the best way to answer your question is to make a plot in Excel of your HFD vs. Focuser Position for your system. The StartHFD value must at...
Thkx Steve, gotta learn Excel charting someday. :P I have an AP155EDFS f:7.23, FeatherTouch FTF-3545 focuser and their Digital Focuser Motor w/7.28micron...
LOL Steve. Me too, plotting paper charts and a Slide Rule stuck in my pocket. Geek? No, just the technology those days...joe :)) "May You Go Among The...
I'm using a 10" RCA with TCC-II and I recently learned that my secondary magnification is 2x instead of the default 3x that the step size calculator RCOS uses....
Maybe this is an opportunity to enhance FMx - it could determine the optimal NearFocus FWHM when it is performing the VCurve run. It would be the point closest...
John, I wish it was that simple. I have previously considered such an automated setting of Near Focus HFD depending on the characteristics of the system but...
For you Slide Rule guys (I have a whole drawer of slide rules I have used over the years ;^), you can simply take a screen shot of the V Curve and the Log....
I am giving PAM a try tonight, and having a little trouble. I am using the full version of PinPoint, and the path is fine, as is the image scale. It solves...
Hi Neil, This puzzled me to no end the first night out with PAM as well. It would appear that PAM will crop to whatever Subframe is specified in the Size...
Many thanks, Jim. That's got it! ... www.flemingastrophotography.com Direct from Boston - brilliant diamonds in pea soup Also check out the astro_narrowband...
I'm just beginning to use FocusMax and I'm very pleased with the results. I work with several optical systems. For example, I work with a FSQ-106ED and...
Neil, PAM does not take any subframes and so the subframe directive is likely coming from CCDSoft. There is no connection between PinPoint and CCDSoft except...
Jim, Thanks for your very interesting observation. I just looked at the PAM Visual Basic code that takes images in CCDSoft and I see that PAM treats all...
Wade, Unless I am missing something in your explanation you are taking V Curves too frequently. The basic concept of FocusMax is that you initially take a...
Just to confirm...the solution worked fine last night. One question, though... What technique are folks using to ensure that the last step for each axis, ...
Hey Larry. Finally some clear here. Now thats not the case for FocusMax, nor PolarAlignMax. FM can get a good focus, just have to run a 7 or 8 times in a row,...
Ohh, forgot. In the logfile when trying to set AccuireStar: 21:52:33 ** PinPoint test ** 21:52:33 Catalog: USNO-A2.0 21:52:33 Path: C:\Databases\USNO...
Larry, I appreciate the quick response. ... It's probably my lack of understanding of the internals of the program. When using lenses, the placement of "focus"...
Neil, It is normal for it not to work perfectly the first iteration since the Correction algorithm assumes that the scope is perfectly level which is almost...
Wade, The FocusMax autofocus algorithm can easily correct for the variation of your lens positioning even if you took V Curves for that same lens when it was...
