Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Controling my imaging rig from the Warm Room :-)


Recommended Posts

A quick vid I made because I was bored. :grin:  Here I'm sat in my warm room controlling my imaging rig which is located outside about 15M away, I'm setting up for an imaging session by running an allsky pointing run for the 10-Micron GM2000HPS. I don't have to do this model run every time but of late I've run it just to check repeatablility, and anyway, it's usually done during 'dead time' whilst waiting for it to go properly dark so no iamaging time is lost.

The program doing the automated model run is ModelMaker by Per Frejvall, the screen on the far right shows my 180deg all-sky cam which gives an overview of the sky conditions (still some cloud remnants but they soon disappeared). I keep an eye on this as it warns me if sky conditions deteriorate. To it's immediate left is the mount control screen and that's the modeling software you can see running, plus the readout from a weather stick (temperature, humidity, barroemtric pressure) out at the mount. ModelMaker is moving the scope to each of the marked positions and taking a 4 second exposure, it quickly plate-solves the result and adds that point to the mount model. To its left is my main screen (a hi-res 4k monitor) currently showing the planetarium software which is StarryNight Pro 6 (and is also good for watching movies when there's not much else to do!), whilst above that  is a screen showing the electronic finderscope view (a GPCAM with 6mm lens) and also a webcam pointing at the mount. At extreme left is the camera control screen running SGPro which is a sequencer for automating image runs (choosing targets, filters, focusing etc). The 10-Micron GM2000HPS does not require guiding so I don't have to run PHD any more, SGPro simply slews to target (no centering needed which would invovle plate solving) and it stars the camera immediately.

You might be able to see better watching on YouTube in HD...

ChrisH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a nice arrangement you have there Chris, you have all the info at first glimpse Do you have only one PC connected to all those displays? Also, how do you connect to the mount 15m away?

Andrei

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a nice arrangement you have there Chris, you have all the info at first glimpse Do you have only one PC connected to all those displays? Also, how do you connect to the mount 15m away?

Andrei

Thanks Andrei, there are two computers but one does most of the work whilst the second only runs the all-sky camera. The second was also set up for radio meteor observations but so far I've failed to get that working. The mount uses an ethernet connection but the camera I'm using there needs USB, so I use a 15M USB repeater cable.

ChrisH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blooming heck Chris. That looks more like NORAD!

Makes my single laptop look a bit limp.

Thanks for posting. I now have a dream.

cheers

gaj

Thanks gaj, I figure I've done my time sat outside in the cold in front of a laptop with a frozen mouse, this is way more civilised :-)

ChrisH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks gaj, I figure I've done my time sat outside in the cold in front of a laptop with a frozen mouse, this is way more civilised :-)

ChrisH

Being out in the cold and freezing certain parts of your anatomy is a rite of passage, once you have experienced that enough times then you can move on to an automated system :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

Chris, I hope you don't mind me asking but I was wondering, what is the camera that you have showing the view on the screen aligned with the direction of your scope, and what do you use it for.  Is it a guide camera/electronic finder scope and do you use it to give a general visual confirmation on the scope's target?  If it is an electronic finder scope  how useful a feature do you find it?  The reason I'm asking is because I'm considering something along the lines of an electronic finder scope but I'm not sure yet of its utility.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, saac said:

Chris, I hope you don't mind me asking but I was wondering, what is the camera that you have showing the view on the screen aligned with the direction of your scope, and what do you use it for.  Is it a guide camera/electronic finder scope and do you use it to give a general visual confirmation on the scope's target?  If it is an electronic finder scope  how useful a feature do you find it?  The reason I'm asking is because I'm considering something along the lines of an electronic finder scope but I'm not sure yet of its utility.

 

Jim

Currently it's a mono GPCAM2 with a 6mm C-Mount lens, and yes - it's an electronic finder. It helps to monitor where the scope is actually pointing, avoiding obstacles (trees and so on), and also I can tell when a cloud passes directly over the target. Sometimes I image when there are a few clouds drifting by, I get a rough estimate of their track from the AllSky cam and I can tell if they are about to interfere with an exposure from the finder cam (so I cancel the sub and wait). These are things you would do naturally if you were sitting outside with your scope but mine is operated remotely from a warm room. Recently it has proved useful for spotting if my pet Owl is sitting on the end of the scope :)

ChrisH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.