daz

I am trying to configure a new mini-PC for remote access for both on and off network, but I think I am missing something obvious here....!

Windows 10 no longer allows network adapters to provide ad-hoc networks (using the netsh wlan commands). Instead, you can only use the Hotspot functionality, but this is designed to share an internet connection between devices - not to operate as an ad-hoc network.

So, I can connect to the mini-PC using Mobile Hotspot, provided the mini-PC is connected to the wireless.

I have found a way to automatically turn on the Mobile Hotspot at boot up - but again, this only works if there is an internet connection - i.e. if I disconnect from wifi, turn off the auto-reconnect and then reboot the mini-PC, it can't enable the Mobile Hotspot!

I'm stuck - but again, I think I'm missing something obvious here....

Any suggestions welcomed!

This is very interesting!! Having completed my build this Autumn, I'm now thinking about Phase 2!

Nice job!!

What capture software are you using?

Don't forget bias frames as well - 0 length exposures.

Flat frame exposure will vary according to filter - but RGB ones will be very short. You'll need to experiment but you are aiming for the histogram to be between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way across - somewhere between 28000-35000 ADU counts is typical.

The flat captures irregularities in illumination from vigneting and dust bunnies. While the temperature is not super critical for flats - they are way too short for dark current build up - focus position and camera orientation are. Once you take the camera off the scope, you'll never get it back perfectly aligned so the flats won't work.

As for the t-shirt, I think you'll find it's not needed. The 314L will go down 1/1000th of a second exposure, so unless your flats panel is mega-bright, you should be ok

I would suggest something is not located properly... there should be no movement when everything is done up properly... Presumably, when the mount is off the tripod, the azimuth bolts will do up completely so they touch?

Is the azimuth post secure?

If so, it could be an issue with the centre bolt cross threaded, or even the bottom hand-knob (the one below the spreader) too far up the shaft and stopping the centre bolt from threading fully into the mount..?

I thought it might be the tripod leg bolts not being tight, but can see in the video that it is only mount head that moves, not the tripod head...

5 minutes ago, StevieDvd said:

RPi4 8gb recommended for 3 reasons:

1. Will be better if a 64bit OS is used. A few Linux distros are 64bit, won;t be too long until others go 64bit.
2. Extra memory is used for speedier transfers of data (good for image capture) - based on tests done by Tom's Hardware 
3. You can't add memory later

 

Thanks - yes, had been reading up on the fact you can't upgrade the RAM! 8GB it is!

4 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

If you are going to transfer your images for processing then perhaps 2 x 64gb would better. It's a good idea to get used to having a spare setup sd-card in case an update comes along and causes an issue. The writing to/from sd-card of the OS image takes longer based on the card size (not the amount of data used) - writing your first image to the sd-card is the start but learning how to save a working setup and write that back to another sd-card is just as easy once you done it a couple of times.

OK - thanks for the tip!

4 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

Do you plan to remote control the setup?

Yes. Once set up and installed, the plan is to run it headless and just remote onto it

4 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

As a starting point image capture and mount tracking (and Polar alignment) are easy enough to setup. Focusing remotely and later guiding for other than lunar/planetary gets a little trickier as it does on a PC setup.

I've no plan to use it for deep sky - at the moment at least! Focusing is manual anyway on my Cassegrain...

4 hours ago, StevieDvd said:

your PC/Laptop has no ability to read sd-card* you'll need a USB adapter too.

* sd-card referred to is actually a micro sd-card which tend to come with an sd-card converter.

Yes, no issue here...

4 hours ago, AstroKeith said:

Along the lines that StevieDvd suggest, perhaps use a smaller SDcard for the OS and programmes, and an USB stick or 2nd Sd card in a USB holder as the data store.

Having a backup OS/programme SD card is very wise. Also use only the best SD cards.

The RPi4 has USB3, so i am assuming then, that would be fast enough for the high frame rate?

My initial thought was the larger SD card would be the fastest, but maybe not so..?

Thanks all

Thanks both

I have played with Astroberry in the past, so worth another look I think!

I'm aiming to have all capture done locally, rather than rely on wifi or tethered with a LAN cable, and just remote onto it for monitoring purposes. Once data capture is finished then I'll offload the files to the main PC for processing.

So, a 128GB SD card should suffice and not worry about an SSD/M2 drive then.

Cool!! List for Santa now in progress

Am thinking of building a Rpi unit for lunar/planetary capture - cheaper than a new laptop!!

Anyone done this?

Any pitfalls/watch outs?

Did you install an external drive (M2/SSD) as a boot drive??

The Argon ONE case looks very nice with support for both SSD and M2 drives!

Any thoughts welcomed!

Thanks @neil phillips

I have the 6" version

It's been a very long time since I did any lunar imaging, so go gentle!!

Skywatcher Esprit 100, Atik GP, 800 frames (from approx 4,000) captured in Sharcap, stacked in AS!3 and then processed in Affinity. All 3 software packages are new to me, so still plenty of room for improvement!

It really needed my StellaLyra Cassegrain, but I didn't have the energy to swap the scope over!! And having seen Neil's image, it has inspired me to not be such a lazy git!

I have that combo! 

Be aware the the chip cover is not UV/IR blocking so you'll want a UV/IR filter - and I find with my 72 that the blue light on stars is slightly bloated. I'm waiting on a Baader Fringe killer to test against.

As with all ZWO cameras you get all the adapters, spacers and cables you need! It's a great package!

I also have the ZWO OAG, and it all just fits together perfectly!

M31 taken with the 533 and ED72....

MureDenoise is in the Scripts menu - I'm pretty sure it;'s there by default, I don't think you need to add another repository...

There are two parts to it. First part is to measure the images using two flats and two bias or darks. This gives you values that you can put into MureDenoise (when I get to my PC, I'll do some details and screen shots for you).

It's just enough to knock the fizz off the noise....

Although you could just use MurerDenoise on the Lum data, and then do MLT + MureDenoise on the chrominance....

I would suggest:

• DynamicCrop
• MureDenoise
• ChannelCombination
• PCC
• ...

DBE on the separate channels is essentially what happens with DBE anyway, so you may as well combine beforehand. There are discussions about PCC before DBE or after - technically PCC does not introduce gradient so it should not make a difference. I have tried both ways and can't  tell if there is any difference between either way!

Remember that if you are using binned colour and unbinned luminance, you'll need to get WBPP to align based on the post-keywords, not on a on a global reference. If not, then PI will resize and resample the colour images based on the luminance reference. Then things like MureDenoise won't work...

It's a great tool now - means you can pre-process multi-night data sets easily!!

Have you tried the NSG script on the subs before Image Combination?

This is great for (as its name suggests) normalising the gradients making DBEs job much easier!

That's a corker Alex!!

I switched to ASTAP a little while ago - not missed a beat since!!

PS2 was good but would occasionally fail for no reason I could fathom...

On 07/11/2021 at 12:57, barrie greenwood said:

Let me ask u guys what importance do you put on flats bias darks etc as some times I've found using them makes the image worse or us this a known issue and do you take out or use as required depending on results .

Very important!

A lot of it comes down to consistency of your data and calibration files.

• Are the focus points the same in the flats as the lights?
• Have you moved the camera in relation to the telescope?
• Are your darks at the same temperature as the lights, and the same duration?
• Are you flat-fields bright enough or too bright?
• ..
• ..

For a DSLR, you won't need BIAS frames (DSLRs can't do zero-length exposure) so take flat-darks - darks that are the same length as the flat frames. They will still be very short, but will work perfectly.

Calibration frames need as much care to collect as the lights - possibly more because of the number of them!

Watch the Adam Block videos. Then watch them again!

And yes, post the troublesome frame, so we can have a play and see if we can advise further

On 09/11/2021 at 16:57, davew said:

Can I make that three awesomes ?

Dave.

Nope - four!!!

AWESOME!!

Wow - they are amazing!!! 

I think its probably 1) ... I have looked at the cost in the past (several years ago) and no doubt they have changed as more players have come into the market.

I actually might need to do this myself for a particular piece of sky in the not too distant future., so pricing of interest to me!!

The problem is most definitely how the different print companies are interpreting the colour space in your images. Typically, if I remember rightly, a printer would want a colour image in something like CMYK so they can accurately reproduce the colours.

You might you need to alter the colour/brightness for the printer, so the finished result is what you expect....

I know we had similar issues when we started printing calendars years ago,,,

And calibrate your monitor  and if possible, view on a larger/different (TV?) screen that is also calibrated!

Do the printers want JPG format? This is a 'lossy' format and compresses the data. Do any of them accept TIFF or different formats?

I'll be there too! 305 I think I'm on...

And I have a beanie

Hoping to get some of the same skies we got in October - just longer and colder

Does the image solve on the Astrometry online version?

That dust lane is looking great Rodd! Looking forward to the finished RGB!