StuartT

Solved you have to "open with.." Microsoft Windows based script host who knew!?

EQASCOM setup appears to be a script, so can't be run as administrator

It looks like an ActiveX error, but I thought that was something to do with web browsers?

Seems to be

I am trying to set up my new mini-PC following Patriot Astro's video step by step. I've installed ASCOM and connected the mount to test the connection, but I am getting this error. I ran ASCOM diagnostics and it tells me every test has been passed. Any idea what the problem is?

Thanks. The Quieter 3Q already has Win11 Pro on it. My laptop is Win10, but I hope it will work ok

I've taken the plunge and ordered the Mele Quieter 3Q (Win11, 8GB RAM) Fingers crossed!

The problem with the fork selector in PHD2 is that it was showing either two 2600s or two 174s - so I could never tell which camera I was actually connecting to. I'd only find out when it would then tell me I didn't have a dark library (so it had obviously connected to the imaging camera instead). Occasionally PHD2 connects ok, but in general it doesn't. No, it was not powered. It was just a long, heavy gauge USB cable No, I have abandoned the mount hub, as it's apparently a problem. I have spent SO much time trying to fix this problem. It's really been driving me crazy.

I wonder if it is because my laptop only has USB-C ports? These are incredibly flimsy! The slightest movement and everything disconnects. Another argument for a mini-PC perhaps?

there are people using 15m USB cables it seems

thanks to @scotty38 too 😬 Now.. I have just been trying out a closer connection (as it's a sunny day so I can take the covers off). I connected the laptop 'direct' to the UPBv2 via a 1m cable. I did (eventually) manage to connect everything up. So it definitely seems to be an improvement. However, it took several attempts (and two laptop reboots) to get NINA to see any of the ZWO drivers. So it's definitely not the whole story. Although NINA couldn't see my cameras, ASI Studio, SharpCap and Windows could all see them just fine and download images! So there clearly seems to be some kind of issue with NINA. Maybe a mini-PC would be better? Maybe it wouldn't?

Someone* helpfully suggested a reason I have been having all this trouble. My rig is connected to the laptop via a 15m USB cable. Apparently USB signals can't travel more than a few metres before getting messed up (🤦‍♂️)^2. So he suggested I use a mini PC on the telescope and then wifi out to that. * thanks @Stuart1971

well! Quite the coincidence. My team at the office bought this for me for my birthday this year! Very nice of them (knowing I am an astronerd). It's now on my mantelpiece

Perfect! Thanks so much. I get it now. 🙂

(ok. Full disclosure. I don't understand this at all) Surely what we are all trying to capture here is light. So pixels with interesting information in them will be non-zero (i.e. light). Black pixels are just space. So why should we care about them?

Thanks everyone. I think I kind of understand this. I think I need to do some more reading though.

I'm still not really getting what is so bad about a 0 pixel though. If there is no signal, isn't it ok for it to be 0? And if there is a tiny bit of signal then it won't be zero anyway (because the signal will give it a value). Or is it because noise can be negative as well as positive, so you have to add a baseline signal so that you avoid having a negative pixel value?

I've just looked at the pixel values in my master bias (using PI statistics) and they are between 0 and 1 (so normalised). I assume you want the 16-bit values? (as it's a 16-bit camera). Is this what you mean by ADU? If so here they are. Master_bias_1x1_15C_gain_105_offset_50 count (%) 100.00000 count (px) 26091648 mean 500.326 median 500.219 avgDev 0.795 MAD 0.667 minimum 478.881 maximum 554.740 So they are a lot more than 50! I'm not really sure what I am meant to be looking at here. for comparison, here is a master dark Master_dark_35sec_gain_105_offset_50_bin_15_C_bin1x1 count (%) 100.00000 count (px) 26091648 mean 500.328 median 500.280 avgDev 1.092 MAD 0.920 minimum 468.100 maximum 23832.271 (it's interesting that the dark frame is not lighter on average than the bias frame. I assume that means this camera has negligible dark current?)

err... thanks 😬

gosh! So it's not just me then. I guess that's sort of reassuring. 😬 The strange thing is, Windows device manager sees both cameras perfectly fine. But somehow both NINA and PHD2 get terribly confused. I'm thinking I may have to ditch the guide cam (ASI174MM mini) and find one from a different manufacturer so the drivers aren't clashing. 🤷‍♂️

I read the following here: The offset value of a camera is a little bit more straightforward. This automatically fills a small amount of the pixel-bucket before any light is gathered. This is to ensure that there are no 0-value pixels on each frame. We want to avoid 0-value pixels at all cost because we then lose any small amount of information that might be there. It is impossible to create information out of nothing, so ensuring that no pixel has a value of 0 when it is read out helps us. What I don't understand is, if there is a tiny bit of signal, then there wouldn't be any zero value pixels anyway surely? i.e. if the tiny bit of signal is 1 and we have no offset, we'll end up with 0+1=1 So why would setting an offset of, say, 25 help us? That just means we have 26. Either way, it's not a zero

thanks Carole. I had a nightmare trying to get my guide cam and imaging cam both connected (in PHD2 and NINA respectively). They are both ZWO and they endlessly clash. So after two hours of trying I gave up on guiding and relied on the mount alone. The longest subs I could manage were 90s before starting to see elongated stars. Not bad considering that, I thought.

3h with my Esprit (reduced to f/5.4), ASI2600MC Pro, L Extreme filter. Processed in Pixinsight (Moon 95%)

It's working Mandy. I just checked it

It's always impressed me just how close this comparison is (inches/miles/light years). Accurate to 0.1%