astro tortilla help req

[oldpink]

I have it installed and have tried to configure it and followed a few tutorials but no joy
tried to use it tonight on M44 but no solution found after several attempts on what should be an easy target

I have set my scale to 0.42 min and 1.92 Max according to the tutorials which should be in the range for my 600D

I downloaded most of the plates both above and below my max & min that the tutorial recommended

it talked to APT and acquired an image with a lot of stars in shot but no solution to aid tracking
can anyone point me in the right direction and help me to get this to work

[IanL]

You may have already read this, but this is the best tutorial out there afaik:

http://lightvortexastronomy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/tutorial-imaging-setting-up-and-using.html

A few questions that might help you in the right direction:

- Where did the process fail?  Unless you got to the point where AT said something like 'No solution found in xS..' then you may have a basic set-up problem of some sort.

- If AT did get to the point where it was trying to solve, what messages did you get on the toolbar as it proceeded?  The first thing I'd look at is the number of 'sources' detected (sources = stars).  If you only get a handful of sources then it may not be enough for a solution, or if you get hundreds you may need to tweak the settings to get fewer.  If you get none then you probably need to look at focus/star shape and camera settings first.

- Go to http://nova.astrometry.net/ and upload one of the images if you still have it.  (If not, next time out snap a few jpegs of different star fields using a whatever your normal settings for AT are and of a few different exposures).  The engine used by the web site and AT are the same, but the online version is often more successful at doing a blind solve.  See whether you can get a solution, and once you do you can inspect the 'Calibration' panel to see what your true pixel scale is and the size of your FOV.  This will help you to ensure you have the correct index files installed.

- Assuming you have either a few JPEGs from the tests or some other images from the same scope/camera setup that you can convert to jpeg, you can test AT quite well during the day until it works.  You can use the 'file dialog' camera to load old images and test them.  If no mount is connected, then AT will try to do a blind solve, or if you are using EQMOD you could connect to the simulator instead of the real mount for a better test (just remember to point the 'scope' at the target of your test image otherwise AT will definitely fail as it will think the image is from some other part of the sky).

[oldpink]

AT ran ok just no solution
most likely I have set something wrong or messed up the FOV settings

I was shooting m44 when I tried it and when I upload the pictures I took to Astrobins it Identified it as such

I'll go back through the tutorial today and try some tests

[oldpink]

I took one of my raws I shot at the same time last night and converted it to Jpeg
uploaded it to  http://nova.astrometry.net/ and it resolved it correctly BUT the image came from BYEOS

but when I was trying AT I had to use APT as the source for some reason (maybe because I'm using the trial version)
AT would not work with BYEOS but worked with APT

tonight I will use APT and check the camera settings to make sure its clear and stars are visible
I rechecked my FOV and confirmed (I think) I have it right my Canon has a 1.28* x 0.85* FOV using the SAN calculator
so my 0.42 min and 1.92 Max should be fine using the 50% above & below to set the Min & max

I've attached a screenshot of AT so you can see my settings, maybe I have something wrong in them
but I followed the tutorial as accurately as I could

[Thalestris24]

Hi

FWIW I set my sigma value to 30 and objs to 50. I would put in your calculated FOV ( 1.28 x 0.85 ) - that's what I do anyway. Sometimes you have to adjust the exposure times depending on conditions though 10s is usually ok. Check the images that AT captures in APT to make sure they are clear, in focus, and not distorted.

HTH

Louise

[IanL]

Scratch that, you have the right scale settings I think (previous post I thought you had a 130P not a 200), so must be something else wrong.

[oldpink]

Thanks Louise the Obj setting may be the issue
I didn't think about that as a 5s sub isn't a lot of data under my conditions
50 may be a more realistic number to aim for as I can count that amount by eye from a 10s sub  on M44

now if the cloud would b****r off for a few hours tonight I could try that but I doubt I'll be out for a few days according to the forecasts

[Thalestris24]

Thanks Louise the Obj setting may be the issue

I didn't think about that as a 5s sub isn't a lot of data under my conditions

50 may be a more realistic number to aim for as I can count that amount by eye from a 10s sub  on M44

now if the cloud would b****r off for a few hours tonight I could try that but I doubt I'll be out for a few days according to the forecasts

Hi

As I understand it, the objs setting just minimizes the number of stars it uses for the plate solving calculation. So with 50, it only needs to use the 50 brightest in the capture so quicker than 100. I don't think it affects whether or not it'll find a solution. When it exposes check to see how many objects it finds in the frame. I think about 30 or more is good. If it only finds a low number there may not be enough to do the plate solving. Good focus and sufficient exposure are important. I would increase the exposure to 10s or even a bit more. 5s probably wouldn't be long enough. Your search radius need only be 15 degrees. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but the -R parameter is normally entered as -r.

There is a useful faq here:

http://sourceforge.net/p/astrotortilla/home/FAQ/

Here are my current settings (different camera!):

Louise

[Thalestris24]

ps ignore my downscaling setting - leave yours at 0!!

[oldpink]

thanks I'll try playing about with settings as soon as I can get out
I know I was in focus and had a good star count going by the BYEOS subs I got
the problem may be with APT's settings though I've just bought the premium BYEOS so it should work with AT