Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

Lodestar Live V0.11 (Beta)


Paul81

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 103
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Hi Paul,

Still no luck. Tried a new USB cable with the same results. Tried to do some fits files, but can now only find png files from tonights test.

I uninstalled everything again today and reinstalled everything. Tried to install 2. You might need to install the x86 (32-bit) Visual Studio 2010 redistributables,    these are available from Microsoft:         http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=5555 but it came back with I had a newer version and would not proceed. Being I'm running Windows 7 64 bit I guess I don't need it?
 

Lodestar driver my computer see's is 12.23.56.737

It just seems like the software is not getting much of a signal from the camera, all I get most of the time is a single thin line. Won't stretch using the histogram and the few times I got more (for no reason) got strange shading etc. I figure it has something to do with driver, or USB port software? Brand new mono camera. I wonder if drivers for my other camera's are messing things up somehow? With my DSO-1 I use a USB hub in the same (and only) USB port. Works fine. Could the hub somehow have changed the way the computer see's the port?

Here are some 60 exposures to show you what I mean.

post-40780-0-99345500-1423880329.pngpost-40780-0-43728300-1423880347.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Richard,

Its fine if you already have a newer version of the VS2010 redistributables - if an incompatible version was installed then LL would not even start. I also believe the driver should be OK - other Windows users may be able to comment on that front.

One question with your USB hub - is it powered (i.e. plug a mains adapter into it)? If not then there is a slight possibility your USB ports aren't supplying quite enough power to the camera, but if it is a powered hub then I doubt this is the issue. Even if it is not powered I suspect its probably not the issue (the camera would probably just not work at all).

Is there another computer you can try to rule that out?

Also did you try loading the image of M42 I posted on the other thread? How did that display (once you have increased the contrast and adjusted the black and white levels)?

To enable export of raw exposures to FITS files, go to the Image Export tab, select a valid directory by pressing the folder button in the Export Raw Images group, check the Export Raw Images (FITS) checkbox and then click Set. When you have done this, LL will save each camera exposure to a FITS file (around 830KB in size) - can you then post one of these to the forum and I will look at the data within it.

Also are you using darks (I don't think so given the dark count in 0 in screenshots from one of your other posts).

Lastly, what happens when you simply uncover the camera and expose it to daylight? What image do you get on LL (I would expect a completely white frame). Likewise, I assume the display goes dark when you cover the camera up (use a 250ms exposure for this test)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul,

Goes completely white when uncovered, dark when covered. Not using the hub with the X2, my X2c worked without it. I'll get some fits tonight and post them. I even cleaned the USB port on the computer to make sure a good connection. I'll try Orion today.

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul,

Here is a history of what I've tried. I first changed the name of the file to M42.fit to make it simple. Did not work so I downloaded it again and put it in the long way. Still no luck. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Richardpost-40780-0-24979900-1423939383.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Richard,

Looks like the image hasn't loaded (the single grey line on the histogram will match your brightness setting, by default the mid-range of the camera, also the same grey you see in the image).

Looking at the screenshot of the command line it looks a simple case that you need a space between lodestarlive and -load-image.

So it should be:

LodestarLive -load-image Image_M42.The.Orion.Nebula_2015.1.24_20.30.34_00000.fit

(I think I got the filename right - double check it when you try it... and I also assumed in the above you have copied the FIT file into the same directory as the LodestarLive executable.)

You can rename the FIT file in windows to something shorter - probably easier than typing the long filename into the command line!

Let me know how you get on!

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul,

Got it to load, was easy to bring out image, I did not forget how :grin: . I do not get images or histo anything like this from my camera, so I'm thinking camera bad? Software works fine on my computer with your fit file. I will take some fits tonight and post them here. here is your fit, my process in 5 seconds.

post-40780-0-40685100-1423945642.png

Thanks for all your help,

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul,

Here are several fit files for your inspection. All taken in 4.33" f7 at 770mm. Should be  from 5 seconds to 90 seconds. Also a 5x30 second stack mean. Still not getting any width in signal in Histo, just a thin line. I stuck my ZWO ASI 120MC in same USB port after using the X2 and saw much more nebulosity in 15 seconds than 60 in the X2. Got a nice wide signal in the Histogram with it.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks

Richard

Image_M42.5S_2015.2.14_18.55.13_00003.fitImage_M42.10S_2015.2.14_18.56.16_00008.fitImage_M42.15S_2015.2.14_18.57.10_00000.fitImage_M42.30S_2015.2.14_18.58.32_00000.fitImage_M42.30S5x30mean_2015.2.14_19.09.01_00000.fitImage_M42.45S_2015.2.14_19.00.20_00000.fitImage_M42.60S_2015.2.14_19.02.52_00002.fitImage_M42.90S_2015.2.14_19.05.21_00000.fit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Richard,

Hmm.. I am stumped - there are some weird things in your data, especially when I really stretch it. Based on your results with my data it looks like all the display output is ok.

I'll have a think and get back to you on the next course of diagnosis!!

Am I right in saying you get the same thing if you use the SX software or the trial of Nebulosity (think I read that in another post....)

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello everyone,

First, thanks again to Paul as he continues to refine this wonderful piece of software!  Paul - are there any

revised videos showing typical/suggested "processing" order for v 0.11?  I found your v.10 videos very helpful!

I was finally able to get out and give LL v 0.11 a whirl, and had a few issues crop up that I was hoping Paul or

others could help me sort out.  I'm running Mac OS X 10.9.2 on a MacBook Pro, with a Lodestar X2C.

In v.10, when I exported (saved) images, I got a non-standard dialog box that saved png files by adding a 

date/time string to whatever Target Name I specified; in v.11, I get a standard OS X dialog box where I have 

to type in a file name manually.  Anyone else notice this on OS X?  I should add that v.11 DOES properly add 

information to the bottom of the image file (target, integrations, etc.)

The saturation slider seemed to work fine, but I struggled with the histogram to get colour balance.  I could see 

the RGB colour peaks in the histogram, but couldn't adequately correct for colour tint by sliding the Hue slider

with Auto Align & Modify All checked.  Does one need to uncheck these, and adjust each colour separately as

in v.10?  Or... ?

Thanks in advance!

- Greg A

PS. Paul - if you are taking requests for v.12, I'd love to see a separate, mirrored output window (image only) that

could be moved to a second monitor... I had a class viewing the other night, and it would have been awesome 

to have been able to have the whole second monitor filled with just an image! 

post-38433-0-69526400-1424030495.jpg

post-38433-0-79227700-1424030498.jpg

post-38433-0-55025400-1424030501.jpg

post-38433-0-29940500-1424030504.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Greg

Splendid images! I particularly like the HH and M51. Lots of detail coming out in the latter.

Yes, I also noticed the change in v0.11 about filling in the filename. Not sure if deliberate or not but I preferred the earlier approach. Even better would be to just save without the confirmation dialogue every time I hit save….

Having the info line is really helpful in v0.11.

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul

Thanks for helping me out with this and taking the time to look at my fits. I get the same results using V11, V10, Nebulosity, and Lodestar software.. When you say the display output looks ok does that mean the Camera is working properly? Maybe the problem is in my computer? The vendor I bought it from wants me to send it back (on my dime) to test for themselves. I don't want to do this if you think the problem is elsewhere. Would be weeks before I get it back, and would end up costing me $50.00 in shipping if the Camera is ok. I tried loading V11 on my wifes computer, it's older and uses XP 32 bit. Could not get it to work even when downloading extra drivers etc. I don't have any way to hook it to my PC in the house and telescope at same time, and the only camera lenses I have are old Konica with no mounts or adapters from 1982. Should I take my computer in and have USB ports replaced? I do use a powered hub with my other camera, (not the X2) could this have messed up the port? Am using other camera tonight using hub, seem to be working ok.

Thanks again,

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg – superb set of captures there! The HH is very clear, and there is some nice intricate detail in the Whirlpool and Sunflower galaxies.

I will investigate the issue you are seeing with the image export filename dialog. This was orignally a bug in the QT framework, which is resolved by using non-native dialogs. This was fixed in the newer version of QT (which was a change in V0.11), so I reverted LL back to using the native dialog. I may have accidentally linked the OSX V0.11 against the older version, hence why it doesn’t work.

With regards to colour balance, did you try ticking the ‘auto align’ checkbox on the display processing tab? When checked LL attempts to align the red, green and blue histograms. The hue slider will change the tone of the colour after the image has been scaled from 16-bit to 8-bit, likewise the saturation boosts the colour at the same time. Colour balance really needs to be done before scaling (by aligning the histograms).

The separate window is already on my hot-list for V0.12 (a couple of people have requested this).

Richard – I’m not 100% convinced the camera is at fault. LL should work on your wifes machine, did you have the correct drivers for XP 32-bit? Trying it on another machine would be a great test.

Have you tried the X2 with the powered hub? This would help rule-out power issues with your laptop (I don’t think it would have messed anything up). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg – superb set of captures there! The HH is very clear, and there is some nice intricate detail in the Whirlpool and Sunflower galaxies.

I will investigate the issue you are seeing with the image export filename dialog. This was orignally a bug in the QT framework, which is resolved by using non-native dialogs. This was fixed in the newer version of QT (which was a change in V0.11), so I reverted LL back to using the native dialog. I may have accidentally linked the OSX V0.11 against the older version, hence why it doesn’t work.

With regards to colour balance, did you try ticking the ‘auto align’ checkbox on the display processing tab? When checked LL attempts to align the red, green and blue histograms. The hue slider will change the tone of the colour after the image has been scaled from 16-bit to 8-bit, likewise the saturation boosts the colour at the same time. Colour balance really needs to be done before scaling (by aligning the histograms).

The separate window is already on my hot-list for V0.12 (a couple of people have requested this).

Richard – I’m not 100% convinced the camera is at fault. LL should work on your wifes machine, did you have the correct drivers for XP 32-bit? Trying it on another machine would be a great test.

Have you tried the X2 with the powered hub? This would help rule-out power issues with your laptop (I don’t think it would have messed anything up). 

Hi Paul!

Thanks - I really love the quality one can get quickly with the Lodestar & your software!  I was viewing with a friend (who does EAA with a different cam/software)

when I captured the HH & Sunflower & M51, and he was blown away by the details we could see, and how easy the software was to use.  So again, thanks for

all the work you've put into LL!

Glad to hear that the dialog issue is just a bug that should be resolved with relatively little effort.  If you need any more input from me, please let me know!

I did have the "auto align" box ticked, and it did appear to align the RGB peaks.  I think the issue was the relative heights/shapes of the RGB peaks, and getting 

them to match up more precisely to remove colour casts.  On my MacBook Pro 13", I find the histogram a little small, and struggle a bit to see how well the peaks 

are aligned/matched, resulting in a lot of fiddling.  I do broaden the histogram as much as I reasonably can, but I'd find it easier if I could better see the effect that 

adjusting each colour peak was having more easily.  I don't know how you could change this easily, though - you don't want to shrink the display window...

Glad to hear the separate window made the list for v0.12!  I have another idea for your consideration  :smiley: : a midpoint ("gray") selector for the histogram!  

I think your non linear scaling functions do this, but it might be helpful to have a simple non-linear adjustment like this too... I use something similar in 

iPhoto, and find that it can help tease out faint details in some images.

Thanks again Paul!

Cheers,

- Greg A

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Paul,

Yes I installed the right drivers, her computer might be just to old and slow? I did not try it with the hub, did not want to introduce another variable, The USB port works with other camera's, so I assume it should work with the X2. I ended up sending it back to the vendor, they have been very good about it. They are going to test it themselves and if it is the camera I will either get another or a refund and move on to something else. I just wished LL worked with every camera, amazing software.

LL comes up on wifes computer, just does not seem to find camera. After spending some 30=40 hours trying to figure this out I just sent it back. If the camera is good I guess I will need a new computer for just the loadstar, nothing else.

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone used the software on one of those Microsoft Surface tablet things, running 8.1.

I currently have a macbook pro (retina), so initially when my lodestar arrives I will use that, but I'm wondering about buying a cheap Surface and bunging that in the car boot instead for when I head out with the telescope. It seems like a more convenient solution.

I assume the Surface would run other astro software without issue? (i'm thinking PHD and Nebulosity in the near future).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I just got a monochrome Lodestar X2 and am trying to play with it inside using Lodestar Live. I am able to bring up the image, but I noticed bright flashes of the image at lower exposure settings until I got up to about 1 minute when the image seemed to stabilize. Is this normal? I had the camera aimed into a slightly darkened room. I have a Toshiba Win7 64-bit laptop with 6GB of RAM with the latest Lodestar drivers installed.

Thanks,

  JohnD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got a monochrome Lodestar X2 and am trying to play with it inside using Lodestar Live. I am able to bring up the image, but I noticed bright flashes of the image at lower exposure settings until I got up to about 1 minute when the image seemed to stabilize. Is this normal? I had the camera aimed into a slightly darkened room. I have a Toshiba Win7 64-bit laptop with 6GB of RAM with the latest Lodestar drivers installed.

Thanks,

  JohnD

Nevermind! Apparently you need to press the "Set Exposure" button to lock the exposure and get a stable image?

JohnD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi John,

To set the exposure you need to select the desired exposure time and then click "Set Exposure" which will then update the camera and some other internal bits to the SW.

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the subject of the issues Helen has observed with her Surface tablet, the issue is definitely due to the high display DPI capabilities in Windows 8 and compatible devices. The easiest solution is for me to add something to LL, so this will be in the next version... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it possible to do "blind" stacking in LL v.011? I mean without registration and without the program trying to place stars on stars. Just placing frames on frames assuming that alignment and tracking of the mount is perfect.

I am aware that there is no such explicit option. But wondering if this can be achieved by setting very lax keyframe control values or by any other trick?

I am also aware that it is a strange desire to bypass something that's working so well. But I am into some experimenting that needed unconditional stacking. 

Thanks,

--Dom

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.