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Lodestar Live V0.11 (Beta)

Paul81

By Paul81
in EEVA - Reports

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arkosg

arkosg

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Hi Greg,

Yep I'm pretty sure this was an error on my part. One of the changes for V0.11 was to build it against the latest version of QT4 (4.8.6). Previously I was using QT4.8.5 which had this bug (the workaround was to use non-standard dialogues).

Annoyingly,  I linked V0.11 against the older QT... Ooopps!

(for those wondering what QT is - its a cross platform application framework which LL uses for the user interface)

V0.12 will be using the very latest QT 5.4 as this will fix the rendering issues on surface tablets. I need to fully try it all out tho.

Hoping to get V0.12 within the next week (resolves these bugs and adds an optional separate image window which can be moved to a second monitor for outreach / NSN etc).

Paul

That's awesome Paul - glad that it seems to be an easy fix!  And really glad to hear about the second monitor addition - that should be fantastic for outreach/NSN!

One more feature request (for future consideration): a grey point (midpoint) adjustable slider for the histogram, in addition to the black/white point settings?  

I know that the different "modes" you've implemented in v.11 do this (eg. linear vs. arcsinh, etc.) but it might be nice to have a fully adjustable setting for

times when you need more than linear, but the other modes don't quite give you the results you want... 

I find that I'll often "tweak" things in iPhoto using it's midpoint histogram adjustment, and it can often help bring out subtle details very nicely.

Cheers - and thanks again for a great product!

- Greg A

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Paul81

Paul81

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Hi Greg,

I have added the grey mid-point to the list of things to look at in the future!

Release of V0.12 still looking a possibility for next weekend!   :grin:

After that I will be working on multi-spectral observing which will be V0.13 - this will allow you to map different filters into different colour channels. I think this will be the next 'big thing' for EAA. I often use multiple filters for visual observations of different features in an object so it seems a natural step for EAA too. I guess this feature won't appeal to all, but in such a case then just leaving the channel map to the default and all will work as normal.

Looking forward to seeing some EAA captures in the Hubble palette!  :grin:

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AstroAdam

AstroAdam

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Hi Paul,

Lodestar on the way at the moment, so monitoring this thread with interest :).  

Thanks for all the hard work on LL - can't wait to try it out!  Nice to have something I can have a go of natively on my Mac too!

Is version 0.12 almost ready to be released into the wild?

Adam

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RobertI

RobertI

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After that I will be working on multi-spectral observing which will be V0.13 - this will allow you to map different filters into different colour channels. I think this will be the next 'big thing' for EAA. I often use multiple filters for visual observations of different features in an object so it seems a natural step for EAA too. I guess this feature won't appeal to all, but in such a case then just leaving the channel map to the default and all will work as normal.

Looking forward to seeing some EAA captures in the Hubble palette!  :grin:

That's a really interesting development of Lodestar Live Paul. I have often wondered if this would work in EEA. i guess the ideal setup would be with a motorised filter wheel to retain that near 'real time' feel??

This is possibly the subject of another thread but i found sharpening worked quite well on some of my captures (such as PNs) - any plans to introduce that at some point? :)

Rob

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Paul81

Paul81

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Hi Paul,

Lodestar on the way at the moment, so monitoring this thread with interest :).  

Thanks for all the hard work on LL - can't wait to try it out!  Nice to have something I can have a go of natively on my Mac too!

Is version 0.12 almost ready to be released into the wild?

Adam

Almost... the day job has prevented me doing much in the last week or so, but I just need to finish off the rendering of the overlays for the video repeat window and should be good to go.

A plus side of also upgrading to the new version of QT also means that LL will now be fullscreen compatible on the Mac, and support high res displays  :grin:

That's a really interesting development of Lodestar Live Paul. I have often wondered if this would work in EEA. i guess the ideal setup would be with a motorised filter wheel to retain that near 'real time' feel??

This is possibly the subject of another thread but i found sharpening worked quite well on some of my captures (such as PNs) - any plans to introduce that at some point? :)

Rob

A motorised filter wheel is what I have in mind or a manual filter tray should work just fine (might need a focus tweak between changes - but you can switch to focus mode and the back to stacking with no problems).

I had a play with sharpening a while ago but what I implemented was rubbish. I think as (even after stacking) there is some noise in the image the sharpening must be a bit smarter than the simplistic sharpen filter I played with. I think it needs a wavelet filter similar to what planetary imagers use. Its on my radar for the future but I'll need to do a ton more research.

I agree it would be good though - I tried some sharpening in some exported images using regular desktop software and it does make quite a difference.

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Narcosis

Narcosis

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Hi Paul,

I have been an avid, if silent user of LL since I first found version 0.8 here on SGL. For me LL is a fantastic tool which gives such a new, fresh angle on Astronomy, with the bonus of reusing kit I already have! LL is a product managers nightmare, no new direct sales, no forced obsolescence leading to new sales, just pure new added value. I can hear them crying in  their creativity meetings from here.

Thanks very much for putting so much effort into your great idea and allowing users to get such wonderful views of the heavens.

Going on from one of your previous replies in this thread, I gather that someone is using LL with an SX Oculus? Something I've been wanting to do with my Oculus for some time. I haven't mentioned it previously as you seem to have your plate full with work and being happy to take what comes, I hoped that you'd get around to wider SX support in time. Is it possible to share with me the incantations required to get LL to talk to an Oculus?

Thanks and best regards,

Robin

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Paul81

Paul81

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Hi Robin,

Thank you for the very kind words, I am very pleased you are getting some good use out of LL. Its always nice to hear that it is enhancing peoples view of the night sky!

Technically the code supports all SX cameras, but it has only really been tested with the SX Lodestars. I suspect there will be some issues (albeit probably easily sorted) with some of the others. However, based on feedback from another user, I believe the Oculus works. I don't not believe they were using live stacking though, so it will be interesting to see how that works at such short focal lengths - but hey always worth a try! If it doesn't work we can always look at what is going on and get the issues sorted!

In a nutshell, you need to start LL from a command line and supply the following argument:

'force-sx-pid 0x0509'

So for example, on windows:

LodestarLive.exe force-sx-pid 0x0509

What platform are you using (Windows or OSX)? I can give you more specific instructions if necessary.

Still trying to finish off V0.12 - almost there... I have added the overlays for the 'NSN / outreach' window, just need to add the stacking mode and then do a little testing!

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Narcosis

Narcosis

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Hi Paul,

Thanks for your speedy reply.

I opened a Dros box (Windows 7), typed "LodestarLive.exe force-sx-pid 0x0509" and hey presto I have an LL window with a USB icon complete with a tick, hoorah.

So far so good. However the weather here in North Devon is fairly rubbish at the mo, it's like the proverbial "trying to take a photo of a black cat in a coalhole at midnight with the lights switched off"! So I'm not sure that what LL is displaying is correct? What I'm seeing in both the 'Image Acquisition' and 'Focus Alignment Framing' windows are two rectangular areas, one above the other with the upper rectangle being the captured image and the lower being featureless grey.

At this point I should probably mention that I have all my Astro stuff a good 70 to 80 m away from the house and connect to it using Silex GigE USB servers. Until the recent release of the new USB drivers from SX, there were some download artefacts visible in the Oculus app, but since installing the 1.3.2.1 version of the unified drivers the images from the Oculus are now nice and clean. Not sure how relevant this may be but I should hate to waste your time chasing down any rabbits popping up from my obsession with remote/armchair observatories.

Please let me know what you think and/or if you would like any further info/help from me.

Thanks and best regards,

Robin

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Narcosis

Narcosis

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Hi Paul,

Just noticed that I tried and obviously failed to insert a screenshot in my previous post, so here's another go using the attachment facility. Holds breath....

post-18935-0-10660900-1430992707.jpg

Seems to have worked.

Low res, but I hope it helps illustrate my description.

Best regards,

Robin

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Paul81

Paul81

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Robin,


Ah my bad, the Oculus is a progressive camera, so if you also add '-sx-force-progressive' to the command line arguments hopefully that should hopefully sort it.


So the command line arguments are:


'LodestarLive.exe force-sx-pid 0x0509 -sx-force-progressive'


Let me know how you get on!


Paul

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Narcosis

Narcosis

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Hi Paul,

Just tried the command you suggested but LL shows the same two rectangles as before and as you might expect the upper rectangle is now blown due to overexposure.

The command I typed was 'LodestarLive.exe force-sx-pid 0x0509 -sx-force-progressive'.

Best regards,

Robin

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Paul81

Paul81

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Hmmm..

Can you also add the command line argument '-enable-logging' and re-try (so full arguments are: LodestarLive.exe force-sx-pid 0x0509 -sx-force-progressive -enable-logging) and repeat the same test?

This will generate a log file LodestarLive_Log_<DATE>.txt in your home user directory. Once you have a log can you please send it to me?

Cheers

Paul

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AstroAdam

AstroAdam

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Well, finally had a proper go with LL and I have to say - WONDERFUL! Started another thread in the video astronomy forum to show em off!

Thanks a million for all your work on this Paul.

Oh, and keeping my eyes peeled for v0.12 :)

Cheers!

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  • 3 weeks later...
Paul81

Paul81

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LL will work with the superstar, although you will need to use some command line arguments (similar to the Oculus as described earlier in the post). The superstar has smaller pixels so will be less sensitive but I should imagine will still turn out a very nice result.

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Netwolf

Netwolf

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Hi Paul this is truely great bit of software, have been out of the game for a while but always wondered if and when someone would do this. Ever since I first saw what people were doing in VA I wondered could we do it with a standard ccd or cmos camera.

Can you tell me what is the camera compatibility list for this ? Wil it work with other starlight or ascom compliant cameras?

I have Sxvf m9 and a Sxv m25 on loan to a friend. My m9 need some repair and have put it on hold for a while but If LL software can work with it may need to get it operational again to try this out. The m9 has the icx285 sensor in it whic is quiet sensitive but not as good as thee newer icx825 etc.

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Paul81

Paul81

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Hi Netwolf

LL should be compatible with all the SX cameras - however out of the box it will only auto detect the Lodestar, but that can be overridden with some command line parameters - when you have your cameras working ping me an IM and I can help you out.

I have had ideas to run on a Pi so you can remote run via a tablet or similar. The Pi would struggle with the imaging processing if it were to run LL itself, but there is some stuff out there to use the Pi as a USB to Wifi adapter, so you can run LL on a remote machine inside and use the Pi as a means of connection to the camera.

LL V0.12 (posted today) should now fully work with MS Surface tablets, but I haven't looked much at Android platforms etc to date.

Paul

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