Astro tortilla

[geordie85]

Hi

I'm having trouble and getting really frustrated. First night in months it's clear and Astrotortilla keeps freezing on me. I've recently updated stellarium and I'm wondering if that could be the problem. 

I'm busy reinstalling Astrotortilla now. Any other ideas?

[SonnyE]

I wish it would freeze up on me.

I can't seem to get it working at all.

[geordie85]

After 3 hours of freezing I've finally gave up (well actually my battery died that was running my CCD) 

I've also tried downloading the beta 0.8 version with no joy. I can't even get to to solve in simulator mode. I'm completely stumped. It worked perfectly fine last time I used it.

It's so infuriating that the first night in months that I have an opportunity to do some imaging, I don't get to do any imaging. 

[SonnyE]

I have a friend here who swears by Astrotortilla. But he's the only one I know that runs it all the time.

I'll keep following this in the hope it miraculously cures itself...

[geordie85]

3 hours ago, SonnyE said:

I have a friend here who swears by Astrotortilla. But he's the only one I know that runs it all the time.

I'll keep following this in the hope it miraculously cures itself...

I use it all the time (when the clouds permit) but since I updated stellarium it keeps freezing. I may see if I can revert back to the previous version and see if that fixes it

[iapa]

I have been using AstroTortilla,including the beta 0.8 version) for my plate saving since, oh, start of last year maybe.

This is running on Windows 7, on a Mac Mini PC, using bootcamp.

Have also used it a few times under OSX 10 El Capitan and MacOS Sierra.

I'd recommend referring to Tutorial (Imaging): Setting up and Using AstroTortilla for Plate Solving ... as it has pretty much everything you will need to set it up properly.

[geordie85]

20 minutes ago, iapa said:

I have been using AstroTortilla,including the beta 0.8 version) for my plate saving since, oh, start of last year maybe.

This is running on Windows 7, on a Mac Mini PC, using bootcamp.

Have also used it a few times under OSX 10 El Capitan and MacOS Sierra.

I'd recommend referring to Tutorial (Imaging): Setting up and Using AstroTortilla for Plate Solving ... as it has pretty much everything you will need to set it up properly.

That's the tutorial I used last year you get it set up and everything worked as it should. I've had a several month break (not by choice but due to clouds) and last night it just wouldn't work. The ONLY thing that's changed is I've updated stellarium. 

[Thalestris24]

Hi

If you've updated Stellarium you probably also need to update StellariumScope? Other than that it should work as before. At what point does it 'freeze'? Do the logs show anything? Maybe try reinstalling the index files?

Louise

[geordie85]

I updated stellarium scope and reset my laptop. It would freeze on different points. It mat have just been throwing a wobbler as I tried solving via simulation and sometimes it failed to solve in 2208 seconds and others it solved in 39 seconds. Guess I'll just have to wait until the next clear night and try again, whenever that may be. 

[Thalestris24]

4 hours ago, geordie85 said:

I updated stellarium scope and reset my laptop. It would freeze on different points. It mat have just been throwing a wobbler as I tried solving via simulation and sometimes it failed to solve in 2208 seconds and others it solved in 39 seconds. Guess I'll just have to wait until the next clear night and try again, whenever that may be. 

Make sure you have good focus

Louise

[kirkster501]

It is crucial to get the correct image scale with AT.  I used to find it simply would not solve at all without this properly set.

I am not a believer with Stellarium with scope control.  It is a lovely program visually and for planning but for "live" work at the scope and to control the mount CdC is better.

[iapa]

19 hours ago, geordie85 said:

That's the tutorial I used last year you get it set up and everything worked as it should. I've had a several month break (not by choice but due to clouds) and last night it just wouldn't work. The ONLY thing that's changed is I've updated stellarium. 

I seem to recall that I updated Stellarium then reverted back to 

But that's not related to AstroTortilla that I can see.

May be worth rechecking the parameters in AstroTortilla against the camera/OTA/correctors/reducers you are using now. I did fall foul of that - field of view changed and I'd not update min/max values in AstroTortilla so it wasn't searching the right files. Compounded by the fact that I copy away those that I don't use to speed it up.

[geordie85]

Finally got another chance to see what was going wrong. Got everything set up as usual, slewed to lbn 1274. Pressed solve and yet again Astrotortilla kept freezing at different points. I then thought maybe it's my camera settings in Stellarium. After trying to input my sensor details stellarium closed. I thought I'd give Astrotortilla another quick try and hey presto, it solved in 33 seconds.

Maybe I should just take the advice of iapa and use CdC 

[Thalestris24]

21 minutes ago, geordie85 said:

Finally got another chance to see what was going wrong. Got everything set up as usual, slewed to lbn 1274. Pressed solve and yet again Astrotortilla kept freezing at different points. I then thought maybe it's my camera settings in Stellarium. After trying to input my sensor details stellarium closed. I thought I'd give Astrotortilla another quick try and hey presto, it solved in 33 seconds.

Maybe I should just take the advice of iapa and use CdC 

Hi

Camera settings in Stellarium? AFAIK there's nothing in Stellarium that would affect platesolving. I take it you're running Ascom and StellariumScope?

Louise

[geordie85]

35 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

Hi

Camera settings in Stellarium? AFAIK there's nothing in Stellarium that would affect platesolving. I take it you're running Ascom and StellariumScope?

Louise

Yeah I am. 

I know stellarium doesn't affect platesolving but in the top right there's a menu that you can put your camera details in. That's the part I mean with regards to camera settings 

[Thalestris24]

3 hours ago, geordie85 said:

Yeah I am. 

I know stellarium doesn't affect platesolving but in the top right there's a menu that you can put your camera details in. That's the part I mean with regards to camera settings 

That's just used for calculating the on-screen fov around the selected target - won't affect anything else.

[SonnyE]

Just a side question here....

But in a different post somewhere it was eluded to that Astro Tortilla worked with the posters guide camera. That made me think that maybe I'm trying to use the wrong camera.

Should I be using my guide camera for AT's input to solve? (Also, my main imaging camera has a very tight FOV)

[geordie85]

3 hours ago, SonnyE said:

Just a side question here....

But in a different post somewhere it was eluded to that Astro Tortilla worked with the posters guide camera. That made me think that maybe I'm trying to use the wrong camera.

Should I be using my guide camera for AT's input to solve? (Also, my main imaging camera has a very tight FOV)

No, you should be using your main imaging camera. I noticed you said earlier that you can't get Astrotortilla to work at all. Have you downloaded the correct index files? 

My main problem when getting started was using the wrong index files.

How did you initially set up? I think it's light vortex that has an amazing tutorial on setting it up. Walks you through step by step and is easy to understand. It's a very well know and widely quoted tutorial so should be easy to find.

16 hours ago, Thalestris24 said:

That's just used for calculating the on-screen fov around the selected target - won't affect anything else.

Yeah I know, I just added that into my explanation because that's what caused stellarium to shut down and me try to solve without it running. Thanks

[kens]

When I installed the newest version of Stellarium I also had issues with the Oculars plugin causing it to close spontaneously. I renamed the oculars.ini file and recreated my ocular definitions and it worked after that. I also did similar with the starsConfig.json file based on a forum suggestion but I can't recall if it made any difference. You wouldn't think either of these would impact AT other than that there are some comms between the mount and Stellarium and maybe Stellarium is tying it up when AT is trying to get the target coordinates.

At worst it might stop Stellarium closng spontaneously

[geordie85]

20 minutes ago, kens said:

When I installed the newest version of Stellarium I also had issues with the Oculars plugin causing it to close spontaneously. I renamed the oculars.ini file and recreated my ocular definitions and it worked after that. I also did similar with the starsConfig.json file based on a forum suggestion but I can't recall if it made any difference. You wouldn't think either of these would impact AT other than that there are some comms between the mount and Stellarium and maybe Stellarium is tying it up when AT is trying to get the target coordinates.

At worst it might stop Stellarium closng spontaneously

'tis rather bizarre. I'll just slew with stellarium then close it before solving. Only a minor inconvenience to be fair. 

[SonnyE]

11 hours ago, geordie85 said:

No, you should be using your main imaging camera. I noticed you said earlier that you can't get Astrotortilla to work at all. Have you downloaded the correct index files? 

My main problem when getting started was using the wrong index files.

How did you initially set up? I think it's light vortex that has an amazing tutorial on setting it up. Walks you through step by step and is easy to understand. It's a very well know and widely quoted tutorial so should be easy to find.

Yeah I know, I just added that into my explanation because that's what caused stellarium to shut down and me try to solve without it running. Thanks

Shuckins, this sat so long SGL expired my tappings...

Main imaging camera is what I had input, and thought was the right pick. It was what AT had called for. Index files... index files... right. Well, not a clue here.

I have found Light Vortex, and I mined down to Astro Tortilla,

I see where it shows "Astrometric Index Files" in the second image. I do not recall anything like that in my install. Astrotortilla and Cygwin yes. But that was all. No index files at all.  So maybe that is the bullet to add?

I think I will spend some time looking into your lead to Light Vortex, and Index Files, might get me on the right track.

I had a dickens of a time with PHD2, but after months I won it over. So being the persistent [removed word] I am, maybe I can win on AstroTortilla as well.

I shall try. Because it does sound so intriguing. Thank You Geordie85.

[geordie85]

If you run the install wizard for Astrotortilla again there will be a point that asks you what you want to install. Astrotortilla, cygwin and index files. As you've already got them installed, you can uncheck Astrotortilla and cygwin. The next page will ask you what fov files you want to download (the index files). It's important to download the correct ones.

If you need to know the degrees of you scope, camera combo you can always check one of the many FOV calculators.

[iapa]

and here's one I prepared earlier

		Arc Sec		Degrees
Index Filename	Range of skymark diameters (arcminutes)	from	to	from	to
index-4200-*.fits	2.0–2.8	2	2.8	0.03	0.05
index-4201-*.fits	2.8–4.0	2.8	4	0.05	0.07
index-4202-*.fits	4.0–5.6	4	5.6	0.07	0.09
index-4203-*.fits	5.6–8.0	5.6	8	0.09	0.13
index-4204-*.fits	8–11	8	11	0.13	0.18
index-4205-*.fits	11–16	11	16	0.18	0.27
index-4206-*.fits	16–22	16	22	0.27	0.37
index-4207-*.fits	22–30	22	30	0.37	0.50
index-4208.fits	30–42	30	42	0.50	0.70
index-4209.fits	42–60	42	60	0.70	1.00
index-4210.fits	60–85	60	85	1.00	1.42
index-4211.fits	85–120	85	120	1.42	2.00
index-4212.fits	120–170	120	170	2.00	2.83
index-4213.fits	170–240	170	240	2.83	4.00
index-4214.fits	240–340	240	340	4.00	5.67
index-4215.fits	340–480	340	480	5.67	8.00
index-4216.fits	480–680	480	680	8.00	11.33
index-4217.fits	680–1000	680	1000	11.33	16.67
index-4218.fits	1000–1400	1000	1400	16.67	23.33
index-4219.fits	1400–2000	1400	2000	23.33	33.33

 

 

[iapa]

On 20/03/2017 at 20:19, geordie85 said:

Maybe I should just take the advice of iapa and use CdC 

 

It wasnae me wot dun it!

[geordie85]

Oh yeah it was kirkster. 

Apologies