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APT and dithering - newbie questions!

Astrokev

By Astrokev
in Discussions - Software

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Astrokev

Astrokev

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I currently use SharpCap for planetary / lunar SER video capture, which I am fairly familiar with. I now want to take the dive into DSO image capture using CMOS cameras (up to now I've used simple DSLR imaging for DSO).

I use EQMOD to link my planetarium software, CdC, to my EQ6 mount,  and use PHD2 guiding with a guidecam plugged directly into the laptop.

My question is how APT connects into this system. I want to use dithering between image captures.

So the stupid questions.....

I presume that APT completely replaces SharpCap for image capture. Is this right?

For dithering, is it OK to still connect the guidecam directly to the laptop (and not to the mount)?

For software, I presume I can continue to use CdC, and PHD2 and APT link together to control dithering.

For connections, my hope is that I can link the laptop to the mount, imaging cam and guide cam using a single USB cable via a hub. Is this right?

Thanks for any help :)

 

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teoria_del_big_bang

teoria_del_big_bang

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As above yes to all.

Only Caveats  I would say (in my opinion) are:

  • Use a good quality powered hub
  • Ideally connect camera direct to USB port on Laptop - this is my preference but no reason it could not go through hub I just prefer a direct connection to laptop as this is where most data is being transferred.
  • Keep cable to laptop relatively short (3M or under). Or use USB over ethernet, or at least a good quality active USB extension not the cheap ones Amazon has to offer. I never had much success with active USB cables but I know others on SGL do.
  • Always use good quality USB cables, I have always found Lindy Cromo series very reliable.

Steve

Edited by teoria_del_big_bang
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Astrokev

Astrokev

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6 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

As above yes to all.

Only Caveats  I would say (in my opinion) are:

  • Use a good quality powered hub
  • Ideally connect camera direct to USB port on Laptop - this is my preference but no reason it could not go through hub I just prefer a direct connection to laptop as this is where most data is being transferred.
  • Keep cable to laptop relatively short (3M or under). Or use USB over ethernet, or at least a good quality active USB extension not the cheap ones Amazon has to offer. I never had much success with active USB cables but I know others on SGL do.
  • Always use good quality USB cables, I have always found Lindy Cromo series very reliable.

Steve

Thanks Steve.

Yes, I've tried connecting my cam (various ZWO) using USB3 cable through a powered USB hub, but I often lose the connection - probably due to cable length being >3m. I've tried an active USB cable connecting the hub to the laptop but with little success. Not sure how to resolve this, other than to plug the cam direct into the laptop.

My aim is to to have my laptop in my warm room, rather than next to the scope, but this requires longer cable runs. Any ideas to improve this would be very welcome! Thanks

 

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teoria_del_big_bang

teoria_del_big_bang

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14 minutes ago, Astrokev said:

My aim is to to have my laptop in my warm room, rather than next to the scope, but this requires longer cable runs. Any ideas to improve this would be very welcome! Thanks

And thats the aim of most imagers.
Getting this to work flawlessly was my biggest headache when I started. I tried long USB cables and I think sometimes just depends on what USB hub you are using or cable quality, and how far between mount and laptop / computer.

I think USB2 can be okay to 10M  but  for USB it is recommended to use 3M or less total length, although I am sure some use longer with success but I always had issues.

I now use a RPI running Stellarmate at he mount and connect via remote desktop or similar but when I used APT successfully I tries all sorts of USB combinations including a 10M active cable. I never got the active cable to work at all and had issues with all other combinations. I needed about 10M minimum and around 13M was more comfortable. Sometimes it would work all night other times it would fail mid session and sometimes I just could not get anything to work.

In the end it was not a cheap solution but used USB over ethernet and worked flawlessly at well over 20M.

I used one of these and well worth the money. I also got a flat Ethernet cable which meant I could get it through a window and almost fully close it again without damage to cable. Its 4 port USB2 so you may be able to forget the hub. Yes it is not USB3 but I don't think USB 3 is necessary and USB2 is plenty fast enough for image transfer.

Never failed me.

There was one for sale on SGL a while ago but can't find it so may have been sold.

StarTech.com 4-Port USB 2.0 Extender

Steve

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teoria_del_big_bang

teoria_del_big_bang

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Posted (edited)
14 minutes ago, Astrokev said:

Maybe I didn't ask the best initial question!

Perhaps I should've asked what is the best software combo alongside PHD2 to enable me to capture images using dithering between exposures.

If you can sort your USB issues then APT and PHD2 work very well.

Steve

Edited by teoria_del_big_bang
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