Registax File Load Issue

[Swoop1]

I have tried on several occasions to use Registax6 for lunar processing but, whenever I go to upload the data to start work, I keep getting the message "UNABLE TO LOAD" in the right side of the file selection box.

I have checked that Video is selected as the data source type.

The data is recorded using bot ZWO ASI290MC and AI533MCPRO.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks.

[Steve Ward]

These days Registax is generally only employed for its still superb "Wavelets" function .

For the stacking procedure the go-to is AutoStakkert  , probably V4 now though I found nothing in the new version for me that AS!3 doesn't do.

[Cornelius Varley]

The problem is usually due to an incompatible video format. Either convert the video to a older video format using PIPP or use Autostakkert to stack the video frames.

[Swoop1]

Thanks folks.

I take it then, that I just upload the Autostakkert product to Registax and bypass the first few steps until I get to wavelets?

[Steve Ward]

Remember at the end of stacking to save the stack as a TIFF file , the default is PNG and Uncle Reg doesn't like them I found.

When you open the file in Registax , I'm still using V5.1 as again I found the update offered nothing special , it will automatically take you to the Wavelets step so no navigation needed.

As Peter suggested above Chris Garry's "PIPP" software is well worth downloading.

I use it as my first port of call as it will 'Centre and Crop' the source files to reduce the data that AS!3/4 has to deal and eliminate any movement across the sensor from capture (even with close-ups and crescent moons)  making stacking faster , and it will also quality check the frames beforehand so that only the best ones (a percentage/# of your choosing) get to the stacking software to start with , again reducing time in the stacking.

You'll need to go here for the PIPP software as Chris' site's download page has been unobtainable for some time now.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230531163522/https://sites.google.com/site/astropipp/downloads

[bosun21]

That's my sequence also. PIP initially to stabilise and eliminate poor frames then AS4 for stacking and percentage of best frames to stack and finally Registax for the wavelets. I have also started using Astro surface which can do it all however I only use it for final sharpening.

[Steve Ward]

6 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

That's my sequence also. PIP initially to stabilise and eliminate poor frames then AS4 for stacking and percentage of best frames to stack and finally Registax for the wavelets. I have also started using Astro surface which can do it all however I only use it for final sharpening.

My final tweaks I do over in Gimp .

Elimination of hot pixels , elimination of dust bunnies , a blend of Gaussian Blur and Unsharp Mask for final appearance , Levels adjustment and final Colouring and Inverting . 

One tip for the Wavelets that most folk miss , I only ever use the top two sliders to sharpen for my full discs. 

To start my first move is to take sliders 1:1 , 3:1 , 4:1 , 5:1 and 6:1 all the way over to the left to -5.0.

Only then do I start to gradually take slider 2:1 to the right , increasing gently until the fine detail starts to emerge , it's a bit like watching the view come into focus at the eyepiece.

When I see detail start to emerge I then very gently start to increase slider 1:1 and then it's a matter of juggling the two until it looks 'right' to my eye.

A surefire way of checking if you've overcooked the sharpening is to watch the very edge of the disc , if it develops an obvious hard white rim then it's time to back off the sliders until it disappears.

Unfortunately there's no magic formula that works every day , there is the option at the bottom right of the Wavelets box to "Save Scheme" which remembers the settngs used for next time , but I'll almost guarantee that the next day's data will be a little different and the 'recipe' will not quite work.

But it's a great thing to use if you're doing a Lunar mosaic for instance when you want every panel to be as similar as possible before stitching.