maximdl help please

[astronomer]

hi can anyone tell me how you do darks bias and flats in max dl

as i im having no luck at all just dont understand.or can i do them

in another program if so which? and can i use them in max dl.

i have always use autostar envisage which is easy but you only do

darks and nothing else and my picture just dont come out that good

so i need to do the above and hope things get better.

many thanks for any help...john

[steppenwolf]

BIAS Frames are very straightforward. Select Sequence - Options, tick enable, set 'type' to BIAS and set Repeat to 20. This will get you 20 BIAS frames

For DARKS, set up as above but set 'type' to DARK and 'Exposure' to the same length as the 'LIGHT' images that you take.

For FLATS, how long have you got? This is a fairly big subject so you really need to do a Google Search or attend the SGL Imaging day if there are any cancellations!

Once you have your BIAS, DARK and FLAT frames, select Process - Set Calibration choose your 'Source directory' (this is the folder into which you have saved your calibration files'), click on 'auto-generate' and once generated, click on 'Replace w/Masters' to generate your master calibration files. You can now use these to calibrate your light images.

There is an extensive help file within MaximDL to give you more info. on this procedure including the taking of FLATS but the above should be a half reasonable start.

[astronomer]

steppenwolf thank you very much for your reply that is a great help and i will do that and see how i get on,thanks again .astronomer

[FraserClarke]

BIAS Frames are very straightforward. Select Sequence - Options, tick enable, set 'type' to BIAS and set Repeat to 20. This will get you 20 BIAS frames

For DARKS, set up as above but set 'type' to DARK and 'Exposure' to the same length as the 'LIGHT' images that you take.

This will only work if the camera has an internal mechanical shutter right?? For a Meade DSI etc, which don't have shutters, you will need to put the camera somewhere dark to take darks - or do a good job of covering the entrance to the camera so no light can get in.

It will still be worth using the 'dark' setting in MaximDL as above, as it will put the necessary information into the image header to let the processing routines know which frames are darks/flats/etc...

[steppenwolf]

This will only work if the camera has an internal mechanical shutter right??

MaximDL will automatically remind you to cover the front of the telescope to exclude light from the exposures for both BIAS and DARK frames.

[astronomer]

thanks to you both for the replys im going to try it tomorrow after work

and see how i get on..thanks again..astronomer