Last session and now tonight’s , autofocus giving the Bad HFR 2 times then ending the routine, this has work well for some time , params have not changed . Can you advise ?
Link to log and images below
Change initial focuser position slightly or try change ‘step’ value.
Hi ,
That might be a problem ie change the focuser position. The focus is initially set and the sequence starts , on 2 degree drop in temperature it start an automated focus run but fails. All settings have worked reliably untill dare I say a software update… my search continues
Trev
Then try to change ‘step’ size or number of steps. I have similar case when focus worked 2 nights in a row, but then stop working on third night (after a week of idle). I noticed that I have to change step size from 80 to 60 to make autofocus routine work again. Alternatively you can try to change exposure for ‘frame and focus’ because success or failure may relay on this too.
It’s not just you, this is also happening to me. Auto focus has been working fine for months and now fails.
I get this frequently - usually because the focus has drifted just enough “out of range” such that there are no stars with measurable HFR value. This can be seen if you eyeball the images for HFR values just after they are downloaded during the routine.
As @Helen_Driver said, manually shifting the starting focus point usually resolves it. Just got to figure out in which direction. Usually get this after extended time without imaging or significant shift in environment conditions (climate is very variable where I am).
I get this a lot more often with my 6" APO (observatory mounted) than I do with my “travel” remote site 4" APO. The 6" APO is almost as fussy as SCT’s for focusing, which has always surprised me. And have not been able to compensate by adjusting step size.
DaveNL
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