SGP doesn't park between targets

Sequence Generator Sequencing
1

Hi folks,

my SGP 3.0.0.7 (latest as of this writing) is no longer parking between targets.

here’s my log: Dropbox - sg_logfile_20180203183552.txt - Simplify your life

I might be missing the setting somewhere?

just to be clear, it’s not at the end of the sequence, but between targets within the same sequence.

Brian

2

I did not know you could park between targets. I recall someone saying that SGP would only unpark a mount at the beginning of a sequence, hence logically, it would not park between. Have I been missing something?

3

It’s done it before for me.

I image to the zenith and then wait for a couple hours for the next target. if it didn’t park, it would hit the limits and error out (which it’s doing now)

B

4

SGP does not park between targets. It’s something we’re likely going to add but at the moment when one target is done it expects the next to start. If there is time between the end of one target and the beginning of another SGP will just continue to track the first target.

Thanks,
Jared

5

I don’t understand he said ‘no longer parks between targets’. It never did that I am aware of.

But…

Why not A: Put another target in there for that 1 hour wait

or B: Do a flip?

6

I don’t understand he said ‘no longer parks between targets’. It never did that I am aware of.

i think that was my mistake.

Why not A: Put another target in there for that 1 hour wait

are you suggesting that there can be a target that does nothing for 1 hour?

Otherwise, i have a very limited view of the sky, so there isn’t always a target that i’m interested in imaging

thanks

Brian

7

Thanks for the reply and clarificaiton Jared

+1 on that feature if you are counting :wink:

Brian

8

One possibility would be to add a post event script to the last event in the script before the pause. This would turn tracking off and pause for the time you want to wait.

Then a pre event script in the first event in the script after the pause that resumes tracking.

This should be worth a try. It’s a little more complex for people wanting this feature but less for the majority of people who don’t need it.

Also less development, testing and support and you have it now.

9

Thanks Chris - that could be interesting, though i don’t really see any solid scripting resources. i’m certainly no programmer but I could hack away at a javascript or something

B

10

Sure why not, but surely you can find some sort of target even if it is an open cluster.

Me? I hate to waste an hour and usually find at least something to image. With my small field of view my last sequence was spread across 5 to 6 different targets!

11

I would agree that we need some kind of “between targets” options. Either be able to park or just stop tracking so there is not a pier collision issue. Of course stopping tracking is going to mean loss of sync, so this feature would need to be accompanied by a plate solve / sync before slewing to the next target.

Charlie

12

There’s no need to solve and sync before moving to the next target because the mount errors mean that a sync before the slew doesn’t make the slew destination more accurate. The existing process of doing the the slew, then solve and sync on the target is OK.

13

@Chris

If the mount’s software is keeping up with the RA and DEC of where the OTA is pointing even when the mount is not tracking, then the mount does not lose its sync and a slew to the next target would be accurate.

I didn’t assume mounts did that and thought if the mount stopped tracking for an hour, then a subsequent slew to the new target would be off by an hour.

Charlie

14

I would love the problem of too many targets, but i am ringed in my trees (imaging only above 45 degrees on all sides, West completely blocked) and i’m in a white zone, so i’m really limited to narrowband. Turns out finding interesting new targets isn’t that easy, but i’ll redouble my efforts.

thanks

Brian

15

Sorry for the delay in a response.

Its not that I have too many targets, I am also ‘ringed in’ by trees and the maximum amount of time I get on any one target is around 2 hours. The average is around 1:30 and some as short as 40 minutes. It can literally take me weeks to months to finish a target.

This is why I shoot several targets on an all night session. Some are tiny little NGC objects, or open clusters that often I don’t do anything with.

I just hate to see the system sitting idol for long periods of time just doing nothing.