AstroAF - How To Automate Your Astrophotography with NINA

[@deepskydetail]

Saving this video if I ever switch from kstars to Nina :) Thanks, Doug!

[@AstroAF]

@@deepskydetail Thanks Mark!! I have a space in my heart that KStars/Ekos resides.

[@DeepSpaceAstro]

Nice coverage Doug! Offsets will help once I go mono, but who knows when that will be! Until then, I'll just keep stealing your data. I also didn't know about the variable stuff! Keep you the good work man!

[@AstroAF]

@@DeepSpaceAstro Thanks Rich! Anytime on the data. If you need any masters I’m posting download links on my Discord as I process new projects. Hit me up directly if you need subs and calibration files. Cheers! Doug

[@Astro_Shed]

Great video Doug, all very useful info, I am still using the legacy sequencer, as it does all I need, I need to try out the advanced

[@AstroAF]

@@Astro_Shed Thanks Stewart!! I’ve only used the legacy sequencer a handful of times. I prefer advanced just because once setup it makes things so much more streamlined from night to night. If you decide to try it out and have any questions, post over on my Discord and I’ll see if I can help out! Cheers! Doug

[@Astro_Shed]

​@@AstroAF I tried to get on your discord but couldn’t, i have an account as I used to run a group myself, but each time I tried and out my details in, it asked for an email which was fine and also a phone number, and then threw an error..🤷🏼‍♂

[@AstroAF]

@@Astro_Shed that’s strange. I don’t ask for any personal info so that must be a discord thing. Are you trying with link in my video descriptions?

[@Astro_Shed]

@@AstroAF you have it set up to ask for a valid mobile phone number and as I have my numbers used on an old discord account it will not let me use it again so as long as you have this option enabled I can’t join, it’s not a discord thing as I am not asked when I join other groups, there must be a setting you can change to allow me, it may stop many people joining if they have more than one discord account, and have already used there number on an old account they can no longer access, like me ☹

[@Astro_Shed]

Yes I used your invite link

[@AlexN-Astro]

This is an awesome video... I'm still largely using the legacy sequencer because its just simple... I have 3 templates, OSC_Home, OSC_DarkSite and NB, I load whichever TargetSet template I want based on what I'm doing, then jump into the framing assistant, frame up my target and send it to the current sequence.... I know that there is so much more power in the advanced sequencer, and honestly, I'm a software engineer, and have contributed to NINA in the past - it's not beyond me to learn how to use the advanced sequencer.... Its just that I'm too lazy to put in the effort to learn how to use something that will help me to be more lazy! hahaha This video has inspired me (at least started to) to give it a go! (After this new moon though... I have work to do, and I don't want to be losing moonless clear sky time to learning the advanced sequencer.

[@AstroAF]

Hi Alex!! Thanks for watching and commenting! Your template setup sounds like a great way to go. I'm a believer in whatever works is perfect! I too am a software engineer, the advanced sequencer appeals to me partially for that reason. LOL!! It does take a bit of up-front effort but I've found it to be completely worth it for the lazy dividends it pays!! If you get into it and end up with any questions or whatever, feel free to reach out over on my Discord and I'll definitely see if I can help or discuss whatever... Or just pop in and say Hi! Clear Skies and Cheers!! Doug

[@KJRitch]

I'm still using the legacy sequencer. I have to set up and tear down every evening. I'm retired and live in a motorhome and pretty much live in campgrounds two weeks at a time and move on. I'm in a Bortle 2 area in southeast Missouri. at a state park. The campsite has a nice large level paved patio and no trees around. Maybe I could wait until the morning but I can't get myself to leave my equipment out there. I'd be so worried I wouldn't be able to sleep. I'm always afraid the weather forecast will be wrong or a nocturnal animal will come sniffing around. I'm not too worried about people as everyone is in bed by 9pm. Last night while tearing down at 1:30am some wild horses that are supposed to frequent this state park walked passed my campsite. You mentioned your sequence takes your flats. Do you have an automated flat panel on your SCT now? One of the things I have to start thinking about is dew not that I'm in the midwest. I imaged four hours and by 1:30am the OTA, parts of the OTA and dew shield , parts of the mount , the top of my lithium power station was wet. Spending the whole summer out West the air is dryer. I have a Celestron dew heater ring and the 2 port controller that I mount not the from of the dovetail under the corrector plate. I use it for a weight. I'll have to read up on it and use it the next time. It's been humid here probably due to the clouds and moisture from the hurricane but it cleared out two nights ago and it set up but only got 4 frames before mountain fog obscured everything and had to pack up. Last night there was no fog appearing or that was noticeable but despite a Bortle 2 sky it didn't seem as bright and clear as a western sky later in the evening. I guess your HEQ5 is running pretty good now. No more trouble with the belts? Is the guiding pretty consistent? When you calibrate PHD2 does it gives you a passing calibration result. When I calibrated my AVX iI have to run calibration several times until I get a decent looking right angle RA/DEC graph. My backlash, despite tweaking the backlash in the worm gears still isn't measurable, but despite all that PHD2 complains about I was able to take four hours 5 minute exposuresof the Elephant Truck nebulas. I set up the RMS error in my file names and most of the frames are under 1 arc second. I got some wild DEC deviations. The DEC would be causing fine at 0.40" then sudding shoot up, PHD2 sending commands trying to bring it down. After 20 seconds down it comes to the zero line. Because most of the frame was guiding well the average RMS error of the frame ends up being below 1.5". I'll look at those frames over 1" RMS to see if I need to cull them. Another good video.

[@AstroAF]

HI KJ! You always report in from dark skies!! Awesome! Wow! Wild horses, yeah, that would make for feeling uneasy about leaving scope unattended for sure. I do not have an automated flat panel, I am using sky flats and point to zenith and take the flats automatically, then shut down, park scope, etc.. That all happens while i'm making coffee and waking up. By the time I get the dogs fed and make coffee all my files are transferred over. That humidity will definitely effect your seeing quality.. welcome to my world LOL! Just be careful not to run your heater too hot. I run mine at 20c above dew point on PWM so it is not on constantly, the controller sends pulses to the heater to maintain the temperature. HEQ5 is doing great, guiding consistently at around 4.5-5.5" every night. I'm super pleased with everything given that I've got about 22lbs mounted on it. Yeah, PHD has been giving me great calibration, very orthogonal. If your DEC error is pretty consistent then perhaps it is periodic error, maybe there is an imperfection in one of the worm gear teeth or something that causes the periodic problem? Do you have a PEC recording created for compensating/correcting periodic error? If your mount cant record PEC that is ok, EQMOD will create a PEC file and use that instead each session. Thanks for watching and commenting! Cheers!! Doug