Synchronized dithering in N.I.N.A.! Let's optimize our side-by-side setup!

[@jcinaz]

Second time watching this after several months. Now that I have considerable time using N.I.N.A., I actually followed what you were doing without slowing the video down to a crawl. Good work!

[@FrootyRecords]

I gotta say man, you win the prize for delivering quality content at an astonishing rate!, you have a day job right!. Keep up the good work Cuiv. Big-ups from the UK.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I won't be able to keep up the rate! I do have a day job and other hobbies - I keep my video creation workflow pretty simple, and tend to shoot and prepare multiple videos on the week-end. Cheers from Tokyo, hope you guys get back to astronomical darkness soon!

[@jcinaz]

So now the only thing left is to learn how to use two different instances of N.I.N.A. to allow capturing one target with one OTA and when that is done, then slew to the next target to capture with the second OTA. Hence, each instance of N.I.N.A. has full control of slewing and guiding, and run sequentially. I think that setting a timer on the second sequence to start at a given time would work. What would be better is a trigger in the second instance to start when the first instance is done. Another task that I resolved was to recenter on a target partway through a long sequence - otherwise, the target tends to creep away from the center. I do that by breaking up the long sequence into several short sequences with a Center command between the sequences.

[@wildlifephotographybeneath3609]

Thank you for your great and lively presentation and explanation. I think about to do also the side by side scope photgraphy with Nina. Especially with longer focal length, I think it is important, after pointing with your master telescope to the target, also to center with the following/ second telescope exactly to the target, otherwise you will get eggshaped stars. Is this correct by your experience? If so, then we will need an extra feature besides the plate and the two clamps...

[@xeon_1705]

APT also has that feature but not as streamlined

[@jefflucas_life]

7:33 Shift + Click to have as many instances of any windows program, glad to see this works.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep! It's not super obvious indeed!

[@corsleydarkskies5707]

I find I have to connect the mount to both instances otherwise the coordinates are not stored with the secondary cameras images. (therefore you couldnt use these to solve etc..)

[@stevehunter6059]

Just when I'm getting bored, another Cuiv video lands :) Looking forward to the day when I can run two in parallel: actually I'm looking forward to the clouds clearing and getting just one going. Thanks for the great info

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I felt the boredom and publishing the video ;) The real advantage of having two in parallel is being able to have more imaging done when the clouds actually clear! I think my dream would be a a 3 in parallel, one doing HA, one OIII, and one SII :D But three Newts may be somewhat of an issue!

[@sc4r3crow1976]

Gotta try this with a f/4.7 rig doing narrowband and the f/5.4 doing LRGB. I planned not doing dithering at but with this technique it'll not dither on all frames but it's be better than nothing. Thanks for your videos !!

[@astroberg4774]

My dream setup would be 4x identical scopes doing LRGB at the same time!!! Keep the videos coming bro you are representing us lazy imagers.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I think I'd go for 3x with Halpha, SII, OIII, and switch that to RGB in winter - capturing RGB one session, and then all L another session. But then mounting three Newts side by side sounds hard!! :D

[@stringb2647]

I think this feature was removed with the new sequencer but it is coming back as a plugin. Please do another video about NINA Synchronized Dithering when it becomes available again.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Will do once I can (and have a setup to justify it)

[@PeterClarke55]

Maybe when I wish to double the headache I will upgrade to a dual imaging rig and rewatch this video. But looking at the possible pain I think I will just have a single image setup for now. Cheers Cuiv, another video to live up to...

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Double the headache, double the fun!! :) It can indeed be painful, especially when setting up - and easy to forget something, so I'll do a checklist as well...!

[@cryptoalchemist10minutes44]

Excellent and only in Nina!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Maaaaybe Voyager has it? Maybe? That capture software is really overkill :) Synchronized dithering is really neat though!

[@abrahamshadbeh7223]

Actually I did not find the drop down menu for synchronized dithering even with the plug in and phd2 server enabled. How do I find this? Both my Nina instances show the installed plug in but it’s not an option in Nina guiders drop down menu! Running the latest version of Nina!

[@stephen2615]

I plan to do this when my filters finally arrive (been waiting for three months and my QHY 16200A is also waiting to be used). I just wonder what to do when I get the data.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Filters are just so important! I hope they arrive soon! So you'll have a side by side setup where both sides have a similar FOV?

[@stephen2615]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek The smaller scope (WO Z61) can sit on top of my 115 mm OTA. If I could find some 1 1/4 inch spacers, I could try it out with a ZWO ASI 120 MC-S (as a test) on the Z61 but everything is on back order from China. No matter what China says about everything being normal, you just can't get anything.

[@AnakChan]

This now needs an update with N.I.N.A.‘a new Synchronise Plug-In :)!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh man, I know!

[@BillRichards82]

Is it possible to dither every Nth frame instead of every frame? My primary camera is using a much faster lens than my secondary so the secondary exposure time needs to be 2X or 3X as long as the primary. But it appears when you enable this feature, the primary camer controls dithering and it MUSTditther every frame. Also, I'm running into a problem where PHD2 literally freezes for 30 seconds when a dither is called for. Everything is frozen - the tracking chart, the Star Profile display - everything. For 30 seconds. Then it miraculously wakes up and continues operation as if nothing happened.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah, that's a limitation of the synchronized dithering... I haven't had that issue with PHD2 - maybe try loading one of their beta versions?

[@BillRichards82]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek The NINA development team said this feature has been removed from the next version of NINA, which is a real bummer. They also said the PHD2 freezing issue is likely within PHD2, but they don't know why or what's causing it.

[@MrPasqualenorda]

Hi, I have a Star adventurer skywatcher (no GoTo, no DEC) and two zwo cameras (294 for photos and 120 for the guide) I have to connect the ST4 cable from the 120 mini to the S.A. but how do i set up dithering? Should it be enabled on both cameras? I open two instances of n.i.n.a. and use the 294 as a master? Thanks for your videos :) I learned a lot in no time! Ps: sorry for my english XD

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent question! I should make a video about on-camera guiding, or even guiding in general. So once you have the 120 connected to the SA via the ST-4 cable, you need to use PHD2. In camera you connect to the 120, and in mount, you select "on camera". Then in NINA you connect to PHD2 as usual, and enable dither in the sequence. NINA will send a dither command to PHD2, PHD2 will send a dither command to the 120, the 120 will send that dither command to the SA. Magic! :) Good luck!

[@MrPasqualenorda]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thank you! So then in the second instance of NINA I have to put only the sequence of photos with the asi294 and enable dithering? Do I also synchronize the 294 with phd2? Or can I decide which camera to use in the sequence? Thank you :)

[@MrPasqualenorda]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I did it! is it really "magic": D [The camera (294) for the photos I connected to phd2 secondarily to the guide camera (120) which does only the guide, the dither works as well as everything else] Thank you!

[@giamas72]

does it work if the two shot-time are not multiple one of the other? (10/30 s like in your video)??

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It will work but it won't be as efficient! You'll always have a period in which dithering is waiting for one rig to finish an exposure while the other is standing idle. Much better to have multiples of one another!

[@thestarsmith]

Hey Cuiv.. been using NINA for a while now, and happily running a dual scope rig.. but shock, horror I decided to update my nightly build and the experimental PHD2 has gone from NINA ... been on discord and they said it had been removed, do you know if it will be making a comeback?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It depends on the developers (Darkarchon in particular), as it needs to be adapted to the new sequencer apparently...

[@yangyunbo1]

that's cool！RC+wild filed telescope is all in one。hahaha

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It is quite nice indeed :)

[@gauravdhumatker8210]

This is awsome Just what i wanted

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Unfortunately in version 11 of NINA, this will be gone - but it still exists in the current stable version!

[@gauravdhumatker8210]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek yes checked that and its disappointing.

[@gauravdhumatker8210]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Now its been included in plugins

[@robertion8235]

I didnt understand a thing