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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Combine telescope and camera in alignment module

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Recently I acquired an 8" RC telescope that gives a FOV of about half a degree which is way too small to perform polar alignment. And since my setup is not fixed (yet?) I need to perform polar alignment every night after I have set up everything. So I use the guide scope for polar alignment since this gives a nearly 1 degree FOV.

My procedure is as follows:
- select the guide telescope and the guide cam in the alignment module and verify that the FOV is correct
- perform polar alignment
- select the imaging telescope and imaging cam and again verify that the FOV is correct
- slew to an object and use plate solving in the alignment module to improve pointing

This works well but is a bit tedious since I need to make sure that I use the correct combination of telescope and camera.

So my request is: would it be possible to have one drop down with the telescope/camera combi in it and with the FOV for that combi selected automagically? It would make switching from one combi to the other a bit more simple and a bit less error prone.

Thanks very much for taking this under consideration!
5 years 8 months ago #27215

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I see two potentially large problems with this. Usually a guide scope and a main scope are pointed close to the same place in the sky and this is fine for guiding but for plate solving, switching back and forth could give unpredictable and unreliable results. Another and related issue is that some mounts use additional plate solves / alignment points to model other parameters such as mirror flop. I’m not sure how using two different scopes would affect this. I’m not saying these things are show stoppers or that it should not be done, but that first we should think them through
5 years 8 months ago #27217

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I know from experience that switching back and forth between two telescope/camera combis for the same use could indeed potentially be a bad idea. That is why I use the two telescope/camera combis for strictly different purposes. But the fact that I separate the two doesn’t mean that other people won’t.

Still, the current setup could lead to people using the imaging telescope with the guiding cam or vice versa which could lead to even bigger problems. And with the current screen layout, which puts quite a few other controls between the telescope drop down and the camera drop down, it is easy to overlook this.

I am not saying that you don’t have a point, because you do, but I would still argue that at least perhaps a redesign of the screen would improve the use of it.


Clear skies, Wouter
5 years 8 months ago #27218

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Wouter,

Are we talking about the same screen here? You said "which puts quite a few other controls between the telescope drop down and the camera drop down" but looking at the screen I see this:
5 years 8 months ago #27219
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Wouter,

Are we talking about the same screen here? You said "which puts quite a few other controls between the telescope drop down and the camera drop down" but looking at the screen I see this:

5 years 8 months ago #27220

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Wait, yes we’re talking about the same screen. I got confused last night between the camera and filter wheel drop downs and that messed up my memory. I am typing this whilst boarding a plane. Sorry about the confusion!

In any case, it is still possible to use the wrong telescope/camera combination and I think it would help a lot to at least solve that.
5 years 8 months ago #27221

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ok, thats fine. Yes, it is possible to get the wrong combination. I will mention it to Jasem
The following user(s) said Thank You: Wouter van Reeven
5 years 8 months ago #27223

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