Hi!

I have noted that there are some relatively recent changes to the capture files in Ekos. The file name and location can now (nicely) be handled much more flexibly. But the target name, previously in the <RawPrefix> keyword, is no longer added.
I have a relatively large number of older capture files that thus might need some intelligent editing. But first it would be good to understand this a bit more:

When the RawPrefix is no longer present in the capture file, from where is the target name found, to be included in the file name and in the fits header? I might image up to 50 targets per night (variables) so it is imperative that I have this very clearly sorted.

Secondly, if the RawPrefix (and target name) is no longer included in the capture file, this might allow a more flexible usage of them. Instead of having one capture file per target, I could have one capture file per type of capture (say, 3 images of 180 secs in V-filter) and reuse this for several targets (previously this did not work since they all were labelled with the same target). Is this true?

Or am I missing something here?

Magnus

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Hi!

So I think I got it all figured out with the help of Jasem. I'm running latest Kstars on a Stellarmate.
When platesolving, the CRVAL keywords are included for that very camera. However, when we do spectroscopy, plate solving is not done with the imaging camera.

To have these keywords, I do the following:
1. Plate solve with my positioning camera (I have a separate positioning camera, others use the guider)
2. Go to Indi control panel for the Imaging camera, the main camera
3. Go to the tab WCS
4. Enable WCS
5. A new line appears: Rotation. I set rotation to 90, because that is what my positioning camera shows (does not matter for spectra). I set this value.

Now CRVAL appears in the fits header also for the imaging, primary, camera.

Magnus

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Hi!

I'm not sure I understand your question. Does it concern VNC or the Losmandy mount (as the topic says)?
I also do not know about AstroLink but I connect via VNC to my Stellarmate on port 5624.

Magnus

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Hi Bob!

Tough one, with the calibration lines. You should post the question together with your files (a link to the folder you use as working folder in SpecINTI) to the SolEx group on Groups.io!

I'm far from an expert on SpecINTI, but I can imagine a lot of reasons, things that might be off in your configuration file (I speak from experience here......).

Best,

Magnus

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Hi!

Thanks, Hy. I'll try. But this is very new behavior. I've done like this for at least 2 years before, no problems at all. How come it has changed?

Magnus

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Hi!

I'm having an, for me at least, unusual issue with the Scheduler; I have one job that I have repeated 4 times, so that the scope aligns and focuses. This has worked very nicely in the past. However, since updating to latest Kstars, it updates the number of captured frames for ALL jobs, also the waiting ones, so that in the end, only one job gets completed. See the screenshot:

Hi!

In the Indi Control panel, the tab for your guide camera, choose the Image Info tab. There is a checkbox down low, to your right (don't have it running, can not say exactly what it says). Uncheck it. Then guide images are no longer shown in Fits viewer.

I do this every time I start Ekos...

Magnus

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Hi!

Yes, there's the full set of keywords, like in mine when doing photometry. It seems to me as if the issue is which camera does the platesolving. Jasem says he'll be back on this in two weeks time, that's very good.

Concerning the spectrographs - I'm not sure I follow you here, about tubes and entrance diameters. In my mind, what matters most here are if the spectroscope is very well collimated (otherwise light is lost) and how well you are able to position the star on the slit. And of course slit width. I tend to use 20 um on my Lowspec and 23 on my StarEx. If you use SimSpec, the spreadsheet, you can learn at lot about these parameters.

As for gain: I go for as large full well as possible. I used to use higher gain, but experienced some comparison stars to become saturated at times. WIth a gain of 20 on my WHY283m, I have not experienced that. I don't know how to see what gain others use though. But I must confess that I don't really understand much about gain - I just trust experience and my expert friends

Magnus

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Hi!

I have a Losmandy G11 too. What do you use for guiding (can not recognize from your screenshot), and where do you set "Reverse E-W"? In the guiding application or in Indi control panel, or where?

Magnus

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Hi!

That looks like an interesting spectroscope, compact design, if I get it right. I use the Lowspec for low resolution spectra, which is what I do most, and I like the compact design of that too - although it is somewhat less easy to focus the guidecam as compared to the StarEx. I use the StarEx for high resolution spectra, just nu feeling confident enough with it to just use it. Neither are remotely controlled - that would be nice. I'm looking into how to make calibration lamp remotely controlled. And the SpecINTI allows "lateral mode" calibration, that would be really handy - but then the lamp must be software controlled. I use a CCD for my Lowspec, an Atik 314L+, and a CMOS for the StarEx, a QHY183m. I'm also not sure about the gain values for the CMOS. For the moment, I use gain 10 to get as large full well as posslble (for bright targets) and to only have one set of darks and flats. I can imagine having higher gain would be good for fainter targets though. Unfortunately, QHY and ZWO use different logics for their gain values, as I understand it, so Christian Buil's recommendations based on his ASI183 are not useable for me.

And back to the header issues: Last night, spectrum of R Leo using my SM with KStars 3.6.4, I get these headers from the StarEx:

SIMPLE = T / file does conform to FITS standard
BITPIX = 16 / number of bits per data pixel
NAXIS = 2 / number of data axes
NAXIS1 = 5544 / length of data axis 1
NAXIS2 = 1000 / length of data axis 2
EXTEND = T / FITS dataset may contain extensions
COMMENT FITS (Flexible Image Transport System) format is defined in 'Astronomy
COMMENT and Astrophysics', volume 376, page 359; bibcode: 2001A&A...376..359H
BZERO = 32768 / offset data range to that of unsigned short
BSCALE = 1 / default scaling factor
ROWORDER= 'TOP-DOWN' / Row Order
INSTRUME= 'QHY CCD QHY183M-9b51164' / CCD Name
TELESCOP= 'Celestron NexStar' / Telescope name
EXPTIME = 3.000000E+02 / Total Exposure Time (s)
CCD-TEMP= -1.000E+01 / CCD Temperature (Celsius)
PIXSIZE1= 2.400000E+00 / Pixel Size 1 (microns)
PIXSIZE2= 2.400000E+00 / Pixel Size 2 (microns)
XBINNING= 1 / Binning factor in width
YBINNING= 1 / Binning factor in height
XPIXSZ = 2.400000E+00 / X binned pixel size in microns
YPIXSZ = 2.400000E+00 / Y binned pixel size in microns
FRAME = 'Light ' / Frame Type
IMAGETYP= 'Light Frame' / Frame Type
FOCALLEN= 2.000E+03 / Focal Length (mm)
APTDIA = 2.790E+02 / Telescope diameter (mm)
FOCUSPOS= 700 / Focus position in steps
FOCUSTEM= 2.000E+01 / Focuser temperature in degrees C
SCALE = 2.475600E-01 / arcsecs per pixel
SITELAT = 5.554806E+01 / Latitude of the imaging site in degrees
SITELONG= 1.336472E+01 / Longitude of the imaging site in degrees
AIRMASS = 1.483571E+00 / Airmass
OBJCTAZ = 2.111180E+02 / Azimuth of center of image in Degrees
OBJCTALT= 4.233853E+01 / Altitude of center of image in Degrees
OBJCTRA = ' 9 46 10.43' / Object J2000 RA in Hours
OBJCTDEC= '11 29 40.85' / Object J2000 DEC in Degrees
RA = 1.465435E+02 / Object J2000 RA in Degrees
DEC = 1.149468E+01 / Object J2000 DEC in Degrees
PIERSIDE= 'EAST ' / East, looking West
EQUINOX = 2000 / Equinox
DATE-OBS= '2023-04-23T20:14:13.101' / UTC start date of observation
COMMENT Generated by INDI
GAIN = 1.000E+01 / Gain
OFFSET = 2.000E+01 / Offset
OBJECT = 'R Leo ' / Object
END

So information about where it is pointing is obviously there, but not the keywords. An hour later, doing photometry, there are some 10 lines more, including the CRVAL. I guess this is a snooping issue.

Magnus

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Hi!

Yes, it would be very good if the CRVAL keyword where in the fits header - for example, SpecINTI relies on this for computing atmospheric extinction.

I was surprised to see it in your header, because I was under the impression that Ekos did not produce it at all. Now, looking through my own photometric images, I do find it there too. But not in my spectra. For photometry, the main camera does the platesolve, for spectroscopy, I have a separate "positioning guide scope" doing it - in its own imaging train. So I do not use the guider for platesolve, never worked for me due to small FOV with my C8 and C11.

What version of Kstars do you run? I'm using 3.6.4 stable on Stellarmate.

Concerning the StarEx: I have indeed printed it myself, and also the Lowspec that I use (first bought one second hand but decided I wanted to print it myself). After beginning with 3D-printing I actually no longer understand how to do amateur astronomy without a printer jokes aside, it takes some time to acquire skill sufficient to print a good spectrograph but it is not very difficult. But if you don't want to print, there are commercial sources that can print for you. Or maybe some other amateur - ask on the Sol'Ex mailing list What kind of spectroscope du you currently use?

Magnus

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Hi!

I'm reconnecting to this with reference to the keywords CRVAL. Robert, in one of your posted FITS-headers, these keywords are present. Not in the others. I do NOT get these keywords (I'd would have been nice though). How come they are in one of your headers? Do you still get them?

How about the rest of you - anyone getting these keywords? I did not think they were added at all by EKOS.

Magnus

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Hi!

I'm using a DIY MyFocuserPro2, controlling a Moonlite focuser. No backlash control outside of Ekos and I normally do not use backlash control, relying on the Linear to avoid it by always reaching focus from the same direction.

However, I've had a series of issues with this R-Pi now (like hanging on boot) and I've re-flashed the SD-card and reinstalled it all. And to my surprise, last night Linear 1-pass worked fine!! I'll keep testing but the next few nights promises to be cloudy...

If I get it right, the AF Overscan refers to how far the focuser overshoots when moving out, then to reverse direction and moving in again. Is that correct?

Magnus

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Hi!

OK, I could test that. It is the default value.

However, I do not see how that could result in the value for best focus being changed from 737 in the curve, to the identified value of 488 - way off the measurement....

Magnus

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Hi!

This is an old issue - it's been reported before and I thought it was solved. It concerns the Linear 1-pass, where the focuser strangely settles on a different value than the best value. This is now on a totally fresh Stellarmate image, 1.7.6, 64-bit. First time I try I get this interesting result, shown in the attached image. I did not have logs turned on, can do that next time if needed. But is there a known solution?