Specify MLPT lenght when running sequence

[Corpze]

Hi, i have looked in tha manual(s) and here on the forum but haven't find the answer,

When i Run a sequence and activate MLPT, do i have to specify the total exposure lenght and the numbers of exposures or does sequence calculate that by it self from the settings i have done under Target/exposures etc.?

 

I have sucessfully been imageing two weeks in a row without a glitch now, from now on, i will add one "feature" at a time, starting with MLPT now, adding my cloudwatcher later on etc.

 

/Daniel

[lukepower]

Daniel,

 

Sequence will calculate it by itself. You can only specify how far apart you want the MLPT measurements to be (like, 15 minutes).

[Jay]

Look at the Sequence manual pages 24 - 28. Very simple thing to do...

[Corpze]

Daniel,

 

Sequence will calculate it by itself. You can only specify how far apart you want the MLPT measurements to be (like, 15 minutes).

Thanks, is it nessecary to use same intervall as my subs (5min) or is 15min a good estimate?

 

Look at the Sequence manual pages 24 - 28. Very simple thing to do...

The MLPT I am reffering to is the MLPT Sequence do when it runs the Sequence, not the manual MLPT that you send to autoslew manually, the "use mlpt" in sequence is not explained (sadly)

 

/Daniel

[Jay]

Thanks, is it nessecary to use same intervall as my subs (5min) or is 15min a good estimate?

 

The MLPT I am reffering to is the MLPT Sequence do when it runs the Sequence, not the manual MLPT that you send to autoslew manually, the "use mlpt" in sequence is not explained (sadly)

 

/Daniel

 

Daniel, you really should read the manual one more time

 

You will always "send" MLPT to Autoslew. Autoslew will use it after that. Sequence is only a tool used when creating the MLPT curve. You can see when MLPT is active when the button turns orange in the Autoslew...   

 

"Once you send the data to Autoslew the LPT button will be painted orange and Autoslew will start following the orange curve. If you want to deactivate the LPT you can click on the same button. If the button is activated the LPT will be used as long as you observe at the same hour angle you followed during the measurement. LPT is not saved, if you restart Autoslew you have to send it again from Sequence."

 

Sub exposure time has nothing to do with the MLPT duration/number of exposures. A good starting point is to use the 5 exposures /100 min duration (suggested by the Sequence). E.g. 300 min duration (5 h session) would need 15 exposures.

 

P.S. One iteration should always be enough

Edited October 27, 2015 by Jay

[Corpze]

Aha, I thought that the interval should be the same as the exposure, thanks for clearing that out for me

In the manual, there is no reference to the "MLPT" button under "Sequence" settings, that´s why i got confused.

So, as far as i understand, The sequence run uses the MLPT-setting i have entered in the "MLPT" box under sequence settings, but calculates the total length of the MLPT from my exposure settings?

 

/Daniel

[Jay]

No problem Daniel

 

The total length of the MLPT is the value you input to the "total exposure time" box (e.g. 120 min) And it's the same time you need/use for the shooting session for that specific target.

 

The number of exposures will just tell Sequence how many MLPT points (plate solves) you want Sequence to use when calculating that 120 min session MLPT curve (e.g. 6 exposures). That curve will be then sent to Autoslew.        

 

P.S. your MLPT exposure settings are the same than plate solve settings (e.g. 5 seconds, lum filter, bin 3x3). No additional input needed.

P.P.S. your exposure setting for that session (e.g. 10 x 20 min subs) are not related to the MLPT curve other than you'd need a 200 min MLPT curve (or 220 to be safe) to perform that session using the MLPT function. 

 

P.P.P.S Maybe it helps if you think that the MLPT is just a super accurate pointing (tracking) file created for one specific target. When the general autopointing file covers the whole sky

Edited October 27, 2015 by Jay

[Corpze]

No problem Daniel

 

The total length of the MLPT is the value you input to the "total exposure time" box (e.g. 120 min) And it's the same time you need/use for the shooting session for that specific target.

 

The number of exposures will just tell Sequence how many MLPT points (plate solves) you want Sequence to use when calculating that 120 min session MLPT curve (e.g. 6 exposures). That curve will be then sent to Autoslew.        

 

P.S. your MLPT exposure settings are the same than plate solve settings (e.g. 5 seconds, lum filter, bin 3x3). No additional input needed.

P.P.S. your exposure setting for that session (e.g. 10 x 20 min subs) are not related to the MLPT curve other than you'd need a 200 min MLPT curve (or 220 to be safe) to perform that session using the MLPT function. 

 

P.P.P.S Maybe it helps if you think that the MLPT is just a super accurate pointing (tracking) file created for one specific target. When the general autopointing file covers the whole sky

Do I need to fill that out even when i fill the box "use MPLT" in the sequence settings tab with the 15min interval?

Isn't that when you want to image without "Sequence Run"? but only use MLPT with autoslew? 

[john32712]

I guess it is safe to say you learn something new every day!

 

Here is the way I was using MLPT: For my imaging session, if I was doing 15 min subs for 6 hours,  the numbers I would use (input) were 24 and 360 + a few extra minutes as discussed earlier.

 

I would mimic the total number of frames taken, which was 24 in this case. So based on the above discussion, I could take less. The question that comes to my mind is..to get a good MLPT run which will insure a good imaging session, how far can I reduce this number? Can I reduce it to 10? What's a good number?

 

Thanks guys!

 

John