NINA Advanced Sequencer Help Needed - Stop when target reaches certain alt and resume after it clears certain alt - Forums

Topic starter

Dec 31, 2023

I currently use NINA advanced sequencer (ASQ) to image my targets from a remote dark site. During setup i figured above 70 degrees alt and certain az with certain rotation my filter wheel get stuck at the pier. So as a precaution i limit my alt at 70 degrees.

I have my ASQ to start above 30 degrees but manually stop imaging run about 70. I want to configure the ASQ so that the imaging run starts when the object is above 30 degrees, stops when it reaches 70 and resume imaging post flip when the object is between 70 and 30 again.

Any support will be very helpful.

TIA

CS
Avik

Marc V

Dec 31, 2023

Not sure it will help, but which kind of mount do you have? Is it possible that it is the reason it is blocking the imaging run?

avik.basak

Topic starter

Dec 31, 2023

GM1000HPS

avik.basak

Topic starter

Dec 31, 2023

I think i figured it out.

Cosmetatos

Dec 31, 2023

Check what time it reaches the altitude you need and use the "until time" trigger instead

avik.basak

Topic starter

Dec 31, 2023

Cosmetatos:
Check what time it reaches the altitude you need and use the "until time" trigger instead

I thought i figured but not

but "until time" will not resume back once the altitude clears, right?

I used the following but NINA continues and does not halt

Josh

Dec 31, 2023

i would say fix your setup so you can't hit your pier/tripod.

Or mount your filter wheel so it is pointing up?

Cosmetatos

Dec 31, 2023

Cosmetatos:
Check what time it reaches the altitude you need and use the "until time" trigger instead

I thought i figured but not

but "until time" will not resume back once the altitude clears, right?

I used the following but NINA continues and does not halt

***
I do the following

Target 1, while it rises until altitude 70. Use the Until Time loop condition.

Then move to target 2. Do whatever I want with target 2 using the Until Time loop condition, and the time selected is the time where Target 1 is again at altitude 70 and below.

Go back to Target 1 and loop until it falls down to your required lower altitude, eg 45.

NAG

Dec 31, 2023

The meridian flip only runs when the object passes the meridian. The NINA just trigger a slew on the mount, so i think that you can't do a flip before the meridian, but i can be wrong. Check the options that you have in the driver. The GSServer driver has an option to "Force a flip on the next GoTo".

You can use the "Wait until altitude" command to run just after the object reach the 30º and the "Loop Until Altitude Below" to limit at 70º.

Helpful

Charles Bradshaw

Dec 31, 2023

I think you want to use two loop conditions to your target. The first is loop until time and the second has your second start time. I use this for multiple targets but it should work with the same target twice. After the first loop stops, the second will wait until time to slew.

Tom Marsala

Dec 31, 2023

Another option that I would probably try would be to send a park command to the mount as soon as it reaches 70° on the east side of the pier. Then wait until whatever time it might be when it's 70° on the west side of the pier. You can find that out using your star chart. After the park just use a "wait until time" command and then slew to the target and start over again.
I've never done it, but just thinking out loud as to how I try it. Let us know what you come up with! Tom

Concise

Gary JONES

Jan 1, 2024

Hi Avi,
Here's a suggestion ...

Simply run two separate sequences, one for 30-70 and another for 70-30 after the meridian, just specify the same target for each sequence, with another target in between to move your OTA so that it doesn't foul the tripod.

As others have suggested, I'd also invest a bit of time to reconfigure your setup to avoid the filter wheel hitting the tripod. Imaging at the meridian always gives the best results, so it would help if your rig is able to do this wherever possible.

If you have a GM1000HPS (a very nice mount), and possibly the Aires tripod, I'd suggest investing in a tripod extension such as the GM1000 HPS Half pillar - which you can see here.

Better to fix the problem rather that trying to find a work-around - otherwise you are bound to encounter the same issue with others targets.

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avik.basak

Topic starter

Jan 1, 2024

Thank you all for the tips will put it in practice tonight.

CS
Avik

Timothy Martin

IOTD Staff

Jan 1, 2024

Gary JONES:
Hi Avi,
Here's a suggestion ...

Simply run two separate sequences, one for 30-70 and another for 70-30 after the meridian, just specify the same target for each sequence, with another target in between to move your OTA so that it doesn't foul the tripod.

As others have suggested, I'd also invest a bit of time to reconfigure your setup to avoid the filter wheel hitting the tripod. Imaging at the meridian always gives the best results, so it would help if your rig is able to do this wherever possible.

If you have a GM1000HPS (a very nice mount), and possibly the Aires tripod, I'd suggest investing in a tripod extension such as the GM1000 HPS Half pillar - which you can see here.

Better to fix the problem rather that trying to find a work-around - otherwise you are bound to encounter the same issue with others targets.

I like what Gary has said here. I had this problem in spades last summer when I put a Moravian C5 on a TOA130. The filter wheel is huge--the size of a vinyl lp record--and sticks out about 5 inches past the OTA on one side. One thing you can also consider is rotating the camera 180 degrees. I continue to use this technique today even though the scope is now on a pier. It lets me run about 5 degrees past the meridian so I can maximize prime imaging time. I also rotated the OAG 180 degrees, which means there's very little sticking out on one side.

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Bruce

Jan 2, 2024

I currently use NINA advanced sequencer (ASQ) to image my targets from a remote dark site. During setup i figured above 70 degrees alt and certain az with certain rotation my filter wheel get stuck at the pier. So as a precaution i limit my alt at 70 degrees.

I have my ASQ to start above 30 degrees but manually stop imaging run about 70. I want to configure the ASQ so that the imaging run starts when the object is above 30 degrees, stops when it reaches 70 and resume imaging post flip when the object is between 70 and 30 again.

Any support will be very helpful.

TIA

CS
Avik

I wonder if you could use the DIY trigger which James Lamb discussed in this video.
You could have it trigger at your desired altitude, then wait for whatever amount of time it takes to go from that altitude to 70 on the other side of the flip (which should always be a constant time, no?).

avik.basak

Topic starter

Jan 2, 2024

Timothy Martin:
Gary JONES:
Hi Avi,
Here's a suggestion ...

Simply run two separate sequences, one for 30-70 and another for 70-30 after the meridian, just specify the same target for each sequence, with another target in between to move your OTA so that it doesn't foul the tripod.

As others have suggested, I'd also invest a bit of time to reconfigure your setup to avoid the filter wheel hitting the tripod. Imaging at the meridian always gives the best results, so it would help if your rig is able to do this wherever possible.

If you have a GM1000HPS (a very nice mount), and possibly the Aires tripod, I'd suggest investing in a tripod extension such as the GM1000 HPS Half pillar - which you can see here.

Better to fix the problem rather that trying to find a work-around - otherwise you are bound to encounter the same issue with others targets.

I like what Gary has said here. I had this problem in spades last summer when I put a Moravian C5 on a TOA130. The filter wheel is huge--the size of a vinyl lp record--and sticks out about 5 inches past the OTA on one side. One thing you can also consider is rotating the camera 180 degrees. I continue to use this technique today even though the scope is now on a pier. It lets me run about 5 degrees past the meridian so I can maximize prime imaging time. I also rotated the OAG 180 degrees, which means there's very little sticking out on one side.

I am on a Pier at DSP Remote and also have the mount sitting on the half pier. the problem that i have from the rotator is at certain altitude and rotation angle the filter wheel will touch the pier. So as a general precaution i defined that i will not go beyond 70. i took the suggestion and applied the until time rule and created 2 different targets. Any target below the 70 i dont have any issue.

Timothy Martin

IOTD Staff

Jan 2, 2024

I am on a Pier at DSP Remote and also have the mount sitting on the half pier. the problem that i have from the rotator is at certain altitude and rotation angle the filter wheel will touch the pier. So as a general precaution i defined that i will not go beyond 70. i took the suggestion and applied the until time rule and created 2 different targets. Any target below the 70 i dont have any issue.

I had a similar problem with some targets and rotation angles. Because my filter wheel sticks out much farther on one side than on the other, I was able to solve the problem by rotating the camera and filter wheel 180 degrees in those situations.

Well Written Concise

avik.basak

Topic starter

Jan 2, 2024

Timothy Martin:
I am on a Pier at DSP Remote and also have the mount sitting on the half pier. the problem that i have from the rotator is at certain altitude and rotation angle the filter wheel will touch the pier. So as a general precaution i defined that i will not go beyond 70. i took the suggestion and applied the until time rule and created 2 different targets. Any target below the 70 i dont have any issue.

I had a similar problem with some targets and rotation angles. Because my filter wheel sticks out much farther on one side than on the other, I was able to solve the problem by rotating the camera and filter wheel 180 degrees in those situations.

Good point, not sure i can figure that out while being remote. probably when i am onsite during maintenance will need to solve the puzzle

Timothy Martin

IOTD Staff

Jan 2, 2024

Good point, not sure i can figure that out while being remote. probably when i am onsite during maintenance will need to solve the puzzle

Looks like you're using a Falcon rotator from the gear list in your images. If the current rotation is aligned where it's supposed to be, you can just use Pegasus software directly to rotate the camera. Just note the current mechanical position and then add or subtract 180 degrees from that. Then tell the Falcon to go to the new position you just calculated. Next time NINA plate solves, it will see that you're still on target and won't do any rotation. NINA doesn't care whether you're oriented at a relative 0 degrees or 180 degrees.

Next time you're on site, spend some time figuring out what mechanical rotator range causes issues for you. That is, use the aforementioned Pegasus software to rotate the camera just to the point where you are not quite going to have a collision. Do this for both sides. Make note of the two mechanical positions, and then plug those in as your rotation limits either in the Pegasus software or in the ASCOM driver (it's been a while since I used a Falcon, so I can't remember exactly where to do this--but I know it's possible). As long as the rotator can still move 180 degrees or more within those limits, you'll never have to worry about this issue again. NINA will recognize the limits and keep you within them while still giving you the exact framing you want.

As an aside, I might also suggest getting a cheap Nest or equivalent remote cam and position that behind your rig, if possible. This can be very valuable in identifying this type of thing, potential cable snags, and the like. (FYI: I opted for a Nest camera. But what I didn't consider is that its night vision function emits an extremely bright infrared beam, which you really don't want anywhere near a telescope at night. There are other brands that have decent night vision without doing this. So I have to turn off night vision on my camera--or just turn it on for a few seconds if I need to check something during the night. But it still comes in very handy during daylight hours when I need to look in on things.)

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Papa Brummbär

Jan 8, 2024

Hallo Avik,

I use NINA by time, at NINA Sky Atlas if you select your object you can see the time at "Altitude" by moving the mouse over the curve.
Then I use the Delay start and calculate how many pics I can do.

I hope it was helpful
br and cs
Hampo

Gary JONES

Jan 8, 2024

Hi Avik,
Here's another idea …

NINA has as great plugin called 'Horizon Creator'.
You could use that to create an 'artificial horizon' that defines the maximum excursion of your OTA, taking into account the range of rotation angles.
That will help you to plan your sessions and identify any situations where the filter wheel will foul the tripod.

Another idea …
Ive never used a rotator, so not sure if this is possible …
Can you set up the rotator to rotate just the camera, leaving your filter wheel fixed, and in a position to minimise interference with the tripod ?

Just reaffirming my earlier suggestion - the best and easiest fix is to add a pier extension, to elevate your OTA, thereby avoiding the FW hitting the tripod altogether.

Cheers,

Gary

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