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Shutdown after error

Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA) Sequencing Observatory
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Mossyback avatar
Mossyback avatar
My new rolling roof observatory is almost finished, replacing the old one that could not be automated. Using N.I.N.A., I will now have the ability to close the roof at the end of a session following the parking of the scope, warming the camera etc. 

In the past I’ve had a Meridian Flip fail and all the subsequent sequences did not occur.

Question: is there a way to setup the Advanced Sequencer so that if an error occurs - failure to autofocus, flip etc. - to have the program perform the closing sequence of parking, warming the camera and closing the roof? Also, if I installed a rain warning device could it be programmed to also end the sequence and end the session?

i would sleep more soundly if I knew that my gear will be protected in spite of a program malfunction.

Hank
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Charles Bradshaw avatar
Charles Bradshaw avatar
The default "on error" condition is continue, but you could also skip the imaging condition and go to park and close dome.
Chris Plonski avatar
Chris Plonski avatar
I've had a few random hardware lockups (like waiting for the image to download from the camera) that kept NINA from continuing past the error and I wake up in rhe morning to find the scope tracking below the horizon and the roof still open. But 95% of the time it works like a charm.
Arnie avatar
Arnie avatar
My new rolling roof observatory is almost finished, replacing the old one that could not be automated. Using N.I.N.A., I will now have the ability to close the roof at the end of a session following the parking of the scope, warming the camera etc. 

In the past I’ve had a Meridian Flip fail and all the subsequent sequences did not occur.

Question: is there a way to setup the Advanced Sequencer so that if an error occurs - failure to autofocus, flip etc. - to have the program perform the closing sequence of parking, warming the camera and closing the roof? Also, if I installed a rain warning device could it be programmed to also end the sequence and end the session?

i would sleep more soundly if I knew that my gear will be protected in spite of a program malfunction.

Hank

1. Put all of your shut down instructions in the "Sequence end Area".
2. Click the three dots at the extreme right of your instructions.
3. In the drop down, enter how many attempts you want NINA to try before giving up
4. Change "On error" to "Skip to end of sequence instructions"

This has saved me more than once!

For the rain sensor, set it as a safety monitor. Add a "Loop while Safe" instruction to your sequence with the same error instructions as above. That way, if it becomes unsafe (rain), NINA will skip to the End of Sequence closing instructions.

Arnie
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Timothy Martin avatar
Timothy Martin avatar
There's also the Sequencer Powerups plugin. It has a "When becomes unsafe" trigger that lets you execute whatever instruction you like when conditions become, well, unsafe. And there's a "When becomes safe" trigger you can put inside the "When becomes unsafe" instruction set that you could use to reopen the roof, open your cover (if you have one), reslew to the target, refocus, restart guiding, and pick up right where you left off. If, on the other hand, all your loop conditions go false (e.g., astronomical dawn, target below horizon, etc.) while you're inside the "When becomes unsafe" block, it will immediately send control to your termination block. I know this doesn't answer your question, Arnie really answered that and I thought you might find this helpful with general automation of your new observatory.

I don't have my own remote observatory, but I have a scope at Deep Sky West. Sometimes the roof will open and close half a dozen times during the night. These Sequencer Powerups functions have handled that flawlessly.

Btw, congratulations on getting to this point! It's a major accomplishment!
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Mossyback avatar
Mossyback avatar
Thank you so much for your replies. I’m putting the roof and siding on this coming week and will be able to remove all of the protective tarps etc. from my scope. With the above information I now feel confident that I can set up the Advanced Sequencer to do a safe shutdown if the programming and/or weather cause problems. Timothy, does the setup that you use have a cloud sensing device? I just wondered how the sequencer would know it was safe to start if the roof was closed.

Hank
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Timothy Martin avatar
Timothy Martin avatar
Thank you so much for your replies. I’m putting the roof and siding on this coming week and will be able to remove all of the protective tarps etc. from my scope. With the above information I now feel confident that I can set up the Advanced Sequencer to do a safe shutdown if the programming and/or weather cause problems. Timothy, does the setup that you use have a cloud sensing device? I just wondered how the sequencer would know it was safe to start if the roof was closed.

Hank

Yes. It uses the SkyAlert system from Interactive Astronomy:

https://interactiveastronomy.com/purchase_info.html

The roof closes if it detects clouds, humidity greater than 80%, wind > 15mph (it has to stay below 15mph for 15 minutes to allow opening or reopening), and other conditions.
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Thomas Rox avatar
Thomas Rox avatar
Hi All:

I am also close to start my own garden observatory and I found useful hints here in the thread.
I am asking myself, whether in case of unsafe condition (rain etc.)
- whether NINA stops the imaging sequence at once and starts the end sequence
or
- whether NINA waits first until a present imaging of let’s say five minutes will be finished, before switching to the end sequence is done. 

I couldn’t test this feature until now and I would like to learn this about NINA. 
does anyone know?

CS
Thomas
Timothy Martin avatar
Timothy Martin avatar
It depends on how you program your sequence. In my case, using “When becomes unsafe,” the trigger is evaluated between instructions, so it would complete any sub that is in progress before it kicks in. If, however, you were to use the “Loop while safe” loop condition, it would terminate taking the sub in mid exposure.
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Thomas Rox avatar
Thomas Rox avatar
Timothy Martin:
It depends on how you program your sequence. In my case, using “When becomes unsafe,” the trigger is evaluated between instructions, so it would complete any sub that is in progress before it kicks in. If, however, you were to use the “Loop while safe” loop condition, it would terminate taking the sub in mid exposure.

Thanks. I probably will use the loop while safe option.
Timothy Martin avatar
Timothy Martin avatar
Thomas Rox:
Thanks. I probably will use the loop while safe option.


This works fine if you just want to shut down completely when conditions go unsafe. But if you want the option to automatically restart where you left off if conditions improve, the "When becomes safe" instruction works well.
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