Plate solving

[p1taylor]

Hi All,
I am after a good plate solving program preferably free, have tried PIN PONT LE in Maxim but it comes up with different numbers every time.

peter

[multiweb]

Try unimap (http://larryo.org/astronomy/software/unimap/).

[Geoff45]

Weird. PPoint in Maxim has always worked perfectly for me.
Geoff

[Paul Haese]

I'm using pin point with Maxim and that works great. Are you using the GSC1.1 adjusted catalogue?

[DavidTrap]

I have great success with Maxim & Pinpoint. Have you got your mount talking properly with Maxim so it is giving approximate RA & Dec for it to work with, as well as having set pixel size and scope details to calculate arc sec/pixel?

DT

[Terry B]

Elbrus is free and works very well
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/StarLocatorElbrus/?yguid=333414068

[OzRob]

I have used Pinpiont LE in MaxIM many times and unless the pointing is off or it has clouded over it has always worked. Are the co-ords and scale you are using about correct?

[troypiggo]

I've tried Elbrus and got it working fine, but the documentation and figuring out how to use it was quite time-consuming. Since getting MaxIm and using the Pinpoint LE, much easier to use. Haven't tried that UniMap that Marc suggested.

[mithrandir]

Online there is Astrometry.net: Web Edition (http://live.astrometry.net/)

You do need to register, but it's normally very quick.

[p1taylor]

Thanks Guys for info, just started with Maxim at present I just image, I have GSC1.1 adjusted as Paul suggests, so do I have to set Maxim to control scope as well.

peter

[OzRob]

If you have Maxim connected to the mount the FITs header will contain the RA, Dec and scale (if you have set up the scope correctly). You then don't have to enter the values in the plate solving window. If you are happy entering these values manually the plate solve will still work.

[DavidTrap]

What Rob said - you've got to give Maxim/Pinpoint something to start with, ie. a rough location from which to start searching for catalog stars to match up to your image.

By talking to the mount (click on the observatory button), you will drag a rough RA and Dec into the FITS header, which is then used by pinpoint to start the solve. Telling Maxim you scope and camera details lets it work out an image scale.

Unfortunately, it's not a mind reader...

DT

[p1taylor]

Hi Rob, David,
NOT being to good with PC, in telescope set up do I just put Meade LX200GPS/R and will it connect to my Meade RCX 400, if there is a cable from scope to PC, and all so CCD, I have download ASCOM drivers, or is there something ells to do, sorry if this sounds silly.

peter

[OzRob]

I don't know anything about connecting to a Meade mount but yes you would need a cable and ASCOM drivers for it.

[DavidTrap]

Usually a cable, USB-Serial adapter and ASCOM drivers.

DT

[p1taylor]

DT will I need a USB Serial adapter as my Meade RCX is at present running with just a USB to USB in to computer, what I really need to get to is how to set up Maxim 5.12 or do you leave settings as default.

peter

[RickS]

You can plate solve in Maxim without connecting the scope and storing approximate RA and Dec in the FITS header, but you need a full Pinpoint license and it takes extra storage and compute cycles:
http://winfij.homeip.net/development/SkySolve/index.html

Cheers,
Rick.

[p1taylor]

Hi Rick will that still run in Vista as that is what my operating system is.

peter

[OzRob]

It should but connecting your mount to a computer will be a cheaper and better option (given that you don't need to buy a computer). To run SkySolve you need the full Pinpoint version at US$199.

SkySolve is a great program if your pointing accuracy is poor or when you initially align your mount. However, for normal use it is slow and resource hungry. If my understanding is correct it basically looks of patterns formed by stars and compares them to a database that you pre-generate.

If your pointing accuracy is OK Maxim is a lot quicker. On my remote setup I can take a 15 second image, plate solve it and do a reslew (to centre the target) in about 40 seconds.

Another benefit of going the Maxim route is that once set up you can slew to your target and take a photo. If the target is not quite where you want it you can click on the point that you want to be in the centre and tell Maxim to point the scope there. Of course all this needs to have everything set up properly but it is all in the Maxim help files and not too difficult.

[p1taylor]

Rob Maxim sounds the best bet for me, do I still need the full version of pinpoint or will LE do, my polar alignment is as good as I cane get it, normally what I go for in Meade Autostar is on the h9c chip.

peter

[OzRob]

Yes, you should only need the version that comes with Maxim.

[p1taylor]

Thanks Guys for all your info, I will try as you say Rob and let you know how it goes the first clear night we get, it has been cloudy for ages, after reading help files it seems the only thing I cannot do is auto focus for which I do need full version of Pinpoint I think.

peter

[OzRob]

I have never tried to use the auto-focus in Maxim. I have always used Focusmax. You do need the full version of Pinpoint to use the Aquire Star function in Focusmax but I have never needed it.

[p1taylor]

Right Rob will have a go with what I have, I do hope all goes well.

peter

[p1taylor]

Hi All, Still no clear nights, but I got Maxim connected to scope OK just need to try it out when, I can will let you know how it goes.

peter